Still sick

I am still out sick with this cold. I slept most of the afternoon and was feeling a little better, but now I just want to lay down again. I either have to go to work tomorrow or go to the doctor's for a note. It looks like I will be going to work because I have no desire to sit in the doctor's office waiting to be seen. I will just have to take it easy.

Here is a picture of some booties I will be sending to the reservation for the Heet the Feet challenge. Sorry it is a little blurry, but I think my camera needs new batteries.

I am taking a workshop called Next FAIS and it is lead by two women who couldn't be nicer if they tried. The workshop is 10 months long and will be over in June. I want to make each of these ladies something and have been trying to decide what. I think I finally came up with a couple of ideas. For Iris I will make a Prayer Shawl using Lion Brand's Homespun with a note attached explaining what it is. Then for Amy I will make a couple of washcloths from: Amazon.com: Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters' Guide: Stories, Patter . I will add some bathsalts and some nice soap and a note telling her to take a long hot bath and relax. What do you think? Does this sound OK?

Well that is about all I can write this evening. Take care and be nice to each other.

Out sick with a cold

I am home sick today. I have a terrible cold. I received this cold from Justin who is one of my kids at school. I do not understand why some parents will keep their kids home for no reason at all ("The cable guy was due today so I couldn't bring him in.") and other parents send their kids even if they child is on a gurney with an IV stuck in their little arm. So, because Justin came to school with this dreaded disease I ache all over, have a runny nose, cough and am freezing to death.



It is still cold and rainy here. I don't remember when we have gotten so much rain. The kids are going crazy which means they are driving us nuts because they can't go outside. Then when it isn't raining and it is just cold out we take our kids out and parents complain because they think we are making them sick. Have I mentioned lately that it is the parents who drive me crazy and not the kids.



What have I been doing all day? Sleeping has filled a lot of my time. Watching Charlie Chaplin movies and knitting on this:

It is a shawl I am knitting for myself to wear around the house. The color didn't come out right. It is purple with shades of blue knitted into it. I got the pattern from "200 Ripple Stitch Patterns" by Jan Eaton. One of my favorite books which I have used several times. The pattern is called "Soft Chevrons", it is turning out to be very easy and relaxing so I am enjoying making it. I have several different kinds of lace weight yarn that I am thinking about using in one of the patterns from this book; I just haven't decided which pattern.

I have been doing a lot of reading lately. I joined two book clubs on Ravelry and have to read everyday to keep up. One of them tells us what book to read and the other we make a challenge for ourselves and try to meet that challenge. I am going to try to read 50 books this year. That's almost a book a week. Fortunately, we can count books on tape, which I listen to while going to and from work and at lunch. I think I am going to post here the really good books I read, maybe someone out there will enjoy them too.

The first book is "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. This is one of the books we are required to read for one of the book clubs. Even though it is for a young adult it kept me interested throughout the whole book. It is about a young girl who is raised by foster parents in Nazi Germany. She goes through many terrible and exciting adventures in her young life, one such adventure is when her foster parents hide a Jewish man in their basement. A very good book and it shows us a side of Germany during that time which we don't usually see. I enjoyed it and am happy that I read it.

So, that is about all I can do today. Back to laying under the covers and knitting. I think I am going to watch "Giant" if I can stay awake. Take care everyone and be nice to each other.

Happy New Year

So it is New Year's Eve. I have no plans other than watching movies, probably a "Lord of the Rings" marathon, and knitting. I don't like to go out on this night because of all the drunks out there; I don't want to be a statistic. So, we will stay home and watch movies.


I decided to list what I made this year. Most of it went to the reservation and the others went to Grandmas who were expecting a new grandchild. Anyway, here is my list.

round crocheted ripple baby blanket - 2
crocheted afghans - 3
children's hats - 7
children's mittens - 5 pairs
quilted child's blankets - 3
baby sweater - 1
baby booties - 6 pairs
dishcloth baby blanket - 1
knitted baby blanket - 2
infant mittens - 3 pairs
infant hats - 5
toddler mittens - 2 pairs
child's slippers - 3
knitted dish cloths - 7
crocheted dish cloth - 1

I know there is more but I forgot to write it down, but this is pretty close. I hope to do better in 2008 than I did in 2007. Especially for the reservation, they need sooooo much more.

Now here is my New Year's Resolutions, well most of them anyway, some are too personal to post on the net.


Lose Weight - I don't care how much so long as I lose some. This is a "have to" one because of the high blood pressure and diabetes. I will use the DASH diet and walk during my breaks at work. I even bought a pouch which hangs from the belt loops of my pants so I can knit while I am walking. The yarn is in the pouch and the knitting is in my hands. I figure I will walk farther if I am knitting.


Keep House Clean - This is another "have to" because I am much happier when the house is cleaner. I feel better physically and mentally, so I need to keep up with it. I cleaned it pretty good while I have been on this break from work, now I need to come up with a plan to keep it that way after I go back to work.


Finish all my UFOs - I am making myself a promise to finish one UFO before I start a new one. There are several here and I really want to get them out of my house. So, before I can start a new project I have to finish an old one. This will be a hard one to do because there is always one more I want to start.


Don't buy any more books, use the library - This is a hard one because I love buying books almost as much as I love buying yarn.


And now for the hardest one of all:

DO NOT BUY ANYMORE YARN UNTIL YOU USE WHAT YOU HAVE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The exception will be wool yarn for hats for a4A because I do not have much wool, most of it is acrylic. The other exception is if I need to buy yarn for a special project, but I am going to try to stop doing so much of that and concentrate on making stuff for the reservation.


Well, that is it. I am hoping that because I have written it down and sent it out to cyber space I will be able to keep most of them. Periodically, I will be posting here about them, just to keep myself honest.

I am wishing everyone a wonderful New Year! Take care and be nice to each other.

Depression

I spent this weekend knitting. I know that I have a million things which need to be done around here, but I did none of them. I just sat, listened to a book on tape, watched the same movie as the book and knitted. I don't understand why I do this. I just get very depressed and want to not even move. I also spent a lot of time sleeping. If I had my choice that is what I would do all the time. Unfortunately, my body won't let me sleep that much, although I sure can sleep a lot. So, I knit. It is the only thing other than sleeping that makes it all better. Right now I am sitting here trying to think of a reason to stay home so I can knit. I won't though, I will go to work and hate every minute of it. When I get like this I don't care about anything and the only reason I knit is because I can't sleep.

So, what have I been knitting. A baby blanket for Tawana's soon to be grand daughter. A baby poncho with hood for the same baby. I had that one almost done and had to rip back to a couple of inches from the beginning because of a mistake. I did finish a wool baby hat which will be sent to Afghanistan to a children's hospital there. I am also working on a shawl for the elders and a dishcloth baby blanket for the rez.

I found some very large (3 gals) Zip Lock bags this weekend and have been using them to put projects in that I will be working on later. I got this idea from the Yarn Harlot http://www.yarnharlot.ca who says she does this all the time. I didn't know they made them this big. She says they even make them big enough to put an 8 year old in but I wouldn't recommend it. The 3 gal size is big enough to hold all the yarn, needles and pattern and whatever else might be needed for that project. For instance I put all of the wool into a bag because it will all make up into hats and a baby blanket to be sent to Afghanistan instead of the acrylic that I use for the rez. I was thinking that when I use up all of the yarn I have (in about 40 years LOL) I will only use wool for the rez. They know how to handle it and most of them have to do their laundry by hand anyway. But that is in the future and I need to get all of this used up before that happens.

I was supposed to go to breakfast at IHop with the people from PITC. This was our last time to be together and the class is all done so we were going to meet there to have a little get together and the agency was paying for breakfast. I decided not to go. Why? Well, I have not heard from any of them since I transfered from up there. Not even Terri, she never even called me to say if the baby has been born yet. So, why should I go? I am tired of being used by people, from now on I will help IF I can and if I either can't or don't feel like it I won't. I have a baby blanket and a blanket for her older grandson sitting here and they will both go out in the next box to the rez.

Well, now that I have depressed you I will go get ready for work and maybe get a little knitting done before I leave. Here's a little information about me which will let you know how weird I am. I will leave here an hour or more before I have to be to work so I can sit in the car, listen to a book on tape and knit before I have to go in. Now, is that strange or what? I wish I could find a job where all I have to do is knit. Unfortunately, I am not really good enough to do it professionally, just good enough for me. But, then again I guess that is all that counts.

Have a great day and be nice to each other.

Ramblings for a Monday Evening

Here is a bad picture of Da and Zoe sitting on the bed, eating pizza and watching Shrek the Third. She spent the weekend and we all had a pretty good time. She came in on Sunday morning and woke us up, I still haven't forgiven her for that one. LOL. I think the only reason she comes over is because we have cable. But, I can't prove that one. So, I probably should be quiet about it.

Speaking of grandchildren, I just found out my 10 year old grandson made the honor roll. A very proud grandmother is sitting here writing this. What a great job he did!

Well, we spent all of last week getting our room ready for the review. I mean my co-teacher Tawana and I cleaned it from top to floor getting all the areas ready and in order. We busted our butts for three days. They (the review team) are here (they come from all over the country) and were at another site today and are supposed to be at ours tomorrow. I sure will be glad when this is over and we can get back to the job of teaching.

We had four days off work, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What did I do all four days? I cleaned. As though I didn't get enough of it at work, I spent my days off doing the same thing. I cleaned the hall closet, got rid of almost everything in there. Well, not really, just the cross stitch stuff. I don't do it anymore and I am going to send it to the reservation so they can have it. Hopefully they can use it up there. There is bound to be someone who cross stitches.

After I finished the closet I actually tackled the sewing room. What I found out, and this came as a surprise to me, was that we really do have a floor in there. I was truly amazed. I had Stephen take the doors off the closet in there and I will hang curtains because it makes it is easier to see what is in there. I had to buy 5 more crates to hold all of the yarn and it still did do it. I have it in baskets in the hall closet, in a large basket here in the computer room, in baskets on book shelves in the sewing room and some in bags in the bedroom. But, at least it is organized better and I can see what I have and can get to it easier. Now if I just had the time to knit it all.

I still need to go through the stuff that I am sending to the reservation and get it boxed up. I want it out of here ASAP. Before I change my mind. I look at it and remember how much fun I used to have cross stitching and collecting all of the fabrics, thread and kits. But, I just don't do it anymore. I really am trying to down size so that when we do move it will be easier.

What am I working on now. A very pink baby blanket for Tawana's grand daughter who is due in February. I have several other projects in the works which I will list after I finish going through them. One of the things I did this weekend was to go through some UFOs (unfinished objects) and decide that I would never finish some of them so I rewound the yarn and will use it for something else.

The blanket has become one I seem to make a lot. It is my own recipe and I find it very easy to do. Using WW yarn and appropriate needles (I use a US9) I cast on 150 stitches. I then garter stitch 12 rows. Then I k10, k10, p10,k10,p10,k10,p10,k10,p10,k10,p10,k10,p10,k10,k10. On the next row I do just the opposite: k10,p10,k10 and so on always keeping the first and last 10 stitches on each row in garter stitch for a border. I do this for 12 rows. Then I take another color yarn (usually varigated) and garter stitch for 6 rows. I then use the first color yarn and repeat the first part. I continue working in this way until it is as long as I want it and then I finish with a 12 row garter stitch border. I hope this makes sense, if not please feel free to contact me and I will try to help you.

OK, I am going to go pack up the stuff I am sending to the reservation, read some things that I need to refresh myself on for work and get some knitting done. Take care and be nice to each other.

This 'n That

This is the second time I have tried to post this, so hope it works this time.

I have been pretty busy, working, PITC, knitting and life. But, for a week at least I am on vacation from work. I have been looking forward to this for a very long time and I intend to enjoy every minute of it.

My grandchildren will be staying with us for a few days. That is if they don't drive me crazy and I send them home. I put them to work this morning, cleaning out the garage so we could organize the stuff for the pick up on Tuesday by Sallys. I also had them crushing cans for recycling. Poor things, they acted as though I were making them do the most awful thing imaginable. On Wednesday we are taking them to Santa Cruz, so that should get rid of some of the trauma. I mean what kid doesn't like death defying rides on the boardwalk and a whole ocean to play in?

I am hoping to finish the school bags I want to make and send to the reservation. I have them all cut from unbleached muslin and want to tye dye them before I sew them. I have 40 cut, so hope to get them done in the next week or two. I also have a bunch of school supplies to send up to them and I will get the first box sent off on Tuesday. Wish it were more, but it is the best I can do for now.

I have been knitting a lot lately. Besides the baby blanket I finished, I also made a pair of mittens and a hat which will be sent to the rez. Along with the other items I am making my first Baby Surprise Jacket to send along to the rez. Well, I can't say it is my first one. I started one before but couldn't finish it because I couldn't understant the directions. So, what is the difference this time, you might ask? I bought the DVD "Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket with Meg Swansen". What a wonderful video this is. Meg goes over the making of the Jacket step by step. She makes one as she is explaining everything, so you can see exactly what to do. I am almost finished with the knitting, and still want to put a collar on it and an I-cord around it. I also want to make the matching hat which Meg shows how to make. I highly recommend this DVD. I will post pictures when I am done.

Almost time to get dinner for this crew, then we are going to the Marina to walk. Hope everyone has a great evening.

No Title

Still haven't finished the baby blanket. My arms were hurting last night, so didn't get too much done. Besides, we went out to eat and then to Borders and then to Best Buy, and didn't get home until after 9:00. I watched the rest of Ghandi (GREAT! movie) then fell asleep. I usually get some knitting done when the kids are napping, but I actually had to do some work today. Can you believe that? I had to work during work hours. How lame is that?

So what is going on around here tonight. I need to do my homework for PITC, pay some bills and I want to get some more done on the never ending blanket. I am also thinking about walking around the Marina, but will have to wait to see if The Husband wants to go. I have recently been diagnosed with Diabetes and need to learn to watch what I eat and get more exercise. Yea right! That has proven to be easier said than done. I am also haveing problems testing my blood. It has become hard to get enough blood to test. Whenever I stick myself only a little comes out. So, I wind up sticking all my fingers and then the palm of my hand trying to find someplace that will bleed enough. I see the nugtritionist in a couple of weeks, guess I will ask her about it.

We now have 20 kids in our class. That is just about double of what we had last year. But, even with more kids, I am enjoying this time so much more than I did last year because I do not have the same idiot, back stabbing, lying bitch of a co-worker. What a relief it has all been to not have to watch my back and worry about what she is going to do next. As a matter of a fact, Crystal and I usually have a good time. I don't feel so stressed out all of the time. So, I guess that is a good thing.