A Few Recent Discoveries

……….but still no photo’s (sorry).

Friday night Brad and I took the tube into Wembly, and ventured off to Ikea.  I love Ikea.  Since I first discovered Ikea in Seattle several years ago, I’ve been waiting and waiting for them to build in Colorado.  As luck would have it, Ikea IS building in Colorado—-and I’m not there.  So I was particularly thrilled to find out that there was an Ikea in Wembly, ’bout 5 miles from where we are staying (as the crow flies—which is to say, by the time you get on the tube, get off at the correct stop, and walk or bus to the store, it’s been roughly 45 minutes).  We were there for two reasons:  one, was dinner, and you’ll be happy to know that Swedish Meatballs are just as yummy over here * and two, to look for good ideas for the new home (more on that another time).  We had a great time, wore out our feets and fell into bed nice and tired. 

Saturday was a gorgeous summer day….probably the third or fourth we’ve seen since arriving, so we were determined to enjoy it.  We walked to the High Street, had ‘brunch’ at a little cafe and scored one of the sidewalk tables, went by the grocery store and then picked the big ripe blackberries along the sidewalk on the way back to the hotel.  After dropping off the groceries, we decided to tube into town and check out Harrod’s.

Now, Harrod’s is 6 levels of wonderful, and given enough time and fundage I’m sure I could have done some damage, but some things, well, they are just too much.  Take for instance the child sized, fully operational classic corvette, or if you’d rather, a Hummer.  A fossilized swordfish of sorts—beautiful, but shouldn’t it be in a museum somewhere?  Furnishings fit for a castle, and a rocking horse that any child would love—-only about $10,000.  Hungry?  There are two floors of food, deli’s, bakeries, and oh, the chocolate!  How ’bout a quick bite to eat?  Brad and I chose a 50’s style diner on the 4th floor.  Here are a few of the menu choices, all prices in GBP:  Mo’s Sampler Platter for 2–12.00;  Cobb Salad–14.50;  The Classic Hamburger with fries—13.50 (want cheese? 1.75, mushrooms or bacon? 1.75) ;  but my personal favorite???  Cincinnati Simple Dog (served plain on a bun) 12.50.  Add a Diet Coke and you’ve just spent over $25 .  Milkshakes were 7 pounds.

Eat before you go.  Just sayin’

After we were full of Harrod’s, my Starbucks homing device kicked in and found us a coffee right across the street, where we sipped and watched the world go by from the upper floor.  London is really a great place for people watching—not just because there are so many, but because of the variety.  The first night we were here, we took a walk through Hyde Park, not far from where we were staying at Paddington.  I think I could count on one hand the times we heard English spoken during our trek through the park.  It’s an amazing place.

Sunday, after we filled ourselves with breakfast in the hotel dining room, we moved back into our previous room and then headed to the tube station to go back to the Tower of London.  We had been there two weeks before, but it’s so interesting, you just can’t see it all in one two hour visit.  The day, once again was lovely, and we ate fish and chips outside, overlooking the Tower grounds.  This trip, we wandered around the Medieval Palace, home to Henry III and his son Edward I (if I remember correctly—had to get out my Ruler ruler to figure it out).  We will doubtless go back again.  When the Tower closed for the day, we sat in the shade beside the Thames and watched the people and tour boats go by.  It was a lovely evening.

Now I really must get it together and go take  test so I can drive (the car we don’t have, because we don’t have an address).

 

*I had read (from 2 sources) that meatballs can be called ‘faggots’ here in England.  I was very curious to see how Ikea handled that……..

Nothing Happens in One Visit

I believe I heard before we arrived, but certainly since, the term “getting UKed.”  This could mean several things, one being the process of acclimating to a new place, getting used to a different culture, a new climate, new words, different money.  I heard one funny example the other day, from a woman who was expecting her daughter and grandson to come for a visit, and was looking all over town for diapers.  Every store she asked stated they did not carry diapers, and E. was getting very frustrated, and wondering what the English do with their babes.  Finally, she saw an advert for a “nappy stacker” and discoverd that she had been asking the wrong question.  She tootled down to the store, purchased the nappy’s and had them delivered.  Problem solved.

I am fortunate to have an English brother-in-law, so many of the different words/terms are familiar to me: lift, boot, bonnet, nappy chips, crisps, bisquits and so on.   Some are new, and should not be mentioned here.  But what I was not prepared for, and what some mean by ‘getting UKed’  is how difficult it is to get things done.

On our first day, Brad’s new boss warned us that nothing gets done in one visit.  He told us that at least a third of his time is taken up with just figuring out how to live here.  I was stunned, but so far, he’s been dead on. 

Case in point:  Obviously, England has a different money system than the US, hence, one needs to convert dollars to pounds.  If one is going to live here, a bank account is in order, yes?  Okay, stay with me here.  To open a bank account, you need an address.  To get an address, you have to either buy a house, (which takes an unbelievable amount of time and a loan from a bank) or let (rent) one.  To pay for the deposit, rent and so forth, you need a bank account to draw the pounds from.  But to open the bank acount……….

See the issue?  We were finally, after two visits, two and half hours and one phone call, able to open a local bank account, with our passports, and proof of residency in America, (estimation of monthly income, estimation of monthly expenses….Iwas waiting for blood type and favorite color) but now we’re struggling with getting the dollars into pounds (at a fair exchange rate) and then into that account.  Oh, and the account they were able to open for us could not be opened jointly, so I still have no access.

Next on the priority list is buying a car.  We found one we like, asked how to purchase it and were told, no checks (understandable) no credit cards.  We could finance (yeah, right) use debit card or cash.  Of course, again, the money needed to be in pounds, from a local bank, and the debit cards here all have a microchip along with the PIN, and of course, the debit card will not be here for several more days.

What say we rent a car?  Brad called a local place to hire a car, was told to bring along a passport and drivers license and we’d be good, they could provide insurance.  So off we go on the train, GPS in hand, and find the car hire place.  The guy starts sorting out the paperwork, realizes Brad is in the US military (as opposed to Canadian or British, I suppose) and makes a phone call.  No, we are told, we cannot insure you.  No insurance, no car.  A call to our insurance company reveals that we are not covered abroad, but they can insure the rental car if we provide the make, model and VIN for said car.  Of course when Brad calls the agency back, the car has been given to someone else and what’s left is a Jaguar at twice the cost.

Let’s move on to TV and internet, shall we?  Last night we dashed off to the mall (three tube stations away) to get Brad a tie.  The mall closes at something like 5 so we were in a hurry.  Come to find out, the mall is open til 8 on Thursday (closes early Friday and Saturday though, go figure).  After we secured the tie, we wandered around the mall some.  I went to the bookstore, and Brad stopped to talk to the TV guys.  They will install the digital TV box for free (HD and all that stuff).  5 days later, they will hook up your phone line, and 5 days after that, your broadband.  Not all at once.  Nope.  Because of the “cooling off period” they want to make sure you are going to keep the TV service before you can have the phone, and the phone before to can have broadband.

Nothing gets done in one visit.

Now, before somebody jumps all over me let me be clear.  I am sure there are very good reasons for these precautions and bits of red tape, and while they are frustrating for us, as newcomers, I realize it’s not wrong just different.  Most of the banking issues can be credited to terrorists and those who would launder money.  Understandably, a car hire business must protect their assets.  Don’t quite get the TV thing, but I’m sure there must be some logical reason for that as well.  It’s all a matter of adjustment, to be sure.

And now, I need to move to a different room.  Seems this room was promised to a couple newlyweds for the weekend.

Abroad

After a long hiatus, it’s time to ressurect the blog (mostly due to the urgings of friends).   What, pray tell, is the reason for this visitation?   Glad you’ve asked.

A little background.  My dear hubby has (if you have been here before, you’ll recall) been in the Air Force nearly 30 years now.  Last summer he was in Iraq and I bounced between Washington and Colorado while he was away.  When he returned and was just settling in back at the Academy, he found out that the powers that be had denied his extension there in Colorado Springs, and decided we would be moving.  In a few months.  (This is a story for a different day, marked with stupidity and waste.  I digress).   We waited anxiously by to see what said powers would determine and finally toward the end of March Brad gets an email, from some dude saying he’s our sponsor—–in LONDON.   Seems we would be moving to London for Brad to work with the European Office of Aerospace Research and Development. 

Talk about a shock.  Just a few days before I had been weighing the possibilities;  “I hope it’s not Florida—-what would I knit in Florida?”  “I’d really rather not go back to Dayton.”  “Salt Lake City might be good.”  “Albuquerque is close enough for a long weekend in the Springs.”  But London???  Never seriously entered my mind.

So, not four months later we were on our way, and as I write this now, I’m sitting in a lovely hotel room in the western outskirts of London, England. 

Today, I think I’ll begin with the Top Ten Things to Love About London.  I’m sure I’ll find more and more, but let’s start here:

10.  CarGiant.  Seriously.  We went poking around a used car lot the other day that was the bestest and biggest I had ever seen in my life.  All makes and model, some I’d never even heard of.  And the best part?  In the 2 hours we were there not one salesman approached us. 

9.  Fish and Chips.  One of my favorites anyway, but here, you can get them about anywhere—every pub, most restaurants.  I’m not sure about take-away (to go) orders, but every time I’ve had them, they’ve come with peas.

8.  Shortbread.  With tea in the afternoon.  Enough said.

7.  Newspapers.  There are so many!!  “Real” news, gossip. Some of each.  I usually find one on the train to occupy the ride.

6.  High Street.  Each village has one, a place with shopping and eateries, banks and so forth.  Obviously some are better than others, but it’s a pretty sure bet that you can find something to eat and a coffee if you can find the high street.

5.  Theatre.  You just would not believe the choices; I can’t imagine New York has a better theatre district.  There must be 20 musicals on stage in London right now, in addition to the dramas.  You can see a play at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre for 5 pounds.  You can get good seats for much less than in America.

4.  Public Transport.  I know there are cities in America with excellent transportation systems; New York, Chicago, DC to name a few, but there really is no place you can’t get by either train, tube, bus or a short walk.  We’ve been here two and a half weeks and only wished for a car once.

3.  Double Decker Buses:  Along the same lines, but almost as good as a thrill ride (if you are lucky enough to be up top and in the front seats).  You see way more from the bus than from the tube (obviously).  One of our first evenings here we just hopped on the city bus going east to see what we could see.  What we saw was Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul’s and the Tower of London.  We passed the theatre district with all the bright marques, rode above the crowds and had a great time of it.  If you’ve got time, the bus is the way to go.

It bears mentioning here that the trains, tubes and buses are in really good shape and kept very clean and tidy.  In some cities that’s not the case (gee, I wonder what I’m sitting on, what’s that smell), but I’ve never once feared for my health or my trousers here in London.

2.  Parks and Open Space.  London is really not all that big a place, geographically, yet 10 million people live in Greater London.  Even with that many folks dashing about, there are wee parks/squares everywhere, and many large beautiful parks you can stroll through. Our first evening in the city we left our hotel near Paddington Station and walked to Hyde Park.  Now here is a great example of open space in a big city.  It’s attached to Kensington Park (home to Kensington Palace), and one can litteraly walk for hours on the paths that wind through the grounds.  There is an ‘open air’ theatre in the park (with a new version of Peter Pan playing), the Prince Albert Memorial, Diana Memorial Fountain and Memorial Playground (which is excellent, I might say), as well as a man made lake and tons of trees and birds—–it’s a wonderful place.  And that’s just one example; there are also St James Park, Regents Park and a host of others I’m anxious to explore.

1.  History.  The number one thing about this grand city must be it’s history and it’s buildings.  In America, we think of a really old building as being of the colonial era, perhaps 300 years old.  There are high street shops in London older than that.  The hotel we are staying in right now has buildings that date back to the 17th century.  The Tower of London is an amazing place, begun in 1066, it has been a royal residence, a prison and several other things over the centuries, but is still home to the beefeaters and their families.  Amazing.  Just to walk through buildings and grounds where Henry VIII and his wives lived, where his daughter Elizabeth I lived, it’s surreal.

I’m sure over the next three years I will find more to love.  Maybe next time we’ll explore the top 10 things to be frustrated about.

***I would love to add photo’s and I’ll bet you’re wondering where they are.  They are stuck in my camera, and the cord is somewhere either packed and yet to arrive, or in the mail.  Frustrating.

Adjustments…

Lot’s going on here, and not sure where to start…….

If you’ve visited before, you know that a mid-week post from me these days is rare (heck, any post from me these days is rare).  Used to be a time when I was doggone faithful to the blog, I would write everyday, complete with theme days and so on.  Those were the days before the JOB.  Well my fine friends, those days have returned.  Yes indeed-y, I am once again living the life of a kept woman, a lady of leisure.  I finally reached critical mass at the JOB, realized that no amount of money was worth the stress and BS that I was putting up with and bailed.  The other realization that came over time was that I was doing precious little nursing, and a whole lot of administration type stuff—not at all what I became a nurse to do.  And so here I am, mid-week.

Not to say that the stress level has completely been eliminated—oh no.  Around the same time that I had had quite enough at the JOB, my wonderful hubby found out that he will be taking a turn in Iraq—a 6 month turn.  You may know that he has now been in the Air Force for some 28 years, and up until now, he has never had to deploy.  Well, his number finally came up, or more appropriately, his name came to the top of the list, and he will be leaving for training this coming Sunday morning.  All in all he will be away a good long time.

Now, you might be thinking, “what a lousy time to quit your job, what are you going to do?”  Well, at the top of the list is visit my children who live in another state (something that would have been a constant battle with my boss).  Then there’s camping and the wool festivals coming up.  Add to that my friend who will be opening a yarn store very soon and has been seducing me for months to come work for her, and I don’t think I’ll be bored. 

And so there has been knitting (Cambridge, and a cute sweater for myself, both in progress), and reading, and helping hubby get ready for his deployment (you would not believe the stuff he has been issued and is taking with him—it is all over our guestroom!)  Yesterday I went along with him to run errands, out-processing kind of stuff, and I managed to get quite a lot of knitting accomplished (I promise to get pictures up when things get done).

I hope I’ll get back in the groove here at the blog, I’ve missed you all.

How does one begin……

……to write such a long overdue update?  It seems a bit foolish to give a play by play of three months gone by; photograph and narrate life since the last foray into blogland.  Just now, I think I’ve come up with an idea, and it is all about random thoughts, with perhaps some recent history and knitting thrown in for good measure. 

Random thought number one:  What is so #$%^&* intriguing about the bathroom.  Each and every time I enter the little powder room, the cat either follows me in, or meows at the door, reaching his paw underneath to rattle it in it’s frame.  Does he think there will be room on my lap for a cuddle?  Does he think there’s another way out, or that I’ll be abducted by aliens?  Geesh.  I thought Stephanie’s post from the bath was spot on—-but what is it with cats?

2.  Why is it that when I have a day off and am home in the morning, Jake thinks he needs breakfast?  The dogs never get breakfast.  Jake hasn’t had breakfast since he was a wee pup some 10 years ago.  This morning he would NOT let me be until I got him a small bit of kibble—now he’s happy and content. 

3.  Who, in the name of all things woolly, would WANT to be president?  Seriously.  First, all the mud slinging and microscopic examination of everything you have EVER said or done, or thought or inferred.  Then, well you might as well paint a target on yourself.  Phone rings in the middle of the night?  Beyond fear for your family, you know it can’t be good news.  I think we really must question the mental health of anyone who wants that job. 

4.  Global warming.  If (which I have trouble believing) it’s all our fault, can we please direct some of the warming toward Colorado?  The kids were here for Christmas and it didn’t get above 20 degrees the whole time they were here——plenty of sunshine, but a deep freeze nonetheless.  The day they drove up to ski??  -32 on the way, -5 when they hit the lift.  (yes, I understand that many of you are much colder than that, but I just don’t enjoy the drive to work in negative temperatures—-which also makes me emphatically state: I will never again buy a car that doesn’t have heated seats).  I am beginning to fear I will never be warm again. 

5.  Copyright.  I understand the importance of protecting intellectual property, but sometimes it just becomes absurd.  Case in point:  Many of you know that for the last several years I have attended a nice little knitting retreat in Washington, which for 11 or so years was called Camp Knitaway.  Nice name, summed things up well.  Sometime in the last year, someone apart from our cozy little camp decided she had coined the term “knitaway” and we would be no longer be permitted to use it.  Rather than  enter the legal arena, the camp sponsors changed the name (side note—my clever mother-in-law suggested we just spell it backwards, so camp this year will be Yawatink).  My thought is this: please.  Who is harmed by 40 women in a rather rural section of this large country using a name that they had been using for 10 or more years, and who’s to say they didn’t come up with it first?  Clearly, each party came up with the idea independently.  Give me a break.

6.  I am thinking hard about getting a new digital camera.  Leaning toward an SLR, but still like the idea of a small, tuck in your purse or pocket camera.  I want the flexibility that a SLR would give me, but would it be overkill?  I keep thinking there must be a way to make a little cash from photography (very small scale, keep your day job kinda cash), but I want good equipment.  Suggestions?

7.  Common sense is not at all common.  Enough said.

8.  The has been renewed interest in the Cambridge sweater that was begun quite some time ago for my son Alex.  I can’t remember if I went into any of the details way back when, but Alex decided he would really like it better if instead of being a cardigan, it had just a 1/4 zipper at the neck.  So the project was restarted in the round.  I’ve knit it up as far as the armholes, split it for front and back and have nearly finished the back.  Now, what I’m wondering is this:  where to split the two fronts for the zipper, and can I just get away with knitting on and sewing in the zipper without any fancy stitch addition?  What might happen if I line the collar and neck “facing” with polar fleece type fabric?  Has anybody tried that?  I should probably check Ravelry, huh.?.

9.  Handspun, mentioned in the last post (scroll down if you’ve forgotten) turned into these:

which became a much loved accessory for Brett’s darling girlfriend, Cora.

I think that’s about enough for today—-too many random thoughts may lead to a headache.  I’ll go try to keep warm and do some knitting.

Deepest Thanks :)

Once again, I’ve been reminded that it’s been a little bit since an update—-not as long as the last laps of course, but an update is in order following my plea from last time.  First off, thank you from the bottom of my pancreas (medical joke, sorry) for your generosity in donating to the Step Out event. 

 

Our little team earned over $700, mostly at the last minute, and largely because of you.  Our ‘team’ consisted of 11, counting the very charming children of my colleagues, the Bakers.  We had a great time, the weather was perfect and the zoo was a perfect venue. 

We have been extraordinarily busy around here.  The same weekend that we had the Step Out event we had the annual “dining out” for Brad’s department, keeping us out rather late the evening before the walk.  After the walk, we had another social thing with the department, and by Sunday, we were just done.  Monday brought a visit from my uncle, who has never been to visit—-even when I lived in the same county.  We had a nice visit with he and his girlfriend, a break on their way to Texas.  The following week at work was among the worst I can remember—-I was way too busy, working through lunches and staying late and feeling completely overwhelmed. 

That made my escape to Boulder all the sweeter.  Last week at this time I was driving north to attend a one day seminar on diabetes, for work.  I checked into a lovely room at the Marriott around 2:30, and then headed out to do some tourist-y stuff. 

 

I began with the Celestial Seasonings (factory??) Tea Shop.  I had missed the last tour of the day, but the fabulous tea shop was still open, so I did some shopping.

 

From there, I took the opportunity to go on up to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes (anybody surprised??).  I got into the park right before dusk, perfect for elk-ing

 (this is the hood of my car—-I was outside the car leaning on the passenger side)

Back at the hotel, I enjoyed a gourmet meal (slimfast and string cheese) and settled into the huge bed to watch the Rockies game.  I didn’t last until the end (I finally turned off the telly with the score at 6-1, after falling asleep about three times), but I will say, it’s been exciting around here……………….and with the season the Bronco’s have been having…………………….well, ’nuff said.  We are definitely looking forward the the series. 

After the seminar—which was excellent—I swung by Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins before heading home.  I picked up a plying head for the Lendrum, and  couple skeins of Koigu for a pair of Cat Bordhi’s fancy Coriolis socks.  Knitting progress has been painfully slow, I’m not sure what has happened to my motivation.  I’m not sure when I last did any knitting, matter of fact.  Perhaps I should do something about that today.  Or spinning—-the last bit of spinning net me something like 450 yards of 3 ply vanilla colored bond/corriedale wool. 

 

I have another 8oz of bond/corridale in a gorgeous chocolate color.  When knit with the vanilla, I am seeing fair isle (perhaps thrummed) mittens. 

Better get moving; I want to get on the treadmill before I dash out the door to run a few errands and get a haircut.

Let’s see if I remember how this works……

I’m interrupting my blogging hiatus to shamelessly ask for help—–but first, a quick rundown of what has been going on around here.

When last we met, I had just come back from Estes Park and was getting ready to head to the homeland for vacation.  In a word, it was marvelous.  We began with 3 days at the beach with the boys, in a condo/townhouse/hotel thing close enough to the sea to hear the waves crashing. 

 

The weather was fairly typical for Western Washingtonin early July, overcast and on the cool side.  But it could have rained for all I cared, there is something so wonderful and restorative about the ocean.  Just down the peninsula is where Louis and Clark first set eyes on the Pacific Ocean. 

 

Had a blast.  Found a hundred bucks on the ground (okay, be honest: how many of you just said “yarn money!” ?).

From there, we went to the Seattle area, where the weather turned gorgeous and we had the expected amount of fun staying at Brett and Cora’s, and the Lake.  (since this is a quick wrap up, we’ll skip the blow by blow, okay?)

We got back home on Monday July 16th, and I had surgery scheduled for the 20th.  Bright and early I showed up to be relieved of my non-functioning gallbladder, and went home around 2 that afternoon.  All went well, with the exception of a pretty nasty burn from a cautery—seems I had a stubborn little artery that wouldn’t quit bleeding so the doc had to fry the beejeebers out of it, and me as well.  Took about 2 months, but it is pretty much okay now.  August and September are a blur, save the fond memory of another weekend in Estes Park, this time for ScotFest. 

On the knitting front—-remember this??? 

It will be a bit before it fits dear Leo, but it turned out darling.  The pink baby blanket is in time out—-I am so sick of pick garter stitch, I’ve started a sweater for the little gal that will probably be done in a few days (wish me luck, I’m kinda making it up using numbers from a Debbie Bliss book, but winging it for the most part).  There is another baby to knit for; one of the medical techs in my office is having a baby boy in January, and I’m thinking it might be nice to have something done BEFORE the infant arrives (for a change).  The Fair Isle Cardi made an appearance recently, but has again been replace by more time sensitive items.

Work is………………..well……..work.  Enough said.

And now the shameless plea for help I was talking about earlier.  If this is a repeat visit, you’ll no doubt remember that I was diagnosed with diabetes last spring.  I’m doing really well, lost nearly 20 lbs and keeping my blood sugar pretty controlled.  Trouble is, there are about 21 MILLION Americans that are also struggling with this disease.  Here’s where you come in.  This coming Saturday, October 6th, I, along with several friends are participating in the Step Out to Fight Diabetes event, here in Colorado Springs (there are different events on different days in other parts of the country).  I have formed a team, TEAM KNITNURSE, and have tried my best to do some fund-raising by email.  I’ve had 1 response (thank you Jeannie ).  If you are at all inclined to support this great cause, if someone you know has been touched by diabetes and you can spare a buck or two……..well, I would be profoundly grateful.  Time and time again I’ve seen our knitting/blogging community support great causes; over and over we give of ourselves to make a better world for those we care about.  If you’d like to help, here is the link. Thank you in advance for your generosity—-

Now, back to the baby sweater   

Blogging al fresco *

I’m laying low today…….enjoying the quiet of an empty house and no commitments, and trying to keep a sinus headache at bay.  I’ve been fighting this pain behind my left eye for days, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve more than likely got a raging sinus infection going on.  For now, I’m doing what I tell my patients to do; rest, lots of water, sudafed and motrin.  If that fails, tomorrow morning I will ask my office mate for antibiotics.  I suspect that the instigating factor to this particular plague is the neat fact that what I’ve always believed to be an ash tree in my backyard is evidently some sort of cottonwood, that has chosen this year to drop a blanket of fluff over it’s territory.  What a mess.

Estes was great, as expected.  All of the prompt among you have already posted reports and photo’s galore, so I may just leave it at that.  I came home with bobbins for the Ashford and the Lendrum (which I took along and spun on while camping—-pure bliss, I have to tell you.  Ellen has pics on her blog), a small bit of Llama in a pretty colorway that is magic to watch on the wheel, and two bumps of Bond/Corriedale that I want to play with.  What I didn’t come home with was a drum carder (verrrry close) or a loom (verrrrry, verrrrrry close).  Logic won out, thinking to myself “shoot Lisa, you don’t have time or energy to knit up the stuff you have, when are you going to have time to weave?” and “I can always rent a drum carder to process 1 pound of alpaca!”   The other thought was that these are not fesitval only products and I can really pick up one any time I like.  Of course, I will not be able to use the excuse that I’m buying it for Brad for Fathers Day

As is always the case, it was very hard to leave the park.  Our final morning, Brad and I were both commenting on how we wish we could just stay, perhaps call in sick and stay the rest of the week.  Being the responsible (cough) grown-ups that we are, we packed up and headed home, stopping for coffee, lunch and shopping on the way.  Once home, life takes over and before you know it another weekend rolls around and I’m wishing I was back in my litttle camper in the mountains. 

I’m still shlogging through the baby blanket—–last night, a bunch of us from work were together for a bbq, and I got a chance to cuddle with the little gal who will someday get the blanket.  She is ever so tiny and petite, and such a sweet little thing.  She came almost a month early, (that’s my excuse for not having the blankie done) and though she was over 6 pounds, she is still really small; Brad held her for a time and she is barely more than a handful, (sorry, no pictures).

When my hands tire of cotton and garter stitch, I swap over to the mindless garter stitch mohair shawl.   (Speaking of shawls, I had a great chat with Miriam at Estes—-keep your eyes peeled for a new project in the fall Knitty.com).  Seems that my mind is craving simple stuff right now, so this is about my speed.  I really must get the sweater done for my niece’s baby boy, as we will be meeting him in a few days.  My plan is to knit this on the plane and at the beach, finishing it up before we get together (think I’ll make it?  I have half a front and a sleeve to go, plus the sewing up).

I think I talked about the upcoming pilgrimage to the homeland in the last post—–just 4 more workdays till vacation YAY!!!!!  Things at work have been, well, less than pleasant, with a supervisor who is a micro-manager kind of guy, and leadership that is less than positive.  I won’t outline all the difficulties here, but the environment as a whole really must change, or I may have to change jobs myself.

I want to say thanks to all of you for your kind words of encouragment lately.  Ya’ll have been awesome!!   Thank you Margene for you warm greeting at Estes, thanks Ann for your sweet comment, and thanks to all of you who still check up on me.  This week will bring the three month mark since diagnosis and there have been major changes; I’ve lost about 13 pounds, my labwork is almost normal (between lifestyle changes and medications) and I’m not quite as overwhelmed as I was.  I still have days when I feel frustrated and unable to cope, but they are becoming fewer.  One of the hardest things for me is being in a situation where there are lots of food choices, like at a bbq or get-together, and trying to decide what I can eat.  I’m finding (redicovering, perhaps??) a compulsive side to myself in that I just cannot bring myself to cheat.  I’m getting better about asking for what I need, and saying no to the things I know are not good for me.  The real test will be how I do out of my controlled environment, on vacation (did I mention that vacation is just a few days away??)

And now I think I may do a little spinning before it gets too hot (suppose to be 90-something today) and the headache requires more motrin and a nap. 

* al fresco—-we (our merry band of knitters) had a little discussion up in the park regarding this term, whether it means “out of doors, outside” or “in the nude.”  I’ll leave you to decide what it means in this context

It’s about time……

…….to do something about the blog.  There are many excuses reasons I could site for being so long absent, and I may share a couple.  But the fact remains I’ve been away too long and I miss hearing from you all.   My friend Ellen chastised me the other day for not updating the blog and I told her that one of my reasons for not doing so was that I didn’t want it to turn into a “bitchfest” with me whining about my current health issues. 

I was again chastised. 

…..so like I said nearly two months ago now, for the time being, the blog is what it is.

Reason number one that I’ve been away is that almost every spare minute I’ve had since my diagnosis 2 months ago has been spent reading up on what it is that I’ve been challenged with.  I’m a believer that knowledge is power, and the more we can learn about a particular thing, the less scary it is and the more “in control” we can be.  Thus, I’ve read quite a bit about diabetes (and when I’ve had all I can take of that, I’ve been spending time again in Middle Earth).  Here’s some of what I’m learning:  First,there’s a lot to learn and know.  A trip to Borders is a mind boggling thing when I look at the shelves full of books about diabetes.  Some are excellent resources, others bunk, but the mind reels nonetheless.  So far, my favorites are Diabetes for Dummies (which was the first thing I bought) and my new favorite has a title that takes up the whole front cover but in short is called The First Year.  I am recommending both to my patients.    Second,doing everything right does not necessarily mean you will get a perfect outcome.  This is a complex disease, and there are too many variables to count.  Some days are good, some days are not, and it’s hard to predict which will be which.    Third, that even though I am a nurse, I have a basic understanding of many disease processes, having something myself has brought a whole new level of understanding.  Along the same lines, I have a new compassion for my diabetic patients, and now understand why so many just give up, becoming noncompliant (as we label them in the field).  This is not an easy thing to have, it takes much thought and planning everyday.  Unlike other serious illnesses, it does not go away (I’ll pause here to say that with excellent diet control and significant weight loss, there are some people who do not require medication, but they still have diabetes, short of divine intervention).  Diabetes, for me, has been a life changing event.  It is something I go to bed thinking about, I wake up thinking about, and have in the back of my mind throughout the day.  I’m trusting that soon I won’f have to use so much of my conscious mind to keep things in control, but for now, I just don’t know a better way. 

On to other things.

The Moderne Log Cabin baby blanket is coming along, but I must say I am really getting tired of pink cotton and garter stitch.  I was going along fine, working on it until I was sick of looking at pink, and then working on something else for a while, but the intended recipient chose to make her debut about 3 weeks ahead of schedule, and now I’m guilt ridden that it is unfinished and unable to pick up anything else.  I reminded myself that this is precisely why I vowed to give up deadline knitting.  Add to that, there is still the sweater(I’m in the middle of the intarsia star—-and reminded that I hate intarsia), and there are now two more wee bairns expected at the office; one in July and one sometime late this year or early next.  If I knit for them, it’s booties, baby.  I can’t wait to give my hands a break from cotton.  I’ve bought some fantastic yarn lately, that I can’t wait to do something with.  So far I’ve been able to ward off startitis, but it’s knocking at the door.  I have two yarns that I bought just to swatch with: Misty Alpaca Chunky in charcoal for an Einstein, and Kathmandu Aran in grey for the Notre Dame sweater in the spring edition of Interweave Knits.  On a whim, I bought two hanks of Mountain Colors, Mountain Goat in a colorway called Glacier Teal. 

It was an impulse purchase—-just couldn’t put it down, the color is so rich, but I had no idea what to do with it when I bought it (not like me).  I’m thinking perhaps of a Clapotis??  I have something like 500 yards.  Any ideas? 

The new spinning wheel and I are bonding—-I finally had the brilliant idea to use a fiber that I was already well acquainted with, and knew how it behaved to learn the new wheel.   Okay, so I was a little slow to figure that out   Anyway…..the wheel is spinning beautifully, it has the most comforting whir, and I love everything about it.  While the Lendrum is playing around with the mystery fiber that I brought home from Estes last year, the little Ashford is spinning up my “birthday fiber.” 

Speaking of Estes…..it is just two weeks away!  I can’t wait!  I’ve had my camping reservations for some time, Brad has his fishing gear ready to go, and I have money in the checkbook—-the benefit of having a job.  Lot’s of the girls from the knitgroup are going up and sharing a condo—we are planning a cookout at our campsite for Saturday night.  We even figured out if I could eat s’mores.  It looks like it will be a great time, again.

Vacation plans have been made—-the annual trip to the homeland is fast approaching.  We decided to try something different this time, flying into Portland, Oregon, renting a car and heading first to Longbeach for a few days.  I’ve reserved a three bedroom beachfront condo so the kids can meet us there, and then we’ll head to the Seattle area.  In addition to a couple days at the lake, we’ll celebrate a 95th birthday and take in the annual family picnic.  We’ll get to meet the newest family member, Leonardo (born in Australia—-must finish the sweater, must finish the sweater….) and enjoy some fresh raspberries off the farm.  If we’re really lucky, we might have time for some sailing

Now, I’d better get back to the blessed baby blanket, before the child is walking.

Changes.

It’s somewhat hard for me to believe that this use to be a daily activity for me……..but nonetheless, here I am, again trying to catch up.  I so appreciate you all stopping in to say hi, and I love reading your blogs as often as I can.  I was about to say, that I’m having trouble sitting down to write (but you all know that) and I could appologize, but in this community that hardly seems necessary.  For now, the blog is what it is.Several of you have commented that you hope I’m feeling better, that tests came back good and so on.  I have had some correspondence with a few of you, but  to fill you all in, I have been recently diagnosed with diabetes.  Now I know, this is not the worst thing that could happen, some of you live with the same disease, more of you know someone who does; it is by no means a death sentence.  What it has meant for me though, is a completely new way of thinking.  Figuring out what to eat has become another part time job, and keeping it all together has required some real effort.  I had none of the classic symptoms (excessive thirst, running to the bathroom all the time, and so on), only fatigue, which I attributed to an underactive thyroid, and weight gain which I attributed to just being lazy.  In retrospect, I had several symptoms, though they were easy to miss—the most glaring is a triglyceride level that was sky high and refused to come down.  Suffice it to say, though we caught it before it was out of control and still in the early stages, I’ve probably been diabetic for 5 or more years.  More than 20 million Americans have diabetes, and at least 6 million more probably are walking around undiagnosed.  (allow me to preach for a moment)  If you have not had a fasting blood glucose level checked recently, PLEASE DO.  Left too long, diabetes can cause serious health problems, not the least of which are kidney failure and heart disease.    About the same time I was having lab work done, the provider I work for decided it might be a good idea to have an ultrasound of my liver (I had some funky values on my liver lab work)—-what we weren’t counting on was finding my gallbaldder chok full of stones.  Once again I had been able to attribute my vague symptoms to something else.  I’ve seen the surgeon, and since I’m not yet writhing on the floor in agony, having it removed is an elective procedure.  I’m seeing another surgeon tomorrow for a second opinion, but I’m leaning toward having it taken care of before it becomes a problem at some inconvenient time.  Any opinions???Now, on to happy thoughts. 

The Lendrum has arrived, and it spins beautifully.  It is lovely to look at, has a nice solid feel and I’m loving it.  We are still in the honeymoon phase, but once we bond, it my be my favorite wheel.  I’m having a bit of trouble getting just the right amount of twist with my merino combed top—it wants to fall apart easily, but I’m getting better.  Could be it is just a difficult fiber, but I keep plugging away at it.  Any of you with Lendrums, have you had trouble with fine combed roving? 

I have three new projects on the needles since last I checked in.  First, MJ gave me this gorgeous mohair/wool blend yarn for my birthday (turns out MJ is allergic to mohair).  I immediatley cast on a simple garter stitch triangle shawl.  I’ve about used half of the yarn, and it’s coming along nicely. 

This weekend I went shopping with Kirsten, and picked up some cotton for a baby blanket for my collegue at work (I think I might have mentioned this before).  I’m doing the modern log cabin form this book, in very baby girlie colors (per Simons request).  It is cast on, and just started.

While I was in the store, it occured to me that I had not knit anything for our new grand-nephew, born a couple weeks ago.  (Is it grand, or great when your neice has a baby??  I never get it right..)  He will be getting the sweater on the cover of this book.   One sleeve is nearly done. 

The fair isle is languishing in the basket, not forgotten, but taking a time out.  It is meant as a long term, epic knit, and, well, there are babies to knit for.

In other big news—-the Yarn Harlot finally made it to
Denver, and some of our merry band ventured to the Tattered Cover to see and hear her.  What a blast!  Just five of us went, but joined the nearly 200 there to see Stephanie and pick up a book or two.  Stephanie was very funny, and was a real trooper to sit and sign soooooo many books.  We were among the last in line and she was gracious and kind and warm and altogether wonderful.  It was a real treat.   Here we are, all together.

(that’s Kirsten, Linda, Ellen, Chery and me, with everyone’s favorite Harlot  )

Now, I need to get some knitting done, before I get on the treadmill, get cleaned up and off to run errands.  I’m hoping to get the sleeve finished up and cast on the back (or another sleeve).  Maybe I can even spin a little.  Hope you are all well—-have a great week.

Oh, by the way—-

Estes
Park Wool Market is coming up.  Whose comin’????