kmkat and her kneedles

Sunday stuff.

1. Arrow :: shirts.
2. Hum :: ho.
3. Cornerstone :: of democracy.
4. Flight :: of the bumblebee.
5. Music :: box.
6. Determine :: -ist.
7. Analysis :: financial
8. Better day :: tomorrow.
9. Audio :: video.
10. Meditation :: sleep.

* * * * *

I am nearly done with my bulletproof socks. They were not as much fun to knit as I expected. Worsted weight yarn on US#2 needles = hard work. The socks will last forever but I'm not sure they are worth the effort. I think the second pair will be knit on US#4s.

* * * * *

We think winter may be over. It hasn't snowed for over two weeks. (Hope I didn't jinx us with that statement.) Ice went out of the lake two weeks ago. We haven't had the heat on since Tuesday or Wednesday. Temp has been well over 70˚ for several days. I have opted for capris instead of long jeans. Our winter down comforters are just too warm for comfortable sleeping.

Let the summer begin!

* * * * *

I ran out of coffee a couple days ago. Oh, the horror!

Happily, I had put in an order for my favorite -- a 3-pound bag of Alakef French Roast -- at the coffee kiosk in my tiny town. Younger Son picked it up for me on his way here today so I am currently enjoying a perfectly marvelous homemade quad latte.

::sigh:: Life is perfect again...

* * * * *

Cleaning out my blog folder.

 

Waiting for Godot.

That phantom hip replacement? Postponed again. This is the fifth postponement. Let me just say... ARGHHHH!

Had the pre-op physical last Monday. Doc found a heart murmur, ordered an echocardiogram to check it out. I had been told about 40 years ago that I had a heart murmur but had none of the accompanying signs and symptoms that would indicate a problem. Apparently that is true when one is young, but this doc told me that as we age our heart valves become less flexible, and what was not a problem at 23 may become a problem at 63. Hence, the echo.

Results of echocardiogram: I have a noisy valve, not a defective one. No worries.

So why is the hip surgery postponed? I have a previously unsuspected urinary tract infection. No big deal, except that surgeon will not operate until my urine is clear. And two days of antibiotics was not enough to achieve that. He wants a clear urine culture, not just a clear urinalysis, and the former takes 48 hours and... there just weren't enough days between then and Monday to get there.

Wish I had remembered earlier that I needed the pre-op physical.

* * * * *

On the other hand, the spring weather has been... crappy. This was Friday when I went for the second urinalysis.

The lake is largely clear of ice but not nearly completely. This is the latest ice-out since we have been here, 22 years. The fishing opener is today on a lake farther north. The joke is that the folks there had their ice augers out to make sure their lake was clear.

Okay, now for something cheerful: the top-down sweater with the set-in sleeves is coming along nicely. Here is is drying after its preliminary blocking.

I thought it would be easier to pick up the neckband and button bands if I blocked it first. It may go to Afghans for Afghans or it may go to the Pine Ridge reservation or it may go into a cedar chest to await a possible grandchild. Hard to say...

A few words on winter.

This was the winter that wouldn't quit. We had snowfalls and blizzards right up until the third week of April.

A few mementos:

"We blew the snow-plowing budget back in the third week of
February. This sh!t's just gonna have to melt."

The parking lot of a shopping center in Bloomington. This was last Thursday,
when the temperature was 70 degrees.

On Sunday afternoon I sat on the deck and knit for the first time this year. It was glorious! Temperature of 75˚, slightly hazy,  perfect.

Except for the noisy flock of Canada geese on the lake.

At this stage of late winter the ice at the edge of the ice pack is broken into little pieces. When the wind blows the water ripples,
and the ripples spread right through the edge of the ice pack.

* * * * *

Later that afternoon we had a brief thunderstorm, just enough that Smokey and I had to run out to put up the top on his convertible. Later I glanced out the window and saw this. Wherever there was ice on the lake, it was obscured by a cloud of fog.

 

And of course, this.

Drive-by bullet post.

• April 15 was over a week ago.
• Whew.
• I skipped the annual 4/15 party and drove straight back to my bed in WI.
• Pretty much did not get out of said bed until Sunday.
• Late Sunday.
• Saturday was the first day I managed to stay awake all day, hence, the getting up on Sunday.
• Feeling good now.
• Except for the piles of snow that surround the house.
• I think spring may have taken a pass on us this year.
• Smokey reminds me that there was a blizzard on April 22, 1974. He remembers it because he was snowed in at a friend's apartment, and I gave him hell the next morning for not coming home the night before.
• Apparently I give him hell so seldom that when I do, he remembers it for 39 years.
• Such is the secret of a happy marriage.
• Hoping that we have seen the last and final blizzard of winter, 2012-13.
• That would have been Monday night, when I was driving home from a meeting 20+ miles away from home.
• 40mph all the way home, except when I slowed down because 40mph felt way too fast.
• Very little knitting took place during tax season.
• What did occur happened at Knit Night Orphans, who meet every Friday night at a Starbucks in St Paul. 
• That little gathering is the high point of my week during tax season.
• This coming weekend is Yarnover!
• There is a dinner Friday night with all the instructors; keynote speaker is... the Yarn Harlot.
• I shall be there with my handknit socks and shawl, happily hobnobbing with other knitters and knitgroupies.
• I don't remember which two classes I signed up for on Saturday. 
• Must look that up.
• Somewhere.
• Remember that hip surgery I was gonna have in December January April?
• Surgeon rescheduled it for May 6.
• The good thing is that that means I won't be limping around Yarnover completely ibuprofen-less.
• Have to lay off the ibuprofen for 7-10 days before surgery.
• Bad thing is another week of limping and pain.
• Could be worse. 
• No need to remind y'all how; you have watched the news in the past week, too.
• Time to get back to work.

More winter fun and intrigue.

That same weekend that Scottie murdered all the icicles, we got rain that quickly froze into a coating of ice. Over everything.

On that Saturday evening we went out for dinner, parking Smokey's white Subaru on the driveway in front of my red minivan when re returned home.

Sunday morning we found this.

The Subaru, even though parked at least eight feet away from the van, had slid gently downhill overnight and had come to rest kissing the bumper of my car. It all happened so gently that neither car sustained any damage.

Now THAT is icy.

It was Scottie with a hatchet on the deck.

This is our teenage slave helper having fun with a hatchet on the deck a couple weekends ago. Right around :38 he destroys the divining rod. After he knocked down the icicles he pitched the ice chunks over the railing, thus relieving the deck of roughly 87 tons of weight.

.

Maybe it's really a divining rod.

Winter storm whatitsname was here.

That's my minivan under the blanket of snow. It does pretty well in the snow, but this was too deep for it. The car in the foreground -- Smokey's 4WD Subaru, aka Sue Baru -- charged right up the unplowed driveway hill.

We let the dogs out for a run in the fresh powder. No videos of them romping, though. Here they are after they had worn themselves out.

But wait -- what's that small thing at the right?

I guess if you are a dog, and your owners let you have a free run in the snow, and a poor unsuspecting bunny wanders by... it's curtains for the bunny.

The circle of life, etc.

This is why we can't have nice things.

First, a January thaw that apparently caused this poor, deluded daffodil to sprout.

Then, several blizzards to cover it with a protective layer of insulating snow.

Now, a morning temperature of 3°F and a wind chill of -17°F (I know that wind chill doesn't really apply in the case of a plant, but I want you to know just how cold I was when I took this photo).

And,  yeah, I see that the hose has leaked some water and that has encouraged the melting around the daffodil.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Ice.

We had a bit of a melt last week.

My office window.

Laundry room window.

Life is random, why not me?

1. Baked :: Alaska.
2. Excited :: to go.
3. Print :: out of,
4. Obstruct :: -ionist.
5. Bladder :: full.
6. Matrimony :: wedding.
7. Car :: many.
8. Reconstruct :: Civil War.
9. Lenses :: contact.
10. Best for last :: save it.

* * * * *

I got to thinking about John Sandford and his Virgil Flowers novels because I noticed a new one had come out, Mad River. Love John Sandford, love Virgil Flowers. Maybe not quite as much as I love Lucas Davenport of the Prey series, but close. Couldn't remember which of the books I had already read so I requested all of them (five plus the newest one) from the library. Have been reading them one after the other, kinda like 350-page potato chips. Just started #4 AND got the email that the newest one is waiting for me at my local library.

Heaven.

Edited to add: the reason I like Sandford's novels and characters so much is that they are the most intelligent but down-to-earth ones I have read, amen.

* * * * *

Speaking of books.

I sit on the board of trustees of the regional library system, which is currently embarking on its [latest] long-range planning process. Members of the board were tasked with visiting all the libraries in their respective counties and chatting with the directors about the services they get from the regional system. On Friday the other board member from our county and I visited four municipal libraries and had four wildly varying discussions. Wildly varying in a good way, mind you -- their experience in the library system ranged from 1 to 29 years and their education/library size/community demographic varied almost as much.

It was an interesting and informative and fun way to spend a day. Which is good because next Wednesday we are going to do it again with four different libraries.

* * * * *

I liked the yarn I knitted the fingerless gloves out of so much (it's been sitting in my stash since 2007, why haven't I used it before?) that I decided to make myself a hat from it, the Twisted Toque from 60 Quick Knits. 

Fail.

Sorry, I should have taken a photo to show how terrible it looked. If you scan the projects in Ravelry you may notice that on some, the non-stockinette portion of the hat sort of... sticks out. Mine looked like the one in the link but much, much worse.

Ribbit.

In hindsight, I think the problem was that the pattern was written for Cascade 220, which is a light worsted, and I knitted it from a plump worsted. Perhaps if I had gone up a needle size all would have been well. 

But we shall never know because I am NOT knitting that pattern again.

So there.

Not that I am bitter or anything...

 * * * * *

(something I commented on another blog that seemed so revolutionary and astoundingly awesome that I had to include it here)

The possible long-term effects of global warming have been endlessly reported upon, but the day-to-day effects have been downplayed. I have concluded what the latter means for us in the northern latitudes is that our weather will change more quickly than we are used to. The past few weeks, with fronts blowing through seemingly every other day, are what have convinced me of this. Makes sense meteorologically, too -- globala warming is basically just more energy in the atmosphere = more volatile weather.

Kinda fun, actually. Every morning is a new surprise. Can I go into town minus hat/scarf/boots or will I need long underwear and three pairs of socks? 

* * * * *

Have any of you been watching House of Cards on Netflix? I started last night, got annoyed in the first 30 seconds*, so annoyed in the next three minutes* that I stopped watching. I eventually went back and am now ready to start episode 2.

But it is not nearly as good as the British original with Ian Richardson, imnsho. I blogged about that once twice before. When Kevin Spacey delivered that line -- You might very well think that. I could not possibly comment -- I actually groaned. He is a great actor, don't get me wrong, but this whole thing seems kinda flat compared to the original.

I will continue to suffer through it, though ;-)

* They broke a primary law of good writing/movie-making: show me, don't tell me. When FU kills the dog, that is showing; when he expounds to the camera to give every bit of background information we may need, that's telling.

 

The random continues.

The wind is blowing so hard outside that something on the deck -- not the bird feeder -- sounds like someone is randomly hitting a steel drum. I keep thinking there is a radio on somewhere.

No birds on the feeder today. Control tower has forbidden them to land.

Not like that other day.

* * * * *

Remember last week, when the Ten on Tuesday topic was Ten Things I Always Have In My Car?

I forgot something important.

A  cigarette lighter USB plug-in, always ready to charge my iPod, iPad, or cell phone. It also has a sweet little blue LED inside so it is easy to plug things in in the dark.

Mutterings. And stuff.

1. Sophisticated :: Audrey Hepburn
2. Pelicans :: fish.
3. Flat :: stomach.
4. Cheekbones :: high.
5. Possible :: possibilities.
6. England :: island.
7. Jacket :: potato.
8. Sunflower :: seeds.
9. Hungry :: pelican.
10. Accent :: French.

* * * * *

I am working on a two-part post about my dyeing experiments adventures. Soon...

* * * * *

The horrific cold seems to have passed on to some other locale. Our temp is at or above freezing :) So naturally, I finally finished my extra-long fingerless gloves, the ones to keep my forearms warm whilst reading in bed in our cold bedroom.

I tried to wear them last night but had to take them off after a couple minutes because they were... too warm.

I don't know, do you think it will get ever cold again?

Yarn: Colorado Yarns Durango (10-ply worsted, 50/47/3 wool/acrylic/rayon),  colorway 5, a tweedy ecru; 1.3 skeins, 138 yds.
Needles: Addi Turbos US#7.
Pattern: Cobbled together, but I used the thumb gusset from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Knitting Patterns. I cast on a couple extra stitches to allow for more room in the forearm (could have used a couple more) and decreased them away before the wrist.

* * * * *

Laundry day, hand washables:

Actually, these are all perfectly machine washable and dryable except for the blue socks, upper row, at right. I found out the hard way that they will felt (Pagewood Farms, Denali Hand-dyed sock yarn). But I am *practicing* using my Hand Wash cycle.

Here is my *dryer* for the hand washables:

I took this while the fan was moving to spare you the sight of how filthy the thing is. Really need to clean it... someday.

More random.

Elizabeth asked in the comments yesterday whether our heating system couldn't be tweaked to get the maximum heat out of the available water flow. Yes, indeed, the guy who installed it has made at least a dozen trips here to do exactly that. I fear it is as good as it can be. Not perfect, but livable (for us, anyway -- we are adaptable). We will withhold part of the final payment in recompense for the shortfall.

In the meantime, conditions seem to have improved. Still very cold outside, but no wind -- thus, less heat loss through walls and windows.

Based on the anemic flow in the shower the past couple mornings, I have refrained from attempting to wash my hair, fearing that the flow might dwindle to nothing whilst my head was encased in suds. Likewise, I have postponed doing laundry. Forecast is for a warming trend tomorrow through the weekend. I see cleaner days ahead :)

* * * * *

This is the cutest thing EVAH! Got this email from Younger Son this morning:

Subject: Percy is at doggie day care today

With how cold it's been, he hasn't been getting long walks or trips to the dog park lately. Because of this, we dropped him off at doggy day care this morning.

You can watch the live webcam of him here, just scroll down to the "Uptown" pen. They only have one location, in Seward, but three big pens there. He's got his red hoodie on, so you'll know him when you see him.

I'll have that window open on my computer all day... 

* * * * *

My pile of squares for Knitters for Newtown grows apace.

Go ahead, knit a few yourself. Requirements and mailing address are at the link. Deadline is March 31.

 

Random thoughts on a Wednesday.

In the interest of full disclosure: I am writing this on Tuesday night.

* * * * *

I may not like the character of Lady Mary Crawley -- she is shallow, arrogant, and self-centered -- but if I were in trouble I would want her on my side. In addition to her less desirable qualities, she is also smart, tought, good in a crisis and exactly the person who could save my ass.

* * * * *

From the latest issue of Time magazine, in the article on guns and gun control:

"I'm not anti-gun. I'm just not pro-dumbass."

- Steve Mostyn, wealthy Houston trial lawyer, gun enthusiast, and friend of Gabriel Gifford.

* * * * *

The thermostat installed with our new ground-water heat pump does everything except wash windows. It reports on the outside temperature, the inside temperature, checks the forecast for imminent weather, and sends us emails if anything goes wrong.

 

Too bad the system doesn't keep the house warm. (Thermostat is set for 67˚, but the indoor temperature is 57˚. This is because it is -8˚ outside, and the system needs more ground water than the well can deliver.)

But at least it is significantly warmer inside than out...

42. It's another name for random.

Look at this message I found in my Ravelry inbox yesterday morning:

Is that awesome or is that awesome! I immediately sent her a reply that blathered on about how much I like that book.

* * * * *

Took the Jeopardy qualifying online test last night. 42 was not the answer.

* * * * *

I just looked out the window and DA YEEP IS WORKING! Smokey is currently plowing the driveway, which had not been plowed* since before Thanksgiving. Every time he went out to attempt to plow there was something else wrong with Da Yeep. (This is what happens when a 20-yo vehicle sits for six months. He was never able to get it really ready for winter because of his back surgery/recovery and all the other tasks that got postponed because of it.) But now the battery and the electrical cables and the accelerator cable and who remembers what else are apparently all functional.

As much as I love where I live, I (and we) curse certain parts of it every winter, mainly the hill that is the driveway.

* * * * *

Hip surgery has officially been postponed and is tentatively scheduled for Monday, April 22. Thanks for all your good wishes and kind thoughts and thoughtful opinions. The majority seemed to favor waiting until all the snow and ice are gone, which will make recovery and the required rehab exercise easier. (A good friend likened the surgery to having a baby. She said, "I had one baby in January and one in May, and the May one was waaayyy easier because we could get outside." Having had a December and a May baby myself, I found that thought to be absolutely true.) Those who are even slightly familiar with taxes also thought that skipping a tax season was not the best option.

If I could do whatever I wanted with no thought to consequences, I'd have the surgery ASAP. But I am being an adult about this. 

In the meantime, my PA put in an order for two cortisone injections to keep me relatively pain-free and mobile for the next three months. First one is next Tuesday.

* * * * *

Have I bored you yet? I am always a little surprised when bloggers talk about the details of their life being boring. I find such minutiae of others to be a way of connecting with their lives. We all experience some of the same things, but some stuff is unique to each of us. 

But if minutiae bores you, you probably stopped reading this blog a long time ago.

 

* The ever-helpful folks at Typepad suggest other Typepad blog posts that may be related to what one types in their post. Apparently my reference to plowing caught their attention. This is what they thought you might find interesting:

Related articles

The Art of Plowing

Crud and those who have it much worse and some other stuff.

Smokey backed my car into a hole next to the driveway a couple days ago (coulda happened to anyone). We spent a bit of time this afternoon getting it out. Da Yeep is broken, his 4WD Subaru tried but couldn't do it. A neighbor with a 4WD pickup happened by (what a delightful coincidence!) and pulled it out. As I was watching them I wished I had a camera -- blog fodder! Then I remembered I had my iPod in my pocket.

Here is what I tweeted.

It took a number of tries and an additional, longer tow rope to allow the pickup to be farther up the driverway on the flat part instead of on the hill. But my car is now free.

* * * * *

I have a cold. Later I will call the hospital and try to find out if this URI crud so bad that they will have to postpone the surgery. I do not have much hope that I will be able to get a definitive answer on a Sunday. So we will have to get up @ 4:30 am on Monday to get to the hospital by 6 am, the time I was told to be there. And perhaps end up driving back home.

Crap.

* * * * *

Read this blog post and the comments.

It is hard for me to believe there is so much hatred in the world, in this country, in high schools, on the internet, everywhere. My life is filled with love and it seems that the blogs I read reflect a similar condition in others' lives. How terrible not to have that love, only hatred.

Pondering.

* * * * *

Seen on Twitter (wait for it).  

Not that anyone is counting.

Four days until the hip replacement. 

Per doctor's orders, I had to stop taking ibuprofen last weekend and instead take Tylenol until the surgery. The latter does not work nearly as well as the former for joint pain. Just in case you were wondering.

On the knitting front, I finished Scotty's mittens (New Year's Day) and Younger Son's hat (New Year's Eve) as promised. Cast on for a pair of fingerless gloves for a friend; she runs a drive-through coffee kiosk in town so has to open and shut her window all morning long. Although she claims it is warm inside the kiosk, I bet her hands get cold. Thus, the fingerless gloves.

As an added benefit, I realized that the yarn I am using -- Colorado Yarns Durango -- would be perfect for the extra-long fingerless gloves I want for myself, to wear when I am reading in bed. I have 4 or 5 skeins of the ecru -- plenty! I shall cast on for them next.

Smokey wants a tuque for himself like the ones I made for Harley and Peter. I don't have any more of that yarn, Phildar Pure Laine 3-1/2 DK, and it is discontinued. I have been searching for a suitable substitute. He desires the hat to be wooly and (probably) blue. As I am determined to knit exclusively from stash for the foreseeable future, this has necessitated some serious stash diving. But I may have found the solution: the Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply fingering weight I got when I subscribed to the Rowan magazine. If I double-strand it, it should be roughly DK weight. The tuque requires about 350 yards of DK weight, so that would be 700 yards of the fingering weight; if Ravelry is to be believed, I have a little over 1,000 yards. Score!

It has been snowing nonstop for two days, with a total accumulation <1/4". Such is January on The Great Frozen Tundra.

Ramblings.

My hip replacement surgery is scheduled for Monday, January 7. There may be a slight tremor in The Force that day, but fear not, my friends. Tis only the mightiness of my new hip.

I may have neglected to mention that this was on the horizon. Back in May when I saw the ortho PA and she recommended, among other things, going gluten-free, the x-ray showed my hip was bone on bone. No wonder it hurt. My surgery had to wait until Smokey was recovered from his back surgery, then until after the October 15 tax season, then for a new x-ray and a CAT scan, then for surgeon to get it scheduled.

I am looking forward to this big-time. Surgery does not scare me at all, even though it probably should; this will be my ninth (2 C-sections, 2 polinidal cysts, twice for the broken ankle, a few other things) so I know much of what to expect. The aftermath may be painful but the eventual ability to walk easily should be worth it.

* * * * *

That massive blizzard that hit the Midwest yesterday mostly missed us. We got less than 1/4" of snow but lots of wind and cold. Temp this morning was 6˚F; 18˚ now.

We are not plowed out yet from the last snow dump that occurred almost two weeks ago. Smokey managed to make one plowing pass from the house to the road before Da Yeep broke. And broke again. And possibly again. We can drive from the road to the garage and pole barn that are 75 feet uphill from the house but must walk the rest of the way. Yep, these northern winters do make one hardy. 

Elder Son is supposed to be driving home from Ann Arbor yesterday and today. We have not heard anything from him. I hope he checked the weather before he left and waited a day. (He may be brillliant, but sometimes his common sense falters. Also, his phone appears to be off.) When he does get here I hope he does not attempt to drive down to the house. The two cars blocking the driveway may be enough of a hint.

* * * * *

I was reading blogs in my Google Reader this morning and saw this over at sneezingcow.com, Michael Perry's website:

Al is married to my good friend Colleen. That quote sounds just like him. Al, a retired English teacher, is also notable for having taught Neil Gaiman's son, Mike, at Menominie HS.

* * * * *

Our geothermal heat system has been giving us fits for several years. The major problem was that the installer's crew(s) knew not what they were doing back in the early aughts, not to mention that the unit we got seems to have been a lemon. After spending thousands (and thou$and$) of dollars having it fixed and replaced and fixed and fixed yet again, we hired a different contractor to replace it. He seems to have somehow missed that fact during the preliminary talks and bid that, while his unit needs 14 gallons/minute to work most efficiently and effectively, our well only produces 6 gallons/minute. So we will perhaps be relying on (expensive!) electric heat to supplement the geothermal. Rats.

* * * * *

On the (very slightly) bright side, the Christmas mittens for our teenage helper are turning out quite nicely. So nicely, in fact, that I am tempted to make a pair for myself in different colors. 

I'd really like to to show how they look, but a few days ago my computer/iPhoto announced that it could not find my iPhoto library of several thousand photographs. I have searched the hard drive myself to no avail. My Mac Mini had been acting unreliably this fall, so about six weeks ago I hooked up a backup drive and turned on Time Machine to back up my hard drive. Great, I thought, I'll just do a restore. So far repeated Restores have not helped, nor have they actually restored anything. Neither the Apple site nor Google have been particularly helpful so far, either; their tips on fixing iPhoto don't work for my problem.

So you won't be seeing any photos here for awhile...

* * * * *

Have I bummed you out sufficiently with all my (admittedly minor) complaints? Good, my work here is done.

Why, yes, we DID get some snow.

Good thing I know how to knit. Baby, it's cold out there!