Needle Tart

Thanksgiving Through the Centuries

2009-12-02T14:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry there are no pictures to post for this, you will just have to accept the words. We went to YSS's house for the holiday and we were truly traveling through the centuries.
1600s - The boys sat on a bench from about 1640 for Thanksgiving dinner. We had the traditional 20th century meal with lots and lots of mashed potatoes for YS. He even got to bring home some of the leftovers.
1700s - YSS's family lives in a log cabin from around 1740. It has been enlarged and modernized through the years, but her father restores antique buildings and when he doesn't have any other work, he tears out the "improvements" and puts things back the way they were (well, more or less. He can use old methods, but some supplies, like really old trees that make wide boards, are hard to come by). There is a nice modern bathroom, but he says there's an outhouse if we want to use it. Ha.
1800s - The Husband and I slept in a bed from 1820. Imagine my surprise when I noticed the rope "springs". The Husband found it very comfortable as he likes a firm (very firm) bed. It was a bit challenging for me, because beds in those days were only five and a half to six feet long. As we've heard before, I am six feet tall. I woke up a few times with my feet through the spindles at the foot of the bed.
1900s - Traditional meal from the last century. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, sweet potatoes, the traditional green bean casserole. We would have had pumpkin or apple pie but we were all too full.
2000s - After dinner YSS's sister got out her laptop (with DSL connection) and made a plan for black Friday shopping.

Where's the New Post?

2009-11-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

OK, so apparently blogger takes Part 2 seriously. Really seroiusly. I posted an new update on the summer (with lots and lots of pictures) and blogger loaded it under the pictures of the trees. If you are looking for a new post from me scroll down!

Summer Vacation, Part Two

2009-10-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

So I think you all got that I didn't get any re-decorating done. I didn't even get the woodwork scraped and ready to refinish, but I did get about half of the wallpaper border taken down in Elder Son's room. Yay me!

Before I get to the summer knitting report, I promised a picture of the tallis I made (yipes!) last October. Here is the Bar Mitzvah boy holding it up so you can see most of the stars. There are four large stars representing his parents and his maternal grandparents (the Jewish side), eighteen medium stars for life and thirty-six small stars for double life (c'hai in Hebrew, I could explain how each Hebrew letter has a numerical equivlent and why, but that would take a whole 'nother posting). The band across the top has the prayer he says just before he puts on the tallis. Hand embroidered

These are my roulette socks. As you can see I got a few extra things. The knit towel just matches my bathroom (that I redid eight years ago). The tiny sock blocker is hanging on my purse and the second sock has been knit. Sadly, I finished it in June and it was too warm to wear wool socks. With October here, it won't be long before I need them.

OK, on to the summer knitting list:

I finished one or two things, but not everything. Not by a long shot! I did, however, dye yarn!!! Whee!!! Early in the summer, youngest niece and I took a dying class in Nazareth PA (Kraemer Yarns). We had lots of fun and both came home with two skeins of colorful yarn. One of mine went to Amy Lane with greens (for Green), grey (for Bracken), and sunshine yellow (for Corey). She has promised to post a picture, so I won't bore you (hint, hint). These are yarns I died in the back yard at the end of summer. Youngest Niece sent me a kit and yarn blank for my birthday last year and I finally got around to using it. After I had dyed all the blanks I had, I had some dye left over and went hunting through the house for some KnitPicks' bare yarn. That's the rainbow colored stuff on the end. I think that is my favorite. It is in light worsted weight so maybe a scarf?

This is the Warm Shawl by Veronik Avery. I must have picked up that book six or seven times before I finally made the commitment. It is knit from KnitPicks Elegance (have you picked up that I use a lot of KnitPick's yarn? Good price, reasonable quality, and they have that "spend $50 and we'll ship for free" thing going). Any way, back to the shawl. I have worn it to services a few times and been so warm I needed to hang it over the pew in front of me. Youngest Great Nephew took a short (very short, he's pretty active) nap on it. So, nice and warm. Hella impressive and really soft. I can see this getting a lot of wear over the winter. Warning: There is an error in the lace edging chart check Ravelry for erratta before you knit this.

This is Elder-Great-Nephew's Steggie. Knit with Vanna White's acrylic. Shhh! I know it's not really harder to take care of wool (then again something that can be thrown in the washer seems to get washed earlier than something that has to be washed by hand, but I digress....), but I want him to wear it to death before he grows out of the dinosaur phase. Everyone at school loved it, to the tune of "can you make one for me?" Ha. It was fun to knit with no errors in the pattern. I think I switched needle sized between the body and the hood but that will just keep his ears warmer. Right?

Well, there you go. That was most of the summer yarn goodness. Next time (well, maybe) the crafty, social, other summer projects. Happy Veteran's Day.

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes unto the Hills.....

2009-10-13T14:42:00.001-07:00

While I build up the posts about my summer list (many, many pictures...) I thought I might show you one of the big reasons I like where I live.

These are all views I enjoy when I take a walk around my neighborhood. Today, I share them with you. Happy October from Pennsylvania.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation - Part 1

2009-10-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's October, but I've finally got some free time and a whole lot o catching up to do.
Every spring, before school lets out, I make a list of the things I would like to accomplish with all the free time ahead of me. This year's list?
House
Re-decorate Elder Son's room and make it our bedroom
Re-decorate our room and make it the new sewing room
Re-decorate the sewing room and make it a TV/guest room

Sadly, due to the whole boom, poof (when the bedroom ceiling fell down?) we had to table the redecorating until we could get a contractor to remover the present ceiling, clean the joists (?) to be sure there is no mold growing, insert insulation, apply dry wall to new ceiling, sand floor, and repair the closet. Now that it's October, The Husband has promised to get on with it.

Knitting/Yarn
Sweater for a friend (promised who knows how many years back)
Nona Shawl (KnitPicks kit)
Steggie sweater for great nephew
Lace Shawl for me!
Warm Shawl from Knitting Classic Style
Another Fish Hat for someone....
Afghan for DIL to be
Dye yarn blanks

Sewing
Eldest niece's wedding quilt (They have a six-year-old child, I really need to get on this!)
Youngest niece's quilt (Four-year-old, and don't think I don't hear about it)
New Duvet cover for our newly decorated bedroom
Snowman embroidery I've been working on for years, years I tell you.
Cat embroidery, ditto
Doll for Great Niece
Tote bag from dragonfly materiel

Gardening
Mulch Lavender and Roses
The Husband's Zen garden
Plant annuals in the corner garden
Make Lavender Vinegar

Craft
Refinish Oak Desk
Refinish Oak Bookcase
Refinish Dressing Table
Refinish Oak Chair
Refinish armoire

Miscellaneous
Finish all the books in my book box
Take a trip
Lose twenty pounds
Swim three times a week
Digitize all my Ed Ames Albums

Well, that was this summer's list. Next time I will let you know how things worked out and even post some pictures. Now, where's that gift list for the winter holidays?

Thrown Off Lime and Violet

2009-09-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, not thrown off, just Miss Violet herself suggested that I should go listen to something less edgy if I couldn't deal with the last two episodes (and she called me "sweets" Humph.). In case you don't listen to Lime and Violet (beware: the page that pops up may not BSFW), the last two episodes were light on the whimsy and knitting and heavy on the (IMO) smut. Now, I like a dirty joke as well as the next mildly repressed person, but I always perfer content and maybe some context. Flashing the UPS man? Funny and related to the dye shipments. Excising the guest speaker's penis? Not so much. Lime's stripper pole? Interesting and related to the re-decorating. Miss Violet's Gay's pierced nipples? Ouchies. If they ever get out of the porn shop (a place I would love to visit, but hate to be seen in, giggling is so unattractive in a women of my advanced years) and back to fun and whimsey (loved the letterboxing posts) let me know. Thanks.

Later That Evening....

2009-08-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

We still have the bat with us. He is currently hiding behind one of the cupboards in the kitchen. I closed the pocket doors in the living room and we have isolated the kitchen as much as possible..... The Husband said he thinks it just flew out. Let us be truly thankful.

Is It Halloween Already?

2009-08-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I was hot and tired so I retired to the bedroom two hours earlier than usual. I snuggled into the cool cotton sheets and enjoyed the breezes from three different fans. I had taken my current book with me (She Shoots to Conquer a good read and fun, too). Apparently I was really tired and fell asleep with the book in my hand and my glasses still on. The Husband came up and was getting ready for his shower. He took the book and glasses and put them in a nice safe place, turned out the light and went off to shower. Some time later, I don't know how long, I was awakened by the sound of something fluttering in our bedroom. EEK! A bat. I screamed, The Husband came and did his manly duty by escorting the vermin out with a broom. Peace was restored.
I decided that I didn't want to fall asleep until he was finished with his shower and there to protect me so I went back to my book. Sure enough about twenty minutes later (little did I know The Husband was trying to finish his book (P. D. James, but I don't know which one)) I looked up and there was either the same bat or one of his little friends circling the ceiling. Screaming ensued. As did turning on all the lights in the house, taking the screen out of the window and opening it, and the front door WIDE, getting dressed (in the hall, thank you very much) and ducking. Eventually we herded the little fellow out in the hall and we hope he made it out of the open door. I really hope he didn't just find a nice dark bookshelf to hide in until tonight....

Random Sunday

2009-07-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Someday I will have pictures of what's up with the knitting. I finished my Roulette sock and am currently waiting for some sizing info on the second Roulette sock (for Sue in Oz). I have wonderful yarn for her, all shades of purple with actual silver spun in. Whee!! Can't wait to start knitting.
Also finished the Warm Shawl by Veronik Avery. It's wonderful. Soft as a kitten and should go with a lot of my wardrobe. It's been cool enough around here to wear it.
I started an Aran cardigan for a friend's husband. She asked me to knit it a while ago and provided the yarn. It's Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Sapphire Heather. Not only is the yarn fun to knit with (all the marvelous shades of blue) but I am designing it as I go. Living on the edge......
Big News!! Younger Son proposed to his Sweetie and she accepted. I've always wanted a daughter. Hee. They came by last week and we took them out to celebrate. The wedding won't be for a few years as they both want to get advanced degrees before the wedding. Gives me more time to lose some weight. Speaking of...
My summer goal was to lose twenty pounds. I was doing really well. Had lost 12 pounds. One day The Husband comes downstairs and says, "I think we need a new scale. It shows that I've lost 15 pounds and I know that's not right."
Bought new scales. Weighed self. I had gained eight pounds. Argghhh!

Aunt Barney Rides Again

2009-06-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

As you may remember, I was headed East to take a knitting class with Youngest Niece. Her Little Guy was all excited to see me, as you can see. He's three and is still working on pronunciation. Therefore, Aunt Barney. Thank G-d I didn't wear purple (and I hate that song).
The whole reason for the trip was to take a knitting class (or three) from Annie Modisett. Now, I have been knitting since I was four. That's more that 50 years. I learned a few new tricks. Whee.
Wednesday night we knit with wire. Not something I will do a lot of, but we all learned that some 26 gauge wire is thicker than others. Naturally, I had chosen a thicker one. YN chose a thinner one and her sample was gorgeous. Annie gave each of us a spool of the kind of wire she uses and I will definitely be trying again with that one.

Thursday morning we learned a new/old way to knit. It is the way I used to knit until Aunt Grace told me I was doing it wrong. Yes, it makes a beautiful stitch. Yes, it's familiar to me. No, I won't be using that method. Julie asked some of her readers to knit an afghan square for a good cause and I tried the new/old way. It took twice as long and my hands really hurt from tightening up my knit stitches. The pattern is from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. I've always wanted to knit this castle and now I had a reason.

Thursday afternoon we tried out some new decorative details. The i-cord bobble was worth the cost of all the classes. Wow, what a great way to bobble. Makes me almost not hate them. We also learned to make dreads, horizontal i-cord and some spiffy bind offs.

Before I left home I finished the Kai Mei socks from Cookie A's new book. They were really fun to knit. YN says she might not knit them because the lacy part won't show in your shoes. I don't care I just wanted to try them.
Friday, before I headed home we went to a yarn shop in Nazareth PA. I bought some yarn spun and dyed in Pa and some yarn with possum spun along with the wool. Lime and Violet were talking about it and I just had to have it. Now, if I knit a scarf from it will I have to play dead when someone scares me?

Drive-by Blogging

2009-05-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

Hi! Well, the last time I posted I gave a few reasons why I might be a little busy. Have you heard that Mercury is in retrograde? Since the last post the art teacher at my school has become gravely ill (nice thoughts should be directed to Ann in Tyrone) and, as I am the one sub who gets along with her and can follow her (somewhat wandering) lesson plans, I am in charge of art for the rest of the year (which means I write the lesson plans for myself and my sub because the regular teacher is too sick, and I prepare all the supplies for classes, I organize the end of the year return of projects and get as much as possible ready for the art show). Naturally, just before this I volunteered to bake dessert for the entire congregation at the Rabbi's last service before she goes off to do her summer thing, and I signed up and paid for Annie Modisett's classes in Stroudsburg, Pa. Now, the wonderful secretary will not let me give up these two events. I stayed at school until 5pm last night to get some things ready for the annual art show. The head of the arts department went to the principal, who asked the Superintendent if I could get some over-time pay to cover all the work that needed to be done for the end of the year. Wanna guess what he said? Go on, but remember he's a member of the administration and I'm a lowly sub. Yup, no pay beyond my measly $75 a day. Therefore and hence, the other subs, the secretary and the teachers will not let me stay past three o'clock. The Husband keeps trying to get me to switch school districts (which would mean new clearances and learning all new names). The pay is just a tad higher but I like it where I am as long as I stay away from admin.
In knitting, I am working away on the shawl, I'm on row 291 out of 483 of the garter stitch center. That's all good, I'm too fried to knit complicated. That said, I finished the right sock of Cookie A's kai-mei socks and I'm at the heel of the second. Thank G-d we have a three-day weekend. I'm planning a movie, a picnic, and a whole lot of knitting. And you?

Random Saturday

2009-05-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

Ohh!! This morning as I was painting a large beige swatch on Elder Son's wall (he moved out, I need a bedroom with a ceiling that stays on the ceiling) and The Husband called up the stairs as he was leaving to pick up his newspapers, "Yarny Goodness had arrived!"
Reader, I stretched out the anticipation through cleaning the paint brush, showering, dressing and styling my hair. Then I opened the box. Whee! Yarn enough for four shawls, two pairs of socks and the accents for a felted snowman, and a book, Sally Melville's Mother-Daughter Knits. Then we went to State College to shop a bit (no yarn shop for some reason but we did go to a grocery store). When we got home I made the copy of the shawl instructions ("Warm Shawl" from Knitting Classic Style ((look at the "more images" and it is on the second page at the bottom left) and swatched until I got close to the gauge (Hey it's a shawl, how close do I have to be?) and was all set to do just a few rows (I promise..honest...) and I couldn't find any crochet cotton, whose only purpose in life is to use for provisional cast ons (Wait! I think I know where it might be!!) Found it! Guess what I'll be doing this evening? Ironing. Yeah....

Elder Son was home last weekend to celebrate his 24th birthday. Favorite part of the weekend? "Son, I need your help. I tried to join a social network and they wouldn't accept my e-mail address. (So far he is kind and attentive to the old lady and the computer) Just how do you sign up for Facebook?" If only I had had my camera. Oddly enough Younger Son had the same look on his face. Heh. But, still not on Facebook.

I finished a pair of Mock Wave Cable socks for The Husband (it was our anniversary). I can't remember which book I copied the pattern from, but I think it was a Nancy Bush (and yes, I own the book). I knit them from Knitpicks essential kettle dyed sock yarn. They are the gold color. It looked a lot yellower on the site but he likes them so it's all good.

Last week we were sitting in the teacher's lounge having lunch. Does anyone remember the days when the kids took the drugs? We spent most of our measley half hour discussing the merits of Atavain versus Prosac. It must be spring.

Wednesday the secretary who schedules subs called and The Husband answered. "Your mistress wants to talk to you," said he.
"That had better be the one with the whip........Wait, that's not right........" I replied.

We are slowly clearing Elder Son's room and working on a design aesthetic The Husband and I can agree on. There's an old "oriental" rug in the attic and he wants the walls to be blue. That's as far as we've gotten. Oh yeah, and I'm not allowed to paint the furniture white. YSS had offered to take the dresser (huge with a lovely mirror, but not big enough for all The Husband's clothes), and we may have to rent a storage space for ES's stuff that will not fit in his one-bedroom apartment. If you don't hear from me for a while it's because we are scraping, sanding or re-glazing (the windows are huge, I'm a little nervous about using the heat gun to strip off all the old gunk). And then there's that new ceiling to arrange for the craft room (we've always called it the sewing room but I will have space for a desk to do all that rubber stamping that's spread over the house, and the sculpy clay projects, and .....).

Next weekend YSS will graduate from college. Next fall she heads off to graduate school. Wishing her luck and happiness and that we will get to see her once in a while.

Now, where's that crochet hook?

So That's What Happened

2009-04-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

We had a board meeting shortly after the Boom, Poof event and the president of the board asked what had caused the ceiling to fall. Perhaps I have been listening to Lime and Violet too much but the answer that sprang to mind (and lips) was, "Trapeze."

Boom! Poof!

2009-04-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

Luckily the principal canceled some meetings this week and I got two days back (the meetings are postponed to next week, but that makes the work schedule survivable). I say "luckily" because The Husband and I were chatting after dinner on Monday when we heard "Boom!" from our bedroom. As we were not in the room at the time we dashed up to see what had fallen. A piece of our ceiling (say 2 feet by 2 feet, or 70 cm by 70 cm) had fallen just about where I sleep. Now we live in an old house. Funny thing about old houses, when you start to pull off(or lose pieces of) the walls and ceilings there is a lot of black mold, dust, or something behind them. When the piece fell it hit the bedpost and broke into many pieces. The "Poof" is the only rendering I can use to describe the black powder flying all over (all over) the room. I had a pile of sweaters next to the bed waiting to be washed and stored away for the winter (it's still cold enough here for and occasional light cashmere sweater). Well, they'll be washed now.
The Husband took the bedding to the laundromat and I proceeded to wipe down and sort out the room. Our bed wasn't ready until two in the morning. Good thing I didn't have to work.

Survivor

2009-04-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

No, no. Nothing about the health (thanks for that momentary panic, though). Yesterday was the last day of Passover. It was an ....interesting holiday this year. Both of the boys and their sweeties made it to first Seder. Good people, but one of the worst meals I've cooked in a looong time. I tried to keep the asparagus warm. Did you know it will turn to green slime if you keep it in a 200 degree oven while you read through the Haggadah? And the potato kugel, well, it wasn't really crisp and brown, more just slightly charred. At least dessert was good, Chocolate ice cream roll with raspberry sauce. The granola came out well this year, too. I made bunches of the American style (since that's what the boys like, it has maple syrup, dried blueberries and dried cranberries. This year I added some dried pears since I had a lot left from the tree). Best thing I did this year was to type up the Gordon Family Haggadah*. For years we have switched around among three or four Haggadot** and it really bugged me. So Tuesday I sat down with a list and seven Haggadot and wrote down the parts we actually do in out family (no hand washing, it is assumed you did that before you sat down to eat). The second night of Passover we went to a community Seder and at the end, The Husband turned to me and said, "After hearing what he (the head of the ritual committee)did, your Haggadah isn't so bad." Seriously, he thinks it was a compliment.
On the knitting front I finished the Noro two row scarf Amy sent the yarn for, bought some Lion Brand Acrylic to knit a Steggie sweater for one of the great nephews and have been plugging along on some socks for The Husband and a pair from Cookie A's new sock book. Have you seen it? Don't just sit there, go find it. It starts with how to design socks and then give a bunch of must-knit patterns. We all knew she had it in her, I'm just glad she got it down on paper.
Next week will officially be the week from hell. We are hosting the Rabbi this weekend (driving about and making sure she is fed at appropriate times, also means we have to attend almost every event at the Temple), Sunday school (teaching 7-year-olds about the Holocaust, Yay). Subbing Monday through Friday, Monday night is Holocaust Remembrance Day, Wednesday is a board meeting, Thursday is training for Proctoring an advanced degree board test, Saturday we have to get up at 4 am (4 AM!!!!) to be at the exam and Sunday I'm back at Sunday School. In other words, I will be either working or sleeping next week. At least I should loose a few pounds as there doesn't seem to be any time for cooking.
See you in May. If I survive.

*Haggadah - The book that tells the story of Passover. It can run from 10 pages to 200 depending on the amount of Hebrew and details. The Gordon one runs 17 pages, with no illustrations (at least this year).
**Haggadot - Plural of the above.

Only For Amy...

2009-04-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

Would I post again so soon. She has a little meme and it's been bugging me all day os here goes:
1. If you could be eating anything at this very moment, what would you be stuffing your face with?
This was a tough one. Creme Brulee? Grilled three-cheese sandwich with fresh tomatoes and basil on sourdough? Wait, I know! An ATC. Avocado, turkey, and cheese on sourdough bread. Preferably in San Diego where it's swimming weather all the time.
2. If you could warp the space time continuum and start and finish a project in an hour, what would it be (and what color would it be?)
Hmmm. The aran sweater I promised to design and knit for a friend a while back. It's a beautiful (yet manly) heathery blue. I started it in 2008, but ran into some gauge and fit issues. New measurements are just waiting for some cable designing.
3. What was the weirdest thing to happen to you all day?
The Husband wanted to call the school where I work (and he sometimes helps out) and see if he was really needed tomorrow. I said no and when we got home from the Pesach shopping there was a message from the secretary telling him he could have the day off.
4. What was the funniest thing someone said to you today?
The Husband said, "Mmmmmmm, Dangly bits!"
I said, "What!?"
He explained, "The earrings, the earrings!"
5. What was today's songworm?
Ma Nishtana, Passover is getting closer.
6. What was the thing you did today you were proudest of?
Changed all four perpetual calendars and it's still the first.
7. What was the dumbest thing you did today?
Ordered iced tea at Subway. It only comes pre-sweetened and flavored. What a waste of caffeine.
8. What was the most same ol' same ol'?
The house still needs to be cleaned for Pesach and the quilts still aren't done.
9. What was the best thing about your region today?
Driving through the clouds to get to the grocery store.
10. What color was your day, and would you knit a project with it?
Weatherwise, kind of an ugly grey. And no.
Your turn.

Book Review Ahead

2009-03-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

Last week was PSSA week (the annual testing of the students) and the subs who help the support students spent a lot of time sitting in the secretary's office checking the tests and yakking. As a result we exchanged a bunch of books and here are two I read:
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Not the sort of book I usually choose to read, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. A young white girl in the American south (who had a traumatic baby-hood) runs away from home in 1967 and wind up living with a family of black bee keepers. I won't give you any more of the plot, but it was definitely a good read.
Twilight by Stephani Meyer
Many of you have already read this and seemed to enjoy it. Just one question. Why? I made it to page 275 out of 500 and just couldn't go on. The girl's character never developed. She's all "Why would I be special? I'm so clumsy and he's a god!!!!" and the vampire? Yecchh! All brooding beauty but no show of brains or developed character. One of the subs only made it to page 20 and gave up because it's a vampire story. I happen to lurve me some bloodsuckers so I hung in there. If you want vampires, try Vulnerable, or P.N. Elrod, Sookie Stackhouse and friends. Now those vampires have character. Whee!
On the health front, it appears I never did have asthma. I survived the heart tests and Dr. says there's no problem there. Now we're working on the theory that I am super allergic (There's something to measure in one's blood. The normal count is around 45 and mine ran 472. Hmmm) and have anxiety attacks tied to hormonal flux. What fun as I just turned 54 and you know what that means......

Who Was That Man?

2009-03-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

So last Sunday I forgot to take the fabulous lesson plan I had written. I took the four canvas bags, the box and the kitty litter (we were archaeologists at Masada) but no lesson plan. I called The Husband and he agreed to bring it over. After he had dropped off the plans and given me a peck on the cheek he went out the door. One of my seven-year-old students looked up at me and asked, "So, was that, like, your dad?" Heh.

Update

2009-03-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

I went to see the New Doctor on Tuesday. His take on the breathing problems is maybe, just maybe I was mis-diagnosed all those years ago, so let's take a look and see if there is something else causing the breathing problems. Interesting idea, no?
So far he has put me on his basic asthma regime (cause it sort of sounds like asthma, but seems I should be improving and I'm not) and also let's really treat my acid reflux. This means stronger meds than I have been on before, and no alcohol, no caffeine, no tomato products (ketchup, spaghetti sauce, tomato soup, etc) and no chocolate. Wait, what was that last one? Nooooooo........

Books and Things

2009-03-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

I had a slight relapse (the school nurse sent me home) and have spent the last week or so just sitting around knitting and reading. Since Julie posted her list of thirty books The Husband and I kicked around a few offerings.
These are the thirty books or authors we would recommend:
1. The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
If you have ever pulled the "push" door this will help you understand why and who to curse.
2. Joan Hess
Pick a mystery. These people are nuts and that is what makes them fun.
3. Lois McMaster Boujold
The "Miles" series is mind opening and the "Sharing Knife" series is good old romance.
4. P.D. James
Mysteries for intellectual snobs (and really good reads)
5. The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
The Husband recommends this (I hardly remember it)
6. Connie Willis
Anything she writes is fascinating. From an explanation for the black plague to revisionist history.
7. Cresent Dragonwagon
Wonderful cookbooks. She started with a soup book and has written a huge vegetarian book that covers just about anything you want to cook.
8. Mark Bitman
How cooking works and how to get the best food from the least work.
9. Bernard Malamud The Assistant
Another of The Husband's books
10. Moosewood Collective cookbooks
One of the book groups I turn to when I want to make something "different" Lots of multi-cultural foods, mainly vegetarian.
11. Madia Heater
Any dessert you want. Her chocolate cakes are wonderful, and you will need them if you read:
12. Frank Tallis
The Vienna mysteries. All set in early 20th centuray Vienna. Lots of visiting coffee houses and having a little snack.
13. John Allen Gardner
Science Fiction centering on the disposable of society.
14. Alexandre Dumas
Drama, Lost love, Looonnnggg books.
15. Asimov
He may not have been a good example of how to live your life, but he sure could write.
16. Sandra Boynton
Sing it with me, The Cow says moo, the sheep says baa, three singing pigs say La La La.......
17. Jack Kerouac
Another of The Husband's choices (Seriously, is anything written in the 20th century literature? or is it all concept no content?)
18. Conan Doyle
Classic. Everyone should read it.
19. P. N. Elrod
Vampire mysteries set during prohabition.
20. Amy Lane
More vampires, new worlds, just read them already.
21. Sarah Paretsjy
More mysteries. Modern day.
22. Leonard Wolfe
The Husband would like to recommend his auto-biography.
23. Michael Holroyd
The Husband says Holroyd's biographies of George Bernard Shaw and Agustus John are worth reading.
24. Donna Andrews
Hysterically funny mysteries. I wish my family was like this. Then again, maybe not.
25. Lyndsey Davis
Sam Spade in ancient Rome
26. The Ethical Assassin by David Liss
27. Carl Hiaasen
Sort of mysteries set in modern Florida. Hiaasen has strong feelings about what progress has done to his home state.
28. Dorothy Dunnet
Read the Lymond chronicles and you will know a bunch about the 1500s (I got an A in world just by filling the blue book with the plots)
29. Mark Twain
30. Herman Hess
The Husband recommends.
31. Rose Levy Beranbaum
Want to bake something? Use any one of her "Bibles"
32. Patricia O'Toole
The Husband recommends her biography of Henry Adams
33. John Keegan
Military History from The Husband (this will make going to movies more challenging. "That's not the right plane.")
There you have our list. You may remember that I had a box with 65 books in it to read this year? I just counted, there are 62 left. Someone is adding books.....

Air Is Good!

2009-02-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

The lungs are working better now. I will be seeing a pulmonologist soon and we hope to go another eight years without troubles. Well, more, really, but let's not ask for too much.

While I have been waiting for air I have worked on a few things (knitting may be the new yoga, but it's not aerobic)

These are a pair of socks I started ages ago. They are from Knitpicks Essential Colorway: Blue Voilet Multi. They have a twisted stitch rib running all the way to the toes. Sadly, this demands too much attention to knit in the dark or in the car (motion sickness abounds). That means this is the first sock. I put the picture up because, Look! Look at the beautiful nails! I bit my nails until I was fourteen or so and chewed on the cuticles until a few years back. Last summer I started to get professional manicures every now and then and give myself a weekly manicure at home. Trust me, if I can do it so can you. Of course, now that I have to wash the nebulizer stuff three times a day, my cuticles are all dried out again. Back to the hand cream......

Every year I try to knit a silly hat for the great nephews (both are under 10). This year's entry is the fish hat. Naturally, Elder Son wants one, too. Younger Son is still hoping for a Viking Hat. It was an easy knit, in the round and fairly mindless. I even got to use up some left over yarns from the stash. Does this mean I can order some more?

These are a pair of legwarmers I made for my sister-in-law. She was in the yarn store while Youngest Niece and I were shopping and she picked up this yarn two or three times to say how much she liked the color. I bought it as soon as she left and took it home. Then I had to figure out what to make. YN says her mom is always cold at the office and could probably use some leg warmers. There they are. No real pattern. I just cast on the number of stitches I would have used for a sock (54?), knit a few inches in twisted rib (two or three) and knit three inches plain then increased two stitches at the center back every five or six rounds until it seemed there were enough (72 stitches?) and then knit to sixteen inches and knit another two or three inches of twisted ribbing. The hard part was measuring out the yarn so I had exactly the same weight in two balls. Good thing I have a digital gram scale. I didn't do any fancy stitching so SIL can wear them under her trousers and not look all lumpy.

Sock Roulette sock! This is New Fallen Snow (which seemed fitting for February) from Pink Lemon Twist. I have loved looking at her sock patterns for more than a year and Roulette gave me the push I needed to buy some patterns. Of course, I bought patterns for 12 socks, but you expected that. As you can see they are a little tight around the leg. A normal ankle will do just fine. With twists across the whole leg it makes it a little tighter. If I knit a pair for myself I will go up a needle size or two for the leg and switch to my usual size 0 for the heel and foot. Details: Yarn, Pattons Kroy socks in cream. Needle: Knitpicks 6" DPN in Options wood size 0. Who ever gets it, don't worry, I washed it and reblocked it so it won't be all stretched out. While I was at it, I thought a nice set of stitch markers with a sparkly winter feel would be a nice add along. What do you think?

What a Ride!

2009-02-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I was having a little trouble breathing. The kids were very sweet (a couple of girls followed me all morning saying, "You're not going to die, are you Mrs. Gordon?") and we were muddling through when we had to go outside for recess. It might have been fine, but one of the other subs was the only person with a key to the back door. Naturally she headed for the side door leaving the rest of us out back. As I was the closest, I yelled to her. The lungs, they closed. I hoped I could get the kids settled at lunch and sit down for a few minutes, then everything would be fine. I headed down the hall with my buddy Sue when she turned to me and said, "You don't look good." The wheezing really took hold and I grabbed the wall for support. Sue took charge and sent for the nurse. The nurse sent for the ambulance (school policy, or so she said), and the ambulance took me to the hospital next door. One breathing treatment and a dose of cortisone and all is OK. Not great, but the air is coming in and the wheeze on the way out isn't as bad.
The best part of the story (aside from the "I lived" part) is how sweet all the people at school were. The kids didn't make my day hard, even the worst behaved was good for me. The nurse took great care of me. The teachers made sure I got where I needed to be. The secretary went to the hospital with me until The Husband could get there. Then again, one of the administrators was only worried about where the ambulance should park so the school day wouldn't be disrupted and which staircase the students should use. And there is the reason I'm a sub. The less I have to do with administrators the happier we all are. Right?
Next post I have some pictures of the knitting I've been doing while on rest leave.

Put A File In The Yarn

2009-01-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

The police in my area recently arrested a fellow because he had a gram scale and lots of plastic bags in his house*. I have a gram scale and lots and lots of plastic bags. Big plastic bags. Eep.
*Of course those plastic bags were tiny, you could only get about a yard of yarn in each of them. Also there seemed to be some sort of residue in some of the bags.......

He Can Be Taught

2009-01-10T19:03:00.002-08:00

The Husband and I were watching the tube last night and that commercial for the weight loss product (Jennie, NutriWhatever, one of those) where the woman is knitting to "keep her hands busy" came on. Said I when the husband (on the commercial) came in with the knitted running clothes came in, "You know, if they really wanted to show a crazy knitter, they'd show the car cozy some knitter made."
Said The Husband, "Well, I hope she used some cheap acrylic yarn."
Heh.

I Won!!

2009-01-08T19:36:00.001-08:00

Yup, I won the Pa lottery. I had the powerball number. I got all of $3.00. No typo, that's 3 (three) dollars. Guess I'd better go to work tomorrow.