Damn You Garter

My hands and wrists are going to hate my decision to knit my brother a blanket for Christmas. I'm actually almost finished, which is sort of a relative term at the moment. I'm working on the Moderne Log Cabin blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting, and it's a great pattern. I'm modifying it slightly because the way I chose the color order has left an overwhelming amount of the cream color instead of the green, which was supposed to be the focus of the thing. I'm on the antepenultimate block, which doesn't include the edging I plan to add too. Two months left, and I really just want to finish this thing so I can knit something that isn't garter stitch.



Very early progress shot. It's much bigger now.

It's going to be awesome when it's done and I know he's going to love it, but if anything gives me carpal tunnel in my life, it'll be this blanket.

I'm itching to make myself another shawl or 10. I figured out what I want to do with the Sanguine Gryphon laceweight I got at Rhinebeck--the Aeolian shawl (shawlette size) from Knitty. I'm really excited about it, and may start it soon just to have some variety in what I'm working on.

I've been neglecting taking pictures of my spinning. I started using my wheel a lot more in April this year and have spun a lot of my fiber in the meantime. I'll have to haul it all out when the sun comes back for some pictures. The lighting in my basement isn't ideal for showing off the colors. Right now I'm working on a naturally chocolate brown merino that I got from SVFF a couple of years ago. It's very nice as a squishy three-ply and I think I may have enough for a hat and mittens, and maybe a small scarf or cowl.

Fiber!

Each year I go to two or three fiber festivals, mostly with other people from LSG (our group on Ravelry). You can see my post about MDSW below. This year I also helped out a friend prepare for her first fiber festival--SVFF (Shenandoah Valley Fiber Fest). I spent a few weekends at her house prior to the festival, helping package her signature stitchmarkers and playing with her puppydogs. Festival weekend I essentially fetched and ran and watched the booth while she got food and shopped. It was an extremely exhausting but amazingly fun weekend, and her yarn and stitchmarkers are fantastic. (That's my subtle hint to you readers to go to that link and buy stuff. Now.)

This past weekend I went up to New York with LSG friends to the NY Sheep and Wool festival, affectionately known as Rhinebeck. It's probably around the same size as MDSW, and it's definitely in a more wool-friendly season. We stayed in a rented house on a lake and had a great time. The festival was really crowded, as always. Saturday was pretty chilly and really windy, but it was nice and warm on Sunday. A little too warm, and I wasn't really prepared with a lot of warm-weather clothing. Oh well. The only unfortunate part was on Saturday when we went to leave. We got into the car around 3 and finally got out of the lot around 4:30. Yup. Traffic leaving the festival was awful. I don't remember it being that bad last year, and I've never had it that bad at MD. I really hope that next year they have a better way of directing the crowds, because that was a huge downside for me, and I didn't even have to drive.

Want to see my haul?

 

You can click through to the flickr page to see the notes, but I got some sheepskin slippers to wear in the basement this winter, a skein of Spirit Trail Fiberworks  fingering weight merino/silk (the red), a skein of Sanguine Gryphon cashmere/silk laceweight (dark blue, at the top), some BFL/silk from Misty Mountain Fibers (natural colored, in the bag), a go-monkey design project bag, some blue/green BFL top from Fiber Optic Yarns, and some gorgeous alpaca/silk top from Gale's Art. 

Not pictured is another pair of slippers for my brother for Xmas, and a skein of Albuquerque yarn from Maple Creek Yarns (who either don't have a website or I can't find it) for Kellie of the aforementioned Lizard Toes. It's got sequins! And Kellie, if you somehow stumble across this, it's meant to be a surprise because I know you loved it at SVFF and you're going to be so awesome to teach me to use my loom. So there. 

Oh yeah, I got a loom. A friend's mom had it and hardly used it, so she wanted to get rid of it and wanted it to go to someone who would get use out of it and love it. I'm not really sure what kind it is, but it's really nice and pretty big. I'll have to get a picture of it.

Answers, Sort Of

I have one answer I'm excited about: the mysterious breathing issue is...asthma. I was surprised that it could just start up one day like that, but I've been assured it can. Apparently I always had the potential to develop it, it was just a matter of time/circumstance to see what flipped the switch, I guess. You could say I'm living up to my potential. I've got a rescue inhaler plus a maintenance medicine and things seem to be getting back on track. I'm coughing more than I'd like, but I have a follow-up appointment in late October, so I'll probably wait to address that until then. Still nothing on the other stuff, but it's not horrible to live with and tests that come back negative are better than no answers, I think.

I finished my February Lady Sweater. At the moment you can still see it in the sidebar under my Ravelry works in progress, because I haven't woven in the ends and blocked it yet. I think I like it. I think I'd like it more if it were at a tighter gauge. It's worsted on size 8 needles, and I think I like this yarn better on 7s. I'm going to think about it and decide whether I want to reknit it. I think if I do I'll go with a rounder yoke instead of the square one. I have some other sweaters I want to do, though, so this may get put aside until I have more interest in fixing something already existing rather than making something new.

I've also finished a Multnomah in a really cool colorway from my friend Kellie at Lizard Toes. I need to get some pictures of that. And I'm making good progress on my brother's blanket, which will be huge. I think there are 10 blocks and I've done 5. Not quite halfway because of the size of the blocks, but I hope to be finished by Christmas.

This weekend I'll be at SVFF (Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival) helping the aforementioned Kellie out at her booth. I'm really excited and I hope everyone loves her yarn and stitchmarkers. And buys them, of course. I hope the weather cooperates. The last few days have been unseasonably warm (hot). I even had to turn on my AC again after having it off for almost two weeks. I'm so ready for fall.

Rhinebeck is in a couple weeks, and I'm getting really excited about that too. I have a modest shopping list, and I can't really go too crazy, but after this insane summer and all the stress I've had, I'm really looking forward to a weekend of fiber, friends, probably a little drinking, and lots of laughter. I'm counting down the days.

Sweaters

I've got two sweaters in mind that I'm really excited about. One is the February Lady Sweater, which was adapted from an Elizabeth Zimmermann baby sweater pattern. I've liked it for a long time, but I was always concerned about where the garter yoke/lace pattern line would fall on me, and whether it would accentuate my, ahem, voluptuous bosom in an unflattering way. The other night I was thinking about it, and decided to see what it looked like knit in stockinette, rather than garter/lace. Only a few people on Ravelry had done the sweater in stockinette, but I liked what I saw. I decided to do the two-inch garter border at the neck, bottom edge, and cuffs, and do the rest in stockinette. I guess it would be similar-ish to Margot from Knitty, but as a cardigan. On the plus side, no unfortunate line placement, plus more usability (for me at least) as a fall/winter sweater. We shall see.

The other one I'm thinking about is Cecchetti, from Twist Collective Spring 2010. I'm not entirely sure, and I think I want to see it in larger sizes before committing to it. It's fingering weight on 8s, so it'll be a looser fabric, and may not work well for me. If not that, then I'll get more of the yarn I have in mind (KP Stroll Sock in Burgundy, which is redder than on the preview page at knitpicks) and maybe do Harlow, which is a gorgeous design by a fellow LSGer (and all-around excellent person!).

I'm excited about these new projects. Last year's sweater is still a bit of a disappointment, with the sleeves too big for the armholes. I learned a lot in making that sweater, so I'm not upset about it not turning out perfectly. I think it's worth another shot at that pattern, because I do love it, other than the sleeve part. It may even be worth ripping out the sleeves and readjusting to make those fit better. I'd love to have it be something I wear more often instead of something I keep at home for when I'm chilly.

Luckily the FLS is a top-down raglan, so there's no seaming. I hope it works out because I'd love to wear it at Rhinebeck this year.

Reading

Because of the nature of my job, I find myself wanting to do pretty much anything other than reading in my free time. Staring at words all day makes staring at more words less enjoyable for me. But I miss reading. I used to read voraciously, often finishing a long book in little over a day. Now I work on the same novel for weeks, and it's one I've read before. If I were reading something new, I'd have forgotten what the first part of the book was about by now.

I need to pledge to myself to read more frequently, even if it's crap literature or Harry Potter. At least it's something. I have half a shelf of books I want to read but haven't started yet. I was an English Lit major in college for Pete's sake! Where has my love of reading gone? I plan to spend at least a little bit of time every day reading a book. That's my promise to myself, my education, and my sanity. Losing myself in a book is an experience I dearly miss.

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I seem to have gotten some of my knitting mojo back. I never really took a break from it this summer with all the medical crap, but I've stuck mainly to garter stitch blankets for me and my brother, and haven't had the desire to do much else. The other night I got a wild hair and looked into a couple of sweater patterns. I've started one already and I'm waiting on yarn for the other. I've also downloaded or queued a bunch of shawl patterns and I think I'll add at least one lace project to the rotation too. I feel like a fog is lifting; it's so nice to be interested in something again.

Tour de Fleece

Each year during the Tour de France a bunch of us fiber freaks get together for the Tour de Fleece. Basically, you commit to spinning or working with fiber (not finished yarn) every day that the tour is run. Many people set yardage or weight goals, some choose to work with new techniques or fibers they've never used before. Some try to just spin every day without worrying about amount of time or fiber.

This year for the tour I didn't have any goals, really. I knew I wanted to finish the two projects I'd been working on last year for the tour, but other than that it was just a matter of choosing the fiber that appealed to me the most and going with it.

First up is the BFL/Silk I got at MDSW this year. This was a bag of pencil roving, some of it really felted but pretty nice for the most part. It was around 8 oz of fiber, and it ended up as a worsted-ish weight two-ply (spun on my wheel):

Progress shot. So shiny!

Finished yarn

Next is one of the projects from last year, the purple and gray alpaca from last year's MDSW. This one is roughly a sport to DK weight two-ply and will probably be a shawl to take advantage of the drape of the alpaca. I tried not to overspin when I plied so it's pretty relaxed (scroll down to last year's post for the progress shot). It was spun on one of my Golding spindles and the rest was done on the Forrester I got at Rhinebeck last year.

The singles in a center-pull ball to make it easier to ply.

All done!

Third is a merino/alpaca blend from Bitsy Knits that I got at SVFF in 2008. Again, roughly sport-DK weight two ply. I'm not sure what it's going to be, but I love the subtle color changes.

Blurry shot of the singles on a spare bobbin for storage.

The singles broke when I was plying, so I have two skeins.

Finally, the laceweight merino from Spritely Goods that I was working on last year. Scroll down for progress shots of that one. By the end of the tour I'd finished the singles, just barely, but wasn't able to start plying. I also don't have updated pictures of that yet.

I started two additional projects during the tour, one on my wheel and another on my awesome Tabacheck spindle from Rhinebeck 09, but I didn't make any decent progress on either, so look for those in a future post. I'll have to prattle on about the yarn I spun while I was practicing on my wheel.

Radio Silence

Crap, a year? Really? More than, even. If anyone reads my ramblings, you know by now that I suck at blogging. Either I don't find myself or my life interesting enough to share with other people, or I'm just lazy. It's probably a combination of both. Want a brief summary of the last year? Well, tough, you're getting it anyway.

• Last July I moved into my house and the unpacking began. It's still not quite finished and there are a number of projects I still need to do. Whatever, it's not like it's going anywhere.

• Last October I went to two fiber festivals - NY Sheep and Wool ("Rhinebeck") and the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival - with people I met online. Out of both trips came some new great friends, ones I'm always excited to see again.

• In January I turned 29.
  
• In the winter MD got hit hard by two blizzards and I was trapped in my house for over a week. I was lucky for the ability to work from home and not have to take time off for those days. My basement is freezing in the winter and I discovered the joy of wool socks. I'm going to have to go back on my vow and knit some for myself.

• In March I had bronchitis for the first time in my life. It was awful.
• In May I went to Maryland Sheep and Wool with my online fiber buddies. One of my best friends and her two little girls also came to stay with me for a week. It was amazingly fun having kids around the house.

• In June I started having shortness of breath, which after many tests, doesn't yet have an answer. I'm also dealing with some mystery abdominal pain and digestive issues (don't worry, I'll keep the details to myself). So far all the various scans and tests show that I'm healthy.
  

So that's the past year. In that time I also did a lot of knitting and spinning. I've gotten the hang of my spinning wheel, and I even bought my first fleece at MDSW this year.

Right now I'm just as busy as ever at work. I'm working on a surprise afghan for my brother for either his birthday or xmas, depending on how long it takes:

I'm looking forward to going to Rhinebeck again this year and helping a friend with her booth at SVFF. Hopefully one day soon I'll know something more about what's going on with me so I can have the necessary procedure/treatment and start feeling myself again. (yes, I'm immature and snerked at that last line.)

Week 2

This week has been busy and I've been a failure at updating every day like I hoped I would. Without further ado, the progress:

House:

Tuesday night I left work early (worked out a deal with my boss to leave early twice a week as long as the hours are covered the other days. No problem there.) and went over to the house. Dad and my brother had taken down all the blinds, ceiling fan blades, and curtains in preparation for the painters to come. Mom and I scrubbed the walls in the kitchen to prep them for painting.

Wednesday I met the painters, and waited for my dad to come over to hang out while they were there. They painted the ceilings throughout the house.

Thursday morning I met the painters again, and they realized that not only did they not have enough paint for the job, they didn't have enough time, either. Apparently the guy who did my estimate works a little too quickly and has done a poor job communicating client needs to their crews lately. I felt bad for the painters, because they didn't have anything to do with it, and they're the ones having to put in possible extra time. That afternoon I left work and went over to the house to start painting the kitchen. The painters were just leaving as I arrived (5 or so). The living room looks amazing (pictures to come), but they'll have to come back on Saturday to finish the bedrooms. Mom and I started painting the kitchen, and my brother brought a couple boxes of dishes and kitchen utensils from the storage unit so we have things to eat on/with when we're over there.

Tonight I hope to get the trim touched up in the craft room, finish the first coat in the kitchen, and start painting the trim in the living room. Tomorrow we'll finish the kitchen, mom and dad or bro and dad will bring some of my furniture and boxes from the storage unit, and we'll hope it doesn't rain on us.

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Tour de Fleece:

Alpaca on 7/5 (one of my first time fiber goals):


Babycake Batt from Loop on 7/6





Progress on Spritely Goods merino on 7/7 (I've done more since, but don't have pictures yet:


It's going well, but I haven't gotten to too many of the first time fibers. I hope to finish the alpaca soon so I can start something else. I really want to try the Jacob and Moorit that I've had forever.

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WIP Wrestlemania

Almost no progress, maybe a couple of rows. I've mostly been spinning at work at lunchtime and a little in the evenings, and the rest of my time is spent at the house. I should cut out my evening spinning and knit then, leaving lunchtime for spinning. That would probably work.

The Weekend

Ok, so I was incorrect in thinking the Tour de Fleece started on July 1. It actually started July 4. So, yeah. Oops. Got it right for WIP Wrestlemania, though. Progress:

House:

Friday I went to the house with mom and dad and we picked paint colors, measured rooms, cleaned the kitchen some, prepped a room for painting, met with a painter for the rest of the house, and started planning this project.

Saturday mom and I painted the craft room while dad primed the red wall in the kitchen and taped off the rest. The painters will be doing every room except the craft room, kitchen, and downstairs tv room area. Plus ceilings, but minus trim. I think that's a fair exchange

Sunday mom and I did trim in the craft room while dad did the molding on the wall under the basement stairs. Then he and mom finished removing switchplate covers and curtains while I touched up the rest of the trim in the craft room. The walls need a couple touch ups, and so will the trim, but I got some better brushes for that, so that will be easy.


WIP Wrestlemania:

I decided not to do the Pembroke vest and went back to doing the Presto Chango sweater instead. I finished the blocks I was working on for the baby blanket, so there are just two more to cast on and a few more rows to do and then I'm done with that. I also pulled out the other blanket so that could be finished and blocked.


Tour de Fleece (for real this time):

Saturday (day 1):



I'm spinning this merino very thin, so it's taking a long time to do. I love it though.

Sunday (day 2):



Meets part of the "new to me fiber" goal. I'd never spun alpaca before this. I like it, even though it gets slippy sometimes.

Day 2

Tour de Fleece:



Started with that, a Baby Batt from Loop on Etsy. Ended with this:



I don't know what the yardage is yet, but it's a pretty tiny skein.


Meets the goal of spinning something I've never spun before: a batt.


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WIP Wrestlemania:

8 more rows on the baby blanket. I think there are 20 or 30 left.

I pulled out two other projects I plan to work on. One just needs finishing (weaving in ends, blocking) and the other has been languishing for almost 2 years now.


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House:

Measured rooms today so I can do furniture layout before I buy anything or move anything in. Mom cleaned the kitchen and dad taped off the craft room so we can paint tomorrow. Met with one of the two painters who were supposed to come today to give estimates. Very nice guy. The other never showed. I got the estimate from the first place, was surprised at how affordable it was, and booked them to come out Wednesday to start painting. They'll be doing ceilings throughout, the two upstairs bedrooms, stairways, entry way, and living room. Awesome. That means we can paint the kitchen next weekend while dad and brother get a truck and move things in from the storage unit.

Day 1

WIP Wrestling projects:

Baby blanket 1 - finish knitting
Baby blanket 2 - weave in ends and block
Pembroke baby vest
second glove for Chris
Scarf for me
Laceweight Clapotis

Today's progress:
7 rows of baby blanket 1


Tour de Fleece goals:

spin fibers I've never tried before

- cashmere/silk
- alpaca
- angora/silk
- bamboo

Today's progress:
Nothing


I blame coming home late from work tonight for my lack of progress. I'm aiming for better tomorrow.

July

The month of July will be a busy one for me. I bought a house (closed today!) so I'll be painting, cleaning, packing, and moving. I also decided that wasn't enough and signed up for the Tour de Fleece and the WIP Wrestlemania on Ravelry, on team LSG in both cases. I have a few works in progress to finish and some new fibers I want to try, so those are my goals.

I'm going to try to keep updates on those three things throughout the month so this blog gets used more.

Spinning Wheel!

Spinning Wheel!, originally uploaded by LaurenKnits.

That is a spinning wheel. It is now mine.

Someone on one of the Ravelry boards was asking about places she could go to sell her wheel that didn't involve shipping. I piped up to ask how much she wanted for it, as I've wanted a wheel pretty much ever since I started spinning last year. I expected her to give some huge price and that would be the end of it.

Except not. Her asking price was extremely reasonable. So I called mom and asked if it would be possible to make a wheel a combined Christmas/birthday present and she agreed. And since the seller was local, I was able to pick it up after work today.

I've never spun on a wheel, so I have some learning to do, but I'm very excited.

The only bad part? I'll probably have to put it in storage soon because there really isn't room in the house for it. The only way I can see keeping it in the house is by boxing up some of the stuff from my room so it's out of the way, and then putting it in there. We'll see.

Trying to come up with witty titles about being busy

I don't want to talk about being busy at work. Until I get some help, I will remain busy. I'm thankful to have good job security right now, so I'm trying to keep the complaining to a minimum. So instead, I'm going to post pictures of things I've been working on lately:

4 0z of merino from Freckle Face Fibers on etsy. I'm not over the moon about it and may give it away. It was fun to spin, though.

Spinning in process. 4-ish ounces of merino. I'm working on pre-drafting better and so far I'm getting a pretty consistent single. And the color is spreading nicely throughout the single, too, so I think it'll be really pretty when it's done. I'll probably navajo ply it.

Baby blanket for C. I need to send this to her soon. Log Cabin pattern in Knit Picks shine sport in a bunch of colors.

I'm really proud of this one. 4 oz of merino from Spritely Goods. The colorway is called Olive Grove. I love it. spun on a 1-oz Golding and navajo plied. I need to figure out what to do with it.

I've been working on a lot of baby stuff lately. I'm almost finished a pair of booties (just need seaming and buttons) and I'm most of the way through another blanket. I've got a couple more projects planned, so I'm keeping occupied.


I think I'll be ready to buy a house soon. It's scary and exciting all in one. It'll be nice to get out of my parents' house and on my own again. I saw one online today that I really liked, but would probably be out of my price range. I guess once I get pre-approved for a mortgage, I can start seriously looking at locations.

Catching up

I figured I should post at least once more before the end of the year.

I mention this each time I write, but this year was kind of insane for me at work. Long hours, lots of stress, and just no time to breathe. Add on top of that my grandmother's illness and passing, my brother's drama, and trying to have a little bit of a life, and I just seem to have no time. I think one of my resolutions for 2009 will be to not let myself get so crazy.

So a recap:

At the end of August my grandmother passed away after fighting cancer for most of the year. She was a stubborn woman who was extremely healthy her whole life and didn't want to deal with the crappy treatments and side effects anymore. She was awesome and I'm going to miss her. The family had a lot of fun telling stories about her life and trying our best to celebrate instead of mourn.

I got to go to the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival in October. That was really fun and made up for having to miss MD Sheep and Wool in May. I have lots of new fiber to spin and really wish I had a wheel.

In November I finally got time to visit my friend in North Carolina and see her amazing house and baby A, who is now toddler A and is about to be a big sister. (I came home with a cold, which is the only crappy part.)

On Thanksgiving we had a great dinner, fun afternoon of hanging out and resting, and then I sprained my ankle in the evening. I'd twisted it before, but this was a whole new level of pain. It was an event that made me glad I'm still at home with my parents (for just a couple more months) because I couldn't get myself in the house without help. A few days of resting on the couch, elevation, ice, and hobbling around on crutches, and I was ready to go back to work. I'm not on crutches anymore, but I'm still limping a little (worse when I've been on my feet a lot), wear my brace when I need to, and have to deal with my ligaments being tight and painful. I took some pictures of the bruising. The sprain also meant that I had to miss seeing They Might Be Giants in DC, something I had really been looking forward to.

My brother moved back home in December. It seems the girlfriend's family weren't the best group of people to be living with. He's still spending lots of time with her, but I really hope he breaks it off. It sounds mean to say it, but she's a really unhealthy person for him to be with, and the sooner he can get out of the manipulation and codependency, the better.

So now it's a few days after Christmas, which was a good day. I turn 28 in a couple weeks and I think starting in the spring I'll be looking at buying a house. It's exciting and scary all at once.

Happy Holidays!

Busy

yarn, originally uploaded by LaurenKnits.

Yarn is my first completed handspun skein. Merino/tencel blend. yummy.

Release time has always been busy, but it seems like the last two major releases have been worse. I don't know if it's because I'm not able to work as well as I used to or if something else changed, but I'm finding myself really frustrated with working long hours because I get so easily distracted during the day and night time is the only time it's quiet around here. Of course, it's night now and I'm blogging, so there you go. I'm going to have to get better at tuning out the background noises and loud people as the company continues to expand. We're almost filling up the new office already.

As a result of being so busy and working long days, my sleep lately has been crap and I've taken two vacation days all year. It'll be nice this fall and winter when I have lots of time to take off, but it would have been nice to feel like I was able to take more time off on a regular basis. Sometimes you need a day to recharge, you know? I'd really like to avoid making myself sick, and if I go by yesterday's headache, I'm already doing.

I picked up my knitting again. While I was in the beginning stages of learning to spin, I sort of dropped knitting for a while. In the last month or so I made a shirt for baby A and I started a sweater for myself. Last winter's sweater endeavor didn't go too well, so I'm going to try this pattern and then try a couple other things that will hopefully be relatively easy. I haven't taken pictures of the new sweater yet.

Oh yeah, and I got a new camera. I've been having fun playing with it, but I want to learn how to effectively use it because it's a nice piece of equipment and I don't want to waste its capabilities by always using the Auto setting.

Spinning

Ever since missing the Sheep and Wool festival this year, I've been obsessed with learning how to spin yarn on a drop spindle. At the first festival I went to, I got roving (processed but unspun fiber in a long strip) from a Jacob sheep, purple and blue merino, a sample pack, and some from a breed I can't remember the name of (but the sheep's name is Peanut Butter). And they all sat in my stash with my yarn, because I didn't know what to do with them. Finally sometime last year I got a learn-to-spin kit from someone on eBay and went to teach myself. Fail.

Since joining Ravelry and finding so many resources there, I decided to take another look at the spinning concept. I got a couple better-quality spindles (love my Goldings!), watched videos on YouTube, read tips and recommendations, and started again. This time it clicked. I love spinning. Right now I'm working on that big ball of the purple and blue merino, even Navajo plying it. I just finished my first ever skein of yarn, which is a merino/tencel blend. I andean plied it last weekend and it's drying now after its soak-and-thwack (making yarn is fun!).

Once I get off my butt and find my camera in my disorganization, I'll put up some pictures. I've got more fiber to spin, both dyed and undyed.

The universe hates me

Last Wednesday, in preparation for the MD Sheep and Wool Festival, I ordered a pair of Crocs from Amazon. They were cheaper there than at Zappos, and I get free two day shipping. It was great. They were meant to arrive Friday.

Friday afternoon they still hadn't come so I checked my tracking number and saw that they had made an attempt and that they'd redeliver Monday. But I wanted the Crocs for the weekend, so I went through the process on the UPS site to have them held at the shipping facility and I'd pick them up that night. When they called to confirm, they said to be there between 8 and 9 to pick the box up. Cool.

I got to the customer facility at 8:15 and checked in with the counter person. She said my truck was still out but was due back any minute. So I waited with a bunch of other people. One by one, they all got their boxes, packages, and envelopes. I was the last one. The women there (who were so nice and great about everything) were in contact with someone at the shipping facility, who eventually told them that they couldn't find it. Yippee. So I went home with their promise that it'd be delivered on Monday.

Disappointed, I got home and started preparing for the next day. I was tired but wanted to leave early so I started getting my things together. Right before I was ready to get in bed for a little TV downtime, I leaned over to get something and felt a twinge in my lower back. I figured it was because I had been standing for over an hour and my back was a little stiff, so I used my pillows for support while I watched TV and then went to bed.

Saturday morning, however, my back hurt so badly I could barely move. It took me an hour to get myself into a position where I could stand up. I had to prop up pillows and slowly get myself vertical. I staggered out to the bathroom, which wasn't fun, and then staggered out to the kitchen. I told my mom I wasn't going anywhere and then went to the living room where the chairs with massage/heat are. I was able to sit for about 40 minutes before the spasms made me get up and go back to bed to lay down.

I tried a little later to get up and was able to sit up long enough to eat breakfast and then had to lay down again. Finally, around 3:30 that afternoon, the medicine, BenGay patches, and heat were enough for me to sit in the living room with pillow support and massage. I stayed pretty much put until that night.

Sunday was less horrible, but still painful. My back got progressively better through the day and I was able to sit in the chair without the extra support, so I could have the heat and massage right on my back. Still didn't get up too often.

Today I was able to get up without too much pain and take a shower, which until that point would have been too much standing. I was all set to go to work when I discovered my car wouldn't start. Luckily it did start after I gave it some gas and I was able to get to work, hobbling from the parking lot to the building.

So I don't know if the universe didn't want me at Sheep and Wool, it was punishing me for buying Crocs, or if it was punishing me for cutting my hair. All these crappy things can't be coincidence, can they?

Ramblings

I have about 8-10 inches done on my first sweater. I need to take a picture to post, but I've been way too lazy about it. The stockinette is already boring, and I have lots left to do. Suffice to say that I probably won't be wearing this sweater this winter. Maybe it'll be something I can keep at work this summer, because I know it'll be freezing in the office. We'll see.

The documentation organization project that was supposed to go throughout the year took about a month. There wasn't actually that much to do. Now I'm going through stuff on the network and getting together with other people to decide what to do with a lot of it. Most of it apparently needs to be tossed, but I'll probably save it off onto CD. I'm crazy that way. At least then if someone needs something from 7 years ago, we have it.

The normal work stuff is going well, too. We're hiring a ton of people, which is good normally. I think my fears of an increasingly loud working environment are a bit premature, but not unfounded. And, as nice as it would be to have an office, that will probably never happen for me, so I need to get used to that idea and move on. I did get a raise, which is excellent because now I feel like I'm making an average salary for my position, instead of below average. That's one of the downfalls of working for a small company, I think.

C's daughter A had her first birthday! It's hard to believe it's already been a year since I held that little girl and stared into her new-baby eyes. We had a really fun party with really yummy cake. And tons of presents. The only bad part was an overeager party attendee who had to "help" A with unwrapping, and pretty much did all the work for her. Luckily A is still too young to notice this, but I think it got on C's nerves a little.

Spring is coming soon. I'll be glad for the longer days and warmer weather, but I feel like we didn't really get a winter. Sure, it was cold for a while, but the weather did all sorts of weird things and we didn't get a lot of snow, which means winter to me. So it's hard to think that it's already on the way out. I've been waiting for it to actually start.

Excitement!

You know what next week is? Assuming I get this one project done, next week is the first week since probably October that I don't have a specific thing to work on. Wow.

A couple things could affect this. I have the one project, which needs more work that I originally thought, and I have to finish part of another one but that will more than likely be done this week.

So next week is the first week I can really start on the documentation organization that I've been dying to do! So much fun! Yes, I'm a document geek. But things like that make me really happy. As messy as my personal environments tend to be, I really like neatness and order in a lot of places. Kitchens, bookshelves, yarn shelves, and document storage. I'm going to be a happy camper next week. I hope nothing comes up in the meantime. (That, right there, that's where I jinxed it.)

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I started my first sweater. It's going well so far. I like that it's all stockinette so I can work on it while I watch TV. I'm already thinking about modifications to it, but I think I'll play it by pattern this time. Next time I might make it a V-neck instead of crewneck. Assuming I like it and it turns out well. And I hope it does. I should work on that during Project Runway tonight.

Maybe Ricky will cry again.