ShopVac

Well, mother nature in all of her glory has blessed our region with rain, rain, rain and more rain. Our basement is the recipient of a rather large portion of these gifts. Since Sunday, we have pumped out over 200 gallons of water, ripped out carpets, moved furniture and moped. It is still coming in. I am so sore. Not really from moving things, but from the shopvac activity. That has been my job. I finally figured out that the noise level could be reduced with ear plugs (how many years of education do I have?) and that if I stand at the bottom of the drainage area and vaccuum, I am likely to be more effective. I also came to understand one important problem with the shopvac. It was not designed by anyone that would ever use it. The thing is cumbersome, it falls apart everytime you have to move more than two feet, and is too short for all but the very small of us. Here is my solution: it should be redesigned to be ridden not pushed or pulled. The riding shopvac. What do you think? Can I retire early?

P.

Fun Places to Go

I was going through some rather recent photographs on my "thumb drive" and found this one. Husband and I went to the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis, IN this past July. It was hot, hot, hot. I am in the picture with the Loopy Ewe (you can find more information about him and vacations that he has participated in at http://www.loopyewe.com/). We had people seated quite snuggly against us and as I said, it was hot, hot, hot. Husband is a big F1 racing fan, so that is why we were there. Louis Hamilton won the race. It was very exciting even if we were dripping. On one of the breaks, I took my fold up chair down below the bleachers and finished up a lace shawl for my sister. I believe that I must have been the only attendee knitting lace (if not knitting period) that day. Racing is one of those things that I had no idea about until I met Husband. I enjoy watching him enjoying the race and recently realized that I am actually learning something about it.

Here are socks that I received at the end of May from a knit exchange pal that I hooked up with through yahoo. They are a perfect fit and I find that I wear them as often as I can. She did the socks in a toe-up fashion. The leg is in a k2, p1 rib. Very, very comfortable. The yarn is Sockotta (or something similar to that spelling). I found the yarn at Wisconsin Craft Market. Very reasonably priced. Since receiving these, I have made a second pair (slightly different color) with the same sort of pattern. I am looking forward to finding another sock exchange to be part of. Do you know of any? I have participated in 2 now and think that they are great fun.

I heard from Husband's sister today. His mother broke her rib and the discussions have begun about alternative living arrangements. Not a lot of choices, but hoepfully, this will add to the quality of her life.

P.

Transition

Husband and I were in MN this weekend visiting with his mother and other family members. We went because we received an email from his sister saying that his mother was down to 78 lbs. and was falling with regularity. Other family members were there. Lots of laughter and good eating was had by all, but underlying the weekend was the reality that in the very near future, a difficult coversation would be required. His mother can no longer stay on her own and does not want to live with a child. The county that she lives in does not have a middle ground, i.e., services available to help an elder stay in their home. What does a family do? Her ability to reason has been compromised due to malnutrition and the aging process. His sister is handling this with the aid of his mother's doctor. I have no doubt that at the end of the day, a good solution will be found, but the next several months will be difficult.


P.

Super Sockapalooza 4 Socks Received!!!

Look what I received from Dawn - my sockapalooza 4 pal....!! I came home from work last night and found this waiting for me. What a wonderful treat! The socks are so soft and fit perfectly and the treats were very yummy! The colorway of the sock yarn (Old Rose - Cherry Tree Hill) is made up of my favorite colors. Thank you, thank you Dawn!!

I went to Stitches Midwest last week for the first time. I am going to go next year. The classes were excellent and I was able to pick up 2 sweaters worth of an alpaca/wool blend at 25% off plus three skeins of STR yarn (no discount but really, really fun colors).

I continue to plug away at my KnitPicks socks. I couldn't in good faith "cut and run" because the sock will likely turn out ok. It is just not really fun to knit with. I am also working on a sweater from Knitting Pure and Simple that crosses over in the front. I am using a Knitpicks Merino sport weight wool in the charcoal colorway. I wear a fair amount of black during the winter so will likely wear this one quite often. The wool is very soft and the sweater is knitting up quickly. I think that I might knit this same sweater for my daughter. She is getting ready to have senior pictures taken. I am thinking something in a forrest green.

Speak with you soon. P.

Sockapalooza4!!!

I heard from my sock pal this morning! Yeah! Can't wait to see what was made for me!! Can't wait to learn who that person is!!

I visited my LYS this afternoon and purchased two Rowan books (Classic Style and Pure Wool). I am really looking forward to pouring through those patterns. I bought two skeins of Ultra Alpaca in my favorite color of all time --- pink! I plan on making the scarf in the Pure Wool book right away. Well, actually after I complete the Tilling the Soil vest from Amy E. Anderson. I have the trim to do and the clasps. I decided not to use buttons, but try clasps.

I am seriously considering frogging the KnitPicks socks that I am working on. I just don't like the way the yarn feels in my hands. It would be a waste. But, life is too short to waste on bad yarn.

It is very, very hot today. In fact, the weather forecast was "oppressive." Can you believe that? Thanks for the positive outlook Mr. Weatherman.

I am planning on posting some pictures this weekend of projects that I have been working on. Stay tuned. P.

Yarn Review

Hi,

Ever tried Knit Picks Dancing for Socks? I am working with some now and am not convinced. It took me a long time to find a stitch pattern that the yarn would work with. I found one in the More Sensational Socks book. I am using a 4 stitch pattern repeat that is a decorated cable.

I don't like the way that the yarn feels in my hands - it is a cotton, wool, elastic nylon blend. I am worried that it will be harsh on my feet. It kinks as I knit and is just plain strange. It was on sale. Now I think that I know why. I am interested in hearing what you think of it.

I just finished the Jaywalker pattern (see www.knitty.com) using Apple Laine's Apple Pie yarn. The yarn is L-O-V-E-L-Y to work with and the colors are beautiful. Go over to www.loopyewe.com to look for yourself. That's where I bought mine. I used the carnival colorway. It is soft and oh, so, fun.

I am also planning on finishing Amy E. Anderson's "Tilling the Soil" vest this weekend. It am using Cascade 220 in the Garnet colorway. The pattern is easy and fun. I wear a lot of vests throughout the winter, so am looking forward to adding this to my collection.

Did you finish your sockapalooza4 socks? I did! I put them plus other goodies in the mail yesterday. I am so looking forward to this exchange!

P.

Freedom (?) and the Spare Tire

Hi There,
My kids are teenagers. My oldest is 17, starting to think about college and drives. My youngest is 15 (soon to be 16) and does not have his license. I stayed home with my kids until my youngest was in kindergarten. I am like most moms, I suspect. My kids were born, but are still very much a part of me. They hurt - I hurt. They are happy - I am happy. Over the last few years, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I will soon be living in a house without kids. Empty nest, I guess. I think that I am doing pretty well in that department. My husband and I plan fun things to do. I have my knitting and my work to sink my teeth in to. But there has been this sneaking feeling of something not so good lurking around the corner. Last night, I felt first hand and came face to face with what that thing is.

I am no longer able to protect them.

When they were little and fell, I was usually around to help soften the blow. If I was lucky enough to reach out in time, I might even have been able to help them avert the fall entirely. Not any more. As I mentioned, my daughter drives. She and her friends were on their way home last night from Milwaukee and blew a tire. I received a call from her at about 9:30 pm. They were about 45 min. away from me. Her cell phone had died (she has a charger - but she left it in her room!!) so she was on a friend's phone. I got up to go get them immediately. One of the other kids' parents got there first. They were ok and a spare tire was installed. Everyone went on their way. Crisis with the potential to be really big, was handled well and no one was hurt. But it really made me think. Before she called, I was watching a movie, knitting, enjoying the time to myself and thinking that I had a handle on this empty nest thing. Life could be really fun and a whole new chapter was before me. Then the call and the realization that I have no way to see to it that they stay safe.

How do I balance this?

I am reminding myself today that although I can't be there to catch them, they do have all of the lessons that their dad and I tried to teach them. Maybe they were listening. Maybe not. But I can't stand in the way of their growing independence because I am afraid of what that might bring for them. For me. My role with them is changing about as fast as ever. I need to get up to speed. Freedom is an inalienable right.

P.