Catch Up

I am trying to play catch up with all that was going on when I wasnt blogging due to the 'Great Gelato Incident'. At least my computer is working (knock on wood). Here is a picture from the Heel Options class I took at my LYS, Knitting Central, with Charlene Church.


My husbands birthday was on Memorial Day so I decided to make him a cake. I was writing his name on the cake then realized that I wanted to write "Daddy" instead of his name. So it came out kind of funny with his name and "daddy" after it. We all had a laugh at his expense over it.


Fooling around with my little Canon Elph camera getting some candid shots of my daughter.



The Old Man & My Old Man

Thats my oldest doxie Frank with my husband. I thought the title was funnier than saying that though. Funny story: I was at fancy gourmet chocolate store near my home and bought some chocolate covered malt balls along with some peanut butter carob dipped dog biscuits and when I went to pay for them I said, "My Old Man is going to love these!" The man ringing me up at the register politely said, "Miss, those biscuits are meant for dogs not for people". I laughed because when I said that I didnt realize that people dont know that I refer to my oldest doxie as 'my Old Man' as a term of endearment. I explained this to the guy and he couldnt stop laughing. I guess you had to be there but it was really funny. Speaking of my Old Man Frank, I found a very hard lump right near his hip bone and I am inclined to think that its not a good thing. He has so many lumps and bumps all over his body there is really nothing the vet can do at his age. He's to old to be put under anesthesia due to his mild Cushing's Disease and I dont want to do anything to stress him out if he's eating, drinking and happy. I do think he really misses his buddy, Ernie, because he hasnt been the same since he died. Remember, he was with him almost his entire life and I guess he doesnt know what its like to be without him. Having Duncan and Sampson, the puppy, makes it bearable for him but you can see he misses his friend. Frank will be turning 13 years old on June 25th which happens to be the anniversary of my husbands and my first date. I can still remember that evening we went out on my husbands boat and I didnt want to leave my puppy alone on his first birthday! He proceeded to pee on one of the cushions on the boat! My husband wasnt to happy about it but I guess he didnt want to yell at his girlfriends dog at the time for fear I would not want to date him! I thought it was cute and well deserved because my husband made a comment that small dogs were not "real" dogs. He doesnt think that anymore!

Sampson & Son

How cute is this picture! I know there's some peanut butter in there (lick, lick). The puppy is now 7lbs and getting big at 5 months old. Soon it will be neutering time. I am sure he's counting down the days, NOT.

My new Namaste bag and gorgeous sock yarns from www.woolgirl.com


There's various sock yarns from Zen Yarn Garden, Unique Sheep, Family Pendragon, Malabrigo lace (which is sooooo soft and yummy!), and my all time favorite Ms. Babs Yummy Sport Weight sock yarn in Van Gogh, Bluegrass and Cleopatra. I need to get busy and knit faster so I can make these socks! If anyone out there is awaiting the "Joe Cool Kit" that Jen over at Woolgirl is putting together keep an eye out for the stitch marker in there because I made them. I have a biased opinion of course but I think they are very Joe COOL! I hope you all like them!

I received my Rockin' Socks Club shippment for May and I LOVE the color! I am hoping that I can pull off the pattern though. Its absolutely beautiful but I am not sure if I will have problems with it. I am not going to sweat it. If I feel its not making me happy I will just use another pattern, no worries. I dont have a picture because my battery died and its being charged at the moment. I was taking pictures of this gopher like animal in my yard when the battery light went on and then died. My husband heard barking like sounds coming from a bush in the front yard and then this creature came out. I really dont know what it is but I am inclined to think its either a gopher or groundhog. I think they are basically the same animal from all the pictures that came up when I Googled them both. I'll ask my neighbor what he thinks because he knows about all those things especially if they like to eat stuff in his garden!

Better Late then Never

So I finally was able to get my pictures on the computer but my photo printer isnt working right. I tried to fix it and clean the nozzle on the heads and so on and nothing is working. I have to see if maybe the ink is bad. I bought a bunch of ink cartridges and had them in the closet for about 8 months, maybe a little more. What I didnt realize was the expiration dates on them. Who thought they had expiration dates? Not me. Well, I think I have to buy them when I need them and not ahead of time.

I am going to tackle each topic thats been going on that I havent blogged about one at a time. First, what made me crazy in the first place was preparing for my daughters communion which was the same weekend as Mother's Day and the same day as our cousins First Communion. We celebrated on Saturday and Sunday and I think I slept for 24 hours straight after it was all over. Here are some pics of my daughter that day:



This is my Dad the night of my cousin's Communion party taking pictures which he loves to do. The Mardi Gras mask makes the picture. We were all wearing them to surprise my Great Aunt who turned 90 that day.


During the last few weeks we were having big time transmission trouble with our 2002 Honda Mini-Van. We had it in the shop a few times and found out that it would cost $3,000 to fix with no guarantees. We researched different options and weighed getting a smaller car but realized that with the two kids we cant get into a smaller car at the moment. We do get good mileage on the van so we wound up leasing a 2008 Honda Odyssey. I love the Odyssey and since its a 3 year lease everything is under warranty. If something goes wrong we dont have to worry about it. I also highly recommend Courtney Honda in Milford, CT. We were treated with kindness and respect by a salesman named Robert Martin. If you go there ask for him and tell him I sent you.

My husband finally had his tonsils out last week and he's home from work for a few weeks. He's in a lot of pain but doing much better. He had to stay overnight in the hospital because his oxygen level dropped from the high 90's to somewhere in the 70's. He was given so much pain meds that it made him stop breathing for longer than a few seconds which caused the drop in his O2 levels. During his surgery I went to get my haircut around the corner from the hospital where the salon I frequent is located. I needed a general shaping so he didnt take any length off. He wanted to chop the back so badly and I didnt let him. I was getting the angled cut for awhile but I want to grow it and be able to put it in a ponytail or a clip for the summer.

A few days after my husband came home from having his surgery we went to Circuit City and bought the Garmin Nuvi GPS which is so cool! I was sick of going on MapQuest and getting directions. I also purchased a smaller pocket Canon digital camera with an awesome zoom and very cool features. I have the big Canon Rebel XT which I love but there are times when I dont want to lug all the camera equipment along with me. Its heavy and can be cumbersome in certain situations. I bought this camera for a steal! My Mom couldnt even believe what I paid for it. I cant even believe what I paid for it! LOL.

Right after I bought the camera I spilled something on my laptop and it stopped working. I bought my husband gelato since his surgery wouldnt let him eat normal foods. I decided to eat the remaining gelato in bed while I was on my computer and fell asleep causing a spillage to occur. Its fixed now with a new keyboard and a good cleaning of the insides. The tech told me that the spillage might cause problems to occur in the future but right now I cant afford a new computer. Hopefully this one with continue to work well. In the time being I need to learn how to back up info which I dont know how to do. Yeah, I know, pretty irresponsible of me.

I finished my Mom's scarf for Mother's Day. Here she is modeling it:


This past weekend I took a "Heel Options" class given by my LYS-Knitting Central and taught by the famous sock designer, Charlene Schurch. I learned a lot but it was an all day class and I was exhausted after it was over.

My son has been home sick since Tuesday with a killer viral/bacterial infection. We brought him to the Dr yesterday and got antibiotics. We started them yesterday after he spiked 105 fever. When my kids are sick they really dont fool around!

The puppy is still crazy and I will have some 'grown up' pics of him in the near future. He doesnt sit still enough to get a picture!

Anxiety Attack Avoided

I was able to be reunited with my computer yesterday evening and I am soooo happy I cant even put into words. I have a lot to write about including my daughters communion, Mother's Day, our new car, my husbands tonsillectomy, my latest haircut, my knitting class with Charlene Schurch, my newest camera (which I LOVE!), my son being sick as a dog and home from school the past 3 days and of course some finished knitting to show you. I was so lost without my laptop! I am sure many of you can totally relate. The tech that fixed it told me that I was extremely lucky with the spill that had occurred. They cleaned up what they could and then replaced my keyboard which at the time was totally F-ing up. The F keys wouldnt work and the numbers lock was glued shut. My husband said the gelato that spilled into the computer was the most expensive one we had ever had! LOL. He's to much. The tech didnt even know what gelato was when I told him what had spilled. He asked me what EXACTLY spilled and I had to be specific. He looked at me funny and in all seriousness said, " What the heck is Gelato??" Ugh, its a sherbert type of ice cream. So its like an Italian Ice but creamier. My computers favorite flavor is Limada ot Limade. It was spelled the Italian way so I cant remember what it was called exactly. I vowed never to eat or drink things that can harm the computer in the future. This was my first and last time I will do something so stupid. I wonder how common it is for this to happen to NORMAL people?

Hopefully I will be able to get some pics up within the next day or two. I have lots of stuff to do around the house and errands to run since my husband cant drive so please dont hold me to it. I will certainly try my best.

I'm Still Here

Its been a long time since I paid attention to my blog. There's a lot happening around here and I've neglected it, plain and simple. My daughter is receiving Communion in a few weeks so we are preparing for that. My dog just died and we got a new pup who demands a lot of attention. The weather has finally been warmer and we've been enjoying it. There are a million reasons why I haven't been here.

The kids have had the past week off for spring break and my husband has been using them to help fix things around the house and in the garden. I came home the other day to find my 5 year old son using the leaf blower. Good thing its an electric and not a gas powered one. My hair dryer is probably more powerful, LOL. Funny but true. Then the following day they fixed one of the steps that lead up to our house from the drive way. They got to help their Dad to mix the cement and make a mold for the step. It looks pretty good now and by doing it themselves and not having someone do it for us saved us a bunch of money. Even though the bag of cement wasn't cheap it probably still was cheaper. It pays to have a handy husband!

While they have been keeping busy with my husband and playing with the puppy I have been attempting to finish up the stitch markers that I am making for Woolgirl's Joe Cool Kit due to go out in May. She asked me if I would like to design a stitch marker for the club and I told her it would be an honor to do so. She sells some of my stitch markers in her online yarn shop. I cant wait to see how people like them. No secrets will be revealed here!

Speaking of Woolgirl, I received the first sock club shipment a couple of days ago and its fabulous! (Sorry no pics) She runs a fabulous sock club and the extras that she puts in the kits are awesome. Her sock club is right up there with Blue Moon's Rockin' Sock Club in my opinion, maybe even better because of all the little extras she puts in there. I haven't started the sock yet because I am currently working on the Rockin' Sock Club's March Kit, LEAFLING along with my LYS, Knitting Centrals January kit. I know I am a bit behind with the other clubs, even last years RSC but I promised myself that while trying to catch up with last years kits I will finish this years RSC kits first, before other clubs kits. Even though my LYS runs a fabulous sock club I dont think I am going to be joining again next year because its to much work to keep up and I do want to use up the sock yarn I have been accumulating over the past 2 years. I don't think I can ever use up all the sock yarn I have. Yup, there is a lot but I do think there are a lot of people who surpass me in that department. Plus, sock yarn doesn't count as stash. My Knit Picks order arrived the other day and I am in love with their Harmony Circs. I ordered the 2.25mm 40" and the 2.75mm 40" circs because Addi only makes 2.50mm and 3.00mm 40". Along with the circs I also got some yarn to dye with Kool Aid and some Felici which I started making a toe up sock with. Its very soft for a yarn with nylon in it. I am going to have to get more of that stuff (as soon as I use up what I bought). My Mom's Mother's Day gift is coming along but I cant really talk about it to much here.

I finally signed up for one of the classes my LYS is offering with Charlene Schurch. She is coming for two days to teach classes on sock design one day and heel design the next. I decided to take the heel one because I always change up the heels that are in a pattern. Knitting Central has been waiting over two years for her to come to teach a class. Charlene Schurch's books are my bibles for figuring the proper numbers and such to make a perfect sock.

One of the main reasons I haven't been around to write in my blog has been because of fear. I had my scheduled PET Scan a few days ago and am awaiting the results. The reason I am afraid of the results are because I have had a serious case of laryngitis the past 4-5 weeks. At first I though that maybe I was yelling to much and that was the reason for the loss of voice. Even with resting it and taking it easy my voice hasn't improved and every time I talk on the phone or to anyone they ask me if I have a cold or if I am sick. No, I am not sick and I don't have a cold. I wish it was that easy but I am afraid nothing is ever easy when it comes to my health. I think ultimately I have to see an ear, nose and throat surgeon. I happen to have a great one who has done surgery twice on me already. He removed my tonsils the first time and my thyroid the second. I think that maybe he is in a competition with my plastic surgeon to see who can do the most surgical procedures on me. No matter the winner would probably be my anesthesiologist. We are on a first name basis, even worse I call him by his nickname which is a shortened version of his last name. Yup, thats when you know you've had to many operations.

Pictures of something next time, I promise.

Me Against the World

Sometimes I feel this way, I really do. I can certainly say this about the recent events of the past 2 weeks or so. Who am I kidding? How about the past few YEARS. Some I spoke about in detail and some I've kept to myself. Its been a neverending series of shit that had gone on with our car being close to totalled by my husband avoiding a flying deer (came over the guys car in front of him headed straight for the windshield). Another surgery for me which by now you would think I have my own operating room named in my honor. The nurse that books surgeries for the orthopedic surgeon thats doing my hand surgery said the operating room nurse in charge of scheduling surgeries knew who I was when she called to schedule my carpal tunnel release. You can look at it as a good thing or as a bad thing I guess.

After Sunday's private hell (mine) I thought this week would be a nice one but of course it wasnt! My son was home on Monday with a bad chest cold and it has spred and morphed into a stomach virus/chest cold involving my daughter. She stayed home from school today and we had to make an emergency visit to the pediatric pulmonologist when she had an asthma attack which wasnt getting better with the usual medications. It was extremely stressful tring to get her to his office which is 35 minutes away and getting my son out of school early so I could take him with me. My Dad offered to come up to my house or meet us at the office but I was already running late and printing directions off of MapQuest so I didnt have time to give my Dad the directions and all that because it was getting later by the minute. We made it on time and I wasnt feeling so hot either so I hoped the exam would be a fast one.

Good news is that my daughters lungs were not as bad as I thought but the Dr said she has a very bad cold and maybe even the flu. I tend to agree with him about the flu because when she came home she proceeded to throw her guts up and also had a fever of 103.5. The pulmonologist wasnt so happy to see me either. He seemed to be a bit perturbed to be there seeing patients or maybe just my daughter. It was the first time I met him as my husband brought my daughter the first time she went to see him and also was the one to speak to him on the phone when she was having trouble breathing one night. Maybe it has something to do with me being a woman? I dont know. When he returned my call to get the story on what was happening with my daughter he asked what I did to treat her symptoms. I had done everything that he had written down in the asthma care plan and then some. He then decided to tell me that I was supposed to see him as a follow up to the initial visit which was a month ago and I hadnt done that (well then this is all my fault as usual!! I should have known!) I admitted to him I was wrong and apologized for not making the follow up appointment and that I was having issues with my health. I wasnt sure if my husband had told him what was going on with me medically so I went ahead and told him that I was a breast cancer survivor going through another surgery in a few weeks. I apologized again for not making the appointment but I also told him that she was doing well with the maintainance that he had her on initially and that I doubt he would have changed anything so we would still be in this situation whether or not I went for the follow up. On the way out I made a follow up for January. Sometimes I feel I spend all my time at Dr's offices whether or not they are my Dr's or the kids.

My Mom is coming up tomorrow to watch the kids while I attend my Starry Night Shawl Class. I wont be able to participate in the class but I will be able to learn how to finish the shawl. Jane Elliot is a wonderful teacher and funny too. They also have an all day class on Fair Isling with Nicky Epstein which I am sure would be an awesome class also if I had more days in the week! LOL. Then if my husband isnt to tired from working all day we are planning on seeing a movie. I want to see GONE BABY GONE or BEE MOVIE. The kids want to see BEE MOVIE so we cant really go without them. I am not sure what other movies are still playing now so I have to check out the schedule for the weekend movie line up.

Now, enough talking and time for some pictures!

My son in his schools Halloween Parade


My daughter as the Little Mermaid


The infamous birthday cake I spoke about in the previous post


Leaves & Stars Necklaces


Earth Flower Porcelain and Crystal Necklace


Oblong Topaz Crystal Necklace


Blue Stone Pendant Necklace (18Kt white Gold plated bail)


Stone and Swarovski Necklace


Seeing Red


Flowers Climbing a Vine of Crystal Necklace


Blown Glass and Swarovski Necklace


Amethyst, Colorado Topaz & Tanzanite Swarovski Crystal Necklace


Green and Crystal Necklace


Sodalite and Rose Quartz & Topaz Square Crystal Necklaces


Lampwork Glass with Fuscia Swarovski Crystals


I havent posted my handcrafted jewelry in such a long time but you can see that I have been busy. I try to make at least one thing a day but I havent been able to stick to that rule due to the pain I've been having in my hand. A little here and there and it adds up. Most of there pieces were actually made before the party I had at the end of October and I wasnt able to post them.

I am awaiting another sock club kit from WOOLGIRLS SOCK CLUB around the 14th of November and KNITTING CENTRAL'S SOCK CLUB at the end of this month. Who knows when I will catch up with all these socks I have to knit.

I was actually thinking about when I will be able to knit again after my surgery. The Dr had said I will be in a hard splint with my 4 fingers and thumb able to move. That doesnt help me with the answer to my question though. I do think that I will be able to crochet because it doesnt involve the 2 hands as much as knitting does. I am prepared with my crochet patterns (dishcloths & scarves) to maybe get some Christmas gifts made. In the time between now and my surgery I hope that I can stay healthy with all this illness around me. I had a chest cold a few weeks ago and had to take a Z-pack (Zithromax) just to clear up my lungs. I havent felt well for the past 4 days but I think its just a cold with a post nasal drip.

I almost forgot to talk about my favorite new products in the whole world. When I had waist length hair I used a product called OJON RESTORATIVE HAIR TREATMENT. I first heard about it on QVC and then of course ordered it from them. I LOVED THIS STUFF. It made my hair soft, shiny and the curls were incredible. I even gave some to my Mom to try and she also loved it. I used it up until the time I lost all of my hair to chemo and then put away the remaining half of a jar that I had left. I didnt even remember that I had it until a few weeks ago and I started using it again. Yesterday I stopped at Sephora to pick up some more because Iiterally had a drop of this stuff left which is definitelty not enough! To my surprise I found a bunch of new products being made by my beloved OJON. They have this stuff called ELASTIK and its used on all types of hair to relax it and take the frizz out. The great thing is that the main ingredient that does all this wonderful stuff comes from the rubber tree (I think) and they use all natural stuff to make hair healthier and there is even some OJON oil in it. They also have a new product called TAWAKA Ancient Tribal Rejuvenating Creme which is a part of their RARE HARVEST collection. You can use it all over your body including your hair. Last night I used both the OJON RT and the TAWAKA mixed together to coat my hair (as they suggest for a deep treatment) and all I have to say is WOW, WOW, WOW! Fabulous shine and softness beyond belief. I also blowdried it straight using the ELASTIK and not only did it get it straight a lot easier and quicker then I normally get it done but I was out in the drizzly rain today and ITS STILL STRAIGHT WITHOUT FRIZZ!! This stuff is fabulous and I even used it on my face last night and this morning under my make-up. I love it! You can read about it on:
www.ojon.com

The Pathology Report is in!

The phone rang the other day and it was the surgeon filling in for mine calling with my pathology report. He's a great Dr but speaks in a monotone voice so I thought at first that he had bad news for me. He started saying that the tumor wasnt a Schwannoma or a Neuroma like they first thought but something called a Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumor. These tumors are found in and around JOINTS such as the knee not in the location mine was in which was the sciatic nerve. Mine wasnt not next to or near the nerve but entangled in the nerve. So much so that they had to cut my sciatic nerve in 2 spots and re-attach it. HE then told me that the final report says that it was benign! Thank God! I was so worried about this tumor you have no idea. With my luck being the way it is I was prepared for just about anything and I was getting ready to go through all kinds of hellish treatment again. I am very happy with the pathology results but I am not happy with the pain I am experiencing with my leg. Since I had neuro surgery I not only get the surgical pain but nerve pain. I dont have to much nerve pain but it comes in waves and when I do get it I cant do a darn thing. I think I am going to need some type of PT to get my leg back into shape. I have an appointment for a follow up with the surgeon next week so I guess we will discuss it then. The staples that I have in my leg are really bothering me and they need to come out. I dont think I can wait until the end of next week so my DH is going to pick up a staple remover today when we swing by the hospital on our way to my cousins house. The ones on the end of my incsision are falling out anyway.

I hate to complain all the time but there are times I have to and I think with all the pain and discomfort I am having it makes it easier to complain about things. The things I do compain about are legitimate complains and for all I have been through I think it gives me the right to complain about whatever I want. The first complaint is that I cannot take another medical problem or surgery. My body needs a break. You definitely know that you have had enough when you sit down to fill out those forms before you take a test such as an MRI or CAT scan where they ask you your past medical and surgical history? You know those lovely forms I am speaking of right? Well, when there is not enough room on those to write all the surgeries, procedures, treatments and medical histories then you have got a problem. I almost want to write: "To many to write down, please see medical records", but you cant do that because the techs doing the test on you need to know certain things before the test is done. I almost ran out of ink and its so annoying to list them all. I wont even bore you with them here. I am just tired of it all.

Another problem that keeps bothering me is the situation with my sister. I havent spoken about it in a long time because I was ignoring it and not letting it get to me but lately with whats been going on its bothering me again. I want to write another letter to her but the 1st one I wrote didnt get me anywhere so I think it wont be worth the effort. The main things about this situation that bother me the most are:
~my Mom doesnt do anything about it and keeps saying that she's sick of what my sister is doing and how she's treating not only me but them. She's almost 30 and she is still at home and my Mom claims she cant speak to her because she is never home. Ugh, that never stopped her from telling me what was on her mind! How about putting a chain lock on the door or changing the lock so that she has to ring the bell and then she cant run when you have to open the door to let her in? Then you can say to her, "We need to talk right now" no matter what time of the day it is. If its a problem thats destroying relationships then isnt it worth doing something about? Its not even a matter of her acting like my sister again because I know that its not going to happen but in our family there were always consequences for our actions and if I ever treated anyone the way my sister has treated me and my kids then there would be hell to pay. It would never happen because my parents wouldnt allow me to do things like that so why do they allow my sister? My Mom says she has no control over her and shes right that she cant control her actions and how she treats people but she certainly doesnt have to accept it or put up with it. My sister is walking all over them and they are allowing it to happen, its their own fault. They need to present a united front and speak to her together. Tough love is what I say. Its not even tough love its treating others how you want to be treated so I say give her a dose of her own medicine.
~The other thing is that my parents keep giving her CHANCES. She doesnt deserve these chances. Why do they do this? My Mom said to me before my surgery, "I had it out with your sister (again!) and I told her that she has one last chance to make this right and to call you after your surgery". OK, first of all it would NOT make anything right by forcing her to call me or threatening her to call me after my surgery. God, do I feel loved now! Its so sincere when someone is forced to do something like that! NOT! Would it make all the things she did to me in the past go away if she did call me? Fat chance. What did my kids do to deserve this treatment? They ask me all the time about their Aunt and what am I supposed to say? At this age kids take all the blame on themselves when things go wrong. They think that everything is their fault and from what they have said to me about this situation they think that they did something wrong to make their Aunt not want to speak or play with them. Its sad that she is doing this to them and its even sadder that my parents wont do anything about it. My parents are being wimps with this situation and I have never had the luxury of getting away with murder when it came to them so I cant understand why they are doing it. Lets keep giving her chances that she doesnt even dererve! God that makes me so angry and it hurts like hell. In conclusion, my sister did not call me nor have I seen her since Christmas. Do I want to see her? No. Do I want an apology? That would be nice but its not going to happen. What do I want to happen in this situation? I want my parents to step up and be parents. I want them to show her that she cant treat people this way and have no consequences to her actions. Throw her out of your house and thats it. She'll either come to the realization that she is acting like an ass or she wont. The moral of the story is that if she does continue to act like an ass you dont want that type of person in your life anyway. No one has a realationship with her now so its not like they are going to be sacrificing it? I dont get it.

Now that I feel better getting that off my chest I'll talk about whats new in knitting news. I got my Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin Sock Club June Kit in the mail 2 days ago and I already am working on the pattern in the foot. I love it! Its such a great colorway and I promise to post pictures next time. They are all on my camera with the new yarn I received from my order to WoolGirl. On my way back from my post-surgery MRI on Friday I stopped at my LYS, Knitting Central, to pick up size 0 Addi Turbos for the sock because my other 0's are in use on my Tofutsies. I went through all my needles and I cant believe that I only had one size 0! I have about 5-6 size 1's and 2's but only one 0 (I do have DPN's in all sizes but rather make socks on the magic loop). It was unthinkable! So I made my 1st visit to KC since before my surgery. Everyone there was so happy to see me, asking how I was and all. I love that store because the employees are a joy and so kind and compassionate along with Cynthia, the owner. I wasnt able to attend my STARRY NIGHT SHAWL CLASS on the 21st because I was in way to much pain to sit for an extended period of time and concentrate on the shawl. I am going to attend the class in August and then the last one in September. That gives me plenty of time to get things done. One of the ladies from the class was in the store working on the shawl so I had a chance to see how it looked on the long circular. Its so beautiful! I hope mine will look like that when I get to that point. She made me a little nervous because I told her that I was putting a life line into the whole hexagon and all its stitches when the instructions say to put one in every 17 stitches. I didnt realize this until later on but I dont think its going to be an issue since I made the life line VERY long and can easily fix that. The important thing is that the hexagon is on a lifeline and later will be kitchnered to the other hexagons. If I need some assistance I am sure someone will help me and not leave me to dangle in the breeze.
The sweater I started for my cousin (who's birthday party I am going to later) is not going to be finished for today's party. No surprise there but it is going to be finished soon because its on size 11 needles. I am using one of my favorite yarns, Schaefer Elaine. Its such a beautiful colorway (Kermie) and I love the small percentage of elastic in the mix because it makes it a bit stretchy for baby to fit comfortably in. I am making it in a size 3 instead of the 2 like I had originally planned so he gets more wear out of it. My other little cousin's birthday is next month and I plan on making her the same sweater in "The Little Mermaid" colorway. I havent forgotten about the cabled tank top that I am making for myself from Berocco's Love It! yarn. I am almost done with the back and then will start the straps. Its such a nice yarn to work with that also has that bit of stretch to it. Maybe if I didnt have so many projects I would get done faster with some of them? Well, I like having different projects to work on and they do get done, just slower than most other people! I love working on my socks so I always have to have at least 4-5 in the works and I do get them done. Knitty has an awesome pattern out now for an anklet sock that I want to make so badly! One of the lovely ladies at my LYS made a pair out of Panda Cotton and its to die for! Its so soft and squishy! (Is that a word?). I picked up the Addis and also some of Claudia's Handpainted in Strawberry Latte (it looks like neopolitan ice cream) and Nashua's Bloom Book. I have wanted that book ever since I saw the completed sweater on the cover on a friends blog. Its baby's 1st Aran and its adorable! There are 14 designs for babies in the book and 2 of my Dr's are having babies in the fall so I thought it would be nice to have a nice choice of baby pattens to make for them.

Over the past few weeks I have had this itch to make an Afghan for my living room and my sons room. My DD has the afghan that my Mom made me when I was a little girl. Someday I will get a picture of it. Its 36 years old and holding up strong. I am sure it will last another 36 years. See, acrylic is good for something! LOL. I dont mind acrylic as long as its not scratchy. Caron Simply Soft and Red Heart Soft Yarn are two nice acrylic choices and recently I bought a ton of Lion Brand Cotton Ease which is 50 cotton and 50 acrylic. I am pouring over a ton of books such as: 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects & Ideas, 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans, 100 Afghans and 7 Day Afghans, just to name a few. So far I cant decide on what I want to do. I have ideas but the main thing is that I dont want to have to carry around a huge blanket in the summer heat. I am leaning toward doing a mitered square so I can just make a bunch of those which are totally portable and cool in the heat. The problem is I cant decide on whether to crochet it or knit it! I have such an itch to crochet but every time I have started to make a granny square I rip it up and put it away for another day. I am just not happy with what I am doing. I love the Log Cabin and the Mitered Square blankets in Mason-Dixon Knitting so thats another choice I can go with. Maybe there are to many choices? LOL

Other good news is that I might have someone who wants to carry my stitch markers in their online knitting/yarn store!! That would be fantabulous! I am mailing some out to her this week so wish me luck! I ordered from my favorite store again: Firemountaingems.com and I cant wait to get my stuff, which should be here on Monday. My DH bought me a beautiful set of jewelery tools to work with instead of the crappy ones I bought from the craft store. The cheap ones dont even compare to the HUSKY brand he bought me at HOME DEPOT. I should return those other ones because they pretty much dont work and I just bought them! I am also experimenting with polymer clay and having fun making all kinds of shapes and such. More surprises to come!

Gotta get ready to go to a BBQ now so off I go...
Happy Knitting!

More Waiting

On Tuesday I went to see the other neurosurgeon to see what he had to say about the tumor in my leg. He reviewed my MRI and did a full exam then told me that it has to be removed and he can do it. He also was nothing like the other ass of a Dr I had seen previously. Now I am just waiting for a surgery date which they are trying to get me next week because the Dr is going away the following week. Yesterday I had to go to the hospital to have an ultrasound of my leg and also have the ultrasound that was already planned for my GYN to take a look at my ovaries. I have a pelvic ultrasound every year just to keep an eye out for anything abnormal since I had breast cancer. The GYN called me today and said that the preliminary report was normal and she was waiting for the final to come in but didnt expect anything out of the norm. After I had the ultrasounds I had to stop at my GP's office to see if I could get an exam to be pre-certified for the surgery. Its funny because I never needed to do that before but since I turned 36 in April I need the authorization of my general practicioner before any surgery by another Dr. You couldnt believe what I had to do just to get a simple exam. Thinking about it makes my head hurt more than it already does so I'll just skip it and say I got it done. It took a few hours but I got my blood drawn, an EKG and an exam done yesterday. Now this morning the receptionist told me that she didnt think it was possible that I could have this surgery next week...but in the same sentence said that she would try. WHAT?? Is the whole world losing their minds? She said that she would call me this morning and its now 2pm. I am holding back from calling her because I dont want to be a pain in her behind.

Last night I was going to blog but after running around all day with all the stress I had a HUGE migraine and got into bed and into the fetal position. I couldnt even knit. The horror! Tonight I have my Starry Night Shawl class with Jane Elliot. I have all my supplies that I need to bring including the yarn which is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Heavyweight in Pink Granite, different size needles (3,4 and 5's) because I am not sure what size to use yet, and crochet hooks from size D to G. The main work on this shawl is done in DPN's and get this, 10 INCH DPN's!! These babies are weapons! I havent bought them yet because the class tonight is going to be deciding what size needles we are going to be using. There are 6 people in the class and I cant wait to see who they are and if I know anyone from previous classes.

Currently I am finishing up my BM socks because the next kit is going out June 18th so I have to finish these before I start June's kit. I also have a deadline on the sweater I am making for my cousin who is turning a year. His birthday party is the end of the month so I have some time. I bought 2 buttons to match the yarn perfectly because I dont think a one year old boy would appreciate ribbons on his sweater.

I am sure I'll have a lot to say about the class later on. I just hope that I dont miss any future classes due to my surgery. I have to speak to the teacher and see if there is any way I can make up a class if I happen to miss one.

Cool Socks! Warm Feet~The Lucy Neatby Experience

Well, I spoke about it before but I wanted to show you a picture of my new best friend:

He is a dream and does whatever I tell him to without complaint. All he asks is that I clean him up a bit after he's been around the dirtiest parts of my house. Not a bad trade off I think. Its the the Roomba Sage and you can read more about these awesome robots at www.irobot.com

This is a necklace that I made for Project Spectrum's April and May colors which are yellow, pink and green. This has two of those colors. I think I am going to give it to my grandmother for Mothers Day.


This is my daughter at her rainforest presentation. She had to tell everyone about the Harpy Eagle and then the audience had to guess what she was describing. Of course Mommy raised her hand to answer and all the other parents called me a cheater! What nerve! I really didnt know what animal she was doing because she wouldnt tell me. I really did guess. Who cares what the other parents think.


I never did finish my baby argyle socks but instead I made one into a sweater for a Steiff bear that I have had since I was a little girl. To much bad energy was going into this sock and I didnt want a baby having any of that bad energy. I am going to do them over but not now. I have another pattern thats similar except that the bottom of the foot is made in the round which eliminates the seam at the bottom. Sally did a wonderful job teaching the class, the problem was with me and the pattern not clicking in my head. Toward the end it did click but as I said there was to much toxic sock energy and it just wasnt meant to be.


This is the beginning of a Cabled Tank top in Knit Simple Magazine. I am using Berocco Love it and I am loving this yarn. Its a cotton, acrylic, poly blend. It has a wonderful give to it so it will fit nicely when worn (I hope! LOL).


The beginnings of my Blue Moon April sock. Its toe up with lace and the pattern is very difficult to do with the Addi circulars because its not sharp enough so I had to switch to my Knit Picks metal DPN's. These are VERY sharp and I am not having any issues now.


Today was the Lucy Neatby Cool Sock class and I cant tell you how much I learned! This is a "sock tree" where all her socks were displayed so I took a few pictures of them. They are gorgeous.


Here's Lucy teaching:


Hot Tamale Toes which is a pattern I bought and I absolutely love. Arent they cute? Look at those hot tamales!


Lucy and I:


Celestial Merino Sock Yarn which is Lucy's own brand specifically made for her. They are all handyed and the skeins are simply beautiful as you can see from these pictures.




I also have to mention that I purchased Lucy's DVD's which I watched last night. (Socks 1 & 2 and Knitting Essentials 1 & 2) Today I purchased Finesse Your Knitting 1. I cant say how wonderful these DVD's are because they are simply the best ones I have ever owned or seen ever and I am not just saying that. She demonstrates so many techniques that I never even knew existed. I have wanted to own these since I read about them in the Yarn Harlot's Blog months ago. I know its hard to see whats in a DVD to know if you want to buy it or not so go to www.lucyneatby.com where you can see the listing of whats on each DVD and see if you might like to own your own copy. You can also ask your local library to get them in so you can preview them for free before you decide to buy them.

On a totally different subject, I am watching the Discovery Channels show thats on now called LIVING WITH CANCER and its very good. The people that they are talking to have hit the nail on the head with how it feels to live every day in fear with it in the back of your mind that your cancer can return without warning. I have had such a hard time describing this to people and they just cant understand how I feel and I think that everyone should watch this show. There is going to be an encore performance on tomorrow night (Monday) at 8pm. Please watch it.

Crazy Week

Its been a crazy week for me. Last week I had a stomach virus and then starting this week I woke up with such a bad sore throat that I thought it was Strep. I used to get Strep all the time when I had tonsils so I know what it feels like and I felt sick all over. The infectious disease doctor that my DH is seeing told me to start taking honey in my tea. Now, there is a long story behind the honey so I will try to make it short. My DH's co-worker has an apiary and makes honey that he sells. We buy it from him by the gallon because its awesome in more ways than one. I use it in everything from the hair care product (CurlyBrunette's Shea it Ain't So! Leave in conditioner) I make that www.Naturallycurly.com sells to cooking with it and of course for use in my tea when I am sick. The Dr has done studies on this honey and believes that it can cure some infections due to its antimicrobial properties. I was on the verge of calling the Dr one night and my DH reminded me of the honey the Dr recommended. By the time I had 4 cups of herbal tea with the honey in it I stared feeling better. I did this for a couple of days and I was better. Either its a miracle, the honey or what I had was a viral infection and went away on its own. Whatever the reason I certainly am going to continue with the miracle honey in my diet! LOL.

Tomorrow is the big day and I am so excited about it. Lucy Neatby is teaching "Cool Socks" and I am in it!! I went to get my supplies today at Knitting Central and bought 4 of her DVD's. Sock Techniques 1 & 2 and Knitting Essentials 1 & 2. These are awesome just like the Yarn Harlot said. I watched a few minutes and already learned a new bind off and how to do a Bosnian Toe for a toe up sock. I highly recommend her DVD's. She has new ones out called Knitting Gems 1, 2, 3 & 4 but I didnt get those. I can always get them later on because there is enough on the ones I bought to keep me busy for a while. I have to remember to bring my camera with me tomorrow because Lucy brought all her samples of the gorgeous stuff she has made over the years and most of it, well all of it is VERY colorful. Thats what she is known for, her gorgeous intarsia techniques. Well I have to TRY and get to bed a bit earlier than usual (yeah right) because class starts early in the morning!

The Tide is High in CT

The tide is high in CT because of all the nasty rain we have had since last night with floods everywhere but also because I received my April Sock Kit from BMFA yesterday! It is appropriately named WALKING ON THE WILD TIDE. Here it is:

The colors are absolutely gorgeous and even more gorgeous after they were rolled on my ball winder. I am going to try and start them today if I feel better. I am much better than yesterday but still have a raging headache and fever.

This is the bag that I made my grandmother (crocheted) with Lion Brand Suede and some other Bernat sparkly novelty as trim.

This is the bracelet I made her also. In the spirit of Project Spectrum's April/May colors this qualifies.


The famous sock cake which was delicious!

How cute was that!!

I finished my BMFA Feb Socks which were Inside Out Socks in the Monsoon colorway on Tuesday. Just in the nick of time before receiving the April shippment yesterday. Its really hard to take a picture of your own feet! LOL


Here is my Chocolate Turtle (who is really a Giant Galapagos Tortoise that I bought at the Peabody Museum Gift shop) who is displaying what I have finished on my baby argyles which I am having issues with and will leave until I am well enough to deal with them.


Remember the yellow lace sock that I posted a pic of a while back? I consistantly tried it on as I progressed with it and it fit perfectly. Then when I finished with it the dang sock would not go over my heel! I realized that not only would it not go around my heel because it was to tight but it seemed to be tight all over. How can that be? Anyway I had my DD try it on and it fits her pretty well except for an inch or two in the toe area. I think in a year or so it will fit her foot perfectly and even if she wants to wear it as a slipper sock to bed she can do so next winter. I am in no rush to finish this sock right now so I just wanted to let my loyal readers know that I didnt forget about the lovely yellow lace sock.

Spring Break

My kids have had off this past week for Spring Break. We didnt go away even though we certainly need a vacation but took them to some interesting places instead. First we went to the Peabody Museum in New Haven which is also known as the Museum of Natural History. My DD was anxious to see the dinosaur bones moreso then my son. The whole place is being redone so its very dark and dusty in various places but overall the kids enjoyed themselves.


Tuesday night I had my Baby Argyle Sock Class.

This is not my sock but the wonderful knitter, Donna, sitting next to me. She is a very fast knitter and really good. I was struggling for some reason getting holes in between where the colors changed. I seem to have a problem with intarsia which is strange because I didnt have issues when I did the Fair Isle Hat. Its perplexing but I am going to continue to complete the homework before the next class on Tues. Sally, the teacher, offered to help me but we were unable to meet up so I e-mailed her and told her that I am going to pull some tricks out of my knitting bag and get it done.

The following day we met my Dad and his friend at the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium and had a great time. My favorite was the Sea Turtles.

Arent they cute? These guys are HUGE and its amazing to see them up close. They had a bunch of IMAX movies running but the only one we were able to see was the OCEAN WONDERS. Let me tell you, I have seen many IMAX movies and not one of them was bad. EVEREST was my all time favorite but this one was soooooo utterly boring I almost fell asleep. We all rode the Spongebob ride that they advertise on TV when they do ads for the aquarium. Thats one of those rides that stand still and the chair you are sitting in moves as you look at the screen in front of you. They have all these warnings for pregnant women and people who have back problems or heart issues and get motion sickness which made me very nervous. I decided to rise above my fear (sounds silly right?), pop an anti-anxiety pill under my tongue (haha!) and go on the ride with everyone else on line under the age of 7!! After all the hype it wasnt bad at all. I used to be able to ride all kinds of rides when I was in college but after my back surgery in 2003 I get very nervous when there are a ton of warnings posted outside a ride. My 4 year old son loved it the most. If a 4 year old can do it what the heck was I afraid of? LOL.

Yesterday I FINALLY mailed my DH's co-worker the baby kimono that I finished a few weeks ago. See, I do finish projects! It has some green in it because its BLUE SKY COTTON ORGANIC COTTON. That happens to be one of the colors for Project Spectrum for the months of Apr/May!


Last night we went to a dinner party that a Dr friend of my DH's has every year. The couple that I had made the pink Kimono for in December sat at the same table with us and couldnt stop thanking me for the beautiful hand knitted kimono I made. They even called it a kimono when they thanked me. It was so kind of them and it made me feel so good about making things for other people. Its one of the main reasons why I like to knit so much. The Yarn Harlot describes it perfectly in her new book that I finally got my hands on yesterday at Borders. It was the only copy on the shelf and I think I did a jig when I found it! LOL. I wanted to be able to read it before I go see her in May.


Tomorrow is my 36th birthday and my DH decided to give me my gift early. I was so surprised when I opened it up and found a new lens for my camera and a camera case! Not only is is a camera case but a small backpack case that holds the camera and all the paraphernalia that you use with it. There is room for the lenses, wires, batteries, instruction booklets and everything else you can think of. The lens he bought is a macro lens that you can zoom in big time with. I cant remember the exact type it is but I think its 75-300mm. I got some awesome pictures with it today.

This purple flower belongs to my neighbor who is an excellent gardener. I am so happy that spring has actually arrived so I took a few pictures that symbolized Spring to me.



These are Tibetan Prayer flags that are in my neighbors backyard. They are so pretty even though I dont know what they say!


This little Quaker Parrot was playing hide and seek with me. I took so many of him and his friend but this one was the cutest of them all.


Here is my Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock in the most gorgeous colors I have ever seen. Not pictured is the Tube Sock Kit which is cotton yarn in 3 different colors. I'll make a regular sock out of it because I am not a tube sock fan. Its a great sock for summer knitting. Right after I placed my order on April 8th they came out with a bunch of new colors. I was so tempted to call them and ask them to add some to my order but the sock club shippment is going out between the 23rd-25th so thats going to be enough for me for a while.


This is a picture of my DD. I took her by surprise and she didnt realize I was taking a picture of her. She was in the middle of eating lunch which explains the food in her mouth.