Mushroom Season, And All Things Socky

For days I have been knitting... the second sock... I thought that on Mother's Day I had it just about done... and then I discovered that I had too many pattern repeats in the leg of the sock! I had to ravel back to the ankle and start again. I turned the heel before I went to bed and then got up yesterday to knit knit knit.  It went well yesterday and my expectation was to finish before going to bed... but the great eye closer in the sky came to visit last night and being fearful of making another stupid mistake on the toe I shut it down and headed for bed where I crashed with the sock still incomplete. There are about four rows left if you can believe it but those four rows have serious decreases and I could see myself screwing it up royally because I was so tired.  I am glad I took my ease and went to bed.

Part of the reason I didn't get the sock finished yesterday was because I had to take my mother to town for an appointment with an eye specialist.... her  cataract surgery a few years ago was giving problems and she ended up having laser surgery in the office of the doctor while we were there. It was rather cool to see what was happening. Evidently sometimes if microscopic bits of the cataract are left in the eye they can begin to regrow and that was what was happening with mom. It was a very short procedure taking all of ten minutes. I had to lead her around after but in a few hours her eyes were beginning to improve.

It is mushroom season in our neck of the woods and since this is cattle country we have prime growing conditions for puff ball mushroom. They tend to like cow paddies to grow in, so finding a cow pasture is usually the best place to look. Later in the summer the Morels will be growing but I'm not a big fan of Morels... they tend to grow in sandy areas and cleaning the sand out of all those wee bits is not the easiest thing to do. Generally when you bight into a Morel then you can expect a mouthful of sand. Yuck! Generally this is rather nasty. But the puff balls are quite nice. I like to fry them in a little butter with a smidge of Worchestershire sauce and some red wine.... they are lovely. I eat them quite often when I can get them. I even will eat them for breakfast. A plate of puff ball mushrooms with a little fried tomato and bacon on the side makes for a very satisfying breakfast.

It has been a little too windy and dry for mushrooms yet this spring but I am hoping to get some sooner or later.  It looks like there might be some rain on the way today and I might be more lucky on the mushroom front then. Yesterday I had the grocery store mushrooms and while they were delicious... somehow they just can't compare to the freshly picked ones.

With all the windy weather lately the ground has been drying out more than I care to see. Still I am hoping that spring and more importantly summer, won't be the dust bath of a few summers ago. Hay of course, is ever on our minds. Yesterday, on the way home from FSJ there was another wild fire. People think that they are being smart by catching the tall grass by the side of the road on fire and then driving away and leaving it but I am afraid that sometimes these little fires get out of hand and that is what happened yesterday... the flames were shooting high into the air as it traveled up the dry and dead Pine trees. There were people there trying to get it under control... mostly farmers who own the land but I am sure that the Department of Forestry would step in if needed. When I got home you could smell the smoke for hours after. I can't smell the smoke this morning so I am thinking that it was contained after wards. Still as the crow flies I would say it was about 15 kms away from us.... still the wind should have been taking it the other direction.

Well, on that note I think it is time for me to finish those four rows on my sock and pop it into a nice dye bath. A little soak first in some synthropol and soda ash and I think I'll be finished those socks today.  That's when the real  work begins. After the fiasco of level 3 the first itme when I sent off my books having missed a number of questions.... I do a very thorough review of my work to make sure that everything is done and finished. Sometimes that review takes a day or two. I still have a write up for the 50 hour project to do and I have to write my notes up on my classroom presentation. Very important not to mention needing the index and bibliography. But by Wednesday or Thursday I hope to have the sucker in the mail.  I can't wait.

I'm off to eat a breakfast... and then finish those four rows of knitting.

For A Change

With spring so clearly here, I have been thinking about myself... a lot! I really wanted to have weight off by this time but that is an ongoing struggle and the bulge seems to be winning. Though I haven't gained weight over the winter I am not losing either. So change will have to come from other sources. With the temperatures rising I have had to take stock of my wardrobe. Mostly what I find there is old and worn out and drab. So today I spent a bit of Teapot's money, and blew a wad on some new things for me. Two new pairs of cotton pants.... a lovely white skirt with lacey tiers that look lovely and feminin.... three new linen blouses in pretty colours (blue, coral, and turqoise)... and a denim coloured cardigan.I have two new pairs of pants that I bought a few weeks ago and a redish orange long sleeved top and a black tiered skirt from last year. Next week I will have level 5 done and then I am going to try my hand at sewing. It's been a few years since I did any sewing for myself. What I really want are goucho pants.  Does anyone remember goucho pants. I love them and they seem to have gone the way of the Dodo bird. There's not a pair of goucho pants to be had. Now for those of you who have never heard of Goucho pants here's a pic...

These however are NOT gaucho pants...

True gaucho pants are pants that when worn look like a very full skirt... most gaucho pants being sold today suck.... they are a nasty version of expanded yoga pants... that's all I could find today when I was online shopping. So I will make them instead.... I really would like to make mine out of rayon... rayon drapes nicely and is flattering too... but we'll see.

Daughter #2 will have her 15th birthday coming up this week... she has decided that she would like to learn to sew. So she will get a day off from school and we will go to a fabric store where she can purchase material and notions and then we will spend the summer sewing.... her learning and me teaching.This should be interesting.... and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to look for my rayon material for my gaucho pants. At least that's the plan.

Among my desire for changes... I have been fighting the battle to once again cut my hair.... I kind of have decided that my face is too jowly to go short short but maybe something chin length.... at least that's what I'm thinking at this point.

All this thought of change is brought on I'm sure by the fact that spring should be a time of positive, happy, uplifting, encouraging, cheerful, self improvement.... don't you think?  I'm not sure the vibe is on me though... I look in the mirror and want to hide under my bed. This I think is not a good vibe at all. Still a little self improvement might make me feel better even if I'm not actually becoming better.  In the end the only thing that is going to make me what I want is a whole lot of weight loss and at this rate I'll be in my grave by the time that happens!

I'm off to knit a sock...

2nd Post For Today... Wow!

I don't do this very often anymore... usually I have nothing to say but somehow today I have thought of a billion things to say and then when I sat down to write here I suddenly went completely empty headed and so I decided to talk about next to nothing. Sometimes suddenly becoming empty headed scares the poop out of me... I start to wonder if I'm following in the footsteps of ancestors who showed symptoms of Altzeimers.... I don't even want to think about that. The first time I totally lost my train of thought, is a  memory it like a crystallized photo. I had just given birth to my second child and I was so distracted by what they were doing that the conversation that I was having with another young mother totally flew out of my head and died a natural death.... it scared me and embarrassed me and I tried not to think about it. Then it happened again a few days later... and so on... at first I thought, "it's just because I am so distracted by my children.... what in the world are people going to think of me." But it continued to happen and as I get older it happens more and more.  Sometimes I think that I have too much to think about and so my head does a natural filter job and tosses all unnecessary information... but then I don't know if that is true.

So here I sit and I'm staring at the screen wondering what was so all fired important that I needed to write a second post for the day. Obviously my brain did a quick filter and decided, "no, out that goes."

I'm off to Knit Night in a very short time. It's still blowing a flippin' hurricane and I'm sick of the wind... but I am looking forward to getting together with the gals.  We will only meet a few more times and then we will shut down for the summer. Most of us will be so busy getting gardens ready that even an extra night out to knit will be irritating at best and a downright pain in the ass. I do have to say that going out on a night when the sun is still shining and the world is turning green makes me feel like a million bucks. I think I will have to take a Diana Krall CD in the truck so that I can play some tunes and make my world a little more awesome.... if that's possible.

So I will try to remember what the heck I was going to write about and maybe... just maybe... I'll write about it tomorrow. I guess I'm getting old....

What's The Scoop???

Hi folks. I have been so busy this last few days just trying to get stuff done before I register for the next course in my M  program that I've kind of forgotten to write here. Besides that I haven't been sleeping well since the wind has been howling around the house like a banshee. The forecast is calling for warmer temps and less wind tomorrow and I'll be honest... I can't wait. It's not that the temps have been really cold but the wind chill has brought them down to about +1 degree. Yesterday we had a swirling spring snowstorm that lasted all of ten minutes. Nothing stayed on the ground but it made me want to bundle up and have a cup of hot chocolate. Meanwhile I have been spinning for that second sock and with my head down and my arse up, I have not really been doing much to stir the blood and make for good writing topics.  I did take a wander down through the forest the other evening and was pleased to find that the Prairie Crocuses were at their best. The Faeries must be loving it to have the blossoms so beautiful. I even picked one though I do hate picking wild flowers, but I chose the one that I did because it was slightly squashed after the dogs barreled over it. It was in the middle of the path and really didn't stand a chance. The leaves are finally out and everything is getting that beautiful spring green glow. I love that green glow. With the long weekend being just around the corner, and the alpacas looking shaggy in their winter coats, I guess it's time to think of them. I had planned on shearing them the first week of May this year but that didn't happen since it has been cool and I don't want pneumonia to be an issue which they are prone to get if you shear too early. So we are now thinking that the long weekend will be a better time to take care of them.

Meanwhile, I called Olds College this morning to register and was given a bit of an eye opener. Stephanie Gaustad will not be in attendance after all. Bugger that. I guess I might have had time to do one of her courses after all, if the changes to the Level 6 class happen as they seem to think might... So what's up with the loss of Stephanie... Now that's a question to which I'd like to know the answer. Serious poopitis! Meanwhile I have registered for another course believe it or not in addition to the MSP level 6. I know... I'm bonkers right... but in the north you get so few chances to learn from good instructors that you want to take advantage of them when you can.

Today, I had my first serious pang of excitement... I'm goin' to Olds and you can't stop me...I'm singing that by the way... I'm goin' to Olds and you can't stop me... whoo hoo! Just call me a knob... weird things get me excited.

So that's the scoop around here these days... what's the scoop with you all... leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you...

I Am Hopeful

Last night was knit night and I headed off for our meeting place around 7:15 p.m. As I was heading that direction I could see rain. It was everywhere. Purple clouds all around on the horizon. And I got to the meeting place just in time because moments after I arrived the skies opened up and down came the rain. So far things are looking good for a summer of green. Grass is beginning to grow and this morning the sun is shining. I expect that after last night's rain (which fell all night long), and with this morning's sun the expectation is that the leaves will be popping out any time at all. If this continues there will once again be a nice crop of hay... all good for alpacas.... and me too. I am hopeful.

Spinning is going on.... lots.... I have decided to do things a little differently for sock number 2. This time instead of carding and measuring and spinning small amounts I have spent the last two days prepping fibre for spinning.... and now the spinning is going on uninterrupted. It's awesome because I turn on a movie and just go. So sock number 2 is well on its way to being done. It's just that there's not really anything to show yet except for singles. Still I am hopeful that this will go nice and smoothly.

The whole house this morning was a grouch fest. I came downstairs to cats and smelly things lieing on the floor. Someone had forgotten to put them out last night. Daughter #1 got up like a bear and Teapot got up like a fool that wanted to irritate Daughter #1 and Daughter #2 and me.... it turned into everyone sitting in a place away from others, eating their breakfast with a scowl on their brow. Not a good way to start a weekend... but I am hopeful on that front too since weekends generally turn us all into happy people. I am much happier now that I don't have to be a referee between Teapot and Daughter #1. Daughter #2, after the first few moments, dove into the bathroom to do her makeup and avoid the craziness that was coiled inside her father.  I'll have to have chores ready for them before they get home so that there will not be a repeat of this morning... keep them busy... that's what I say.

Ok that's all I've got for this day.... I'm off to finish some more spinning..... Maybe tomorrow I'll have something more interesting to write about. Aren't you hopeful.....?

This = That

Rigour mortis : A stiffness that sets into a dead body after two to three hours.

Am I dead? Is that why I am so stiff in the mornings... no: stiffness = exercise... or the lack of exercise followed by exercise in an overabundance..... all this = ouch!


Socks: Coverings for the feet.

Socks = the undone. Yesterday was a day full of not socks... not spinning... not anything productive.
I went out for lunch... with a friend... I went out for supper.... with the family... I spent far too much money. When you do that you don't get your socks done.

Shopping: The act of purchasing things.... which makes economists excited.

Yoga pants and a new top.  Oh the money spending was bad bad bad.

All this means one thing.... work.

Work: Exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something.

That is what I have to concentrate on today.... yup work my fingers to the bone.... well that's not likely now is it. I think I'll go exercise. And get myself ready to work... which will certainly help with the socks. Maybe I can wear them when Rigour Mortis sets in.... I'll at least have pretty feet! (sigh)

Weekend Excursions... And Sock Work

The weekend has passed and sometimes I wonder at how quickly time flies by.  For weeks I have been looking forward to the PCSW spring conference (our themes for this conference were hand made dolls and most had hand weaving or spinning in them somewhere... and the other topic was Poppys. Our challenge was to make a Poppy for each Canadian soldier that died in Afghanistan. There were many but not enough yet and so the Poppy challenge continues...) Here it is Monday and now the conference is over and once again I seem to be realizing how quickly time passes.  I did indeed enjoy the Conference on Saturday.

Teapot and I started out on Friday morning heading into FSJ for dental appointments. (Neither of us needs any work done... woo hoo!) After that we had lunch and then went looking at wee cars and took a couple out for test drives. I really liked the Dodge Caliber and the Jeep Patriot. At this point those are the two that really grabbed me. Still I guess it will be a while before I can buy one of them. We did try out the Chevy  Sonic and I had a look at the new Cruise but neither of them appealed to me since they both have low profiles which is really hard for a person with a steel rod in her back.  It means that every time you try to get into the car you have to duck down and my back does not curve anymore so ducking is not really an option.

After that I headed off to a friend's house where we had a lovely afternoon and evening yaking about spinning. She is also involved with the MSP and so it was cool to see her work. She is finished and was at the time just pressing her 50 hour project which was a lovely hand spun linen table runner, which had been beautifully dyed. Her work was impeccable and made me start to feel a little anxious about my own. But that is always the way I think. In the end generally speaking, our work is all comparable for those of us in the same level. I tend to knit more while she tends to weave more. But both look lovely.

I had a dreadful night on Friday night not getting one blessed wink of sleep... I think I was too wound up about the following day. I certainly had a perfectly comfortable spot to sleep... but still sleep was illusive... I knew sleeplessness would totally screw me up for the next day.... and it did in a way. The next morning saw us up at 4:30 a.m. and on the road by 5:00 a.m. Our conference began at 8:00 a.m. and it was on the Alberta side of the border which meant that we lost an hour. 8:00 a.m. their time was 7:00 a.m. our time.... that's the reason for such an early start. I slept in the car since I'm like the proverbial baby that falls asleep in the car as soon as it starts to move at the best of times but after a night of sleeplessness I was hooped. My poor friend had to do the driving without any input from me. Thanks heavens we had another passenger because she was able to talk to my friend and keep her company while I passed out. I mean how pathetic is that. Still getting on the road so early meant that we were home earlier than expected since the conference ended at 3:30 p.m. their time, which is 2:30 p.m. our time. A three hour drive after the conference, broken by a quick stop in FSJ to get picked up by Teapot, saw me pulling in the driveway here at home at 6:30 p.m. just in time for supper which the Daughters had cooked for Teapot and me. Still the many miles covered over the weekend and the lack of sleep on Friday night did leave me droopy all day yesterday and even today I'm feeling rather lack-lustre. Still I haven't been sitting on my arse doing nothing. I have been knitting.

Speaking of which, the socks... are coming along nicely... I have one sock finished.

Sorry that the picture's colour is so bad... The sock here appears mustard but in actuality is more ecru. I will take a better picture when they are both finished and dyed. I might even get one of the Daughters to model them...

With only the other left to do,  I should be finished the whole project by sometime next week. Tomorrow I will begin the spinning for the second sock. So I am hoping to have my stuff in the mail to my instructor by Monday or Tuesday. That is... if all goes well.

Meanwhile I was reading this morning a little. My reading consisted of two things... I won a door prize this past weekend which happened to be a doll magazine, so that was the first of the two things. the other was a book that the Daughters have been wanting me to read for quite a while. First I had a good perusal the magazine about soft bodied dolls... interesting and while I am not into doll making there are some pretty cool things to look at in there. The other thing that I was reading in The Hunger Games which Hollywood has recently turned into a movie. We had taken the girls to the movie during spring break and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The girls talked me into reading the book and I am glad that I am finally getting a chance to read.  This is interspersed with knitting of course. The reading does give my poor hands a wee break every so often.

I have been debating which colour to dye the socks when they are finished. Blue seems to be the colour that I am mostly leaning toward but somehow it doesn't seem right. The socks have a lovely leaf pattern over the instep, reaching up the ankle and shaft.... so I was thinking green would be better since leaves are green, especially since green seems to be emerging more and more as my favorite colour. (I seem to be leaning more and more toward moss green, but then tomorrow I might prefer purple). I need to be satisfied with the end result... So far I am hoping that the project will fetch me a high mark.

So that's it from here for today. Tomorrow I might not get a chance to write since I will have to go to town again. Tomorrow we get our truck back from the dealership after eight weeks of to-ing and fro-ing and waiting for Ford to get their act straight so that we can have a fixed truck... we now have a rebuilt transmission... and most importantly we have a new engine in it. They have replaced several things around the transmission so what's under the hood is mostly new and hopefully this will solve all problems... I keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.  Wish us luck 'cause I really hate the thought of not having our truck any longer... I'm sick to death of driving the loner which is a terrible old piece of junk and has no step... let me tell you it is not easy for an old lard butt like me to climb into such a vehicle.... Teapot gets a laugh every time I try... the first step is a real douzzy... meanwhile my wrist and back suffer every time I have to pull myself in, so I really want to get our truck back.