Finished Knitted Bunny and more

6:45 am

                Piccies first!

Tigger with his diaper

hat in progress

finished bunny

finished hat

Not much time to write today as I must leave for the bus @ 7:15. And get breakfast together if not eaten before then. But buns are fed and I am dressed and otherwise ready to go. I will go to the gym and should be done well before lecture so I can get organized for what else has to get done today. Mostly I must gather all the stuff for next week’s 145 labs, and get my brain ready for 200 lab tomorrow. Which will be early – 9 am. I must drive one of these days so I can get to Brookfield to pick up my share, maybe I will drive tomorrow.

                Yesterday in some ways was very productive, mostly in getting a lot of fair stuff done, but somehow at the end of it it did not feel at all that way. Instead I felt discouraged bc as ever the house was a trashed mess and as ever there is still more left undone. Well I guess I will keep plugging at it. And then 2 not so great things: I broke a tooth, and our drier is dead. The repairman came to look at the drier and ended by recommending we replace it for safety reasons. And I did manage to get into the dentist (she was nice enough to see me at the end of the day – 6:30 and she says she can just put a filling in and it should be fine. So at least that is good. And I will do that early next Tues). And now we need to research driers and deal with all that. Which will take who knows how long and meanwhile we use the rack which takes up the whole living room. Still, that is ok, in fact it is good and I prefer it in many ways. I suggested our housemate do that too, just for now until we get another.

                I made a potato/turnip/rutabaga soup yesterday, but I tried something different. I roasted the vegs along with onions first, then I used them in soup. The only mistake was to add them to milk (with the left over fish) and heat that. The milk kind of caramelized a bit. I should have added the vegs to stock, then added milk at the end. Still, I think it is pretty good. And tonight will just be leftovers for supper. I have some rabbit thawing, so perhaps tomorrow I will cook that up. Maybe I’ll be able to come home kind of early for that.

                Wow I am getting hot here by the stove. It is 30 degrees outside, downright tropical.

                Oh, I forgot one good thing I did yesterday – I actually managed to get out and ski before the furnace guy came. The snow was not the best, but it was still a good thing to do. Well, now it is all slushing away. I wonder if we’ll get more?

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Dog and Lab

7:45 am

                Okey dokey this has been a trying morning so far. As in, Tigger was up and annoying at like 3:30 and so from then on it was waking up/sleeping until now. You want to know what? I am tired of the dog being such a huge focus of my attention. I am tired of thinking about the whole situation. Well I am home today so guess what, I get to deal with him/think about him all day. Lucky me.

                I will also deal with and think about all kinds of fair stuff that needs to be done. Mostly, let’s see, I need to write up a description of what I do for the fair. Everyone is supposed to do this. I also need to look over the class/demo schedules and make sure they are all as they should be. And I need to contact people about Drop-In-Spin.

                Yesterday was a bit of a blurr at work. I got in early enough to put nice posters up in 111. And now one of the profs decided to change the lab for next week. The good part is that she will be doing what the other prof had planned. So I will just need to get the stuff for one lab together. I will need to work hard tomorrow gathering all that stuff. But at least I was able to meet for a good long while with the profs –first together, then later in the afternoon it was just one and we went over a bunch of the labs. So I am feeling more together about it all. But then in my office I was writing things out and clarifying on my prep schedule (on the computer) and all my corrections got lost. I am very good about saving things and I did attempt to save what I was doing but for some reason it messed up and I searched all my files for it but it was not to be found, so I had to do it all again. Sucko.

                Ok time to: do some stretches, feed buns, then……get out and try a little ski since it snowed yesterday and I Think the snow might be ok.

                AND – here are some photos, provided I can get them loaded!

Bathbeba not loving the flash

Bathsheba enjoying her breakfast

The benefit of getting up early

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Knitting! Etc

7:30 am

                Not feeling very loquacious this morning, if that term applies to writing as well as talking. Not much to say. Or else I just don’t want to say it. For the all-important blog I will include more photos that I just took: of my lovely skein of blue/green angora 

 The blue skein photo does not really show the variegations. I spent a good part of yesterday working on it. I had already carded some of the blue and the green/yellow mix. I carded up some brushed gray stuff, then I combined everything. First I carded some of the blue with some gray. Then I layered: blue, then blue/gray, bits of brushed (and thus lumpy) white, more blue, then the green. And then last night I spun it all up and plied it, washed it and it is pretty dry already and so ready to knit. If I start it now I will finish way before knitting on Fri, but that is ok, I’ll bring it anyway before I send it off. And I think I might do a k2p2 rib. I am nearly finished with the other angora hat I am knitting that way. I like it. We’ll see how I like the decreases. I think I will just barely not have enough with one skein, so I’ll have to break into another. I like doing the ribbing hat bc it is more forgiving for size. Maybe I will start, then bring it in to show my co-worker, as I think she told us that she and the recipient wear about the same size.

and of my even more lovely wood stove which is my true love these days. 

Neither photos do their subjects justice. Here are better ones actually showing my lovely fire:

 Much better!

                The other stuff I did yesterday was fair stuff, going through the demo schedule to combine it with the drop in spin and with the contests. I emailed several messages, got at least started in getting ready for the meeting today. I will do more this morning. I am also inclined to make some nice cranberry bread to bring. Just for fun. And to use up those cranberries taking up space in the freezer. Last weekend I made cranberry scones to bring to Mom when we went to pick up the car and they were very good. AND I opened up the FAFSA stuff and got started with that. Truth is, the deadline is not for a while, since G is a returning student, so I might just turn my focus to taxes and do the FAFSA when the taxes are done. Late in the day I did go downstairs for a while to do more weaving – I have nearly finished the final rag rug (leaving I hope enough warp for my friedn to do one), then I fed buns and made supper. After supper we went to Friendlys so we could use the coupon that has been on my mind. After that I plied the yarn and listened to Curiosity Shop (finished Dombey and Son).

                So there went that day. Now a new one. Oh, the drier is on the blink (I called the repair man but have not heard from him). When I went downstairs yesterday to card there was a terrible burning smell and it was the drier. Needless to say I turned it off and unplugged it and now things are drying on the rack in the living room. Good timing as with the stove blaring it is pretty dry in here. I think our housemate may want to use it later today, the things on it now are nearly dry. I have another load washed, it will have to wait. And it makes it hard to do stretches as it takes up the whole floor. As I said, today there is a fair meeting. I have no idea who will be coming. Joy. I haven’t done any work today, I guess tomorrow is soon enough to get back to that. I also spun 2 skeins of the fawn angora yesterday (another photo???) and have 2 more to spin in that batch. And it would be great to spin up the brushed grey stuff that I carded but did not use for the blue skein. In fact, I will leave the carder set up downstairs bc I have a lot of brushed stuff that I would like to card and then spin – nice texture! Enough.

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Knitting Photos!

7:30 am

                Nice fire is already roaring as K got up to feed T earlier and amazingly added wood. That is very nice. Not nice is that T is whining at me. I guess he wants to go out. Now he is woofing. I just told K he has to get up and deal with him. I imagine he is not pleased. He thinks I should do it. Well too bad. I guess I will just let him woof. He did already go out earlier. He just wants to go out. Too bad.

                I did just take 2 photos one of the hat I am currently knitting which is plain angora (from Crystal) knit in a k2p2 rib

and one of the silly knit bunny that someone requested. Except the bunny still needs his ears and so looks very naked. 

 Need to finish that today. I also want to finish carding the blue/green/white angora that I picked out to use for a chemo hat for the prof. I did not want to use natural colored angora bc it would make her look like she has a halo of grey, or worse white hair. I think she is more into color than that. One of our knitters is knitting her a pink beret, which is apparently the name of a song by Prince. I guess I am just ignorant, as they all seemed to know it. Knitting was clearly the highlight of my day yesterday. Also went to the gym where I watched Catfish on MTV. I find that very intriguing, these stories about people sucked into on-line romances and then the crew goes to help them find out if they are legit. Which so far, the ones I have seen to completion, they never are but are instead some really lame person, or someone they know, or in one case a rather deranged person. Well it is better than 16 and pregnant. At least this crew seems to help these people more or less resolve a situation and they are left free and clear rather than – Teen Moms which is another show which I have not actually seen. I sure am getting my dose of popular culture. Trouble was that there really was not much music on at that time, so I couldn’t watch the music videos that I usually like.

                After running was lecture. I brought the 145 lab manual so I did a bit of looking that over, but what I really needed was to have the computer with me so I could take notes on the materials lists that I have on line. Maybe I will bring this computer next lecture. Then I got the student info sheets so we all sorted those. On other days that I am in lecture I may actually end up writing letters which would actually be fun.

                After lecture, let’s see, first I worked on putting together rosters and grade sheets and photo sheets for students. It was a pain bc we can no longer get photos from Ella. I hope when they switch to Noodle we can once again access them. Then there was knitting. Then I came back and finished the grade sheets, and finally went upstairs to finish cleaning scopes and getting the room ready. It is going to be a little confusing as to what I do and what the other instructor does. Well, we will figure it out. I just want to be as efficient as possible. I left work at 5, got home, did buns and made lovely soufflés for supper. With sauté-d cabbage. It was all very tasty, but unfortunately left me with a lot of food repeating. Eat more slowly? Chew more? I wish I could figure it out as I find it distressing.

                After supper I ended up rigging things so I could listen to Fresh Air and then This American Life with headphones and I spun. It was quite nice. I started some nice fawn skeins.

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More Dog of course

6:45 am

                It would be lovely Friday except that I have a lot to do at work.

                Yesterday was mostly organizing kinds of stuff at work. I did start in on cleaning the lab room which I guess I will finish today, then gather all the general stuff that is needed on lab benches. I do have lecture this morning, I plan to go to the gym first, and there is knitting at noon. All these things eat into the day. And I do not have to stay inordinately late, as K will be home early today. He will get home in time to do Tigger so that is good. It was pretty ridiculous yesterday: I was ready to leave, I wanted to be sure to get back in time to get my glasses looked at (one of the plastic nose pads fell off days ago and I’ve been wearing them like that and my nose is sore). BUT I did not want to get home before K bc I did not want to be the one to deal with Tigger. I want him to get used to coming home and dealing with him. So I stayed a bit longer, since the glasses place is open until 6. I drove to the mall (had the car), did the glasses, went to Whole Foods, by then it was after 6. K had said he’d be home 5:30-6 so I thought I was safe. But when I pulled in, he was still not back. Damn. So I let Tigger out (went through the whole process), got his dinner together and K arrived right about then, so I could say that I had just gotten home and so was just feeding him. Then I was done. Eventually, quite a long time later, K attempted to take him out with the wheels. Didn’t have any more success than I did, but he seems to think he will get it eventually. He will just coax him with lots of biscuits. Ok. Let him do that.

                Oh brother. Too much thinking is going into the dog these days, right? So I do need to get going. No MP changes, no great photos to add to the blog or anything. Maybe I will start carrying my camera around. Bunny news – it was really really cold last night so I actually brought Bart in since he is the one most recently plucked and so with the shortest coat. He did fine in the pantryway, except that he peed and I will need to clean that up. The newspaper I used was not sufficient. I will see how the rest fared in a few minutes when I get out there.

                Dog needs in and I had better get going.

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