48 hours

The weekend flew by. Brian and I had a great time celebrating Valentine's Day with dinner and dancing. We took lessons in West Coast Swing out in Grand Rapids with our dancing friends, Roger and Luann. Most people are familiar with the East Coast Swing. You know, the kind you wear a zoot suit to dance. The west coast version is more of a linear back and forwards movement where the man stays fairly still and moves the girl back/forth and all around.



We definitely found the basics much harder to master than the east coast style. Brian and I were fine in the beginner class, but when the intermediate began, we soon figured out we were in over our heads. It's fun, though, and I can see how it would be very useful because you can use it in all kinds of songs. I even found YouTube.com video of a couple dancing to "Sexy Back." We'll try to keep working on it.

After invading my stash, I was inspired to use some of my Lion Brand "Kool Wool" to make some baby items for an expecting co-worker. Well, seeing as how she was having contractions on Friday, she may no longer be expecting.



I debated whether a baby would wear a scarf, but Amber assured me a newborn - yes, an infant who can use their hands usefully would quickly tear it off. And don't they look so cute as a set?! I just winged it with the pattern, using measurements from the Yarn Harlot's book to figure the height and circumference of the hat.

I also finally got around to knitting a little treat that Linda gave me a few months ago.



It's a mini sock-blocker key chain. Now this didn't really use much of my stash, but I'm happy to say that it's the first sock I've ever completed in less than two hours. I love it. Brian is just hoping he'll never have to use it on his set of keys.



Thanks Linda! I'm sure I'll make more. This is my spring sock.

Accountability

When I last spoke to fellow knitter, Amber, about the stash-a-thon, she suggested I photograph my stash (yarn stash for any of you perverts out there). I have been putting it off because I really don't want to be ridiculed by anyone. However, I have decided it is time to come clean. Here is my stash in all of it's glory. It is a fair pile of wooly goodness. Much of my stash is Lion Brand, perhaps that is why I haven't used it up yet. The other bulk of my stash is Fiber Festival finds that I have designated for certain sweaters. I think I am afraid to knit those projects because I always fear how the sweater will fit.



I noticed I have somewhat of a color bias going on.



Here is my small stash of sock yarn - really, it is quite small. It makes me wonder if I forgot some in a box somewhere.



But, of course, I used a lot of my sock stash for the Socktoberfest and have also been doing a bit of gift knitting.



Besides my stash, I have a shoulder bag full of bits of leftover sock yarn balls. Does anyone have a great pattern for children/baby socks?

You knitters out there probably don't think as badly of my stash as the non-knitters. You know it could be worse.....

Mine does not drown small children.



Mine does not resemble a yarn store.



And my sock yarn does not require it's own filing system (oh, but I wish it did).

Up and Running

Well, I picked up a new modem this morning, and through the grace of God, I somehow hooked it up and did the installation correctly. It's funny because Brian so casually tells me, "oh just call Comcast and have them help you figure it out." It's like me telling him to call Singer for a broken sewing machine. I don't get the technicalities of the computer - internet hook up.

I can officially tell you that I am SICK of the snow. Yesterday was a disaster. We had three out of seven staff call in - frozen pipes, sick kids, and broken down cars. Our medical assistant then went home at noon on strict orders of the boss because she was quite ill with morning sickness (the kind that doesn't just last the morning). So, Tim (the doc) and I flew by the seat of our pants with our one receptionist doing her best to do phone triage and pull charts. We brought back patients, saw them, did our own phone triage and callbacks. I'm sure many of the patients were quite shocked when they actually heard us on the phones. After work, I headed to the gym and started towards home to get dinner going. The roads seemed fine - just snowy. I was approaching an intersection and could not have been going more than 20 mph because I would soon need to brake for the turn. All of the sudden, my car started fish-tailing for no good reason. I swung too and fro and then ended up nose deep in a bank of snow. I probably over corrected the steering. I know you should steer into the fish tail, but it was all happening so fast. The snow was so deep that I couldn't even open my door. Luckily, one man stopped to see if I was alright. Within less than five minutes, he, another gentleman, and an SUV full of high schoolers stopped to push me out. I was grateful for nice Hollanders, grateful this didn't happen on a deserted road, and grateful there were no cars around when I swirled around the intersection. I slowly drove home to find a heap of snow, created by the plow truck, blocking the driveway. What a mess.

Our snowed in weekend was a nice relaxing treat.
Brian spent a fair amount of the time snowblowing, while I laughed from the window (as any loving wife would) as he literally got douched while it blew right back on him.



We tried to get a pleasant wintery picture for next years Christmas card. The blizzard of '07 would not cooperate. Brian actually ran up to the channel to take this photo. In the few minutes that he was out of the car, the wind picked up so much that he, the lighthouse, and the lake all disappeared from my view. Again, I couldn't help but laugh. Sorry Bri.



I had plenty of time to knit on the flower basket shawl. It's coming along splendidly. I'm going to end up with extra yarn because I was afraid to run out by doing another repeat. It should be a fine size once blocked, though, as it is several repeats larger than the pattern called for.



Squishy even took an interest in my knitting. I think he likes the color.



The good news is today I am home. I do have to drive to Grand Rapids later for one of my Junior League after school programs, but I think the roads are better today. If not, it always makes for more story telling.

Off line

I am so sorry to say that our internet is dysfunctional. Since Friday night we have not had the pleasure of the internet due to a janky modem. So, until we can get to Comcast next week there will be no pictures of my knitting. I know, it's so sad. Have fun watching the Super Bowl tonight.

Green(ish) Thumb

This spring I am going to try my best at gardening - vegetable gardening that is.



I have visions of endless fresh salads, sauteed squash in a second, and biting into a beefy tomato like an apple. But I also have visions of little green worms on my broccoli, dried up brown plants, and squirrels taking off with my green peppers. At least I won't have too much invested if I fail...just my time, sweat, and patience. I have beans, peas, green peppers, jalapenos, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, broccoli and several kinds of lettuce. I have logically plotted out my garden and purchased a starter kit for the tomatoes and peppers.

Does anyone have any advice for me? (other than picking the squash before they're the size of a small child)

The 'Ole Windy City

We had great fun and great eats in Chicago this past weekend. We were long overdue for a weekend with our Chicago friends, so we headed out Saturday morning. I refused to leave Friday because I insisted our parakeet would be "starved to death" by the time we returned Sunday. That little bird is quite a pig.

My number one mission when we arrived was to find food. We went to Hot Doug's for lunch. I have never been there and was hesitant to wait in a line...outside....in the cold....in order to wait in another line to place my order. Hot Doug did not let me down. They specialize in all kinds of homemade hot dogs and sausages. I had a tequila-lime-blackbean chicken sausage with chihuahua cheese. On the side - cheesy fries and plain fries prepared in duck fat. I'm not sure if duck fat is good for me, but they were good in my mouth.



They can't get enough.



We relaxed for a bit before I then got sucked in to seeing the movie "Smokin Aces." Note to self: next time go sit in a chick flick by myself. This was a gorey movie and definitely not worth $10. I could've bought some marvelous yarn with $10. BTW, I did not go yarn shopping in Chicago. I wanted to badly, but my commitment to the stash-a-thon kept me under control.

That night we went to the boy's favorite bar, Lincoln Tap Room. I looked forward to the opportunity to wear my finished Clapotis out in public. I haven't blocked it yet, but knowing the bar would be smokey, I figured I'd have to wash it anyway.



"We are laughing. We are friends."



I only had one drink that night, knowing we had early plans the next morning. I'm so glad that I did not have to suffer from a hangover because I could better enjoy a most delicious breakfast with Carrie and Matt Sunday morning. We met at Orange, a hip (and fairly expensive) downtown restaurant. The novelty - orange flavored coffee and Frushi. Sticky coconut rice around strawberry and kiwi. I've never enjoyed sushi so much.



Matt's "flight of pancakes." Ever had a pancake drowned in white chocolate ganache?



We joined them for mass at Brian's old stomping grounds - Old St. Pat's. I always forget how beautiful their music ministry is. I also love to hear a sermon that speaks right to your heart and your stressors in life. A round of high fives to Old St. Pat's for the good work they do.

As for the bad part of the trip....Brian did a great job with his recap of our drive home. Lake effect snow was not our friend on the way home. I was definitely too strung out to calmly knit in the car. For some reason, I must watch the road intently even if I'm not driving. I realize now why winter wiper blades are nothing to skimp on. I was very happy to be home safely that night.

Well, back to my Tuesday assignments. We have an abundance of snow here, so I'm glad to be done with errands. I'll write with some knitting projects soon, I hope.

No Hesitation

It's done. One click of a mouse and I am now the proud owner of my own cast iron pot. I have wanted one of these for months. Martha Stewart and the cooks at Everyday Food constantly taunt me by cooking with theirs. They don't even address the issue that the great amount of cooks in the world can't afford their $150 La Creuset. I sit watching their show, saddened that I will never make their stove top to oven stews and soups. They saute their onions and pour in their chicken stock. I sigh.

Alas, today notmartha.org brightened my world. This Chefmate cast iron pot is available for only $32 at amazon.com.



Apparently the knob will only allow for cooking up to 350 degrees, but that's the only downfall I have detected. Can anyone recommend a recipe for me to make first?

Lace - My Cherie Amore

My class at Friends of Wool went quite well last night. My classmate, Kathy, was the same lady who taught me how to knit my two socks on one circular! She and I are now both converts to the cozier shop in town.

We reviewed different types of lace, technique, and a few cast-ons. I got to fondle a bunch of different skeins of lace yarn, the cashmere was especially nice, and pricey.
After class, I just couldn't stop knitting on my new project, the Flower Basket Shawl from Interweave Knits. This is the same shawl that Linda finished over the summer. My yarn is a beautiful silk that I ordered from Yarn All Over on etsy.com. Don't worry - I ordered it before I joined the stash-a-thon. I didn't fall off the wagon yet.



Despite being engrossed in American Idol's NYC auditions while knitting, I managed to avoid any mistakes...yet. That's why there is such a thing as using a "life line" in lace knitting. I wish I could use a "phone a friend" too! Who is watching American Idol besides me? I can't believe how awful the auditions have been. That Ashanti was the definition of melodramatic.

Knit from Your Stash-a-thon

The rules are as follows:

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone?
2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn for that gift.
2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.
2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

4. Trading stash is allowed.

5. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.


Is anyone willing to join me in this venture?! I'm going to need a firm slap to my hand along the way. This kind of reminds me of when I would pass my wallet over to my college roommate when shopping at the mall. She was great at only letting me buy what I came for.
I'm sure I'll bend the rules a little by figuring out many gifts to buy for :) At least I still have my sock yarn! (I'm in love with this STR colorway.)

Ah, the smell of asbestos...

We have finished the uncovering of our floors. In a whirlwind of mold, padding, and dust (Brian claims asbestos) - we ripped up the carpeting and underlying linoleum in the porch and office Saturday.

The porch didn't go so well in that the linoleum had some sort of cardboard backing which stayed adhered to the pine floor. We figure it won't be too much of a bother to get it up and off with the sanding machine. We were also disgusted to find a patch of black mold between the padding and linoleum in a corner of the room. I have a picture, but it is too putrid to share.



Here's a little peek-a-boo of the floor showing through the paperboard.



We saved the best and easiest for last..the office.



When the former-former owners laid linoleum in the office, they did so with only a strip of sticky tape. We were able to pull it up with a slight lift.



The floor looks pretty darn good! If only they all turned out this well, we could postpone the refinishing.



I'm so glad to have the stained carpeting out of our house and am especially proud to bring some natural beauty back to the house. I don't think I'll ever understand why someone would have put that linoleum down, particularly in those awful flower and box patterns.

I've been winding yarn into balls today to get ready for my next knitting projects....probably a shawl and some more socks.

Yes I'm Here

Thank you all for your condolences. The funeral was really a heart breaking event, and something I don't ever look forward to doing again. I understand the point that the living should be joyous for the dead who are now no longer suffering, but rejoicing...however the tears that well in our eyes don't understand that concept. Now I have to make sure to hold my grandmother in my prayers. She would have been married to my grandfather 50 years come March 3rd.

I returned to work Wednesday and have had a whirlwind week. My annual review was Thursday and I felt it was quite painless in comparison to my three month review. Not surprisingly, my negative feedback (or "room to improve") from co-workers was in regards to how I react under pressure. If only I could take 5 minutes to knit when I'm behind or a patient arrives 11 minutes late for their 15 minute appointment with expectations to be seen....I bet a few rows of stockinette stitch would calm me right down. Realistically, I find this a hard thing to work on. If any of you have some practical advice for me on how to zip my lips and keep a smile in times of chaos - please, I'm all ears.

In knitting news, I have finished my silent auction donation for the Junior League.

It went from this:


To this (felted):


The white spikes have softened a bit and it actually looks quite nice. I wonder how much it will earn?

I'm still plugging along on Clapotis and should be able to finish this weekend. I'm also finishing the toe on a second sock just now. Next week I have a class in lace knitting - I can't wait!

Life Goes On

I will be unavailable for posting for a few days. My grandfather passed away Thursday night after a lengthy battle with cancer. (The above is a picture of him from many years ago - he looks spot on for my own father.) Of course his passing is saddening, but he was a proud man and it was difficult to watch him suffer. I'll spend the next few days with my family sharing our favorite memories.

Yesterday I was "project manager" for our volunteer event with the Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth. Through the Grand Rapids Junior League, I have the opportunity to volunteer with a group of innercity youth in Grand Rapids. We fondly call it the "Girls Rule Club." The girls range from ages 8-11. It's a small age gap, but the girls seem to mature pretty fast.

For my event, I took the girls on an imaginary Hawaiian luau. We started with snacks - fruit kabobs and punch. Not surprisingly, some had never eaten papaya or seen starfruit. I taught them a little about Hawaii through a trivia game much like Jeopardy (thanks for the idea Kim). We learned some fun facts about the bad luck associated with taking lava rock home and why sharks attack surfers (from underwater they look like seals). We discussed the Hawaiian alphabet, which only contains seven consonants and each consonant in a word must be followed by a vowel. Therefore, each word ends in a vowel - think about it. We also talked about the formation of volcanoes. Did you all know each of the Hawaiian islands was formed from a volcano?! I should have known that, but I just didn't. I had the kids attention for about 10 minutes - or until they each got a prize lei for answering. Beyond that, they were crawling under the tables and chasing each other around.

The highlight of the day for me and the kids was the hula teacher. When I thought of this idea, I didn't think it would come together so easily. I searched for hula instructor on the wonderful internet and up popped the Pacific Island Dancers in GR. Bethany, our teacher, is actually from the Philippines. She dressed up right down to the tea leaves and taught us two hula dances as well as a little Tahitian. I wasn't so great at Tahitian - but as Shakira says "My hips don't lie." The girls loved Bethany. They had so many questions for her and treated her like a celebrity.



It was fun for sure, but I'm glad my event is over. I was overly concerned about how to keep their attention for so long. I'm sure glad I'm not in charge of the next event....manner school. Now I can move on to the next task at hand - mapping out a vegetable garden for next spring. It's been so warm that I can't help thinking about it.

Happy 1st Birthday Nolan!

I love all of the pictures of Nolan that Amber sends me, but I love this one especially because of the vintage handknit he's wearing (his dad wore it as a child). I hope you have a great birthday Nolan. I heard you like cake. I love it myself and wish I could have a slice with you!

I also wanted to do a project spotlight on these wonderful Fetching fingerless gloves that Amber and Shari made over Christmas vacation.



They used their own hand-dyed KoolAid yarn in worsted weight. I don't know that Amber will get much of a chance to wear them now that's moving to Texas! I guess you'll just have to come back and visit us more often. Great job ladies!

It Feels Good

to be productive again.



Brian and I took on the project of removing our brown stained carpet from (most of) the main floor on Saturday. We needed to get a better idea of what was underneath to know what kind of patchwork the floor sanders would need to do. As the man predicted, there are two ducts covered with plywood which were moved to wall vents.



The largest pain in my rear was that the padding was stuck to the floor in so many spots. We're not sure if someone steam cleaned it at one point, spilled 500 drinks, or it was just stuck from the amount of traffic, but it took a lot of scraping to get the majority of it off.



We're left with this after only about 5 hours of work. We're very pleased with the look of the wood. The original work was done nicely. There are no visible nails to cover like we saw upstairs.



Soon we'll work on the office. That room has linoleum to remove as well as carpet. From what I can tell, the linoleum is so aged that it no longer adheres to the wood. I'm hoping that it will actually be easier than the other rooms. For this weekend we're calling it quits. My wrist is almost too sore to knit and we're blowing green dust from our nostrils. It was fun to do some more work on the house again, though. We're excited to see the floors all refinished. It won't be long now!

Knitphomaniac

So if one knitting t-shirt was great, and two splendid, three is leg...(wait for it)...endary! My friend, Carrie, just sent me this shirt for Christmas. Apparently she saw it on Gilmore Girls.



I wish I could wear it to work. I've already decided against putting my "I'd rather be knitting" button on my work uniform.

I could spend a lot of moolah at cafepress.com....

The "I Knit Therefore I Rock" Bumper Sticker (Brian would hate it since we often switch cars).

The "My Wife Can Knit Faster than Your Wife" braggart men's shirt.

But this coffee mug displays my true feelings towards the person who tries to come between me and my yarn.

R-rated. The problem with this one is most people probably wouldn't quite get this joke.

Gratuitous Photos

We've located our digital camera - we left it behind at our friend's house. However, it's not back in my posession just yet. Luckily, Brian brought home the work camera tonight and I took advantage of it's fantastic capabilities. My knitting has never looked better!

Here's some lemon bread I made today, courtesy of the knitting cook.



I love experimenting with new recipes on Tuesdays. Brian now reports Tuesdays are his favorite day of the week due to good eats. I also made some pork chops with cherry chutney from my Junior League cookbook. So far every recipe from that book has been a hit.

Here are my finished gloves, knit from the Weekend Knitting book with Koigu yarn.



If I should ever make you some gloves, know that I love you very much because I despise making these. If I don't knit them for you, well then I guess you'll just have to ogle mine.

My Clapotis looks rather dull right now, but wait until I get to the dropped stitches.



Today I started a felted purse which will be a donation for a silent auction at a Junior League meeting. I also plan on making a strawberry hat. All proceeds will go to the endowment fund. I hope it gets a high bid!



Lastly, a pic of Squishy playing with Chicken Little. Amber asked me why I don't post about Squish more. Perhaps I think nobody will find his mannerisms quite as cute as I do. We had a bit of a tiff today when he tried to eat through my iPod speaker cord. If he cuts off a knitting podcast, he's in biiig trouble.



Otherwise - I'm putting a call out for volunteers. We got our first estimate on refinishing the wood floors and it sounds like we're better off ripping up the old carpet and tile ourselves. The guy kind of nicely told me he has better things to do than rip up tile. In fact, he said "If I had absolutely nothing else to do with myself, I might do it." So, anyone who wants to come out, we're happy to feed you!!

Happy New Year!

The year is officially started! We had a great time New Years Eve with a group of Brian's highschool friends. I had a great excuse to buy a fantastic new dress for the occasion. We ate at Reds in Rockford. We enjoyed pork tenderloin, duck, and the creamiest creme brulee. Later we invested too many hours into the late night playing the "Here and Now" Monopoly. This game is much more painful than the original as everything is multiplied by $10,000. "I owe what for landing on Mall of America....$7 million?!"

We did not awake until 11 am on New Years Day, then spent the day watching Star Wars, ep. III - VI. I finished my gloves and got rolling on Clapotis. (Unfortunately I can't post pictures as our digital camera is lost somewhere in Rockford. Hopefully the restaurant has a Lost & Found.) This scarf/shawl has been a lot of fun so far. I have been forgetting to do my increases correctly at the ends, but just flub it by adding them later. I'm pretty sure it won't make a big difference.

Lastly, Brian and I drove down to Kalamazoo Saturday. Oh how we miss it! We had dinner with Linda - always a treat. She surprised me with a hand knitted item for Christmas. I love knitted things from Linda because they're always techniques that I don't know how to do or difficult projects that inspired me. Previously I've received felted slippers from her and a mini stocking ornament. This time I have a custom felted java jacket! Again, I'd love to post a picture if I could. Here's the pattern she used from knitpicks.

I hope you all have a successful and Happy 2007 (year of the magician - designated by action-squad.com).
Oh and also - I know a lot of you are having trouble with comments. Just keep trying. I'm not quite sure what's wrong, but blogger has been fussy ever since I updated to the new version.

Knitty.com

In all of the Christmas madness, I completely missed the fact that Knitty put up a new issue. This morning I just about used up our color cartridge printing the patterns for Center Square, Calorimetry, Corazon, Monkey, Emerald and Blended Hues (yes a baby pattern). I think the felted Brown Bag is especially clever....and I have to smile at Sheldon. What a great baby gift that would be.



Brian and I are off to Kalamazoo this afternoon to meet Linda for knitting talk and tapas at Fandango. We never had the chance to go to this restaurant while we lived there and are greatly looking forward to it. Tomorrow we'll celebrate ringing in the new year with old friends in Rockford. There is a new classy restaurant with an enormous wine selection called Reds on the River. Our great friend Tim pulled some strings and waved some dolla-bills to get a reservation. I get to fake being a high-roller for the night. What I'm most looking forward to is a Star Wars Marathon on New Years Day...not because I love Star Wars but because I know I can knit that entire time. My mission is to take on Clapotis.

Dinner Guests

We had an impromptu dinner party tonight as our friends from Grand Blanc, MI and Valdosta, GA were both in town. We ate chicken, drank wine, snacked on raspberry pie....and then Christmas candy (which we piled up on at the candy bar from a wedding this weekend). Check out the pic below. Tons and tons of candy. The only problem with Christmas candy is it's always a surprise what flavor you'll get. White might taste like peanut butter. Red might taste like lime. Beware of the black licorice.



Amber is a fellow lover of knitting and therefore knew one way to my heart was to bless me with more yarn goodness. She has put me on my path to lace knitting with these three heather colored skeins from Knit Picks.



She also purchased the pattern for the triangle shawl. I plan to take a short class in reading lace patterns later in January. I may have a new fascination with knitting once I've learned the lace technique.

I also received a small button which reads "I'd rather be knitting!" I thought Brian and I were so clever to come up with that slogan on our own. Someone beat us to it. Amber also made ornaments filled with scrapbook paper coils. It will look great intermingled with the yarn ornaments I hope to make next year. Thanks Amber!



So now I'm off to slumber. I feel overstuffed, but so thrilled to spend time with my friends who live too far away and I often miss too much.