06.25.09
Posted in odds 'n ends, daily life stuff, knitting at 11:34 pm by Shari
Just ‘cuz I spent more years than I’d like on a farm, and helped with the garden more than I’d like, it doesn’t mean I’m able to grow anything.
The tomatoes are going well - no blooms yet, so obviously no produce, but it’s looking pretty promising. The cukes (what lasted when I first planted) and squash are going well too. Lettuce, on the other hand, and herbs - not so much.
Ever hear of hydroponics? I could pretend that I was trying to learn about that. But the fact of the matter is that I didn’t realize the flowerbox style planters I had had drain holes that were PLUGGED. And we got a TON of rain last week. When it cleared enough to go check on everything, I went out to find all the lettuce under at least 2″ of water. Oops! The water’s been drained, and the plugs removed and the lettuce isn’t exactly dead, but I’m not sure if it’s bouncing back either. Time will tell
The herbs have been living in the house and were all gangly looking. I decided once it had gotten more consistently warm (but not blistering yet) that it was time to take them out to be conditioned. The next day, nearly all of them were dead 
What’s left is back inside for the moment, seeing what happens to them.
The last thing planted is some mint in a few pots. Still waiting on those to come up. If for some reason they don’t come up - it’ll be time to quit. My recollection is that mint grows even if you don’t want it to.
The other thing I was planning to plant was some sunflowers - but the birds attacked the seed packet and relieved me of the seeds, so I either go get some more or skip that for this year.
Amber’s acting all lethargic like she did last late summer/early fall. Last time she just kept slowing down. This time it’s starting with her bugging the heck out of her ears… rubbing them and digging at them to the point that she’s opened up all kinds of next to her ears. We started trying to massage the ears with damp cloths which she seems to really like us doing, but then she started slowing down in the last day and a half or so… and the clinch-pin is not eating again. Made a vet appt for tomorrow morning and I’m hoping it’s easier (read cheaper) to sort out than last time. And if she’s gotta take any drugs, you can bet I’ll make them write an Rx to take to Walgreens.
One good thing about tomorrow is that I’M ON VACATION. Yeah - for a single day…. a day that I didn’t know I was even eligible for until 2 days ago and then had to make sure I took before next Wednesday or I’d lose it. I could have sworn that I had to be there 6 months before I’d get my first day. 6 months is Monday. Nope… for some reason I looked at accruals in the timekeeping system on Tuesday and saw that I had 7 hrs! Since I’m scheduled for training activities next Monday and Tuesday, and vaca has to be scheduled in advance and the daily phone schedule set a day ahead, it meant the ONLY day I could take was tomorrow. So I requested it and hoped there’s be “enough bandwidth” to approve my request. Luckily it was approved so that means I don’t have to sweat getting out of the vet TOO fast. Not that I want to be there long - that just means more $$$’s, usually, but it’s one less stress factor.
On the knitting front - I’ve been working on the Sockotta socks but it’s time to turn the heel. I was gonna try Wendy Johnson’s directions. I started it and then realized that I hadn’t set up properly. Put them down and started a pair using Paton’s Kroy Stripes (in the cyan stripes colorway) that are turning out great too. With the vacation day tomorrow, I hope to have the time to focus on the Sockotta pair to get those heels done so they are back to mindless knitting, ie knitting that can be done at work.
Are you tired yet of the MJ coverage on TV? It’s not even 12 hrs yet and is totally overshadowing FF’s death. Word of both deaths spread so fast today, what with everyone having a cell phone and getting/sending text messages. I grew up w/ his music and did like lots of it, but didn’t like the personality or persona or something once he passed his teens or so… Now the rumor mills and spin doctors are going crazy and we’ll probably never know what really happened, but then again, is it really our business?
If I don’t get to bed, it’ll be impossible to get to the vet on time, so I’d better shut up for now.
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06.17.09
Posted in daily life stuff, knitting at 1:59 pm by Shari
I’m on a “kick” with knitting socks at the moment. I finished up the carnival colored socks last Thursday and wore them before I got to take any pics on Friday. Immediately cast on another pair.
This time it’s Sockotta yarn, size 2 Addi Turbo circular needle, doing the pair from the toe up, magic loop technique. The yan is basically a washed out denim base color with stripes of pale yellow, light brown, light blue and light green. The colors always alternate with the base color and sometimes there’s 2 of the contrast color and sometimes 3. They started at different places in the repeat, so this pair will definitely be fraternal not nearly identical.
I understand the basics of the heel and now that I got through one set on my own, I went back to Wendy Johnson’s site to see how she does the heel turn/flap on a toe up sock and will mingle what I did with what she does on this pair. I’m soon ready to work on turning the heel on this new pair.
In the garden - I planted the lettuce and squash last weekend. Dang, those lettuce seeds are small and there’s a LOT in a package. They look pretty funny and definitely too many in the planter, but we’ll see how big I can get them before I start thinning them out - add at least a few of those tiny leaves to a salad. The squash is coming up just fine and 1/2 of the cukes didn’t revive themselves after they were transplanted. I still didn’t put in the mint, but I know that’ll grow like a weed, so I’m not stressed about that. The herbs have all come up but look a little too tender to put outside in their planters yet. Tomatoes look great and need some stakes very soon. It’s kinda exciting to know that I’ve gotten these things in and I look forward to picking from the back porch.
The other day I got the first few quarts of fresh from the field strawberries. Wilberts, on Rt 350 in Macedon? Walworth? is right on the way to the dump. I had to take the trash on Sunday and was very excited to see they were open. Those strawberries didn’t last very long. They have U-Pick at some point, and I’d like to pick some to make jam this year, but we’ll see if I can get it together to make that happen.
I also found a place that had fresh asparagus - YUM. Usually when I go by this place, they are all out by the time I get through there. Chuck doesn’t much like asparagus, but I do, so I sneak a little in during the very short season.
I have very fond memories of going out to pick the asparagus at my grandmother’s house when I was little. We’d bring it all in, clean it and put it in bunches that she’d put out by the road. My brothers and I would hide under the big pine tree and watch people come by to buy it - we were certain that people were going to steal the money and we (aged 8, 6 and 3) weren’t going to let that happen. I wish her house was still there so I could see how big it REALLY was. As a kid, it was HUGE, and the asparagus field went on forever, and there was a huge field for catching lightening bugs. The walk-in basement had so much fun stuff. I’m sure now I’d be shocked at how small it really was.
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06.06.09
Posted in daily life stuff, knitting at 7:29 pm by Shari
Okay, so I did finish the Gin & Tonic socks a few days ago and promptly wore them the next day. Here’s a few shots. The darker ones are more representative of the colors. My second toe really isn’t deformed even though it kinds looks it in the pictures. I’ve decided that although I do really like these… I like the pattern even without the cable crossings. Also, I think I’d like the solid section of the toe to be a little deeper, and even though I did make the heel flap deeper than the pattern said, it should have been even deeper than that.
Now on the needles is a pair that’s been on the needles since January. It’s my first pair of toe up magic loop with a heel flap and gusset like the ones I do on a top down. I had to really think through the process (what, me follow an existing pattern???) and wanted to get into the heel sometime when I could focus and get them both done. Since during tax season I never felt like I could, I had put them aside. Now they are nearly done - just a few inches on the leg and ribbing at the top. I plan to make them as tall as I can given the yarn I have. I’m calling them my carnival socks because the yarn is red, aqua, purple, orange and white. What the HELL was I thinking when I picked that combo???? Anyway - the yarn is JoAnn Sensations Soles & More and I’m using a size 2 needle for this pair.
Also still in the needles (among many things) is that purple sweater that I was going great guns on before. Need to do some ripping so I get back to the bottom of the v-neck section then I can get back into that project again.
On the home front, I did some more planting. Last night I got the cukes into the barrel, along with some squash seeds. Also did the hanging planters for the front porch and lettuce in a window box-like planter. I have mint for another planter and some sunflower seeds that I’d like to throw in somewhere. The cukes look a little sad today - one set had dried out too much while waiting to be planted. Remembering the farm years, I know I don’t need much in the way of plant to have an overabundance of vegetables, so I’m not going to sweat that. If they come back, great. If not, there’ll still be plenty, I’m sure. The tomatoes I planted early in the week are looking pretty perky and I think I can see all of one sprout in the 12 peat pots of herbs that I planted. Whatever - it still feels good to have started something this year and hopefully we’ll get at least a little yield from the effort.
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06.01.09
Posted in odds 'n ends, knitting at 6:57 pm by Shari
I didn’t finish up the G&T socks last night. And, it’s going just fine working on them at work today, and they aren’t quite finished even though work is nearly finished. Hmm… wrong on all accounts.
One of the other distractions when I’m at work is reading cnn.com and browsing the articles there. Last Friday it took me to Philly.com to read an article, then I read another and another. None of them noteworthy, but it made me think back to the 2 yrs I lived down there. Somehow that made me nostalgic and I decided to try using maps.google.com to see what it looks like now.
What fun that was! Plugged in my apt’s address and it landed me about a block from the building. I switched to street view and starting going up and down streets… It was funny to see the windows for the bedroom I had the first year I was there, that overlooked the next door frat house’s yard (that house looks rather abandoned now), and the front bedroom window that we used to open to throw keys down to visitors so we could avoid 3 flights of stairs to let them in. I don’t remember there being a tree on the sidewalk, but I guess in 28 yrs, a lot can change. We might get keys stuck in the branches if we tried that trick now.
I went on a walk to school, to Mr. O’Malley corner store, the sub shop another block away where my buddy Scot worked, up and down the neighborhood streets, the walk over to the UP campus, etc. Visited the grocery store and the church I attended, the dorm where some friends lived, etc. It was so much fun to see what was changed and what was still the same.
I think I’ll take another trip to Center City one day. Likely I won’t recognize nearly as much there.
Argh… time to quit and my phone just rang… later…
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05.31.09
Posted in odds 'n ends at 5:54 pm by Shari
And that’s a good thing.
Growing up on a farm wasn’t my idea of fun. No, we didn’t have tons of fields planted and no, I didn’t have to work in the barn except for when we were haying. But, we had a HUGE garden. All 3 of us kids shared in the planting and weeding and picking, and as the only girl, I did tons of the “putting up” of what came out of it. When I left the farm, I didn’t want anything to do with planting and weeding and putting up of ANYTHING anymore.
Not so much anymore (it’s been 30 years, about time, huh?). I’ve done strawberry jam and apple butter from time to time over the years and actually have contemplated putting in some raspberry canes at the end of our pole barn. I’ve even planted flowers a few times. The last couple of years, though, nothing.
I had good intentions last year and even got some great pottery for planting in - and then did nothing.
Yesterday I got inspired. I called home and told hubby I wanted the planters brought up before I got home and then went to Lowes to get some plants and soil. When I got home I started right away with getting some of it planted.
I started with the “wavy petunias” in these planters that look like they’re coming out of the house. I loved the pots as soon as I saw them last year, and we have them again this year. I kept looking at them yesterday since I was doing a demo right by them and just really wanted to finally make use of them. So, I did.
Today we FINALLY got out onto the deck (we didn’t use the deck at all last year - access was blocked all summer long). I had already planted the cherry tomato plants in the strawberry pots last night, so those got moved to the deck, as well as pots for the regular tomato plants. There’s some cukes waiting to be planted (I have a huge tub they’ll go in) and I also started some chives, rosemary and basil that’ll get added to the strawberry pots once they are ready.
I have a couple of hanging baskets out front that I want to fill, and I want to do a planter to put on the well cover. Chuck suggested something else on the front porch, but knowing the dog, it’ll be tipped within the first hour of her being out there, so I’ll skip that one.
Amber remembers being out on the deck and took advantage the moment she was able to do so. There’s lots to be done out there especially after 2 winters, but now that I can get there, I’m looking forward to hanging out there.
The Gin and Tonic socks are very nearly done. I’m just rows from starting the decreases. I’ll probably do that tonight and make sure I have something else to work on tomorrow at work since these socks a) won’t last all day and b) will probably get screwed up if I keep picking it up and putting it down during calls.
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05.28.09
Posted in odds 'n ends, daily life stuff, knitting at 10:47 pm by Shari
Work’s been going fine lately. short breaks between calls but enough to feel like I’m making a contribution. I’m still trying to adjust to the best way to deal with the schedule and optimizing my use of non-work hours, but I guess it’s coming.
The socks I’ve been working on are coming along. I realized that I wasn’t doing the gusset decreases consistently/correctly, so I slowed down while I assessed where I was. I’m about back on track now. Here’s how they look at the moment:
The color isn’t quite right and I expect the lace is going to be more obvious once they are “blocked” on my fat legs, but I’m liking them now (now that I’ve got the number of rows between cable crossing rows memorized)
I’m holding off on the purple sweater at the moment, but expect to be back at that very soon.
When I took these pics off the camera card, I realized I never took off the pics from Christmas. Here’s a few:
Knitted Ornaments: 
Mom’s knitted shoe bag
Gift bag(s) :
Mom’s casserole carrier:
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05.18.09
Posted in knitting at 6:57 am by Shari
I got the G&T socks back on track and they are going along nicely. One complete repeat on both socks completed and into the second repeat. Decided on plastic tapestry needles for the cable needles and it’s going well with that too.
So this morning I get out the computer, Excel and the graph for the purple sweater to start charting the bindoffs vs the lace pattern so I can work on that today. Then I go to see where the front neck starts doing it’s thing so I can incorporate that into the chart too. Yeah… The armholes start at 15″ from the beginning. The front neck decreases start at 11.5″.
Now I have to think about whether I wanna
- rip out some of the sweater (ugh!)
OR
- hope I have enough yarn to start the neckline decreases now and just make it a bit longer (it was short in the first place and I DID get extra yarn so I’d be able to do longer sleeves, so I’d probably be okay there, but then probably have to stick to the shorter sleeves)
OR
- rip a bit but not all the way back to 11.5″and hope that I’ll have a little more length but still enough for long sleeves.
Decisions, decisions
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05.15.09
Posted in knitting at 8:32 pm by Shari
The socks with the fiddly cable… got frogged to the ribbing today. I’m beginning to be sorry I was doing them both at the same time - would have only frogged 1/2 as much knitting. Oh, well - the major mistake I was making causing the cables to come too frequently, so in the big picture, I’ll be doing fewer fiddly cable crossings than the path I was on.
Onward ho… Gotta get a repeat or two done while I remember what’s wrong so I can read the knitting going forward (and find a substitute for tiny cable needles)
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Posted in daily life stuff, Crafts, knitting, wls at 12:39 am by Shari
There’s definitely been a change in the call volume at work. Mondays are busy since the centers were closed all weekend, but as the week goes on, the volume goes down.
Therefore, I get to knit!
I remembered the magazine for the sweater. It’s Knit ‘n Style June 2009 and the sweater is the Lacy Summer Cardi - upper right of the 4 shown on that page. I’m doing it in VC Eggplant. I decided that since it’s not a buttoned sweater and I can liberally block, I’d go for the size L and hope it doesn’t look too small. So far it’s looking pretty good. I started it and did a skein worth of knitting and decided I’d made too many goofs and needed to rip it out and restart. Now I’m nearly finished the 3rd skein of yarn and about to the armhole (I’m doing the fronts and back as 1 piece, at least to the armhole). I bought 9 skeins of yarn for this, hoping to have enough to full length sleeves rather than the elbow lengths shown. I think as long as I make the armhole with the first 3 skeins I’ll be fine.
The pattern isn’t too difficult, but somehow I keep managing to mess it up. I’ve gotten much better at detecting and correcting the errors. The best thing I did was to chart the pattern (it’s just written out in the magazine). I do find that there’s just some times that I just gotta put it aside until I can do something on break or lunch and focus just a tad more. I’m thinking, too, that once I know what row I’m on as I start the armholes, I’d better chart the bindoffs and decreases, figure out where I am in the lace for each edge, so I can work on all 3 pieces and keep it all straight.
The other current knitting project is a test knit of socks for Nicola, an acquaintence from Ravelry. She calls them Gin and Tonic because the cable and lace element looks like slices of lemon and lime that you’d have adorning your drink.
Gotta admit that the cable is more fiddly than I enjoy doing. I usually do cables sans cable needles. This one, though, puts 1 stitch on 1 holder, 4 on another holder and has 6th (and 1st) stitch crossing a total of 5 stitches. Not really doable without cn’s, so I have to improvise. I don’t have any cn’s small enough, tapestry needles are too slippery and heavy, toothpicks (at least the ones I have) are too rough and keep grabbing the yarn. Like Goldilocks, I’m sure I’ll find something that will be just right, but in the meantime I’m fighting it.
I love the pattern apart from the cable crossings every 6th row. I’m loving the yarn - Jojoland Melody Superwash. I’m also trying some new to me needles - KA 36″ circs in size 2. I need to file the tips of this just a tiny bit because I’d prefer them a little more pointy for this pattern. I’ve deviated from the pattern a bit in that I’m doing Magic loop rather than working w/ 5 needles. I have a feeling I’m going to deviate when I get to the foot - maybe skipping the actual cable crossings and just using the lacy portions on the top of the foot. I will revert to the pattern as written, though, when I get to the toes.
However, the socks hit timeout yesterday because I dropped some of the damn stitches. I grabbed them, but need to rework a couple of rows of stitches in one section, so need the time and brainpower to fix without having to tink 2 or more rows of both socks.
I tried to get girly this week and do my nails… They looked so nice on Monday when I did them. By Wednesday they were looking worn at many tips and a big old gouge in one. Tomorrow the polish is being taken off and we’ll see if I bother again.
My other girly thing this week was wearing the new necklace I made. This weekend I’m going to demo this necklace at the store. I decided I’d make one for myself in advance and wear it Saturday. I used hex cut beads, using a dark blue w/ ab for the darkest color, a light but w/ ab for the middle color and a crystal for the light. I also did longer strands (remembering how I always felt choked by what others considered a “standard” length - not anymore, but that’s a lesson learned) and not quite as many strands (do I ever follow a pattern as written????)
Anyway, it turned out great and I wore it again today. I need to make a bracelet to go with it, but there’s lots of beads left and I figure that’s a good project to do during the demo. Hmm… I’d better think of doing some earrings to match too. I’ve also done some poring over the bead stash at home, thinking of who needs one in the colors that I have available in appropriate volumes.
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04.29.09
Posted in wls at 11:52 pm by Shari
The last meeting to let folks know if they were staying or going are done, so I can officially say that I’m staying on as an off-season agent - doing the same job, just a much smaller group of folks doing it. At the same time, we get to move. We’ve been in a leased area, away from the main location, for the tax season so they could ramp up and have enough room. But that area is far too large for the off-season, so we go back to the company’s main site for the next however many months. That will happen this week. The other location is just 1/10th of a mile further from home, which when you are talking about 26.3 and 26.4 miles, is nothing.
Fortunately the Y is nearly on the way to the new-to-me site, so the other step I took this week is still a good one. I signed up at the Y (one of the ones close to downtown) so that I could start taking water aerobics classes. I had gone last week to get all the info on signing up, but didn’t do it until the first class I could attend. That was yesterday. Today I’m only a little bit sore - surprising because we did a lot of arm stuff that I expected to make my shoulders very sore.
I’ve been working on a sweater in Vanna’s Choice purple yarn. It’s from… umm… damn, the magazine’s in the car and I’m not going out to get it. Anyway, I had done 2 full repeats (12 rows, just over 200 sts) , into the 3rd when I decided that I had to restart it. I had decided to do the fronts and back as 1 piece - no big deal - and to decrease 1 stitch at the edges - the one that would disappear in a selvedge. Well, I kept finding myself off a stitch here or there, and thinking I had corrected it, but i finally decided enough was enough, it was time to go back to the beginning, re-start the lace and try to keep a closer eye on it for awhile. Derrick thought I was nuts when he saw me rip it all out, but I know myself and I’ll be happier having a more solid start on it.
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