#NEIPPpeeps

Yesterday was the first day of NEIPP.  The New England School of Professional Photography.  I am presently in Cape Cod.  And yeah, that is my white van.  I drove in on Saturday night.  I am glad I did not wait until Sunday morning.  It’s not the first time I have come down here in the snow.  But I got this!.  After all, I am from upstate NY.

Photography has been my passion since I was 18 years old.  My dad gave me his old Kodak Retina Reflex with Schneider lenses.  I was traveling to England on a summer exchange program with the Girl Scouts.  I went with my Girl Scout buddy Elaine whose dad had a darkroom and he took my passport photo.  Back in the 70’s he saved me some $.  You could not go to Walgreens and stand in front of a screen and walk out with your passport photo.  I wore Bonnie Bell bronzer… Nuff said bout that!

So, since 1974 I have had a camera in my hand.  Over 40 years!  I have studied with some fabulous teachers.  I am blessed.  So here at NEIPP, we have a word of the day and we need to gather votes for a prize.  You can follow along by typing in #NEIPPpeeps. Yesterday’s word was shapes.  I posted this.

That is shape! Right???  Well, that shape is not “in” the building so it does not count.  It was a tongue in cheek entry. But this group of people, while we study hard we also have a sense of humor.

So this week I am sitting in class, enhancing my photoshop skills, meeting new friends and renewing old acquaintances all while attending the only PPA affiliate school in the North East.  The instructors are all first class.  It’s hard to choose which  class to take each  year. And yes, my knitting came along.  Just one project.  The socks that are taking forever to finish.  Tonight is “family” game night.  We #NEIPPpeeps work hard during class.    But I am ready for tonights games.  I got this!

Panic!

I have a conference coming up.  Actually, it’s my yearly educational sabbatical.  Every April I attend a conference/educational class in photography.  I have not started my pre-class homework, ironed any clothing or checked the weather report to see what layering strategy to use.  I need to pack not only camera gear but extra off-camera flash gear so if I find a partner in crime we can play and shoot after class.  Batteries!  Yikes!  I need batteries!  Why oh why did I  dye my hair Monday, get it cut on Tuesday, do my taxes on Wednesday ??  Then trot off to a 10-hour shift each day?  Nonsense.  Now that it’s Friday, I guess it’s time to panic!

The only high point is that the gussets on my current pair of socks are finished! I am onto the foot.  Now I really believe that one knitting project will be enough but will it?  DO I want to take that baby sweater with me?  Or should I just wind off another skein in case I want to throw another pair of socks on the needles?  Decisions, decisions.  I also went through my Ravelry library and I already own Antler.  So now I have another sweater pattern to read.  AND last, I cannot find my mother’s Nova Scotia Tartan Plaid shirt for the “What NOT to wear to a family portrait” party.  I do have my old screen printed woodsman’s team shirt from my college alma mater. But it’s a solid color and I had my heart set on the plaid.  Krikeys!  I am in a pickle!

At least, I got my k-cups ready and cups and creamer.  The coffee is all taken care of. I decided to leave no later than noon.  As I was thinking about it while waking up I thought that I need to leave the house no later than 11:30.  So I can get gas.  Then I realized that I need bottled water for the Keurig,  and since I do not know where a darn thing is in Cape Cod I now need a supermarket run before I go to work today.

I am done with my first cup of coffee.  It is time to hunt suitcases and begin packing.  I can accomplish a lot in 2 hours.  Off to the races my friends!  Have a peaceful day!

 

In Cahoots!

Some days I feel like there are forces in place that are in cahoots with my mojo.  My mojo does not want to go to work today.   I worked the day after a holiday yesterday.  I have forgotten how gosh darn awful that really is.  Apparently everyone takes a grumpy pill and somehow I missed the memo.  I usually work the holiday and the people I serve are all nice and kind and gush over  how nice you are to work on the holiday.  Well, hells bells!  In my line of work, I work 7 days in a row. Followed by 7 days off.  So I plan my life events around the 7 days off.  So if a holiday falls on the 7 days  you work, it’s your holiday.  So I have worked the last Thanksgiving, Christmas, Martin Luther King, Presidents week, you name it, so when Easter fell on a week off I was ecstatic! It’s nice to have a clean house and a family dinner.  Then there is Monday otherwise know as Easter Monday or if one is from the Buffalo area Dingus Day!  In my health care world, it is better known as a day to use a PTO day, or pay attention to the memo and take your grumpy pill.  Last, my mind has mentally slipped out of my current sock project.

I have not knit a stitch in a week.  Horrors!!  I am stuck on the second sock gusset.  I can console myself with the thought that my daughters friend is having a baby girl.  She and I  spend a good hour perusing baby sweater patterns on Ravelry Easter Sunday.  Everything she picked out had yarn overs and lace.  Those that know me well, know that somehow lace confounds me. I prefer to avoid “lace” for something as important as a baby sweater!  I stash dove found a lovely grey cashmere blend in DK weight and after rejecting a lot of suggestions from my daughter I went into a book of patterns I have and found a cute owl cable thingy.  But it’s knit from the bottom up and I am a top down gal. I have DK weight yarn and the pattern is written for worsted.   So I sit and look at this pattern again and again.  I think that by casting on a size up I can overcome the yarn weight issue.  I always make baby sweaters larger than newborn.  I prefer to make a 12 to 18-month size.  Babys receive so many things in the small sizes, I like to have something for a bit later.  I am going to commit as soon as I finish the socks.

Now if you have read some previous blogs you will remember that I had plans to make summer short leg socks.  I suppose monogamy does not suit me at this time.  My grandmother Bema would call me a tart.  My friend Bev would call me a slut.  Others may prefer whore or strumpet!  But it looks like I may be jumping off the sock wagon if only for a bit!

 

Dog Snot

Yup! That mess on the window is dog snot. The two below are responsible.

They look so sweet eh?  The little beggar on the left is responsible for the upper design. The medium sized beggar on the right completes the lower half of the design. Together they are trouble. We won’t mention the vertical blinds that need replacing. Nope!

Yeah, I am a sucker for a cute face. My heart melts with these two.  Mischievous or not. They have my heart.

Today is Easter Sunday.  In my house, the young adults sleep.  The days of egg hunts are gone.  I used to have a MASSIVE and I do mean massive egg hunt.  I would hide about 100 plastic eggs.  My sister would come by to watch the action.  It was a riot to watch 3 kids scurrying about looking for eggs.  Some eggs held candy and some held money.  There was 10$ in quarters on the line.  They got to keep what they found.  Usually, by November, the last egg showed up.  That rogue egg that was totally elusive would finally make a showing.

Today is my first holiday off.  I worked Thanksgiving, Christmas, Martin Luther Day, Presidents week.  I am ready for a family-get-together.  So I will attend mass, hit the grocery for some last minute items and go home and cook.  The house is clean and the only thing to manage is the behavior of the two above.  My future daughter-in-law to has to work so dinner is later than usual.

The two dogs are the only thing resembling children, so other than managing their mischief it will be an adult get together. If there is time, I will work on my knitting after dinner.  I have finished the gusset on one sock and am slowly working on the second gusset.  I have not knit in a few days.  Holiday preparation has taken its toll, but a day with my kids and my sister’s family is priceless!  Have a blessed day!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

These socks are seeming to take forever.  Lately, I have not had much down time.  Downtime is the time that is spent waiting to do something.  Downtime is waiting for a doctor appointment.  Having the oil changed in one’s car.  That kind of stuff.  So downtime is a random occurrence.  Therefore making a UFO’s finishing projection time unpredictable.  I would have thought I would have these puppies finished by now but sometimes life just happens.  You work some extra OT shifts during a time of day you are usually fast asleep and BAM!  Your bio-clock is officially a mess.

AND to make the torture worse you have mentally been slipping away into your next cast on.

During my 7 days “on” ( I work 7 days on, followed by 7 days off)  I rarely have the time to knit.  My shift ends at 23:00.  I am usually too tired to knit.  I used to sew a lot more than I do now.  I had a rule back then that I do not sew when tired.  Same holds true for knitting.  But I can sit at my spinning wheel and spin.  So last week I set the wheel up in front of  my rocking chair.  I have not spun an inch of fiber.  To be honest there is a loop batt on the wheel more than 1/2 finished that I have lost interest in.  But I refuse to start anything else until I finish that puppy. So there it sits.

Spinning is a zen thing for me.  I find it relaxing.  So I just need the energy to relax.  What an oxymoron.  The energy to relax.  I guess there are different levels of tired.  There is the normal tuckered out and the bone tired kind of tired.  This week has been the bone tired type of tired at 2300.

So today is St. Patricks day.  I will wear my green and wish all a happy day, full of shenanigans and fun!  Hopefully, at 23:00, I will sit at my wheel and listen to an audio book or put some mindless tv on.  Wish me luck, that tonight is the night I have the energy to relax!

 

Juju

One of my favorite films is Medicine Man. Starring Sir Sean Connery.  Juju was the stuff the medicine man of the tribe carried in his little bag.  Herbs, dried insects, whatever. But to me, it is the belief that a juju bag holds the power of good feelings.

Swoon!  This image is from google images.

I throw out terms like juju, mojo and karma now and then.  I believe they exist.  I am superstitious.  I believe in the golden rule “do unto others as you would have others do unto you”.  I have heard those words all of my life from my grandmother and mother.  So to me, juju, mojo, and karma are real.  Just different interpretations of the same lesson.  Live your best life and do not wish others harm.  Another great movie that goes on a list of must-see films is Pay it Forward.  Starring Kevin Spacey.

If you have not watched that film, pick up your knitting bag and turn on Netflix.

So does your knitting bag hold juju?  Mine does.  I believe that the juju from my knitting bag holds the power to me to be successful.  Every time I cast off I have a finished object.  It gives me a sense of peace.  I cannot explain it, it just does.

It is not only a feeling of peace, success and satisfaction  but, it also feeds the juju bag.  Now that my knitting bag is nearing empty, it needs another project to keep it full of juju (good feelings).

So today is a tidy-up kind of day.  Puttering, a bit of House of Cards.

As you can see both heels are turned and I am in the gusset, gusset stage of this pair.

There is some overtime in my future.  People ask why.  Well, It’s just good juju.  The power to be a team player and do good.  It does not hurt to be compensated for the infringement of personal time and lack of sleep this causes.  But sometimes the good of the many outweigh the good of the few or the one. (Star Trek reference)

Somehow I always have a notion of what my next project will be.  Since I am in a sock knitting phase, I have an idea of which skein of sock yarn I will wind off next.   I have a wonderful short skein of gray that was gifted to me by the Two Ewes.  It would make a wonderful pair of fingerless mitts.  But the color goes so nicely with so many of my leftovers that I see low-rise striped socks in my future.

 

UFO’s aka Unfinished Objects!

While some knitters like to have several projects going at once I prefer to do the monogamous thing and knit one project at a time.  BUT I must confess.  I have 4 UFO’s.  I am hanging my head in shame. I feel dirty and slutty.  I can’t remember what project seduced me away from my monogamy, but I must admit I do have those little voices in my head popping up now and then that remind me that they are there, in the closet, in their own Rubbermaid tote.  I have them in isolation.  I can’t let them rub elbows  with the stash.  God forbid they mingle with the stash!

There is that pretty skein of Quivit/Merino that decided it deserved to be “Pretty Thing” by the Harlot.  It’s lace.  Yeah, lace is a 4 letter word, to me.

The chart ends the round with a YO and that confuses the snot out of me.  Four restarts and it sits in time out.   Yup, that “Pretty Thing” ain’t so purdy! But it is pretty enough not to be frogged.

Then there is a toddler sweater.  Seed stitch and cables.  WHAT was I thinking. Yeah, the design elements are apparent in the pix below!

I have this notion in the back of my head that I want to knit myself a Starmore out of yarn that I spin. The hogget Cheviot fleece is all prepared and lives under my bed, in a ginormous vacuum bag.    So the toddler sweater I figured was a good way to brush up on charts and sweater construction.  But you really need to pay attention to charts…  It is not mindless knitting.  The toddler sweater also has too much work invested “to hit the frog pile”.

Then there is the Rhinebeck sweater.  Yes, in the fall when the leaves are putting on their show, there is “Rhinebeck”.  The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.  AKA Mecca for fiber aficionados.

It is kind of a tradition to knit yourself a sweater to show off your prowess with the needles.  So I knit hard on that puppy and it was not ready for Rhinebeck. It was not ready a year later either.

So it also sits with too much progress to frog, but a couple of times I have tried to pick it up to finish, I cannot figure out where I left off.  I have lost/misplaced my notes…  This may go to the frog party held every January at my local LYS.  I have to be realistic.  Am I ever going to find where to begin again?

Last, are my Cashmere Flamingo colorwork mittens. Flamingos?  You ask?  Really?  WTH! Why am I am worried about flamingos on a pair of mittens?  The novelty struck me… After all, I donated a flock of flamingos for a fundraiser for a local youth ballet company.   Yup, for $25 cool ones I can have a flock of flamingos placed in your front yard.  Surprise, surprise, surprise!  I have flocked others and been flocked!  It’s a gas!

As with the toddler sweater, this is not mindless knitting.  You have to pay attention to the charts and switch colors all the while managing the float.  The float is yarn you must carry along on the wrong side.  The float cannot be too long, or too tight.  I need to pay attention to work on these.   They are however a small project and fit the small carry around type knitting.  They are definitely not going to be frogged.  These may very well be the next thing I rescue after I finish my present pair of socks.  Well  maybe, I hedge a bit here.

Summer socks are next on my agenda.  I have a decent amount of leftovers to make wool socks for summer.  Short leg to wear with a pair of Tevas at work for the summer.  That voice reminding me about my UFO’s may just have to have to have a bag placed over its head.  I still have my sock mojo going strong and get excited thinking how fast I can churn out a pair of low rise socks!

 

 

Catching up.

It’s time to catch up.  The 7 days “on” is a week that I work, sleep and eat sandwiches.  NO cooking to speak of.  Of course, my future daughter-in-law’s birthday fell on my work week.  So with no more than a quick phone call and facebook post, the day sailed by.  So yesterday was a catch-up birthday celebration.

I worked a split shift Monday and her only day off was Monday, so bits of the supper are homemade and some is a downright storebought cheat.  On my week off I like to have a family supper.   The kids come by, I get to lay eyes on them and do the mom check.  We  chat and catch up on the past 2 weeks. Of course, they bring Bella’s brother from another mother, Mr. Bailey.

They do not always sit so nice.  I assure you it took snacks to get this well-behaved pose.

Downton Abbey is finished.  Disappointment does not begin to express my loss.  All I can hope for is perhaps a yearly special.  It seems the creator, Julian Fellows has moved onto other projects and the Crawley family will move into the 30’s without our prying eyes.  I would like to see a new series based on Lady Edith’s life.  I think she would have the most interesting and influential  story line if a new series were to be launched.  JMHO.

And to update my knitting I am working along on the same old pair of socks.  I expect that by tomorrow I will be moving onto the heel flap.  Tomorrow  I will do the AM ritual of coffee and knitting. Get a good start on the heel flap. Then continue with the  dull and mundane task of housework.  Yeah, It’s time to catch-up!

 

Puttering Along

Miss Isabella Wiggles seems to be just fine.  After the drama of the last 2 weeks, she seems to be back to her happy self.  She takes her job as defender of the homestead seriously.  My baby is always on patrol or sitting right next to me. 

How can you NOT love that face!  She is so loyal and loving.  #traitsofadog.

My next pair of socks is progressing nicely.  The first sock is ready for the heel flap!  So I am knitting on the  leg section of the second sock.  I dislike the “second sock syndrome” so I knit in a specific pattern that satisfies me.  I am on the “leg-leg” section of this pair.

Yes, the red mesh thingy.  It comes from the liquor store.  It’s a handy tool and free when you purchase more than one bottle of spirits on a visit to a hooch supplier.

While I knit, I like to listen to an audio book.  I am presently listening to The Chopin Manuscript.  It is brilliant!  The first chapter is written by Jeffery Deaver.  He fleshes out the characters and the plot.  Each subsequent chapter is written by a different author.  The conclusion and final chapter are written by Jeffery Deaver again.  I am hooked.  I cannot wait to listen to each chapter as it comes along.  The story does not drag and with all that combined imagination by masters of written intrigue, this is a best-selling hit.    There is a sequel,  yeah I have that too, The Copper Bracelet.  I will rip that to my iPhone this morning.  I am moving along nicely on  The Chopin Manuscript.  But in case  I finish, do not want to be left without something to listen to.

 

 

 

Drama

This one!…  yeah the one above ^^^^ !  We lived through the puppy years.  She spent the time she was alone in the house in a crate.  As she grew, so did the size of her crate.  Her crate is by the door, with the door to the crate open.  She frequently crawls in and takes a nap.  She was never crated for being naughty.  Just crated while alone in the house.  It kept my house safe and more importantly kept her safe from getting into things that dogs have no business getting into.  As the years went by she earned trust.  She stopped chewing shoes, garbage, the sofa, you get the drift.

So when I left for 24 hours I did not think twice about the plastic Wally world bag sitting on a 3 foot high table.  I was gone around 32 hours.  She was left in the care of my son who does a great job of helping with her care.  He comes home on his lunch break, puts her out and feeds her at dinner time.  My job does not allow that type of freedom.  I get one 30 min break at 18:30.  Fortunately I work close enough to home that if he cannot help, I can pop home at that time to let her out and give her her dinner.  Needless to say she is well cared for, and left uncrated, but that may change.

When I arrived home from helping my daughter move a bed to her Brooklyn apartment I found Miss Wiggles had been vomiting.  Easily identifiable stuff such as bar code labels and shoe laces.  AND she was dry heaving, wanting to eat grass…  Holy moly!  Did I say tons of grass.  Off to the vet we go…  She received a bolus of fluid and a shot of anti nausea meds and we went on our way..  24 hours later and a bit of white rice things seemed to be OK.  She was uncomfortable but the bowels kept moving so I figured what ever she got into was moving on out.

Her appetite was meh, but I figured she would eventually be fine.  When I got home from work last Sunday afternoon my son showed me that she was pooping gray plastic bags.  Hmmmm  that bag, on the 3 foot high table, that was gone when I got home from NYC;  yeah THAT bag! The one that  I thought that was cleaned up by a cleaning fairy was actually ingested by my beloved fur baby.  She could not eat, nor drink.  She was heaving if she tried.  So I lifted the food and took the water away after midnight and headed to the vet early Monday morning.

X-rays revealed a mass in the belly.  Endoscopy was recommended and an emergency vet clinic was located by my local veterinarian. Arrangements were made, a CD of X-ray imaging was made, and we were off to Albany, NY.  An ultrasound confirmed that the belly had a mass of something.  Ok, now my mind is racing.  Did she behave out of character and eat the bag because she had something growing in her stomach?  And it finally got too large and uncomfortable?  So she ate stuff to make her sick?  Or was she just pissed off when I left the house and bored enough to eat the bag and get into mischief ? Boy oh boy I wish she could talk!

The tap dance to cover my shift began.  Yes, it takes an act of congress to get a day off.  I cannot blame my employer.  I work 7 days on and 7 days off.  I LOVE this schedule.  BUT when you need a day off and it is your week “on”, that is a problem.  Now we all know life has its twists and turns. Life cannot be relied on to have its emergencies during your “off” week.  Basically you hound another person to cover your shift.  I called several, but 2 refused bad juju for them. 2 sick with the flu, good healing  juju sent their way.  One sweet soul covered me till 8 PM.  She worked from 03:30 to 8 PM..  Hugs and double good juju for her!  And the night gal came in an hour early.  Another good juju wish.  Then I informed my supervisor how I covered the hours and told her how I would make up the time for the others.  The sweet gal that worked an extra long shift could not come into work until 07:00 the next day so I ended up working a split shift.  03:30 to 07:00  go home and nap, then 13:00 to 23:00.  Yup, bam!  Done!!

So while I waited and and waited, I knit.  Yea, I made pretty good progress.  I was at the clinic from 13:13 to 19:30.  That is a LOT of hours to be nervous and knit.  This is the second time I am knitting this pattern.  I used it on my last pair as well.  Its a free pattern on Ravelry and looks better on a semi-solid or solid colored sock.  I got looks from other pet moms and dads.  It is quite a busy place. I guess I do not look old enough to knit.   I just camped out near the Keurig, listened to HGTV and knit away.   That is a long stretch of knitting and though my mind was racing, at least my hands were not idle.

Finally, the word came back.  Grass..  yeah her stomach was impacted with grass and twigs.   The plastic bag is/was moving out the other end.  Would the grass  have eventually moved out?  Maybe.  Dunno.  Would the twigs have moved into the bowl and caused an obstruction?  I don’t know that either.  Any way my wallet is much lighter, Miss Wiggles is home and eating a gourmet diet of canned salmon and white rice.  The house where she is free to roam has been inspected and swept of anything that may tease a dog that is left alone while mom is at work.  AND my  co-habitants at home here, have been warned that I will be a bat$hit crazy bitch if ANYTHING is left out for her to get into.

I lived through my split shift, though today I am sporting a headache that comes from not enough sleep and too much drama.  I will prepare for work shortly and have a long stand in a hot shower.  Its time to reboot.  AND before I go to work Miss Wiggles will have a quick walk around the block.  We need to keep the backside moving, I was warned that she will be pooping grass for several more days…  😦