A Couple Fo's, Boiling Water, and Strep Throat

I thought I'd use a title that really conveyed the essence of the past weekend or two. What do you think? (Above is the beautiful Blogless Amanda....read along until the end to see why she is featured above....)

I've been so behind in blogging that it's getting me down. I didn't even talk about or show pictures of the Grand View trip and that was almost two weeks ago. Needless to say, things have been pretty difficult around here for the House Family.

I think I'll share the abbreviated version, okay?

LAPTOP UPDATE

As I shared in my last post (thank you so much for the people who commented), Ben accidently poured water into our iMac laptop. Luckily, Ian was able to save it and we probably only need a new keyboard (which is on it's way in the mail). If the new keyboard doesn't work right, then we'll need to buy a whole new computer. Cross your fingers for us, k? In the meantime, I have graduated from typing on Ian's homemade arcade machine (which he made himself from SCRATCH) to using a foldable usb keyboard. It's like typing on a sheet of bubble wrap, but it's better than nothing! Here is a pic of the arcade machine so you can visualize me blogging on it. Funny, huh? This is for you, Lora!



BOILING WATER ON MONDAY

On Monday, I woke up to a bizarre, high pitched whining sound. I went downstairs (half groggy) to find out what the heck it was. As soon as I got to the kitchen, I noticed that the entire white room (our big playroom/greenhouse room with full glass doors on all sides, white tile floor and white walls....sorry, no black curtains.) was filled with (what I thought was) smoke. I started freaking out. Ian was away in MA visiting his friend and I was alone with the kids. As I got closer to the room, I realized that the smoke was actually steam. I ran into the laundry room and saw that the smoke alarm was going off and the room was filled with steam and gushing boiling water.

I freaked!

Ben started crying and I was trying to figure out what to do and how to keep Ben from getting hurt. Finally, I was able to get him to sit in the living room while I went to turn off the smoke alarm. I had gathered some of my senses and turned off the boiler first. There was a pipe that was blasting hot water out onto the floor and none of the knobs around it seemed to turn it off. I called Ian (he doesn't have a cell so it was hard to get a hold of him) and his explanations didn't really help me. He thought I was hysterical because I was yelling over the water blasting and Ben's crying, so he started yelling at me! I hung up on him and called my parents in RI. They calmed me down and suggested I call the boiler company, which I ended up doing once I was able to breathe. Once I got in touch with the boiler company and they were on their way, I started putting buckets on the floor to catch all the gushing water.

Finally, after an hour, things were back to normal and it was just a rusted out bolt in the heating thing or whatever. The guy showed me how to turn things off for next time and I was relieved. BIG BREATH and then I could collapse from shock and exhaustion.


STREP THROAT

After such a stressful morning, Ben started to say that his ear was "on fire" and crying non stop. I was able to make an appointment at the doctor for that day and, come to find out, Ben has an ear infection AND strep throat. This morning, I found out Tim has strep, too. AHHHHH!

After Ian being away all week, me working most of the weekend and then the boiling water thing....this was just too much for me. The poor kids are miserable, cranky and feeling horrible....and I am barely keeping it together. BARELY. The moments not spent giving the kids medicine, cooking, hugging, cleaning or crying myself are being spent on knitting. Just slowly, slowly knitting and using that as my own medicine for calming and centering. Amazing how well it works. Just knitting and purling on my newest project (more on that the next blog post) has really saved me this week. I have such a grand respect for knitting....more than ever.


BEN'S SWEATER DONE!!!



I was actually able to finish Ben's sweater at Grand View. The collar is a bit too tight and I ran out of the blue yarn, so I had to use the white colorway to make the "B" and the collar, but Ben loves it and it's so soft. I'm just going to redo the ribbing in a bigger needle and bind off a bit more loosely. Ben's got a BIG melon head, I guess.

DETAILS:

-6 balls Frog Tree Alpaca in Cobalt Blue, sportweight
-Size 2 and 4 needles
-Pattern-Reversible Crew Neck Sweater by Jacqueine Fee's book: The Sweater Workshop

I'm pretty happy with it and hope it'll keep him warm this winter. It almost matches the socks I knit for him, too. He looks so cute in both. Once he's feeling better, I'll take a pic.

TIM'S SWEATER COMING ALONG...



I started working on Tim's sweater again so he'll have a chance to wear it this winter. I got at least a few inches done at Grand View and now I only have two inches to go and then the body will be done. Sleeves next and it's done! I can't wait to see him in it. It's the same size as the one I made for Ian last year while I was at Grand View...except I've added a few color accents to it and am not under the same amount of pressure to finish it as I was for Ian's. Hopefully, it should be done in a few weeks.

LASTLY, The "Amanda Hat" pattern!



I am sooo happy to finally announce my newest pattern, The Amanda Hat!!! Thanks to Sonya, who said that a hat looking like the Radiance Lace Headband in the Amanda style would look very good....and she was SO right! This hat is so cute and, so far, has been flattering to many types of heads.....and is also very, very soft.

I used Malabrigo worsted wool for this pattern in the "Jacinto" colorway and I can't tell you how wonderful it is for this pattern. It may only take 1 skein to make 2 hats....Ericka is going to do the test knitting for me on this. I know it takes less than one skein to make 1 hat in the largest size.

Try it and let me know if you like it! Ben's already stolen mine so I think I might have to make another in pink! Or blue!

Of course, the hat pattern is being modeled by the amazing Blogless Amanda and is named after her as well. I wonder if I can do something with the Jacqueline pattern, too.....what do you think, Jackie ?

GRAND VIEW: Quick and Painless...kinda

Good:

-Lovely company, got Ben's sweater finished, laughed a lot on Saturday evening, loved seeing the other things people were working on and ate yummy things....Blogless Sarah, you're kielbasa and salad were awesome and thanks so much for the alcohol-free jello shots! YUMMY! Another great thing....riding in Sarah's van. She is the BEST driver (fast but responsible) and was so generous to drive all 6 of us to GV. Big hugs, Sarah!!!

Bad:

-Horrible confusion over rooms, uncomfortable sleeping, bad news/experiences for friends of mine, bad attitude of owner, a bit more subdued fun and so much dust that it was almost unbearable.

I'd say more, but I'd really rather not. It's over and we're picking somewhere new and exciting to go on our Knitting Retreat next year!

MY FAVORITE PICS FROM GRAND VIEW

1. Laurin was looking like the Godfather on the last morning we were there. She was not only granting requests for the extermination of husbands (joking...kinda), but also sharing with us her wise advice for living a knitter's life...."Eh....listen, chickees...you must SHARE the yarn in order to REAP the benefits of the knitting experience. Believe your Yarnmother....and I will protect you. Eh....alright?" (again...making this up entirely....but you get the idea, right?)



2. A peek into one of the nights of my shared room with Jackie and Heather. There was a little more than knitting going on in OUR room!



(yea....sneezing and coughing! LOL!)

So, that's the update. Hope I didn't bore you much and would love you to send some loving and healing thoughts to me and the kiddies. Please check out the new hat pattern and don't forget to spread the word about the Month of Mittens (button on right). Make sure to email me a pic of your mittens when you're done to be in the drawing for tasty yarn! Woo-hoo! Stay healthy and remember to keep knitting.....I know I will : )

Burnt Out

The last few weeks have been much more than I have been able to handle. I've continued having daily migraines and/or regular headaches and, despite the awesome power of Sarah's massages (oh, man, she has magic in her fingers!), I'm still pretty tense. Sadly, even my daily yoga is not doing as much as I hope it would.

I feel like I'm behind on life. If only I could press a button and stop time for a few days. Or weeks.... Then, I'd be able to catch up on all the things I should be doing and finishing. Anyone else ever felt like that?

I've given up trying to get the podcast out until next month. This month has just too many things I need to accomplish and, though the podcast is pretty much done, it's no good if I don't record it and publish it to the web. I think if I give myself permission to delay the podcast until all my major August events are over, I will do a better job and have MUCH less stress.

I have made SOME PROGRESS on a couple of things:

- My mom's lace shawl is down to the short end (only 9 repeats) and I'll be working on that tonight until late-very late. I don't want to say that I hope to finish it because that will only cause me NOT to finish it. (Believe me...I know how statements like that always work against me...sigh.)

-Tim's first sock (using the KP Felici in Clay) is 3/4 done and I'm using this to bring around with me for some simple, mindless knitting...though I must say that I probably should have kept MORE of my mind on it because I knit the sock with 1 1/2 heel flaps....don't ask me how....just accept it and we'll pretend it was intentional...k?

I have made NO PROGRESS on a couple of things:

-Ben's sweater is still unfinished, though I have both arms finished and attatched to the body and will start on the final yoke-ing stage after the shawl is done.

-All of my other UFOs are still waiting patiently for me in their respective knitting bags or spinning baskets. (Thank god yarn and fiber can't mouth off!!!)

In other news, it was Ben's 1st day of Preschool last Monday and he actually did really well. I, on the other hand, cried all the way home that day and felt horrible without him. When I picked him up, he said, "Mommy, I cried for you!" and I crumbled all over again. It was horrible. This could be another reason for my feelings of stress....

But, here is he all dressed up and ready for school. Isn't he a cutie?



He picked this backpack out all by himself.




And here he is after school (Tim is in the background) looking pretty grumpy.



He's been doing so well potty training and I feel like he's growing up so quickly all at once. My baby boy!!!!

On Wednesday night, we celebrated both Sarah (The Fantastic Massage Therapist) and Lora's birthdays after knitting. It was a truly fun evening with lots of laughs, gifts and yummy cake....mmmmmm.....

Sonya, Lora's friend from her Kentucky knitting group sent her the most wonderful birthday gift. (It was actually a surprise and she mailed it to me and I brought it along to the group here on bday night.) She used my Radiance Lace Headband pattern (The "Amanda", named after Blogless Amanda) to create a large scarf/mini shawl out of it! I believe that she used a bulky or heavy worsted weight (extra soft) yarn and size 11 needles. We were all totally impressed and loved it so much that Lora didn't get to wear it at all that night...it was passed from Jackie to Mike to me to Heather and more. So lovely and warm!

Here is the birthday girl, Lora, wearing the Amanda Shawl:



And sexy Heather showing off the shawl AND her busty assests:



The pic that I wanted to show of Sarah came out so dark (as well as most of the other ones) that I'll just have to wait and take another one of her using her new drop spindle/fiber and becoming a newbie spinner! Bring it to Wed, Sarah!!

Happy Birthday to both Lora and Sarah!

A bit of sharing ahead....proceed with caution or turn back quickly!

[Before I go, I'll share a little TMI with you....since you've probably been waiting for some for, like, a week or more, right?? LOL! Last night was the first time Ian and I went skinny dipping in our pool! Jackie had mentioned it a few times but I didn't think I'd REALLY ever do it. Ian dragged me in last night and it was actually fun...for the little time we spent in it....I think it was a bit TOO exciting for both of us and we quickly got out to "dry"....if you know what I mean.....Oh, seeing Ian dive off the diving board in his "birthday suit" (let me just say it....buck *ss naked) was thrilling!]

Okay....Must go and get reaquainted with all the blogs that I missed the past week......happy knitting!

Ho Waiting

As soon as I saw this on my prescription, I laughed out loud. Yes, I am a HO waiting. (First two letters of my last name..and I was waiting for the prescription, not picking it up later....hence the label.) Little do they know how appropriate that title is! LOL!

Well, it's official. I am S-I-C-K.

I visited the doctor (not my usual one unfortunately) on Wed and I found out that my headaches have been caused by:

1. Sinus Infection (correctly diagnosed by the masterful Melissa)
2. Ear Infection (my ear, which didn't even hurt, is apparently is worse than the sinus infection)

and, possibly,

3. Temporal Arteritis (a constricting of the arteries in your head)...this, though, was looked into the informative and lovely Jackie and is not very common and is usually a condition of people over 50. So, I probably will not have to worry about this. I'm having xrays, blood tests and, if necessary, an MRI to see if I have this. I don't think it will be necessary for me to have the MRI, though....I think everything should be okay. Just cross your fingers anyway.

Here are my drugs:



Nice, huh? The doctor also told me that my muscles (in my back, neck, shoulders and head) are extremely tense and gave me muscle relaxants as well. Have yet to take those....I'm a bit nervous about it and think I might just get a massage instead. Safer and definitely more enjoyable.

Also, a small update on the lace and Ben sweater:

Lace Edging in Progress



The Body and One Arm of Ben's Reversible Sweater



And.....guess what else I made (while sitting in bed sneezing and moaning...not necessarily related to each other....LOL!)???

A BEN SOCK!!!



Melissa placed Knit Picks order a couple weeks ago and I ordered some of their new self striping, superwash merino/nylon, fingering weight sock yarn called "Felici". It is one of the nicest and softest sock yarns that I've knit with. Nice colors, great striping, soft as butter (very close to Regia Striping sock yarn), and the yarn didn't split once. I have to buy more colors!



Details

Pattern: Ann Norling's Basic Baby and Kid Socks #26
Size: 7 inch foot, 4 inch leg (for a size 11 or 12 child's shoe)
Yarn: Knit Picks' Felici sock yarn.
Needles: Size US 2 dpns, bamboo
Gauge: 7 stitches to the inch
Time: 24 hours for one sock. On my way to make the second.



Ben loves his sock....and now, instead of asking "Is my sweater done yet?"...he is also asking me..."Is my other sock done yet?" Oh, the pressure!!!

Now, lemme ask you a question: (for the podcast)

"What is your favorite knitting book and why? And, also...along the same lines....is there one pattern book that you always go back to over and over again? If so, what is it?"

And, this is for Chris.....

While I have my peppermint tonight, I will think of you.

(he he...just teasing....)