Yes, I'm back.

It has been a while since my last post. I've been back from vacation for a couple weeks, but it hasn't really been a calm, peaceful two weeks. The two temporary crowns I had done the day I left on vacation pretty much fell out and I glued them back in every day while I was away. When I got home from vacation, the dentist cemented them back in and then a couple days later when they fell out (again), I bit down on them and broke them in five pieces. Thankfully, the permanent crowns came in quickly and the nubs were only bare from Friday night until the following Tuesday. I'm happy to say that the perm ones have been in for six days now without issue. About the same time I was dealing with the teeth, I finally had to come to terms with the fact that I can't see, and had to get glasses. The night before the glasses were ready, I misjudged where I was walking and slammed my left hand into the moulding at the top of my banister post. Luckily it was only a contusion, but I was in a splint to immobilize my left hand for five days. I'm left handed.
That pretty much takes us up to today. I did one of the things on my bucket list today. I've always wanted to have my hands painted with henna. My friends D and V just moved to a new home in Winchester, MA, and they had birthday party for D at their new house. She brought in a henna artist http://www.hennabyheather.com/ who was awesome. She did D's forearms, the tops and palms of both her hands, and both her feet. I had one of my hands done. I'm so psyched to see what it will look like tomorrow, I can hardly stand it (I still have most of the henna paste on). I had a chance to see some friends I haven't seen lately, and my friend Dominic http://www.dominicchavez.com/ said, if you've wanted to do this for like 20 years, why didn't you just go to Morocco and have it done? I didn't have an answer. Why not indeed? I should really start looking at the big picture, man. I'm stuck in the details. Anyway, for a start, I'm going to have at least both hands and feet done before my next vacation.
So check out the beginning of the 2010 harvest...yup, radishes. They're little, but I was so excited to see them that I yanked them early. I was under the impression that if you grew them at the very beginning or end of the season they would be mild, and if you grew them during the blazing heat of the summer they would be spicy. That's not really true because these guys were planted in april, survived a mild frost, and still turned out spicy. Oh well. I'm still very proud of them. They're so cute. My beets, carrots and chard are moving pretty slowly. Last year I transplanted chard, and I might go get some pre-started containers. I think the chard I started from seed is going to be too puny to do much of anything.
Okay, and now on to the knitting. I know I promised to finish my twirly skirt while I was away, but I didn't. Slacker. I have the attention span of a mosquito when it comes to knitting. I've been meaning to start the Cinquefoil hat (using Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere as suggested) by MaryJane Mucklestone for a while. I'm on the top of the hat, but the photos here are of the sides. The inside of the hat looks so awesome that I might wear it inside out. Ha!
I took so many projects with me on vacation that I actually went to the post office in Indiana and sent the yarn for one project back to my house in Mass. It was waiting for me when I got home from Las Vegas. Why not start another one, right? So yesterday I started a rectangular shawl using Schaefer Anne in a purple/gray variegated. The shawl is a very easy lace pattern. My next post will have the pattern author and photos. That's pretty much it I think. I literally have about seven projects going. My goal is to get SOMETHING off the needles this week. Probably Cinquefoil. It is an easy one and goes really fast. Sorry if this post was all over the map. Thanks for reading anyway.

Last post before vacation...

I should be packing - or at least pulling my knitting projects together for the trip. It is Friday evening and I'm not flying out until Monday so I still have a couple days. Unfortunately I have more than a couple days worth of stuff to do. I should begin with a list. Yeah, that might help to point me in the right direction, so I probably won't make one.

Today's topics: My garden, my current WIP, and I'll finish up with the projects that are probably going to get the nod to accompany me across this great land of ours.

This first picture was taken from my back deck the first time I noticed that my radishes had sprouted.

The second photo is the radishes close up. If there is a reader out there who is a true gardener, please feel free to comment - something like "Hols - your radishes need to be thinned out", would be appropriate.
This third photo shows my beet sprouts! I didn't even see them until I put my nose about six inches from the dirt. See the red in the lower right corner?? That's BEET! It is actually kind of funny that I'm growing beets. I haven't had one since I was a child because they literally made me gag. The only ones I ever had growing up came in a can, and they were so completely disgusting that I could hardly bear it. I've heard from people that fresh beets are awesome, and if I succeed at growing them myself, I'll be so proud that I'll eat them even if I hate them (which I don't think I will). The swiss chard is also coming up and the sprouts look just like the beets. The seeds looked similar too. Maybe they're related.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've started the Jubilee Scarf, which is a Berroco pattern by Norah Gaughan. The first photo was taken with a flash and the yarn color is truer, but the lace detail isn't visible. I shut the flash off for the second shot so the detail can be seen but the color is washed out. Apparently, I can't have it both ways.

I decided to use Louisa Harding Mulberry in Silver (02) but when I finished my first 50 grams, I realized that I was not going to have nearly enough. Yes, it's the first time in history that I didn't buy the entire stock of a yarn I liked just to be on the safe side. It won't happen again. I asked Annissa at the Stitch House in Dorchester (MA) if she had any more, and then my friend B actually ran in there tonight on her way home from work to check for me. No such luck. I was sure this scarf-in-progress was going to be getting the frog treatment, but B GENEROUSLY offered to let me have some of the 02 from her personal stash. Looks like this one is coming with me on vacation.

And speaking of projects that get to go on vacation, here is hopefully the last photo of Twirly in its unfinished state.

The next time you see this albatross it will be off the needles and hanging from my waist. For those of you who have never seen this before, it is Tink's Twirly Skirt by Jill Stover, knit in Louet Euroflax. This skirt lives in Mass, but has visited Maine, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York and will be going to Indiana and Nevada next week. Can you imagine the exciting life it will have when it's actually finished?? I can't even think about it. I'm thinking I might take the Cinquefoil hat by Mary Jane Mucklestone in elann peruvian baby cashmere.

http://twistcollective.com/2009/autumn/magazinepage_07.php

And then there's always the Bella's mittens by Marielle Henault. So many choices. So many yarns and needles to pack. I went up to the attic to get the BIG suitcase. Look out!

So Monday I'm having the drill work to make crowns for my two most rear lower right teeth. I am then immediately getting on a plane to Indianapolis (How do you think that flight will be??) I'm staying in Selma, Indiana until Thursday afternoon when I fly to Las Vegas until Sunday. I'll take tons of pictures and share the most interesting, however I won't take the camera to the dentist. I'll let you imagine the dental work. See you when I get back!

New Project Alert!

I don't have a whole lot of time today, but I started a new scarf last night, and I wanted to get a couple shots of it up here and on Ravelry before I have to be in Arlington for 1PM lunch.

I'm guessing all of my readership resides in the US, so you've probably heard that Boston and the surrounding areas had a catastrophic water emergency yesterday. I'm in one of the communities that has to boil water. I saw on the news that people were storming the stores to buy up all the bottled water, but I didn't even hear about it until 10:30 last night, and by then all the storming had happened 10 hours prior. My friends D and B were over for a knitting-while-watching-Dexter marathon, and we didn't hear anything about the gazillion gallons of drinking water that were lost. My friend D drank some of my water while she was here, so I hope she's okay. It really isn't that big of an inconvenience b/c it's just me and the cats. If I had a family I suppose it would be more problematic. The biggest annoyance I had last night was brushing my teeth with Polar Triple Berry seltzer water.

So here's my scarf: Jubilee by Berroco. http://berroco.com/exclusives/jubilee/jubilee.html

I'm using Louisa Harding Mulberry (100% silk) in shade 02, which is silver/gray. I cruised through my first 16 rows of the pattern then looked at what was supposed to be a 2 stitch garter stitch border, and had botched on row six. Loser. I don't screw up the lace pattern, I can't remember to knit two stitches are the end

of each row. Duh. So I had to frog the 16 rows and start again. Sadly, I have only an inch to show, but I'll have a decent amount done the next time I post pics.

Gotta scram, but I'd like to welcome L to my readership. Thanks for stopping by!

I need to hop in a shower of bathable but not drinkable water...

Finished Object Alert!

Yup...I'm still here. I've just been really busy lately; I've barely had time to knit and certainly haven't had a spare second to do a blog entry. I'm on vacation the week of May 10th, and plan to get LOTS of knitting done. For everyone who has been following the painfully slow progress of my twirly skirt since last July: I will post photos of the completed skirt sometime the week of May 17th. I'm going on three airplane rides, and the skirt will be the official carry-on project. Twirly is my most traveled UFO. It's been with me to Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and the Adirondacks. In two weeks it'll see rural Indiana and Las Vegas. Sheesh.
I've been working on a Cable and Lace Pullover (by Cecily Glowik MacDonald) which is coming along. I love the pattern and it knits up really quickly. No photos of that I'm afraid. Next time.

I just knit another Darkside Cowl (by Sarah Fama) because I was looking for some immediate gratification. I'm not sure what I'll do with it - it'll probably be a holiday gift. Yes, I'm starting my holiday gifts.

I have an update on my flooded condo. (Remember the idiot in the unit above who broke his toilet??) I got the estimate from my contractor and we're looking at over $35K in damage. I should've beaten the crap out of that guy when I had the chance. Since he was completely incapacitated as a result of drug and alcohol over-use, a) he wouldn't remember a beat down and b) I'd feel much better right now. I should've definitely taken his dog. Jerk.
Well, that's all for today. I have to post the cowl to Ravelry and step away from the computer. Bye.

Quick Follow up Post...

I just finished posting the "real" entry below, but this is so funny I have to do two last pics.
This is what I have to deal with when I sit at my computer. Tubby is snoozing with her head on my keyboard and Munchie is camped in my lap. No one in this house ever heard of a kitty bed. Bye.

Happy Spring!

Bet'cha thought I fell off the planet, eh? Nope, just right out straight. Last weekend (at 1:45 AM) my condo in Chelsea was flooded when the idiot living in the unit above broke his toilet. Literally. Broke his toilet tank in two. Then, not realizing he was about to wreck the two units below his (he didn't notice the tank was completely cracked- water pouring out of it should've been the first clue), staggered across the unit to his bed and passed out. By the time I saw his unit, there was 3" of water up there. I think I was in shock because I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around what was happening. The fire department tried to rouse him by using the phrase, "Don't you know you're unit is flooded?" Numb nuts replied that his unit was NOT flooded, and the fireman bent over, scooped up a handful of water and threw it in his face. It's an amusing visual, but I missed that exchange because I was already trying to get ServPro over to my place PRONTO. You ought to see me deal with a crisis at 2:00 in the morning. I spent 40 years in the Hank Martinson school of how to do everything right, so once I woke up, I was like a machine. Due to the flooding in Mass and Rhode Island, I couldn't get an adjuster to come for a visit until Monday, but hopefully the repair process can get underway and won't be too painful. I need to give a special shout out to my friend B (and her kitties) who lives in my condo and has been a great sport this week under really crappy circumstances. She had two dehumidifiers the size of refrigerators and three jet engine fans blowing for nearly 72 hours. The whole thing is just an unnecessary pain in the ass. As far as the guy upstairs, who does that? Even a week later I still can't believe it.

And now onto Spring...

I met up with my mother P for lunch yesterday, and she brought along these lovely roses. I was thinking that I should've brought her flowers as I was driving up to see her, so I felt kind of bad when she pulled these out of her hat. As you can see, they are a lovely pale peach color and opened up beautifully.

I took this second shot to point out that the orchid I received as a holiday gift is still thriving after nearly three and a half months! My other two are still domant. You can't see them, but they are there in the background snoring.

I bought the hyacinths and the flat of pansies last weekend up at Chapman's Greenhouses in Beverly Farms, MA. (Hi C!) The hyacinths have exploded and their scent fills the house. Since it finally stopped raining, I'm going to plant the pansies out front today.

I'll probably split and move a couple hostas out back as well. My backyard is trashed. I had a giant frost heave out their this winter, and I have areas of the lawn that have sunk as well as tree limbs everywhere. I can hardly bear to look at it. I'll just stay focused on the pansies and the hostas. When the yard dries out, I'll call someone in for advice.

And finally, since this supposed to be a knitting blog, I have a couple shots of the progress on my sweater. The darker color is truer to the color of the yarn, but the close up shows the stitches. It is coming along well. I have about one row's yarn left before I start a new hank, but I'm not sure where I put them. I know I the other five are all together b/c I separate by project to keep the queue orderly, but not being able to find this project bin will gum up the works. Current project yarn does not belong in the attic, but maybe it's up there. My sister H is really good at organizing...maybe I could somehow coerce her into helping me with my yarn?? Please?

Another Cable and Lace Pullover...

Quick post tonight. I cast on Cecily Glowik MacDonald's Cable and Lace Pullover on Saturday , which is an overdue holiday gift for my friend J. I didn't do even one stitch yesterday (I finished my taxes!), but this is what I did Saturday evening and part of Sunday. Not really a lot, but enough to show. This is my second one - I made one for myself in the fall, but ended up giving it to my sister H because it looked so much better on her. Here she is on the left, looking lovely. (Sorry H...I needed a model.) I'm going to make the neckline on the current one a little different. I don't think I'm going to do the split yoke as called for in the pattern. J has small shoulders, so I don't want it falling off her. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Of course.

Ciao for now.