Bron's Blog II

Short, Sweet And To The Point

I need something to knit other than plain stockinette, therefore Fifi will be forthcoming.

With the 3 day weekend coming up, I plan to get a very good start on this. :)

Is It Fall Yet?

Sigh. Nope. Temps still in the 90s (although we're cooling down to the high 80s the next couple of days) and I'm still sweatin'.

I'm SO ready for sweater weather!

Speaking of which, (sweaters, not weather) over the Labor Day weekend I plan to go through my sweater collection and have a mega-blowout-sale. Not only yarn (it's been awhile since my last stash sale), but sweaters too. I saw a sweater give-away on someone's blog a couple of months ago (I can't believe I forgot who it was - she's even in my Bloglines too! Sheesh.) Anyway, I thought it was a smashing idea. I complain constantly that I can't wear all of the sweaters I knit so I'm going to let them go for $10.00 each - to cover packaging & shipping costs.

Some sweaters I already tossed when we moved, but I have at least two Rubbermaid tubs full downstairs so I should be able to find a dozen or so that need new homes. :)

After all, my sweater collection continues to grow in leaps & bounds. Here's my progress on Blue Sesame's left front:

And I've actually done a few more rows on my French lace creation:

But the last couple of days have mainly been about working & sleeping.

I did get a script for Ambian CR - the controlled release sleeping pill. I hate sleeping for 4 to 5 hours & then being awake the rest of the night. Hopefully this will help. The Dr. said that ideally you should take these 4 nights in a row to establish a good sleep pattern, then try to sleep on your own. But he said most people never do that, they just keep taking the pill because they know they won't sleep without it. But he didn't seem to concerned about it since he gave me 6 refills!

I won't try it until this weekend - if the pill makes me woozy the next day, I don't want to have to work.

I'm going to start decorating for autumn this weekend too. I really wish it was time for Halloween decorating because I just discovered Spooky Town over at Michael's:

I just had to buy the Witches Coven (they were almost sold out) but we plan to get more pieces using the 40% weekly coupon. However, just when I need to use them, the coupons are no longer coming to my mailbox! I guess I have to buy a Sunday paper to get one now. Wouldn't you know it?

Dylan really, really wants The Pillager for his room, but it's $70.00 at Michael's - a little too rich without that 40% off coupon!

Happy Hump Day! I'm off to sub more math. Yesterday was 7th grade enriched but I'm not sure which grade I'll get today.

Uncertainty makes life interesting, no?

95% Of Our Stress Or What We Did This Weekend...

Yeah, it's still our old house that's stressing us out but now we've added my father-in-law's house too. Things are deteriorating rapidly for him. I know I haven't spoken about his medical troubles but things aren't looking good. So we're getting him moved in with his friend as soon as possible - as in the next couple of weeks - and we're having an estate sale Sept. 20th-23rd.

And we haven't packed a SINGLE thing from his house yet, either to take to our house OR to move with him to his new place.

We spent 3 hours yesterday at the old place, trying to get the last bits out that we want to keep. It was back-breaking, depressing and exhausting and we still haven't finished the attic or the back garage. Doug has agreed to pay someone to come in & haul what's left away. There's going to be some good stuff left, but tough -we just can't do this any more. Not with my father-in-law's 1800 sq. ft. house sitting there, waiting to be emptied! We're also going to pay someone to come in & cut down the weeds, manicure the trees & bushes, AND clean the house.

And then we'll do the same for Doug's Dad's house.

A LOT of the "stuff" we have is flotsam & jetsam from Doug's Dad's life. When the elderly say, "Oh, I won't bother sorting through or getting rid of anything - that's for the kids to handle" I want to slap them! My parents did that same damn thing and it took my brother and his family WEEKS to get through everything. Part of the pack rat syndrome comes from living through the Depression, of course, but understanding doesn't make the work any easier.

I haven't even mentioned the guilt that comes with it, "Wow - Dad loved this. But we just can't keep it. Or should we? Because Mom used this all the time. But we don't have room. Should we make room? What should we do with it???? It's too good to throw away, but do we really want to sell it???"

We have sworn to our children that when the time comes, we'll down-size ourselves, get rid of all but the most precious items (no-one needs 4 sets of china!) and save them the headaches and guilt. We're writing letters to our elder selves that the boys can have us read if we get complacent and forgetful. We're going to remind ourselves of the horror we've been living through (half-blind parents insisting on driving, parents insisting on living on their own unable to clean themselves or their houses, having to kidnap my mother out of the family home with police help, etc.) and tell our future selves to suck it up & DEAL with it already. Our kids don't deserve what we've been through.

No-one does.

There - now that my rant is over for the moment, I'll show you the upside of the last two days. First, apple jelly:

These little jars will go on Christmas baskets for the neighbors, along with other edible goodies and a dishcloth (I finished another one Saturday):

I also finished the back of Blue Sesame:

I got a good start on a front, while Arnold relaxed from his grueling weekend of sleeping and eating:

I Whined Too Soon or How Much Do I Love My Doctor or An Apple A Day.....

How many of us have Dr.s who suggest homeopathic/alternative medicines? "I think the American medical community has a bias against herbal remedies.....our studies show things don't work while European studies show they DO."

He suggested I try a homeopathic/holistic pharmacist in the city for both my menopausal symptoms and the ailment he tried to treat earlier this month with two difference pharmaceuticals. They both failed. He said, and I agree, that there's no sense testing hormone levels for menopause unless you're planning to do something about it. Which, of course, I'm not. At least not through the medical establishment. He did say some women have success with plant estrogens. He actually wrote me an honest to goodness prescription for it. Yay!

And at the same time a prescription for Ambian CR. ::wink:: I'm not abandoning modern medicine all together! LOL

I took my very last Mexican Allegra (yeah - we get drugs from across the border) and it helped immensely yesterday. But do you think I would remember to ask my Dr. for a 'script while I was there??? Noooooo. Sheesh. I'll have to call his office on Monday.

I DID however, remember to ask about a new Dr. for the kids. All for pediatricians are taking new patients at the family medical office & they have one male Dr. which will make the boys more comfortable. I can get their medical records transfered from their old, (idiot) Dr. any time & just bring them on in.

The guy's name is Dr. Good. hehehe You gotta love it.

Now - on to apples:

Isn't that pretty? I gathered & picked almost 6 pounds yesterday:

The big storm drove a lot from the tree, but I was surprised at how many nice sized apples were still on the branches! I didn't have a ladder to get the top ones, but this is plenty for a batch of apple jelly. (They are too tart for even pies!)

Using my trusty Stocking Up book:

I have every method of preserving apples at my fingertips. (Take that, Internet!) Actually, apple jelly is the easiest to make because apples make their own pectin. Just add honey. :)

When I pulled down that book, I saw these on the shelf too. Does anyone remember Amy Dacyczyn and her Tightwad Gazette?:

I used to subscribe to her newsletter about 12 years ago. Then she quit to pursue other interests. She was the gal who had 6 kids, a huge farmhouse & lots of $$ in the bank while only living on one salary. I used to reread these books at least once a year. I still use her granola recipe. Even though I don't need to be as frugal as I used to be, who doesn't enjoy getting good deals & re-using things around the house? After all, the less we buy & the more we re-use, the better it is on the environment. :)

Here's a bit more harvest to show you. We've been getting tomatoes for a month, now, but I keep forgetting to mention it:

I'm not much for tomatoes, but even I can appreciate being able to make a salad with fresh tomatoes every night. :)

I did start another project yesterday:

I'm finally getting started on my version of this:

Double yay!

What a difference a day makes. :)

A Gentle Summer Shower

NOT!

When someone from the Southwest tells you we have a monsoon season, believe it.

On the West side, in Paradise Hills (where I live) and in Rio Rancho, it poured yesterday. We got a little over 3 inches in 45 minutes and the remnants of Dean aren't even here yet!:

Here's our "dry riverbed" landscaping filling up with water:

And here it is after the storm passed:

And just an hour before I'd been kicking myself because I'd been too sick to get out & water the garden!

Ha!

Because I was fairly brain dead yesterday from whatever it is I have (could be allergies - I'll find out from the Dr. today, after work) I knit as far as the shoulder shaping for Blue Sesame & stopped - I didn't trust my counting abilities! So I made another dishcloth & the first side of a potholder:

(To prove my counting abilities were impaired yesterday, the potholder pattern is a hexagon. I was 4 rows in before I realized I was making a pentagon! hehe)

I'm having the Dr. draw blood today to check my hormone levels besides giving me prescriptions for new sleeping pills and Allegra. I'm pretty sure that some of my problems stem from the onset of menopause. On any given day I could swear that I have half of these symptoms, except for my periods actually stopping. Now THAT would be worth suffering for!

No hormone replacement for me, though. My sister-in-law was just diagnosed with breast cancer, directly stemming from hormone use after menopause. My Bio-Mom's endrometrial cancer was also linked to hormone use, although she only used them for about 2 1/2 years while my sis-in-law went on for 12.

I just want the diagnosis so I have a good excuse for all my aches & pains over the next few years. ::wink:::

I'm off to sub Health today. At least I know it's too early in the year for them to be at the sex part of the curriculum. ::grin:::

Have a great weekend!

(Hey Lisa - I DO still plan to talk about the Vogue Anniversary issue. Thanks for reminding me!)

Urchin Germs...

...must be particularly strong this year. I feel a cold coming on & school's only been in session for one week!

Ah well, maybe this means I'm getting it out of the way early & will have a healthy rest of the year. (Well, I can hope, right?)

On to knitting stuff. This intrepid blogger went on a reconnaissance mission to Michael's last weekend to check out all the new yarn on the shelves. Here are my impressions:

Bernat Bamboo: Very, very, VERY soft. Very fluffy. It's a bamboo yarn wrapped with an acrylic binder thread. It would be great for baby things (depending on washability) because the colors are all pastels.

Bernat Cashmere: Why on earth did they bother? It's only 5% cashmere and NOT soft at ALL! Reminds of Red Heart on a good day.

Bernat Alpaca: Another chunky yarn, this one is very nice, very soft. 30% alpaca. I liked it - it would be great for hats/scarves/mittens.

Bernat Organic Cotton: Bulky, lofty, bumpy. Soft. (How's that for short & sweet?)

The only problem I have with the new yarns is that none are smooth. They all are untwisted fiber with a binder thread. The bumpiness tends to limit a person's pattern options. And why so many pastel shades? Would it kill them to throw in some red? Some teal? Come on, people!

I saw that SWS now has solid colors as well as new color ways for the season. If I could use wool, I'd be using this yarn a LOT!

I was very disappointed with the Vanna line. The yarn was only a tad softer than industrial Red Heart and the colors weren't anything special. If I were to go straight acrylic, I'd still go with Caron and their "Simply Soft" line. Although Red Heart's "Soft" is good as well.

Last night I finally managed to get my set up row complete for the lace on Ariann - show here with the endless back of Blue Sesame:

It took me 45 minutes to do the lace set-up row because 1. people kept talking to me when I was counting (riiiip!) and 2. I pulled the needles out of the knitting trying to scoot the fabric along (lots of cursing while picking up stitches.) I think I'm going to transfer this onto some Knit Picks needles. For some reason (maybe I'm knitting tighter than usual) my Denises are sticking something fierce. They shouldn't be doing that with CE but they are and it's frustrating.

I have no job for today & I hope nothing comes up so I can stay home & rest! Tomorrow I do have a job that I can't miss.

Have a great Thursday!

Drive-By Post

Another full day at work (Ye gads, 6th graders are energetic little buggers!) but I DID get a bit more sleep last night (thanks for the good wishes) and was better able to deal. (I wonder if part of the sleeplessness is due to the changing seasons? Hmmm....) Tomorrow is a half day (12-3) so I'll be able to get some things done in the AM. Guests coming over @ 4 to eat, so blogging tomorrow is definitely iffy.

I just wanted to make sure you all saw this happy ending. I'm thrilled that my Pineapple Top went to a good home where it will be loved.

All's well that ends well, eh?

The Last Roses Of Summer And (Gasp!) A Swatch!

These pix speak for themselves...

And we're still waiting for our 3 pomegranates to ripen:

It is HOT here. Over 100 in most of southern NM, it's up to 98 here right now. Last Friday I had no air-conditioning in the portable where I was teaching math. It got up to 95 in the classroom - we were all running with sweat!

More goodies came in the mail - a couple of older potholder/dishcloth books:

See that booklet on the right? See the strawberry potholder? I have one just like it in my kitchen drawer that I made my Mom about 10 years ago. I'm happy to have the pattern again. However, I just might make the grape bunch next. :)

I've made progress on Blue Sesame - I'm in the middle of decreasing for the armholes:

And here, ladies & gentlemen, as promised, a swatch:

You see, the pattern for this:

...has wonderful diagrams but it's made in bits and pieces. IE., the fronts are rectangles topped by two triangles, the same with the back, only put together a bit differently. Rather than do pieces & parts, I've decided to make it less fitted. Just one large rectangle for the back, two smaller ones for the fronts & then tied altogether with the lace edging.

For that, I needed to swatch.

The above swatch is 7" wide. 3 of those across would give me approx. a 42" chest. Since it's not meant to be closed, I think that will work out just right. Especially once a 2" edging is added.

Looks like I'm good to go!

I meant to get more emails answered than I did (Deneen, I SO owe you!) but I had another sleepless night last night (up at 2) because I was worried about some schedule changes for the kids. Turns out I had nothing to worry about (of course) but heck, that's never stopped me before!

I won't even go into the grief that scheduling snafu's have caused around here. It would take too long to explain & it's all done now anyway. Suffice to say, the day before the high school freshmen schedules were handed out, the computer scrambled all the kid's classes. All 800 of them.

Oh, yeah - it was a cluster***. Sigh.

But, as I said it's done so I'm hoping for a good night's sleep tonight. Sweet dreams!

The Eyes Have It

I should have posted this morning - now I have too much to say at one time! (It's feast or famine around here when it comes to blog fodder.)

I have eye news & eye candy.... I've spent the weekend trying to get used to mono-vision. I have one nearsighted & one farsighted eye (a condition called Anisometropia) and have worn glasses for astigmatism for years. My optometrist wanted to correct my left eye for distance (with a contact) & leave my nearsighted eye alone for close work. The brain, however, needs time to adjust to the differing signals, figuring out which eye to pay attention to at which time, and I wasn't sure I wanted to go that route. I got glasses in the first place because my eyes wouldn't focus together & I'd get headaches. That was back when I was 16! But I've been having trouble with my new glasses (the bifocal part isn't big enough for me) and when I wear contacts in both eyes I need one magnification of reading glasses for the computer, another for actual reading, and, well - it's a pain. I couldn't even eat without reading glasses on - my food looked fuzzy without 'em!

So Sat. morning I decided to try the one contact in, one out scenario and, while I can definitely tell there's something funky with my vision, I can tentatively say I think it might work. My eyesight has actually improved with age so that as long as the astigmatism in my left eye is corrected (it doesn't matter in my right eye, since I'll just use that eye for close work) I think I'll have the best of both worlds.

At least until I decide to spring for Lasik! hehe

Sooooo....now for the eye candy.

Let me say - this is what crochet should be and can be. We Americans don't know what we're missing...

From the magazine on the left (from my friend Daniela in France):

I wanted to show you these:

Not an ugly, bulky design in the lot....I want to make them ALL!!!!

From the magazine on the right, these knitted beauties caught my eye:

Such inspiration! It's hard to decide what to try first, but when I was at Michael's today (I'll review the new yarns I saw there tomorrow) I picked up 8 skeins of Paton's Grace in Taupe:

To use for this:

Check out a closeup of the lace:

Very, very nice. ::grin:::

I have yet to read the pattern & find out if there's a schematic I can use or if I'll need to translate some French, but I'm game for anything.

Wish me luck!

After A Hard Day's Work

There's nothing better than to come home to a good mail day.....AND to finish something, however small:

But the mail! Oolala!

First, from France and my friend Daniela, lots & lots of goodies - I'm simply overwhelmed.

Once again, the Bergere De France preview book:

A Marie Clair 250 crochet patterns book (is it wrong of me to want to try out various patterns as dishcloths?)

And these two BEAUTIFUL pattern books. I love both of them, but the one on the left has about 6 absolutely gorgeous items I'll be showing you tomorrow. Dang it - I'm going to HAVE to learn French now! (Well, get a good translation sheet at least. I really do have to make a few of those patterns.)

Last but not least, beautiful yarn - Phildar's "Canasta" which is like Paton's "Brilliance" but about 10 times softer. I now have 8 skeins of the dark purple, 2 of the lavender. I'm saving it for something very special:

Thanks so much, Daniela - it was like Christmas here yesterday!

I have one more goody to share. Yes, Cotton Ease is a sickness with me but honestly, when you see your favorite color on eBay - Popsical Blue - 12 skeins for $7.00, what would you do?

I got the whole lot for $7.00 plus $7.00 shipping. Holy crap - I'm in heaven. ::wink::

There are 3 different dye lots but....6 skeins are of one, 3 skeins of another match the dye lot of the 3 1/2 skeins I have left in my stash and 3 are of another. Plenty in each dye lot to make whatever I want.

Yay! I get a yarn score like this maybe once a year. ::Grin::

My first day back went well in most respects - more on that later too. :)

Finally - I owe emails to LOTS of people! Be patient - I'm going to catch up this weekend, promise!