Yopping Update #17 - Surprise!

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My week got off to a grand start as I met the newest Marine Biologist in my life (ok, the only Marine Biologist in my life) and gave her the Planaria Gansey.  It fits!

As Peter Rabbit and his friends were still waiting on the KnitPicks order I finally sewed the buttons on my Gansey Cardigan.

And then I finished my Catharine Macaulay socks.

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Still no Knitpicks order so I cast on my latest socks (also gansey style) called Portwenn

Then...ta-da, yesterday my Knitpicks order arrived so last night I got to work on Peter Rabbit's body, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's head/ears and paws, and Jemima Puddleduck's bonnet.  I also went to Michael's in the afternoon to get more stuffing and some yellow pipe cleaners for Jemima's webbed feet.  I'm all set for the putting together portion of the program. 

In order to get free shipping I also bought this book.  I have made three or four surprise sweaters by Elizabeth Zimmerman and I love making them so this book is a delight to have, and I will be making something from it as soon as Peter and his friends are all put together.  Currently they are just a basket of bits and bobs!

making a mini version for my Christmas tree is on my Yopping list for this year too!

I also bought a set of 6" double points in small sock sizes.  I have a set of 5" needles, but often they aren't long enough for some of my gnomes and/or toys. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Of course some sock yarn jumped into my cart by accident, 

the single ball is grey, not sure why it is photographing purple

as well as a row counter I can wear on my finger and quickly advance the rows with a tap of my thumb.  I have something very similar for counting laps when I swim. 

So it has been a retail therapy kind of week - and I am so pleased with all my purchases. 

I have been playing Wingspan a few times this week - sometimes solitaire and once with my dh. (He got the highest score! Hmph).

It has been very rainy and windy here all week and the low barometric pressure meant yet another migraine.  Sigh.  I have been keeping a food diary but so far no clues.  My stomach hasn't been so great all week and all I have been wanting to eat are chicken breasts and brown rice.  Could be worse I suppose.  We got our flu shots on Friday so that is a good thing.

I did make chocolate chip cookies yesterday.  That was my daughter's fault as she was making them in the morning and as a co-worker of my dh's said 'It done flung a craving on me!'  

My grand-daughter has called a few times this week.  Today she was painting with her momma, and yesterday she was riding her two-wheeled bike (with training wheels).  Every time I see her she seems to have learned something new to share with us. 

Nature is putting on quite the show these days.  The fall colours are stunning. 

backyard maple showing off

I hope to get out for some walks this coming week - time to get the rain gear out of the closet.  I joined another Conqueror Challenge - The English Channel - and I am logging my swimming distances there while I continue to log my walks on the Ring Road in Iceland.  I hope to be done the Ring Road before the end of the year, and the English Channel by then too.  Then I can start two new challenges in 2022 - one for walking - The Kruger safari in Africa - and Macchu Pichu for swimming.  I like these challenges and the medals are very beautiful!

Raking the yard of ALL the cedar will have to wait - 

It  is pouring again - and the barograph indicates storm 

so I am staying in and will continue on my Beatrix Potter trio.  I only have Peter's arms/legs and jacket to go and then I can start assembling. 

My novel  sales are slow and steady.  I am going to explore the cost to also do a limited run of paperback copies.  Stay turned.

I hope all my dear readers are staying warm and dry.  Time for tea and a cookie I think.  

Yopping Update #39 - When in doubt knit socks

 

Well it has been a week.  And not in a good way.  

On Monday I went for a walk and was about 2 miles away from home when I got a migraine aura.  (Insert major curse word here).  I called my husband and he came and got me so the next 24 hours were spent medicating and sleeping and lying in a dark room.  Fun?  Not fun.  

On Tuesday I was so fed up with the cough, and lack of sleep that I decided to go get a CoVid test even though none of my doctors had suggested it.  It was negative.  So that was good. 

On the way to the Covid test I got a call from the hospital that they could do a repeat echocardiogram to see how my heart is beating since it has been a year since my last one.  They ask me all the questions about CoVid - cough...yes,  headache....yes, fatigue....yes, loss of smell or taste....no, but nothing tastes good, loss of appetite....yes.     Still no request from them for a CoVid test.  

So Wednesday morning I reported to hospital at 7:15am with negative CoVid test in hand (which they didn't seem to care about).  So early to be up and out, but at least no traffic despite the heavy rain that morning.  I was home by nine and back to bed for a few more hours sleep.  I will get the results on Tuesday.

On Thursday I called my GP and mostly cried on the phone to her about how crappy I was feeling.  She was sympathetic, but no real answers - just to keep on keeping on. 

Yesterday was very bad with the cough from 7am until about 4pm, when I finally fell asleep for a couple of hours.  Maybe I am over the hump (which I also said last week), but at least last night I slept from 12:30 until 10 with only a small coughing episode at 7am.  

Okay, whine over. 

Through it all I have found some solace in knitting.  Not a lot, but some.  The last clue came out for the Pescatarian Mystery sock and it was a 12 row pattern to be repeated twice on each sock before starting the toe.  I would do one repeat a day and then turn to more mindless knitting such as my Scatterby socks, or my Practical Magic Shawl.  

Last night I started the toe of the Pescatarian and did, in fact, run out of yarn but not to be deterred I continued so they would be finished.  I am quite pleased with them. 

I kinda like the speckled toe

I put off turning the heel of the Scatterby for a couple of days because it required a fish lips kiss heel which I hadn't done for some while.  I couldn't bear looking up and reading the pattern, but when I finally got to it I progressed through it quickly and successfully.  I am almost finished the leg and ready to start the cuff on the first Scatterby sock. 

the fish lips kiss heel does fit beautifully

I got the Practical Magic scarf/shawl up to starting the garter section.  I am going back and forth as to whether I like it or not - but the way my mood is I don't like much these days so I will continue to see if it grows on me.  

this might be frogged to become a sock - time will tell

So that has been my week.  Probably one of the lowest mental health wise.  I am just so tired of mri's, cat scans, echocardiograms, etc. etc. etc.  I am anxiously awaiting my turn for the CoVid vaccine but I think it will be at least another month if not longer for my turn to come up.  I actually qualify for getting ahead of my age group for medical reasons, but I have so many doctors I don't know who is responsible for reporting my situation to the government.  I do have a call into my GP for tomorrow to discuss this with her. 

I feel like all I am is an unwell person.  I feel like all I will be remembered for by friends and family are my health complaints.  I am just so tired of it all. 

On a more positive note a friend had a baby last Monday, a beautiful baby boy, and I went into my cedar chest and pulled out a baby blanket and sweater for him and dropped them off at her door on Tuesday.  She was very appreciative and I felt good about that. 

This week, and especially last night I was thinking a lot about how sock knitting is my salvation.  Despite how rotten I feel everyday I put on a snazzy pair of handknit socks - and after more than a year of living in my jeans and t-shirts - at least I can look at my feet and see some colour and fashion!

I also was thinking last night that even though I feel like I am not accomplishing much, or being very creative or helpful I can always turn the heel on a sock.  Sock knitting has always seemed more than magical to me - almost the philosophers' stone - turning something beautiful and useful from a ball of string. 

I wrote about the magic of sock knitting years ago.  You can read my musings here. 

I haven't been very present for either of my kids, or my husband, or my friends this past few weeks.  I just don't have the energy.  I am so glad they are not letting me slip away but checking in and cheering me on daily.  

My daughter recently regaled us with stories of my grand-daughter delighting in a giant puddle she found on their trip to the big city.  Apparently on-lookers were quite horrified my daughter and son-in-law allowed her the freedom to splash and carry on to her heart's content.  They are terrific parents. 

Wishing for all of us to find a moment of unapologetic joy in the coming weeks.

taken on my Friday walk

and my Amaryllis is re-blooming - so there is that.

Yopping Update #34 - Just keep knitting (socks)

I finished the Maryana socks without any further incidents. I had to cut the last chart short because otherwise the foot would have been far too long. Others have found a similar issue with this pattern. I was bang on with gauge, but perhaps because my foot is very narrow that made the difference with not being able to complete the pattern. However, I love the fit, and with all new socks I finish these have been on my feet constantly. I really liked how the variegated colour way worked up.

Thanks to Susi-Q for the gift of this cotton yarn

I headed back to my queue and decided to start.... wait for it ... another pair of socks. Socks on a plane have been in my queue for years and I decided to used up the wool I had left over from my Slippery Slope socks to make a fraternal pair. One sock in each colour. It is an easy pattern to remember and it is knitting up quickly. This is a toe up sock and since the cable always goes in the same direction I haven't made any mistakes. The 2nd sock will have the cable running on the other side of the foot - mirror image. 

I have been getting out for my daily walks and taking photographs to keep me inspired. Yesterday I walked a little too far and was feeling pretty weary when this sight greeted me.

You see, Mary-Anne, Spring is coming

I am struggling with blogger today. I seem to only be able to add content using the html version, and not the compose version. Sigh. I didn't sleep well at all last night and I don't need this frustration. 

 Anyways I will continue... I am thinking of starting a long cardigan using up all the remnants of my sport weight yarn. It seemed a bit daunting to start this week which is why socks are still on the go. We shall see. 

 I woke up to this lovely picture of my grand-daughter this morning.

Oh to be on that beach with her

I have been feeling 'weary' this week. Weary of CoVid worries, weary of undone housework and yardwork chores, weary of not being able to visit my dear friends and family. Just. Weary. I have been walking everyday and my walks are getting longer - closer to 4 miles some days. I feel like I am running (walking) away, but at some point I turn around and head back to my life. My life of doing dishes, making the bed, sweeping the floor, knitting, reading, occasionally dusting, weekly laundry, and far too much bingeing of TV shows. 

 Currently I am bingeing on Parenthood, mostly because I like the Dax Shepard character, but even that is getting on my nerves. There is a LOT of conflict in each episode between family members, and I am not good with conflict at the best of times, but the way they speak to each other always leaves me thinking - Do people really talk to each other like that in real life? 

 This week I am also obsessing about passwords and slowly trying to go through all my accounts and change my passwords. I used to always use a ubiquitous simple password, but in today's hacker world I realise I need to tighten up this kind of thing. Our government's tax website had a breach this past week, and although my account wasn't involved it got me thinking - what if it was? 

 What if? My friend calls this tendency of mine to 'future surf'. And when I future surf I always imagine the worse case scenario. I remember a counsellor telling me a few of years ago that when I hear myself saying 'what if?' to change it too 'what if not?' I have been trying to practice this, but it isn't an easy switch, at least not for me. 

 On the plus side this week the ducks are back in the pond having left during the snow and ice earlier this week. I was quite worried about them, because I was worried when the pond was frozen over what would they eat? Clearly the ducks were smarter than I gave them credit for. 

 So amid the snow, CoVid, password breaches, and struggling with zoom (don't get me started on my zoom woes) and now Blogger issues it has been a trying week. Yet, I have much to be grateful for. Much! 

 All my family and friends are healthy and CoVid free. 

 I have lovely video chats with both my children and, of course, my grand-daughter. 

Spring is coming 

Spring is coming 

Spring is coming 

 While attending my CoDA zoom meeting yesterday I was reminded of a poem I posted many years ago on this blog. I will post it again for myself, but perhaps dear reader, it will resonate with you as well. 

 Dear Human: 

You’ve got it all wrong. 

You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. 

That is where you came from and where you’ll return. 

You came here to learn personal love. 

Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. 

Infused with divinity. 

Lived through the grace of stumbling. 

Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up. Often. 

You didn’t come here to be perfect. You already are. 

You came here to be gorgeously human. 

Flawed and fabulous. 

And then to rise again into remembering. 

But unconditional love? 

Stop telling that story. 

Love, in truth, doesn’t need ANY other adjectives. 

It doesn’t require modifiers. 

It doesn’t require the condition of perfection. 

It only asks that you show up. And do your best. 

That you stay present and feel fully. 

That you shine and fly and laugh and cry 

and hurt and heal and fall and get back up 

and play and work and live and die as YOU. 

It’s enough. 

It’s Plenty. 

 Courtney Walsh

I 'll leave you with my favourite photo of the week.    

Patiently waiting for dinner to swim by, or Spring to arrive, not sure which

Note:  I had to google whether it is binging, or bingeing.  Seems like bingeing won, but it looks weird, no?

Yopping Update #15 - Pictures only, because it has been that kind of week

 

Some days there just are no words

Oh Gnome you didn't!

Happiness delivered

from KnitPicks

Recycled/gave away 266 paintings

Books to give away

Box of goodies to give to school

Mental Health Day by the Ocean

All succulents inside now for the winter

Ent discovered on yesterday's walk

Nativity scene progress

my amaryllis has decided to bloom 6 months late or 3 months early!

Damaged pill order arrived - sigh (company is re-sending me a better packaged one)

best part of every day

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Yopping Update #13 - Rest in Peace Cat Bordhi

 It was sad for me to open Ravelry earlier this week and hear of Cat's passing.  She was such a great influence on my journey as a sock knitter.  I have knit almost every pair in her Pathways to Sock Knitting.  Some of them multiple times.  I also loved her videos on the Sweet Tomato Heel and it is one of my favourite heels to knit on my socks.  Then there was her book of Felfs, and moebius knitting.  In honour of her passing I cast on a moebius cowl this week and used my handspun.  The pink and lilac were my hand-dyed homespun and the gray was Panda from Sweet Georgia. (also handspun).

  

I will knit a toque to go with the cowl with the rest of the pink and lilac (and a wee bit of the grey to finish it off).

I ordered two more of her books - her last was a book of momo cowls - colour work moebius cowls, and her Versatildes.  I really want to make one of the vests and I will when I spin enough handspun for one.  

I made the tiny tilde to practice the technique.

and then I frogged it to make the hat.  The designs in the book are very cool as the cables are reversible.

I started my Nativity scene.  For now it is a lot of bits and pieces: the green magi, the red magi, and Mary's cloak started as well as one sheep (from handspun, not sewn together) and the baby Jesus.  

Moomintroll photo bombing  

I have knit all I can with the colours I had left over from my blankets, but I have ordered ALL the colours from Knitpicks to finish. I love the stitch definition I am getting from the Brava Sport. There goes my yarn diet!

Now, back to the Moomintroll.  He was in my queue and when I couldn't think of anything to cast on last Sunday so he decided it was time. 

My nephew loved the Moomintroll books when he was little

So that has been my week.  A week of mourning and remembrances.  I heard of two of my colleagues who also passed in the last few weeks.  I know that Heaven has two new angels looking down on all of us.  And goodness knows we need all the angels we can get right now. 

I am waiting on the results of yet another ct scan, and this week I laid pretty low.  Ok to be honest I didn't get out of my pajamas from Sunday night until Wednesday afternoon.  Ya, that kind of week.  I am feeling a wee bit more energetic today and hopefully I will hear the results from my doctor tomorrow.  The waiting is always the worst.  Once I know, I know and then I get on with it.  

I did try a couple of new recipes this week, and this enchilada casserole was a huge favourite.  It comes from a cookbook called Yum & Yummer.  It will definitely be in our rotation from now on.  I have to admit that since the lockdown in March I am cooking more and getting more adventurous to try new recipes and I think my cooking has really improved, plus it gives my dh a break from the cooking duties. (I am off to start the slow roasted salmon as soon as I publish this post). 

I am happy to also share that my sister has been published.  It is a wonderful story called Ivy's Tree about a newly widowed woman who moves from Vancouver to Tokyo to live with her only child.  It is sad, and funny, and lovely and hopeful.  It is a story about being brave. I think the world needs more stories about being brave. Don't you?  The day to day brave that we all must be at this time especially. 

I almost forgot.  I won a free pattern in the 2nd Tour de Fleece for my turkish spindle work.  I chose this Kangaroo Mom and Joey that has been in my queue for a while.  I think I have enough brown homespun to make it work.  Stay tuned. 

No grand-daughter pic this week, but lots of facetime on whatsapp which has been glorious.  

Take care all.  Enjoy the fall, rain and all (she says to herself).