Now Norma Knits

Friday Thoughts

 1. It's been a really good week.

 2. I can't help it -- I'm always a bit suspicious when it's a really good week. 

 3. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 4. Or....maybe there is something to this horoscope hooey. I'm no longer a Cancer. I'm.... I don't know. Something else. 

 5. Perhaps I should care enough to look it up.

 6. Or perhaps not. But so far, it certainly seems that there has been a shift in the universe. Perhaps I like being something else, or the something else is being kind to me. Or I'm under the right star. Or how does this work, anyway? 

 7. Or maybe it's good karma coming home to roost. (Wait. Does karma come home to roost?)

 8. I think you know what I mean.

 9. I will be CARTing some fun and varied things soon. Fun! And varied! Well, I guess the "varied" is kind of a given. 

10. That's why I love my work.

11. The Vagina Monologues, Dave and Ethan, med school, more med school, Gail Collins, Cornel West. Etcetera. 

12. I wasn't kidding about the fun and varied.

13. That's why I love my work.

14. Oops, I already said that.

15. What I should add is: When there's enough of it.

16. Which isn't always the case.

17. Feast or famine is the not-so-fun part.

18. But if you use the famine periods wisely, you can do things -- like finish sweaters.

19. I FINISHED DAVID'S SWEATER! And it fits perfectly! And I love it to death. And I can see that I did good work. And that makes me happy.

20. Maybe I can get him to pose for a photo one of these days. 

21. But don't hold your breath. 

22. It seems imperative that I should take a trip to Edinburgh with my chemistry prof friends to see this historic molecular model made of knitting needles and balls of wool that was just put on display. 

 

 

Random Wednesday, the Detox Edition

1.  Today is the 5th day without a diet cola.  Also, without any artificial sweeteners.  After the phosphorous, that is the thing I want to eliminate most.  Well, those things plus the aluminum cans to send to recycling.  And come to think of it, the money I spend on the soda could probably be put to better use, also.  Right?  Right. 

2.  Yerba Maté is working wonders in this endeavor.  I have read so many great things about this wonderful drink.  Like here, for example.  Even if only half of the claims are true, we're 1,000% ahead of the diet soda drink.  BUT I will say that because the Yerba Maté has caffeine, I am not experiencing the headaches that I have experienced in previous attempts to get rid of the diet sodas.  Nor have I experienced the general malaise and weakness and just plain feeling crappy.  I feel strong and good and not craving anything. And I had an incredibly GREAT Bikram yoga class last night.  Coincidence? 

3. The BlackBerry weather app that my BlackBerry guy downloaded for me is this one.  And it works great.

4.  The knitting is still hurting my arms quite a bit.  I do try to be sensible about it, but I'm very excited about completing this sweater and starting the next one.  I think I'm caught in the draft behind those 12-Sweaters-in-2009 Knitters and am caught up in the sweater excitement.  I really do enjoy, I'm realizing after all these years, project monogamy, and I really do enjoy knitting sweaters, and knitting for myself.  I spent so many years largely knitting for others and getting sidetracked.

5.  The Garter Yoke Cardi body is very close to completion, with just the sleeves to go.  This sweater is going to be very close-fitting.  I wanted it to be tailored and fitted, but maybe not THIS fitted.  Let's hope that blocking is my friend.  I love the color and fabric.  Choosing buttons is going to be fun -- I can imagine lots of styles and colors of buttons that will look good with this sweater, and will have to choose just the right ones.  I could go casual and funky or understated, tailored and classic.   

6.  I did a lightning-fast rearrangement of my knitting queue when I saw Margene's gorgeous finished sweater yesterday.  That's, I believe, going to be my next sweater.  I just have to decide on the yarn.  I'm toying with Jo Sharp Silkroad DK tweed like I used in my recent blue gift sweater (look in my 2009 gallery if you don't know what I'm talking about). LOVED that stuff.  I am thinking a tweedy oatmealy color -- they have one called "Pulp" that looks great.  Or my always-favorite "Autumn."  Then again, that blue that has green flecks in it would be nice.  Or I have some lovely Italian merino DK in a burnt orange tweed that has been marinating in my stash since the beginning of time.  I started the Must Have Cardi with it, but it never went anywhere.  Margene suggested Silky Wool, which is a good idea.  Or I've always wanted to make a sweater in that most gorgeous shade of red (I can't remember the name of it, but it's a claret red with subtle tan shadings in it) Cascade 220.  That would be a true bargain sweater (as would the burnt orange merino sitting in the stash).  I do think red in that cardi would be fab, don't you?  Then again, if I could find the "right" periwinkle.....

 

255. Random Thoughts For A Saturday

1.  This morning I will be mailing out my red scarf to the Orphan Foundation, because I finally remembered to pick up some gift cards to include in the package.  Feels good to get that task finished.   

2.  I will also mail out Sandy's phone charger, which she left in the guest room.  As well as her blog log-in info that is written on a card with the words, "DO NOT THROW AWAY -- EVER!"  I'm not throwing it out, San!  I wouldn't DARE!  EVER! I'm mailing it back to you!!!! I am!

2.a.  Nothing's sacred.  I should come with a warning:  "I'm blogging this."  Except for when guests call my wine vinegar (in jest, I am sure), and shudder, "Blehhhh, pizza for breakfast?!!!"  I would never blog that. 

Oops. 

Shirts available here.

3.  Last night I was doing a bit of blog-visiting and came across this in Mary Beth Temple's blog.  Tragic.  I sometimes get a feeling that says, "Man.  I can't put money in EVERY hat that's passed around, or support EVERY cause."  But this one really gets me right in the throat. I am linking to it so you can read about it in case you haven't read it already, and in case maybe you'd want to know and want to share a few dollars. 

4.  The cooler weather is upon us.  I wore a red wool scarf to work the other day, which got a chuckle from someone at the med school:  "What, do you think it's winter already?!"  It really was rather ridiculous.  When I left the house it was definitely scarf weather.  When I went out for lunch, it was 71 degrees.  Then yesterday morning I was back in sandals and sleeveless top, but by the time I got home, I wanted wool socks, long sleeves, and long pants.  Yup, definitely fall in Vermont.  Well, it could also be spring in Vermont, the difference being the days are getting noticeably shorter rather than longer.

5. The cooler weather also prompted me to start stirring up the wool.  It's rainy and cool, and I kind of hope it stays that way all weekend -- I'll get a bunch of TV shows or movies on DVDs, and knit.  I know this is stretching my credibility, but you'll see!  Just wait!  I had all I could do to stop myself from winding up some yarn for mittens last night, but I'm making myself get reacquainted with a sweater-on-needles first.  Really. 

6.  I've been inordinately enjoying Honeycrisp apples this year.  I am not sure I've ever eaten that variety before, but yum, I'm lovin' 'em.  Must go get a few more today.

7.  Yesterday's breakfast was a stunner.  I was up too early to photograph it for the blog, but I threw together a one-egg omelet with tons of veggies just picked from the garden -- summer squash, a red sweet pepper, and broccoli, lightly sauteed, to which I added an egg and some chevre.  I think I might have to have a redo of it this morning...you know, just to be sure it really was all that delicious. 

8. Okay, we have finished our module on cardiology and are about to move on to the lung.  I wonder what diseases and disorders I will be self-diagnosing by the end of this?!  I'm certain to be wishing I were dead by the end of it, since death will surely be easier than suffering from all these maladies.  Mwaha.

9.  A few weeks ago I received a book of coupons from Costco with $150 off on basically the same HP laptop computer I've been quite happily using (well, we won't mention that whole motherboard incident) for about three years now.  The coupon was good starting on September 11th.  I said at the time we received the coupon that come September 11th, I'll go get one of these computers, because being so busy with good work, I don't want to wait 'til something goes wrong with mine before I replace it.  I'll get the new one, load all the stuff on it, and use the older one as my backup.  Well, there is definitive evidence, right here, that there must BE a GOD:  Yesterday morning (September 12th) I got into class and my computer was acting all wonky, the settings on my CART screen were all changed, and I ended up having to call my tech support guy, who clearly thought I was on crack when I made the call, my complaints were so weird.  So SOMEBODY WASN'T KIDDING!  "I SAID September 11th, you dumb bitch!  Get the new computer!" says a booming voice from the Heavens.  (Because this would be the way God would speak to me, because my god is an angry god, an abusive god, a vengeful god.  Just like Sarah Palin's.) Or something like that.  Anyway, if I needed further incentive to go get the damn new laptop, I've got it now.  A trip to Costco is on the list today.

218. A Random Thursday List

Random isn't just for Wednesdays anymore.  (I thought it was Tuesday, therefore I was writing for Wednesday, when I started writing this.  Then I checked the calendar. Heh.)

1.  I might have had my first hot flash the other day.  Sigh.

2.  Comment spammers have become quite the clever little beasts.  They come bearing "real" names.  They leave nice chatty comments, or they copy something verbatim in my post or someone else's comment.  They link to their online stores.  I'm onto you, you nasty spammers. 

3.  I saw an aphid on one of my blueberry bushes the other day.  One aphid does not live alone -- this I know for a fact.

4.  My cholesterol results are "not optimum," in the slightly sarcastic note of my new doctor, but I'm not worrying about it.  I think they're all wet about the cholesterol evil.

5.  The morning and evening weather is starting to feel like fall.  I love the fall, but still...

6.  Went to a funeral yesterday.  The priest, who was visiting from Plattsburgh, started the proceedings by saying, "I want to express my sincere sympathy to the family for the loss of....what was her first name?"  I kid you not. 

7.  I sat next to one of my cousins at the funeral.  She and I were born exactly one month apart; her birthday is one month after mine.  I started to ask her, "So, how do you like being almost a half-century old?"  Then I remembered:  She hasn't had her birthday yet.  So I shut my mouth.  I was not going to give her the opportunity to remind me she is younger than me. No way. 

8.  A wonderful and fun couple of chats saved me from attacking the desserts table after the funeral.  Thank you, Todd and Tracy!  If you're reading, it was great to see you!

9.  I said I finished the scarf, but I didn't take a photo of it after it was completed.  The sun was setting, and these colors aren't quite right, but here it is and it's going into my gallery as is. I think it's kind of neat how the ends are somewhat symmetrical in colorways.  The repeats are quite symmetrical all the way down on both sides -- not perfect by any means (who would want "perfect" with these scarves?) but close.  That's the first time that's happened for me with one of these Noro scarves. 

216. Aren't You Bored With Me YET?! Go On, Get Outta Here!

Sheesh.  Still here? 

What do I have to do to drive you away, hm? 

I kid.  I do.  I'm just feeling a bit on the crazy side.  All this lunching and time off are getting to me, I think. The Butterfly Who Lunches had lunch with the great Ann yesterday, at a little cafe that was conveniently near my favorite garden place.  Honest, it was HER choice!  But what a nice coincidence.  Ann made me YET ANOTHER pair of earrings.  The girl is nuts, but in a good way.  Cookie, don't read anything into the pursed-lips expression in that photo in her blog.  I was having a GREAT TIME.

I went to the above-mentioned garden place after lunch to find that grow beds were on sale.  Oh, dear. I bought two more.  Also, blueberry bushes were buy-one-get-one-free.  Well, how could I turn that down, especially since the husband just said yesterday that he'd like to fill "that hill" with blueberry bushes? Translation:  He would like ME to fill the hill with blueberry bushes. So the hill is getting pretty full now. 

I held back on getting the rain barrels that were also on sale.  I can't have everything.  Right?  (Or can I?)

While in Sandyville last week, I bought a few little meaningful trinkets.  One such thing was a very special pot for the bay laurel plant from Dave.  I wanted something really nice, and I think I found it at one of Sandy's local farm stands. 

Here it is, posing with some very special yarn I also bought, in Sandy's garden next to the baby kale I planted there. (No, I did not buy the yarn in Sandy's garden.  I know some smart-Alec was going to harass me with that. Once in a while I revel in my right to use bad grammar. It makes me feel all "bad girl" and like I'm living on the edge.)

I potted it up with the little bay laurel the other day and it's settling in happily:

The yarn up yonder is going to become a Swallowtail shawl.  I can make this declarative statement because I'm not going to be the one knitting it. Cookie is.  She is some kind of awesome, that Cookie, and she's been churning out Swallowtails at a heart-stopping pace. My yarn is very pretty -- gold with flecks of red and other interesting stuff.  I hope Cookie is not too uncomfortable knitting outside her usual color range.  Wait, is "pink" a range?  I'm just getting around to mailing it today, Cook. At this rate, you'll have it knitted before the yarn actually gets there. 

Are you still here, or have you clicked out due to boredom?

Go on.  Get outta here.  Don't you have something better to do?! 

Oh, wait, before you go: 

Could someone please explain to me what those holes are doing in my knitting?  It couldn't possibly be lace.  Because I don't do lace. (Come to think of it..... I knit?)

So in the time that Cookie has produced another Swallowtail, I've knitted all of six inches of a scarf.  That just doesn't seem fair.  Since I took this photo, I steam-blocked the edging and added a few more stripes.  God, I love this thing, and man, did that yarn steam-block gorgeous. 

The edging is "Fancy Leaf Edging" from Knitting On The Edge.  The yarn is Jessie's merino/bamboo/nylon, the needles are US 5 Denise needles.  I love my Denises.  I know other people have issues with them, but once again I follow the beat of my own drummer:  I just love them. I tried Addis for this project -- horrid.  Too slippery, and yet not slippery enough (how can that be possible?) and I kept losing stitches, and the points were too dull.  I tried Aeros.  I love the tip and the surface of the needle, HATE the cord.  It kept on curling up, tangling up the work, and hitting me in the face.  The Denises work so beautifully for me and the cord behaves like a nice cord ought to.  I do wish the point were just a teensy bit sharper, but that is only for the knit-three-togethers-through-the-back-loop, of which there were only five in this entire piece -- one per leaf motif in the lace.  There will be five more when I do the edging for the other side of the scarf, but I can live through it.  I could NOT live through knitting the entire scarf with that Aero curly-cranky cable,  or losing stitches that fly off the Addi.  So Denise, I salute you!  I know umpteen dozen people are going to tell me I need the new Addis with sharper points and/or I need to buy some Knit-Picks Options or use bamboo needles with more cranky-ass cords.  Well, you know what?  I've got a small fortune tied up in all this stuff that I hardly ever use.  I might get some someday, but right now I am quite happy with my Denises, thank you.   

I have a bad feeling about this scarf, though.  It was intended to be a gift for my student, remember?  Somehow, though, I can better envision this around MY neck, not hers. I love, love, love it.  I think I'll give her a jar of pickled beets or elderberry gum instead. 

142. It's Random WednesdayThursday Time Again

1.  This was begun to be written for Wednesday, but then the Fucking article came in and upstaged it. 

2. I don't know why, except I think this is what we used to do at the BBC:  When the tech people ask me to do a test of the captions, I write TEST TEST TEST TEST several times.  It's benign and easy and fast. For some reason, this amuses them.  They remark, "Well, that's creative."

3.  So I've started writing what they say instead. (As long as it's not verboten stuff for the big screen. Usually.) Things like, "Do you remember to bring the thing for the...[fill in the blank]?"   "Where's that splitter?"  "When are you going to be ready?"  "How long is it?"  "Why don't you just shove that in?"  "What else do you need?"  "Oh, you're writing what I'm saying."  "Stop writing everything I'm saying." "Hey!  Stop that!" 

4. This gives them a chuckle. Of course it is not long afterward when they start playing along and saying things that might just be verboten for the big screen.  I did refrain from writing the one about them using canned air to give the dirty video head a blow job.  They have no idea who they're dealing with, do they?  Should we tell them?  Nah, they'll learn soon enough.  I did tell them that they can say that sort of stuff around me, but they'd better not near my colleague who sometimes does this work.  She has more delicate ears than I.

5. It's been COLD here the past few days.  Feels like November, not May. 

6. Conveniently, David has chosen a physical therapist (female, hot, young and beautiful -- probably not coincidence.  I get my yard guy, he gets his P.T.  Excellent fair trade, I say.) who works at our gym facilities.  Since I have to bring him in, this is good for getting me in there to work out.  I did a good workout on the elliptical and some random weight work Tuesday, after having not worked out for a couple of weeks.  I was a bit careful of the weights on the upper body, because I've got a sore shoulder from the marathon work weekend.  I think I need to find a hot young (male) hunky physical therapist.  This could be good. [Update: I've hired her. She's hot enough for both of us, apparently.  My first appointment is today.] 

7. Abigail's been reading and commenting on the blog a lot lately.  The other day she said I should change the focus of the blog entirely to my steno mistakes, as it gives her so much pleasure to read them.  How many mistakes do you think I make, anyway, Sweetie????  I'm blogging 365, remember????  "Today I left out a comma and 'headway' mistranslated 'head way.'" 

7.5.  Snoooooooooooze.  People would be unsubscribing in droves.  Wait.  They already are.  Fook it. 

8. I know you want to see How My Garden Grows.  I couldn't resist making a mosaic of how great everything looked after the rain the other evening. (click it to make it bigger)

9.  I wish I had a bigger asparagus bed.  I've lost a few crowns over the years due to foot traffic, digging near them, or who knows why.  There is just enough for the two of us to have a meal, or an enhancement to a meal, every couple of days or so.  That is good to prevent hypervegetablemia, the condition of getting sick to DEATH of whatever vegetable is in season, but it is not good for my wish to freeze produce for the winter.  Each spring I think that I'm going to plant some in the fall, but when fall comes around the garden has overwhelmed me and planting anything new is the last thing on my mind. I ordered 20 more crowns.  Will I get them in the ground or will they dry up and die in the package?  Stay tuned for further developments.

9.5.  Speaking of which, I'm kicking myself all over for not having planted that garlic last fall.  Soon I would be enjoying garlic scapes and then the wonderful fresh garlic, had I just made myself get out there and plant it.  Gah.

10.  We are going to have some wicked good salads soon, though. The Heirloom Lettuce Collection from SeedSavers is making some terrific-looking lettuces.  Yesterday I planted some new Rocky Top Lettuce Mix seeds around the bases of the broccoli and kale plants. 

10.5.  While sitting and waiting for David at one of his appointments, I read an article that said gardening centers are super-busy this year due to the increasing prices of produce, so people are gardening more.  Yay for gardening more, but this probably explains why "that place" has everything on backorder. And that just pisses me off.  (According to my online shopping cart, bean towers are back in stock, though. I'm going to try to get some today.)

11.  Looking at these photos gives me an idea of how deceiving gardening catalog photos can be.  It looks like I have acres of beets up there, doesn't it, and not just two 3-ft.-by-3-ft. beds? 

12.  I put my hand in a couple of the photos for scale -- broccoli and kale.  Those seedlings have grown exponentially since I put them out.   

13.  I planted quite a bit more spinach after the last post where I learned about the germinating temperature for spinach, and much of it has already germinated.  Yay.  Now we must all bow our heads and pray for it not being eaten by varmints and for no heat waves to befall us. Spinach will bolt (go to seed) like a motherfooker in a heat wave. 

14.  Good LORD, but that man can knit.  I am truly not a covetous person, but every single thing he knits turns me on. 

115. Random Work-Related Stuff

1.  Random is not just for Wednesdays anymore.

2.  Best quote from a CART event ever:  "I couldn't hear what she had to say about hearing aids, so I'm not sure if I need hearing aids or not."  The person was dead serious (and visually challenged, so could not read the CART screen very well). 

3. It's been a long week of long days.  Today will be no exception.  Someone is coming to speak, and it will be the debut of my new authentic captioning software. Up to now, we've just been projecting my computer screen to a larger screen via a projector.  Now it will look like real television captions, with the speaker's video above the words. Pretty neat.  Now more than ever, the unindoctrinated will probably believe the captions are being done by voice recognition software.  This speaker will undoubtedly be so erudite (and need I mention controversial?) I will make a million mistakes, so I guess I should just let them go ahead and eat cake think it's VR after all.  It'll no doubt be a humbling experience.  One good thing about captions versus the large CART screen -- it only shows two to three lines of text on the screen at a time, rather than 25 lines lingering.  The mistakes will be pushed off the screen faster, at least. 

4. Bueller? Yes, I've put that in my dictionary. I've been prepping every chance I get for weeks.  It's anybody's guess what he might talk about.  Anything from intelligent design to Michael Moore to economics to the law to acting to the U.S. troops to whatever.  I've been looking up stuff online, listening to interviews (a favorite -- haha -- is the one he did recently with Pat Robertson.  Check it out on YouTube if you wish), I skimmed his last book, etc. 

5. I don't get paid, per se, for prep, though my fee for an event of this sort is high enough that a certain amount of prep time is, in essence, compensated.  Most reporters would probably not do this level of preparation, but if I can save myself from having a panic attack by over-prepping, that's my preferred M.O., and I like to think that's what separates the men (me) from the boys.  When I was at the BBC, there was a staff of Oxbridge-educated people doing the research for me, giving me education about the topic and the speaker, and feeding me the words.  Those were the Cinderella-at-the-ball-before-the-clock-struck-midnight days.  Now I do it all myself, and I have a hard time making people understand how much work it is, and a hard time making people understand why most other reporters don't want to do this work.  At the moment, I have three pages on a yellow legal pad, two columns each, of words and names that I want to be sure are in my steno dictionary.  Everything from apes and orangutans (which he loves to use in his interviews about Darwinism) to Ben Bernanke to General Petraeus to niggardly to Darwinian(s), to Mike Huckabee to Bork and Bjork to theist(s) to aborigines to Nazism to Third Reich to Guillermo Gonzalez to hecklers to abiogenesis to... you get the idea. 

6. Clearly I will not have thought of everything, and that's even assuming I remember how to stroke the word in whatever way I have entered it into my dictionary.  The way my brain works, I initially stroke it in according to my logic as to "what would make sense" without any thought or hesitation, and that's usually -- keyword usually -- how I would stroke it in the heat of the moment.  Then arise the unanticipated conflicts or word boundary problems. Every single time one of those arises in my work, I say, "I've got to remember that one so I can blog about it or give it as an example," but then when I go to write about it or talk about it, I can't remember a single one.  Sorry.  You'll just have to take my word for it.  (But of course, voice recognition software doesn't have word boundary problems.  False.)

7.  With my increasing specialization in CART work, I felt I needed to get some new business cards, separate from the cards I use for deposition or court work.  I didn't want to put all that I do on one card, because the two fields really don't overlap and I think it would be confusing.  Also, the cards for the legal work are rather understated and elegant. I allowed myself to get a bit more colorful and playful for the CART cards.  See?

  Fun.  Avec orange.  I handed one to Xianglian, and she loved it.  She read, "Communication Access Realtime Translation," and then said, "Ohhhhhh, THAT'S what CART stands for!  Nobody ever told me." 

That's me:  Norma, a la CART. (Shoot.  I should copyright and trademark that and use it for my business name someday.  Don't you dare steal it!)   

Notice there is not one word on there about me running voice recognition software.  All right, that's the last time I'm even going to mention voice recognition software.  I promise, I'll give it up.  If I don't shut up about voice recognition software, one, I'll lose friends, and two, I'll end up the number one hit on Google when one Googles voice recognition software.  Mwahaha.

8.  I've just been notified that I've now got a summer school student, a grad student who majors in English.  As I was saying goodbye to the biology grad students and faculty yesterday, I thanked them for putting up with me all year and told them that I will now be working "in English," and we all had a good laugh that I probably won't remember how to write "regular words" anymore. So after the graduate-level summer school English course, there will follow in the fall the following:  organic chemistry, a nutrition course, another graduate-level English course, and a couple of as-yet-unknown courses.  And still no voice recognition.  Oops.

9. And just before I went to bed last night (about midnight), I quickly checked my stats.  One of the last searches to land on my blog was "how to stop repeating words in head in court reporting."  Yes, that is a hazard of this occupation.  You talk, we are repeating it in our heads.  Even more specifically, we are repeating the words while at the same time mentally forming the finger positions of the steno strokes (or outlines, as we call them).  Freaky, huh? I've stopped doing that most of the time now, but it took YEARS (decades, probably) for the words to stop.  That is one reason it is hard for me to watch TV, I think, and to listen to things like music when I get home from work -- or it used to be that way, especially when I worked all day every day in court.  Now that I work less, it is less.  No need to send the men in the white coats. 

9. Things Can Change Quickly and Then Everything Changes

I often blog ahead, especially in this year-long marathon thing.  I write the bare bones of an entry as something enters my head, leave it in draft form, and then come back and edit it and tweak it sometimes a dozen or more times before the publishing day.  The parts you see below in black were written ahead to be published today in a "Random Wednesday" blog entry.  Then something happened that made the original entry seem trite and empty and unimportant.  But I decided, rather than completely change the entry, I'd just add to what was already there, just to illustrate how quickly one's whole world can change.  The parts in blue at the end are the new parts.

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(vegetarians and low-fat eaters, please turn your heads)

IF YOU LIKE TO COOK AND IF YOU LIKE CHICKEN:

That coq au vin recipe I tried the other night was so damn amazing, I just have to recommend it to as many people as I can reach. Please, in the name of all that is holy and pure, make this dish.  I added carrots to it in the last 15 minutes of cooking, and I served it on broccoli that I froze from my garden last summer.  I'm still dreaming about it.  It was that good.

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Vincent has good days and medium days and not-so-good days, but overall he seems a bit better.  He is tolerating the liver supplement well (though he has started to fight me giving it to him in the morning) and is eating and seemingly responding well to the raw food.  Just when I thought everything was great, the vet called and said that the specimen taken from his kidneys was not sufficient for testing, and I need to bring him in for another.  Gah.

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I think I've sent out everything from the stash sales.  If I have forgotten to contact you, please let me know.  It has really helped me to feel lightened up and a bit more clear-headed.  Thank you all for buying my crap!  Now I need to work on decluttering and simplifying other aspects of my life, not just the fiber side of it.  And believe me, there is plenty more to be done. 

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The workouts are going great. At TMK (the "silent partner" of Mossy Cottage Knits fame)'s recommendation, I bought a new book.  Word on the street is the next time we DON'T see TMK, she'll be a newer, more buff version of the TMK none of us has seen.  And I like the subtitle of the book, "Lift Like A Man, Look Like A Goddess."  Actually, since you pulled the truth out of me, I dislike that subtitle with the power of a thousand goddesses.  It may be exactly what I might be thinking, and I do indeed OF COURSE want to look like a goddess, but I feel that subtitle is a cheap marketing piece of crap, aimed at entirely the wrong crowd.  Just leave it at The New Rules of Lifting For Women, please.  I think I'm going to go take my Sharpie right this instant and black out that subtitle. 

I've been reading it and trying to digest and assimilate it.  I wish I had access to a trainer locally who I felt confident would understand the concepts properly and help me to incorporate them, but I think I may be left mostly on my own, which is fine with me too.  What I need is a trainer who "forgets" I'm a woman and doesn't insist that I lift "Barbie weights" as the book puts it, or also leer and, you know, be "a guy" when I'm trying to work out.  Also, it would be nice if all the grunting, sweating men who are trying to impress themselves, and end up dropping ginormous weights that make big huge crashing noises that make me jump and afraid I'm going to lose a foot or an arm, would clear out of the gym while I'm trying to work out.  So basically I need a couple eunuchs -- one as a trainer and one to clear out the riffraff.  Is that so much to ask?
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Which leads to the answer to a question that was asked by Dave the other day on Question Day: 

"Ding-dong.  It's the doorbell.  Who do I wish was on the other side of the door?"

Ed Frickin' McMahon, that's who, with a Publ****** Clear******** check.  If I had my own gym with my own trainer at my own place somewhere in the Caribbean (or Montana -- I like it cold and remote -- heh-heh), I wouldn't have to worry about that crap.  All those asterisks are sort of an inside knitblogger's joke.  Cara was served with a genu-INE cease and desist order once, for a ridiculous reason, for using words that that particular organization said they OWNED.  Fucking hell.  (No, not those words.  Different ones.  "Fucking hell" I own, and if you use them, I'll come after you to cease and desist!)

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I suddenly realized that university starts up again next week, and my schedule is not yet cast in stone.  It looks like it could be ok, but carries its own stresses.  Basically nonexistent turnaround time between classes that are fair distances across campus, for example.  (Wishing for a Star Trek-style transporter system in addition to the two eunuchs AND the Pub.Clear. check.)  I'm just a wee bit freaked out that it's time to start again.  Apparently I could get used to this lazy lifestyle. 

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At 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, Vincent went to sleep in my arms.  I was stunned how quickly it happened, and even when the vet was administering the drug, a part of me wanted to say, "Stop!" but it was too late.  And yet it was just on time.  My poor little buddy had had a bad couple of days, after a month and a half of mostly bad days.  He had spunk and spirit.  I was his wolf mother, and he wanted to please me so much that every once in a while his spunk and his desire to please me would take over and he'd have a good day, and it would give me hope for a miraculous recovery.  But it was not to be.  He needed to be held most of the day Monday, and all night he whimpered in pain.  When I gave him his liver pill Tuesday morning, he threw it up, and he did not eat.  His abdomen went very full and rigid, which I guessed meant that the mass had perhaps bled into his abdomen.  He was in a lot of discomfort.  I couldn't take it any more, and I couldn't force him to take it any more. 

The new vet was lovely and supportive in every way, which made it a lot easier for me.  After it was over, I didn't really believe it was over.  You know, my friends, I spend a lot of my time denying that I am sentimental and insisting that I'm a cranky old ass.  I know you see right through that (but don't you dare say so!).  However, I am truly not one to wallow in self-pity, and I need to just get on with it.  The more humor in the process, the better.  I know you all love pets, and I know you all care about me.  I have a lot of people around me who love me and care about me and who take really great care of me.  There are times when I wish I had not started down the road of being so open in this blog.  To be very honest, this is one of them.  I thought of leaving it unsaid, but I do feel the need and desire to tell you about this.  To borrow the words of my sweet Cookie yesterday, "I'm not sure if I can handle the kindness that will want to come my way."  Just sort of kick me, will you?  Gently.  But please, I'm not sure if I can handle the kind gestures that I know you will want to give, because it is all so hard for all of us.  I love you all.  I loved my little boy Vincent. 

This is a photo of how he looked the first time he was able to run with the ball again after his first liver collapse over a year and a half ago.  This is the way I'd like to remember him.

That's my boy.

LATER:

My nephew Dylan sent me this sympathy card, using the above photo that I had sent him. 

Let me explain.  That's Vincent with all his favorite things.  Carrot sticks were his favorite treat, he loved his chicken, and we always assumed he was chasing rabbits when he would dream and make little yips in his sleep.  "The stuff that looks like vomit is rice," says Dylan.

Awwwwww.  Sniff.

Starting to Get Hard

You think that title might increase the nefarious Google hits? 

NaBloPoMo is nearing the end (just four more days after this!), and this is the first time I've found it to feel like a bit of a slog.  I know that some of my MoFo sisters have felt they had to dig deep to come up with posts for some of the month, but 'til now I haven't felt that way.  Right now, though, I do.  I feel out of words and a bit out of blog energy -- blogergy, if you will. (Have I coined a new word?) I need some blog V!agra, stat! ("Bliagra" -- HAHAHAHA!  Thanks, Sandy!)  Then we can continue with this blog orgy.  (All together now:  Groannnnn!)

All right, before this post degenerates any more, I'll just show you photos (taken with the new camera) of half a scarf -- not that that type of lame copout trick hasn't been done in this blog before -- it's just that I did make an effort to write and be engaging -- for you and for me -- during this month of full-on blogging.

Noro Silk Garden Colorways 37 and 50.  So blue, so purple, so pink.  So pretty. So outside my usual color choices.  I might wear this, though.  They say purple highlights and complements brown eyes.  We'll see.

BUT stop the presses.  Before this posted, Abigail shouted up the stairs, "I love that scarf that you're making, Mom.  Good night!" 

Well.  I guess we all know what that means. 

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It's not over 'til it's over, but allow me to take this opportunity to say how much I have enjoyed all the comments, and particularly all the ones from new commenters, this month.  I am not sure if new readers are coming here from Ravelry or from NaBloPoMo, or they're just inspired to comment because of the extra posting frequency, or what, but it's been rejuvenating and appreciated, which segues seamlessly (aren't I a clever one?) to my next point. 

Be the first three commenters today who express an interest in Paying It Forward, and you will receive a handmade gift from me at some time within the next year.  I first saw this on Anne's blog, and had to keep following blogs and comment links in order to catch up with one on which I could be among the first three to comment.  I finally found one.  Bev then told me that she's been reading my blog since I wrote the post about my rather confused religious (non)identity.  She was Googling "Jewish stitch markers" and ended up on my blog.  How cool is that?  Not "willy warmers" or "peter heaters" or "blog V!agra" or "blog orgy" or Whizzinators (I won't link it.  I think I've done enough damage already) but Jewish stitch markers.  Imagine.  Anyhoo, nice to meetcha, Bev.  I guess if I haven't scared you away yet, that's something. 

.....Here's what it's all about:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So be among the first three who say they want to do this, and I'll ... well, you know:  What it says up there.  I'm wondering where this all started, and wondering if it's anything like Chinese Telephone, what it was originally, how it has morphed, and how much it will continue to morph.  But anyway..... That's all for now.  I'm off to !ncrease my pen!s s!ze or something.  I don't know.  I'm perfectly happy with my pen!s size, but the email I get is strongly suggesting that I should be taking some action in that regard.

 

Stuff and Nonsense

1.  Reading Sandy's Ode to the Eveready this morning made me nostalgic.  And hungry.   Perhaps a bit thirsty, too.   

2.  My earlobes hurt.  I got them pierced yesterday.  Re-pierced, really. Not anything radical like holes going up the entire lobe or anything.   No belly-button rings, no tattoos.  Just an old-lady kind of piercing, like the conservative middle-aged woman I am.  (stop laughing)  The original holes were too low on the lobe, and that, combined with the added effects of gravity, well, it really limited the type of earrings I could wear. Wires were really all I could wear, or very tiny studs, and they sometimes looked like they were going to rip through the bottom at any moment.  Not a great look.  So now I'm going to have two holes in each ear, perhaps looking a bit ridiculous, but there you have it.   

3.  For the ear-piercing adventure, I went into the mall.  I have not been in that mall for a long, long time, and I felt very out of place.  However, I did buy two new pairs of boots.  Two-for sales can be wonderful things.

Like these (Tommy Hilfiger Miranda 2), one pair in each color.  (black and brown)  These fall somewhere between the "take me now" boots and the flatter riding boots I often wear.  One must have a full wardrobe of boots.  That's my new rule.   

4.  Why am I telling you about ear-piercing and mall misadventures?  I've become beyond banal.  The Bloglines subscriptions have been dropping like flies, and it was not an unusual event at Rhinebeck last week to have people approach me, having seen my Blogger Bingo button, to ask who I was.  When I said "I'm Norma," the response was often an "Oh," coupled with a blank stare -- the kind that says, "Never heard of you."  The best tipoff, for the few of us whose names are a part of our blog names, is when someone says, "And do you have a blog?"  Hee. While the return of some level of anonymity is somewhat lovely and freeing, as compared to past years when it seemed that I knew everyone and everyone knew me, it just goes to show how tenuous and fleeting it all is, and how huge the whole phenomenon has become.  Of course, I know that if I would just knit once in a while, this being a knitting blog and all, that might help.  Assuming I want to be helped.  Hmmmm...Do I?

5.  I came away from Rhinebeck with the thought, "Blogs are out, Ravelry is in."  I'm redundant.

6.  I'm currently reading Extreme Chocolate in The New Yorker.  I bet someone has put together a gourmand chocolate adventure trip.  If so, please don't tell me about it.  I'd rather not know. 

7.  After completing this post, I went to read Cookie.  From there I ended up here, and yeah, this about sums it up:

(click for bigger)  Apparently I should not take on any intellectual pursuits in the next few weeks.  Don't even ask me my name or telephone number on November 3rd.  I'm sure to be unable to answer.  Cookie just said:  At least you'll be happy and feeling good.  Sadly, you may not be smart enough to enjoy it.  Bitch.  Hee-hee.