Home again, home again

Well, Texas & I have survived each other.  No monster (14” long, 1.25” wide!!) millipedes this time, and our dear Princess T is thriving.  Miss A has had some setbacks, mostly due to being a teen now (and just a bit of a drama Queen? Maybe).  The warm weather has officially moved into middle Tennessee, so we’re sleeping with the window open.  The other human members of the Plaid Patrol did not cook any dinners while I was gone, but still managed to dirty every dish in the house.  That’s ok, they’re the ones that have to clean it up! 

Exciting news: I finished the Princess’ Bunny Hop sweater!  I got some heavy duty fusible binding tape, same width as the ribbon facing for the snap closures, used it to press on the ribbon quite firmly – and totally stabilized the fronts of the sweater.  Then measured & marked (Dog bless washable markers!) placement for 11 snaps, and pounded on those snaps.  Whew!  Such banging and bashing!  But it’s done like dinner (love that expression, thank you Stephanie).  I’m waiting on some ordered presents to arrive, and will ship the sweater to our Princess as soon as I can put them all together. 

 

(pay no attention to the dates on these pics; every time the battery dies the $&^% camera resets to a random date.)

I’m using one of my birthday presents from Sis, some Kertzer sock yarn in very parrot-y colors, to make a Cat’s Paw Scarf (Elizabeth Lovick, Northern Knitting).  I started another pattern in this and then found my copy was missing one line, so switched to this much simpler pattern.  Right now it looks like someone spilled food colors in a vat of cooked Ramen noodles….but blocking will sort it out.  I did get the Knitters Pride Trendz acrylic interchangeable needle set (Haus of Yarn ordered it for me J) , which I mean to use for swatching the Gramps Cardigan – as Dog is my witness, I will get gauge! – but I’m using the size 10 tips for this scarf.  It’s quite loose; mostly air with a bit of string run through it.  It’s been good travel knitting, since there are only 6 rows and only 3 have increases & decreases.  I've been working on it off & on almost two weeks now, and I'm still only half way thru the skein -- this puppy's gonna be long! 

Fly Girl

My Darlings,
If you do not hear from me for a few days, do not despair!  For on the morrow, I depart for the wilds of South Texas (Behar County, y'all) to reside in the bosom of my family, or what's left of it.  I have handknit gifts for the Princess, Miss A, and Sis.  I'll carry along Pup's Steelers socks, so he can see what progress I've made; also I expect there will be plenty of knitting time for me this week so I might actually get thru the  &*%$$^ heel -- which is all black with black reinforcing nylon.  It's enough to make my dry eyes really tired.  But I'm hoping there will be lots of daylight to knit by, always very helpful when knitting tiny dark stitches. 
Miss A's gift hasn't been photographed yet.  I used the Elegant Alpaca Fingerless Gloves pattern, but only worked three repeats of the lace -- I wasn't sure how far my partial skein of Debbie Stoller's Stitch Nation Alpaca Love (Dusk colorway -- deep purple!) would go.  As it turns out, I probably could have worked one more repeat on each glove -- but oh well!  I have found some more of this yarn online, and expect delivery soon (likely while I'm gone to Texas), which I'd like to use for leg warmers for Miss A. 
While I'm visiting San Antonio (love that town!  and they love Volunteers, too: the Alamo is right downtown) I'm going to check out the Yarnivore yarn shop, which is on (near?) NW Military Dr.  I've read some good reviews of this shop, in Ravelry, and would like to visit & review myself.  Of course, I'll see the Riverwalk again, and maybe a museum or two.  Should be fun.  Then it's off to Austin, to see the gals there & deliver their gifts in person (be still, my heart!).  I may even make it there on the Princess' birthday!  Woot! 

Home again, home again

I'm ba-a-ack! The Plaid Patrol returned to base this past Wednesday, from the great state of Texas. We were there almost a week! ALL of us! My poor sister, bless her, mortgaged the farm (practically!) at WalMart just to feed us all. She had her troop (BIL & the nieces two), the Plaid Patrol (Plaidman, Boss Lady & DiscoDame) and the patriarch himself (aka Pup) for dinner Thursday thru Saturday. Pup left for San Antonio after breakfast Sunday; he was a little antsy about leaving Mrs. W alone for so long. We didn't play tourist, but boyoboy DiscoDame (chronological age 26, going on 7) sure did play with her cousins! The three of them were joined at the hip almost the whole time. This gave Sis some time to get a few things done, since she didn't have to entertain the 4 year old (aka Princess T). So we sorta vegetated...which may be just what we needed. The Plaidman smoked his VERY LAST cigarette while backing the car out of the driveway, on the way to the airport! He'd equipped himself with some Commit lozenges; he's officially been a non-smoker for 8 days now! Start the fireworks! Well, maybe not. The nieces weren't too sure what to make of Uncle Plaidman; he wasn't saying much since he had a lozenge in his mouth most of the time, and was trying to keep his hands busy by working on a crossword puzzle book. He got his props though: Sis found a toy castle she'd bought years ago for the older girl, that had never been assembled--but Uncle Plaidman got to work & soon the girls had a second castle playset! That same afternoon one of Sis' clients came by the house for a treatment, with her own two little (about 3 yrs & 5 yrs) girls in tow. The five girls (you're keeping up? no? ok, two nieces 4 & 11, two visitors 3 & 5, and DiscoDame!) were all on the floor playing. How cute!
Probably the most interesting part of the visit, for me, was going to Sis' salon for a treatment. She's got a skin care salon, which is so tiny that it looks like a large closet with it's own exterior entrance. I have visible capillaries, and she treated them with a tiny electric current. There was a little pain, but I can definitely see a difference. And this is one of the few "defects" in my appearance that I've always thought I'd do something about if I had the money--only I didn't need money! Sis said she normally charges about $300 (US) for the treatment I got, for free. Next time I visit, we'll treat a few more of 'em.
Monday, Sis & the nieces carried the Plaid Patrol down to San Antonio, where we met up with Pup. Then we all went to El Mercado/Market Square, and had a terrific lunch at Mi Tierra, followed by a cruise through the Market (shopping!!) and then Sis & her family went back to Austin. Pup took the Plaid Patrol back to his house, where we all went back to vegetable mode. Tuesday, Pup & I visited with Mrs. W, then he went back to his house (two doors away!), collected the rest of the Plaid Patrol & his car, and we all went out to the Olive Garden for lunch. After lunch, we went to the San Antonio Shoe factory outlet, which is a fun destination even if you're not shoe shopping. They have a little "country store" & gift shop within the outlet, and outside they've got a fabulous collection of antique cars & trucks. I'm wearing my new shoes right now...and Plaidman wore his to work yesterday & today. DiscoDame got some nice black sandals, sort of semi-dressy. I have no idea why she thought she needed them. Anyway, we dropped Mrs. W at her home & pretty much returned to slumping, with intermittent packing. Wednesday saw us out the door by about 7:15 to catch a flight just after 10 a.m., and here we are all safe at home.

Ketchup soup...

...or, A Long & Winding Road. My plan for today's post is to catch y'all up with what's happening at Chez Divine, which is lots. Some of it's good news, like finally hearing from the insurance company representing the goofball that ran his truck into my car, way back in June. They've accepted liability! We may actually see some $ coming in for repairs! The Purl will be patched up & stylin' again. Then there's bad news: The Plaidman has had a pain in his back (and my backside!) for a couple of weeks, which he thought was due to all the overtime he was working. Last Friday, he stayed home from work because he got dizzy & nauseous when he tried to back out of the driveway. We made an appointment to see a doctor on Monday. He got a bit better through the weekend, until 4 a.m. Sunday. He woke me up so I could carry him to the ER. The five hours we spent there were in vain. His blood pressure was very high, which concerned the ER staff (notice I don't say "the doctor") and us, since he's always thought his pressure was normal. They treated his blood pressure, and gave him meds for a back sprain/pulled muscle. He had a chest Xray and a CT scan of his chest, & the NP said to follow up with his physician regarding the blood pressure. So home we went. DiscoDame & I went off to the laundromat without him. Monday morning Plaidman went to the doctor, who got the CT scan faxed over from the hospital, and diagnosed pleurisy with bronchitis -- so NOT A PULLED MUSCLE, and with the CORRECT TREATMENT our patient was feeling much better by the time I got home from work. But he's off work at least until next Tuesday, per the doctor's orders. We're hoping he's got enough vacation time to still get paid for the week, plus for our excursion to Texas. Which brings us to more good news--we're ALL flying to Austin next month, and we'll run down to San Antonio while we're there. I have been working on some drop-stitch scarves for Sis, and I've got one (of five) dolly blanket ready for Princess T, and I sure hope I can get something together for Miss A as well. I had bought some books for her, but one of the furballs we live with puked on one, and the other has gone missing--it's probably hanging out with the missing library book, under the couch or behind the computer hutch.....I'm afraid to look, in case Jimmy Hoffa's there too.
Yesterday was my birthday! I love birthdays, just can't get enough of 'em. The Plaid Patrol went out to Red Lobster last night, and I got birthday swag consisting of a large handful of knitting notions & two nice books. I got Color Style by Pam Allen & Ann Budd, and The Best of Interweave Knits also by Ann Budd & Pam Allen. I think there's a hint in the first one; I suspect Plaidman would like a "plaid" sweater or kilt socks. Plaidman got one of these books, and DiscoDame bought the other; it wasn't until I showed them the covers that they realized both books were by Pam Allen & Ann Budd. I had a phone call Wednesday at work, from DiscoDame, requesting names of some of my favorite authors--I only gave names from the world of knitters! And I'm not sure I even mentioned Pam Allen, though I did mention Ann Budd -- and I spelled her name. LOL.
Friday the 25th DiscoDame & I went to Threadfest, over on Knowles. I found out about this event on Ravelry, and attended last April's event. This time we got there early enough to find some yarn! So I got a bit of that, then checked out the fabric samples, with the idea of making some roll-up needle cases. I'm really not much into sewing, but the patterns I've seen for them look pretty straight forward. I've seen examples using fancy linen napkins, which already have the edges hemmed, and found a lot of samples with edges already whipstitched. Most of what I bought was upholstery weight; some had smaller samples of other colorways attached, which I think might be used as pockets. Anyway, DiscoDame is interested in the idea, and we'll probably work together on them. I'd like to make one for myself, and another for a knitting coworker. Well, that's for another day! I also found a terrific stash of knitting & other craft magazines, including some from 70's & 80"s, and one Christmas craft magazine from the late 50's/early 60's which is about 3 kinds of crazy kitschy! Some of the stuff in it looks like the kind of thing my Mom used to make for the holidays. Kinda brings a tear. So, after Threadfest, DD & I headed home for a brief rest, then went to the TACA Fall Crafts Fair over in Centennial Park. Plaidman had an appointment over at the hospital (NOT the same one that mis-diagnosed his back pain!) for a heart CT scan, to check for plaque. So the ladies went unescorted--and probably saved some money that way! It was raining, but just barely. Still, the crowd was pretty thin. I did buy some handpainted yarn, and even stepped outside the aqua/teal/turquoise/green range (I know, shocking!) for a change. My new addition to the stash is a lovely combination of camel, burgundy, and navy. Wow, I just realized: this used to be one of my favorite color combos, when I did a lot of crocheting. I guess I'm reverting?
One thing both the "bad" ER and his doctor agree on: his blood pressure's too high. Plaidman's going back to the doctor on Monday, to follow up on the bronchitis & pleurisy, and get the results of the CT scan done Friday, to check for heart disease. He's offically been diagnosed as having high blood pressure. We've had a talk about his need to cut back on sodium, possibly on fats, and those coffin nails he uses. We'll know more Monday evening.
DiscoDame is done with her schooling, and just needs a signature or two to graduate! She'll have an Associate degree! And a huge loan to pay off! Welcome to the American dream, kid. We'll have to work out new terms for her to continue to live with us; the most educated person in the household should be expected to hold up her end of the household expenses. Boy, will there be a meltdown!