Chasing the Frog

This week I picked up a tiny deep water frog for our dining room tank. Now when you research this breed there are oodles of things you're supposed to do to ensure their health and safety. So I came home and promptly set about performing all of them; nevermind the logic that points out that frogs live without this stuff in the wild and also that when the government intervenes in health and safety guidelines it's usually impracticable..

I built a little habitat within the larger tank which the frog steadfastly refuses to live in. And spent a fair amount of time dip netting and chasing, trying to corral him toward it. A few days later I shifted it to the area he seemed to prefer...he promptly moved to the corner it had previously been placed in. All in all he seems more content to burrow his head into the rocks and moon us. I finally decided to let him be, if he dies, well, he dies. At the same time, I wonder if my recent struggles have been someone dip netting my personal aquarium, trying to guide me in a certain direction, while I just burrow in and moon the universe.



This is the Rib Yoke Cardigan from Summertime Knits by Classic Elite. Knit in New Tweed by Takhi and since I've previously shown my gorgeous seaming I won't show it again. My modifications were few, I changed the buttons to accomodate 3 bigger buttons on top. In the Stash and Burn group on Ravelry there is a thread about 3 button cardis. And it is true that certain cardigans lend themselves well to this treatment, keeping your clavicles warm while letting out that "over a certain age" heatwave. At the same time, there are those occasions when I want full torso warmth. So I put three eyecatching buttons at the top, then used buttons that blend in completely for the rest. Voila...I can wear it either way.

This project was also an object lesson in why you should swatch, wash & dry swatch, then measure. My washed gauge achieved I set off on the project. And spent the whole time thinking...this is too small, this will never fit, I will have to lose my twinkie arms to wear this, etc. Finished it, blocked it, and it fits great!

Hope I remember that lesson.

Finishing in the New Year

Holding with secular tradition...I chose not to do laundry today...and I worked on finishing things. One thing I finished....

Damson by Ysolda Teague in Butter Peeps colourway of Dream in colour Smooshy.

Now I'm off to finish last nights bottle of Belgian Lambic. But before I go...does that look like the Millenium Falcon to anyone else?

Another Decade

Another decade has crawled/flown/limped/dragged/danced by. I got on the scale, took a good look in the post-shower mirror, and decided that; while I am in good shape, I either want to be in top form or dead by the time the AARP card arrives.

Sound harsh? Not really. Mediocrity is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and to me...that looks like a lousy way to live. There are times where it feels as if the unknown evils of the deep are reaching up to grab my ankle and pull me down to a scum filled drowning death. Equally, there are times when it's all good. And I'm okay with both of those, it's that trapped in the middle feeling that I want to avoid.

You may have noticed that my definition of mediocre has a lot to do with balance. That's because life is about balance. Well, balance and choices. And I foresee that the next 5 years will be filled with a wrestling match/dance between those two forces.

Happy birthday to me, Merry Christmas to y'all.

Ripley - fast and easy

A quick satisfying knit: Ripley by Ysolda Teague. I used a DK angora,nylon,merino blend (from the stash) held double for gauge. Easy easy easy. The photo styling of the pattern shows it worn either with the pleats toward the side front, or at the nape of the neck. Due to user error I got the little seam at the pleat, phooey. The little pleats at the nape instead, make this hat a delight to wear in the house. It's snug to the scalp, covers the ear tips, and the pleats pull up that weird bunchiness you get around the back with a regular hat. Very handy for winter houses/hotel rooms.



I forsee enough wearings to make the handwash nature of this hat worth it.

But winter hasn't started yet!!!

A little perspective: I've gone out to fill that bird feeder, which hangs from my laundry line, which in summer I have to stand on tip toe to unhook and fill up.

Happy Holiday!

From our stash to yours.

Seams to me

Blatantly bragging about my seaming.



And shot of the decrease row markers in action. I took the number that I needed (13) and hung them from a stitch marker on the work, then as I completed each repeat I hung the #'d marker appropriately. It makes putting the project down and coming back days later very easy. Which is apparently an integral part of my knitting style. In knitting I am not monogamous; in part for practical reasons - different bandwidth requires different projects, and in part because I am a yarn slut. Today my bandwidth can handle simple rib and watching the crockpot cook dinner. Guess that Rosemarkie colourwork vest will have to stay in it's bag.

Trading the word in for a question

It's that time of year again; actually depending on your calendar I could be considered late.

I've been puzzling over the guiding "word" for this next year. The truth of the Word, is in it's function as a tool. Compass, measuring stick, hammer.

I finally realised this year, I want a question:

"Who would I be, if I weren't who I am?"

I'm not talking about delving as deep as Byron Katie. But We've all been guilty of this in one form or another. "That's not my style; I wouldn't do That; Where would I wear it?; I don't deserve; I always; I'm not that type of person." Or heard it from another "You'll never...; She'd never...; Mom wouldn't..."

What if I weren't that woman? After all, I'm not who I was at 10, 20, 30, or 40. All those phases seem as though they involved specific persona, this time I think I'll take charge of shaping that persona a little more.

The next year is going to be rough for TAO and I anyway. There will be some shakeups, changes, challenges...more than the standard-dealing-with-life-stuff. Things we've been working toward for 10 years are getting ready to happen in the next coupla; so while we're dealing with all of that, what's a little seasoning shook in?

Perhaps the candy sprinkles that will carry us through. (that and our vacation in 107 days of course.)

Picking myself up off the floor

It didn't take 4-6 weeks after all. I PASSED!

Looking at the score breakdown; I missed the 5 questions I thought I would, and for the practical...remember the story of ABD? Well, because of the following the statutes, not the testing (doing ABD) I totally skunked the points for that part of the protocol, but did everything else for a perfect score - making the total high enough to pass.

End of saga. ;)

Happy Thoughts

Since discussion of the test is verboten, how about some goodness?
But first: thank you veterans and all who are currently serving.



I cast on the hot viral knit Damson in Dream in Color Smooshy in ButterPeeps, and now I don't want to work on anything else. I love the yarn, I love the texture, I love the color, and I even love the "boring" garter stitch part of this project.

I made myself a little hot water bottle cover out of some ultra plush super soft knit fabric from JoAnns. As well as a little knee pillow cover of the same fabric.

A round of applause for my supermodel.
Then I finished Ergonomic Earwarmer by Feistywoman Designs

I don't want to talk about it.

The test, that is.

I either passed it splendidly, or failed it splendidly. Usually I leave a test with a sense of whether or not I passed. For instance, I have no qualms about the written exam. I can think of 5 questions I may have gotten wrong, and I can miss 35 to pass.

It's the practical that has my adrenals doing the dance. On the bright side...the person I needed showed up. (Yay!) On the dark side...not appropriate at all; but meeting the letter of the regulations so off we set.

My uncertainty about the practical springs from a difference in statutes. WI statutes state-in specific, clear language- thou shall do such and such. The chemical MSDS seconds that. The testing guidelines state something different. I went with the state guidelines because when I called the third party testing people for clarification before the exam, they said we "don't know, we just do what the state says. Call the state." Called the state and she said "don't know, lots of people do it wrong, but the code says ABD, so do ABD."

Well, ABD, threw the test administrators into a tizzy, if I flunk for that reason, I can file an appeal. But that initial action caused the proctors to watch me like ornithologists with a new species. Even my test buddy said something on the drive home about "those biddies really had it in for you, they didn't watch anyone else at all."

Now, apparently, it's 4 to 6 weeks to find out what comes next. In the meantime, let's talk about something else shall we?