Goodbye

Katherine Hatlak
March 19,1954 to March 26, 2006

Goodbye to my mother and best friend

I will miss you every day for the rest of my life

I know when my time comes, you will be there waiting for me, and that gives me some comfort

I love you so much

I promise to take care of Dad, Amy and Angela. You know you could always count on me

Nothing will ever be the same again without you here

The calm after the storm

Well, things are finally quiet here. It's been a rough couple of days, that's for sure. My Mom's been in the hospital since last Friday, and was talking about coming home on Wednesday. Then she took a turn for the worse and ended up in the ICU Wednesday and most of Thursday, but when we got there last night, they had moved her back to a regular room. So that's good. My Dad was out of town Tuesday and scrambled to get back home Wednesday, so I was the only one around and when I got up there (Wed), I was not prepared for what I saw. So last night was a big relief, she looked so much better, and was talking and laughing with us.

Since we had some time yesterday before I went up to the hospital, Sir BS and I went looking at cars. I have a wee little 2-door Saturn, and we've been talking for a while about getting a bigger car. The place we went to had two cars we really liked--a Pontiac Bonneville, and a Chrysler 300M, both 2002's. We're leaning towards the Chrysler, and are having it checked over by our mechanic on Monday. If it gets a thumbs up from him, we'll be getting it early next week!

In knitting news (yes, there is some!), at Stitch-In Tuesday night I started working on Mom's legwarmers, and had to keep frogging and tweaking the size. It's still not right, but I'm close. I haven't started on Magickal Earth yet.
And I got the final package from my Secret Pal on Wednesday (good day to get a present in the mail!), but I don't have photos to post right now. I received: strawberries and cream scented soap, Nova Scotia maple syrup, a set of 15mm River John hand-crafted birch needles (they're "swing" needles, which I need to look into since I've never heard of them before, but they look intriguing), and two skeins of Fleece Artist "Country Kid" yarn. Thank you very much Say!

And a big big thanks to everyone that posted the other day. It meant a lot to me. :)

***edited to add***
The "swing" needles are not circular, they are (2) double pointed needles with a big ball on each that slides. Say said in the enclosed letter, "You can switch the ends around so you can combine different yarns and create textured effects, or you can use them for anything you can think of". Say, you're giving my imagination too much credit. My brain needs step-by-step instructions.

My Mom's in the hospital...intensive care, in fact. It's bad enough my sister is coming in from Arizona tomorrow.

Send good thoughts our way.

I'll post more when I can.

Still no knitting

My knitting bag is sitting ever so patiently by the couch, but I keep ignoring it. Don't know what's wrong with me, but I just haven't felt the urge to get started on anything.
Well, my Secret Pal knows who I am. Hi Denise! It was fun shopping for you, and hard to pack all the stuff I picked out and ship it to you! BTW, Denise is newly famous...she just had a booklet published on Knitting with Looms. Congrats!
I bought a treadmill yesterday, and Sir BS's job is to put it together THIS WEEKEND. I'm taking bets until 9am tomorrow morning as to whether it'll get done or not. I say no, even with constant badgering by yours truly. I can't wait until the treadmill is useable (yes, really). I need to walk my ass off--literally. It's getting too damn big.

Have a good weekend, all!

P.S. I just realized I never mentioned this in my post about Creatures of the Reef. The pattern calls for 1260 yards, and I didn't use anywhere near that much. I had over 1/2 of the second ball left when I was done, and the balls I had were marked 600 yards each (I'm assuming they were from a cone, as hanks of Zephyr are listed as 630 yards each).

P.P.S. I'm feeling good without the PTU (so far so good, anyways), and my gyno put me on fluoxetine (Prozac) for the anxiety and depression. I love my gyno, he spent close to 1/2 hour talking with me the other day. And he really listens. I'm lucky to have him.

Some good news

Well, I got quite a surprise this morning...
My doctor's office called and said my thyroid numbers look so good I'm to go off the PTU for 2 weeks, then get another blood test. Which means *drumroll*...they're already checking to see if I'm in remission. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

No knitting to report. Just been catching up on movies and visiting the parents--and their new ginormous projection TV. We watched "The Weather Man" on it the other day (weird movie, but great character development); Metallica's S&M and "Reign of Fire" yesterday. I don't really like Metallica (hubby is a huge fan), but I really like this concert. I like the heavy metal with an orchestra...it sounds like it'd be weird as hell, but makes for a very unique and enjoyable experience.

By the by, I came up with a blog name for my husband. I know some people get turned off by the term "hubby", so.....a friend of mine used to call him "Sir Brad" (the whole knight in shining armor thing. This was at the beginning of our relationship), and our last name starts with an "S", so I came up with:
"Sir BS" (bulls**t)
Ha!
It fits him perfectly!
(hi! love you honey!)

In FO news, Sir BS doesn't like the hat I made him. There's nothing wrong with it, he just. doesn't. like. it. So, if anyone wants a black hand-knitted hat, leave me a comment or email me and I'll send it to you. Free to a good home!
And I was talking to my Mom the other day, and the conversation went something like this:
Mom: Um, there's a problem with Taz's sweater
Me: What?
Mom: Well...it won't stay on him
Me: Huh?!
Mom: He can get out of it. All by himself
Me: *silence*
Mom: I was out at the store the other day. When I came home, Taz was on the couch with your Dad, and the sweater was on the floor. I asked why he took off the dog's sweater, and he said he didn't take it off. So apparently he can shimmy his way out of it. Can you fix it so it'll stay on?
Me: I think so...
Unfortunately, the sweater was worked from the top-down, so I have to figure out how to remove the neck ribbing (hello scissors!), pick up the stitches, and re-do the ribbing. I'm thinking I'll also change from a 1x1 ribbing to a 2x2 and make it a bit longer, and hopefully that'll keep him from getting it off. Any other suggestions are appreciated.

The honeymoon? O-V-E-R

What is it with men? Married, in particular? Why do they revert back to teenagers when they get hitched--doing whatever is asked of them half-assed, if at all? We women get called "the ol' ball and chain" or "the old lady" when we should be Worshipped. Every. Day. Lavished with flowers and jewelry for getting out of bed in the morning. Because we:
Feed them
Wash their clothes
Clean the house
Take care of the kids (if applicable)
Keep the house stocked with necessities
Take care of them when they're sick
Make appointments for them
Constantly. pick. up. after. them.
(insert other things I forgot to mention above)
....plus go to work

Why am I griping, you ask? Because I live with a man. And ever since he acquired the title "husband", he has proceeded to forget everything except how to eat, watch TV, go to bed, and go to work. I ask him to empty the dishwasher (because he can't see the pile of dirty dishes on the counter), and he does empty it...but not put the dirty dishes in. He goes downstairs and puts a load of laundry in the dryer....after taking a still-mildly-damp load out and leaving it on top of the dryer, instead of bringing it upstairs. He'll walk past or over something twenty times, and when I point it out, he says he "didn't see it". I'll go out and get him dinner at 9:30 at night, but when he's on his way home from work at lunchtime, he won't call and ask me if I want anything. And if start complaining, pointing things out time and again? I get the eye roll. Apparently all a husband should have to do is: Work. Mow the lawn. Shovel snow. Take out the garbage. And watch TV the rest of the time.

I admit, this is the longest I've ever been with one man consistently (three years), all previous boyfriends were dumped when they became too much of a hassle to deal with. But I thought this one was a keeper. He had all the markings of a keeper. But somewhere along the line in the past year of marriage, I lost my hand (Seinfeld reference). All the things he used to do regularly...laundry, dishes, etc., I now do. Crabbily (well, it's a word now). It is a decidedly unequal partnership, and I'm getting the short end of the stick. And try as I might to train him, change him back to the way he was, it isn't working. All I end up doing is getting madder and madder, until I do something like....throw a clean load of his laundry on top of him while he's asleep.

Yeah, I did that.

What a crap day

Hi! Prepare to be bummed out! --just kidding, it's not that bad--

Eh, I'm just having one of those days. Lots of anxiety. Dreary weather outside. ONE stinkin' appointment all day (it's been a dry few weeks, let me tell you. Why doesn't anyone want massages? Don't they know I need the $$?) But apparently the lack of money hasn't got me too worried, for I'm spending it like it's growing on a tree in my backyard.

Thank you for the comments on my shawl (all two of ya!). I know I don't have anywhere near the wit and writing abilities of Stephanie or Laurie, but sheesh. They get 100 or 200+ comments a day. I'm lucky if I get three or four. C'mon lurkers! Stroke my ego and comment! Anything! Please....

Actually, I sent Laurie an email the other day about a recent post of hers, and she wrote me back! I told my husband it's like meeting a celebrity..I'm sitting there at the computer thinking "O my God! O my God! Laurie sent me an email! Little ol' me! I'm not worthy!"

The one bright spot today was my friend Linda came by, and brought me stitch markers that she made herself! Three of 'em, and they are so beautiful. See:


Maybe today's not so bad, after all......

Pictures!!

Here she is! Isn't she beautiful?! This is the first time I worked with laceweight, and the finished product is light as a feather. The center seam isn't laid out straight, but if you look on either side, those lines are straight bay-bee! I used my noggin before I blocked, and set it out on a striped sheet (I don't have a blocking board yet *sniff*) which was a great idea, if I do say so myself!


Closer view of pattern


And I went to Joann Fabrics yesterday *sigh*, only intending to get some T-Pins, and look what followed me home.... an Ott Lite (which I desperately needed, and this is the cheapest one available plus it was ON SALE--$20 off), and a no-sew fleece blanket for my office. I think I'll sew the top edge so clients don't have fringe in their faces; plus I've always wanted to make one of these. A friend of mine (hi Sue!) made me one for Christmas a few years back, and hubby and I both LOVE it, but it's in Christmas colors, so I can't put it out all year long.... Oh yeah, that was on sale, too!

And if you haven't done so yet, stop by Vicki's blog and say a prayer for her brother, who was in a terrible car accident yesterday. She did post an update today, and he's doing better, thank goodness.