What I say or do here won't matter much, nor should it. (Dan Rather)

Tires are round. At least they're supposed to be round. This morning, after dropping my son off at the train station, I discovered that one of my tires were flat. Standing in a parking lot amongst a passing crowd of rushed commuters at 6:30 am, holding an owner's manual in one hand and a jack in the other while wondering if grease can be laundered out of your suede skirt is really not the way to start your morning. Especially if you haven't had time for a cup of coffee yet.

Thanks to a very kind (and cute) gentleman who was willing to take a later train in order to help a damsel in distress, my tire was changed and repaired with enough time for an iced latte before my first meeting this morning.

From there, the day steadily improved. (Cute guys and iced lattes help ALOT.)

Life is just a quick succession of busy nothings. (Jane Austen)

This helped. (They're on sale right now. Good thing, too. Now I can afford to buy a case of them.)


This arrived in the mail, and it brightened my day considerably. I mean, how can you be depressed or upset with this gorgeous skein to cuddle and drool over? I'm thinking it's perfect for a pair of Monkey socks.


This has become my latest obsession. It's eventually going to become a blanket. I started it last night, and I have trouble putting it down. I'm having a blast knitting up the tiny little squares. Normally I would hate a project like this - I mean, the knitting part is fun but I hate the assembly at the end. Sewing up a bunch of seams just isn't something I enjoy. This pattern attaches the squares as you go, so there isn't any assembly left at the end. I'm not sure who I'm making this for, but since it's going to take me along time to get it done (I need to knit more socks so that I can get more leftover yarn to use) I have plenty of time to decide who to give it to.

This isn't life in the fast lane, it's life in the oncoming traffic. (Terry Pratchett)

Jojoland Melody, color MS29
My daughter sent me this yarn as a treat.

I'm in a really grumpy mood this afternoon. I'm tired, and things aren't going the way I want them to. I wish I was two years old, so I could lay down on the floor, pound my fists and kick my heels and yell "I doan' wanna, doan' wanna, doan' wanna" until somebody decides to make it all better and hands me a red lollipop.

On Sunday Mr. Green paid a visit from Lichfield, and, having nothing to say, said nothing and went away. (Samuel Johnson)

I got taken to task yesterday for not updating my blog. I apologize to anyone who might have been looking for updates recently. I will try to do better, but I'm not making any promises.

Millie managed to snag one of my socks out of the laundry basket the other day. Needless to say, I'm not very happy with her. And I think she knows that I'm not happy with her because she's working very hard to be adorable and sweet to me. These were my favorite socks, though, so it's going to take a lot of kissing up to make me forget how bad she's been.

I finished the socks for Round 3 of Sockmadness this past weekend, and I really like the way that they turned out. Becci's upset that I'm sending them to her sister. The socks turned out so pretty, and nice and soft and squishy, that I would have liked to have them for me. I think this is definitely a pattern that will have to be repeated. Except that I'm going to change the toe a little bit on the next pair.

I could have finished the socks much sooner but once I knew that I was out of the competition, I took my time. I think I got a little carried away. Knitting is supposed to be fun and relaxing, and instead I was going crazy trying to speed through the process. I would have liked to have won, or at least gone on a little farther. But I think that I'm going to enjoy being a SM cheerleader, and just knit the socks for the enjoyment of knitting.

And my cheerleading duties began today, with the release of round 4. I didn't get to cast on today, so I'll start work on the new pattern tomorrow. It's going to be a very pretty lace sock, with the opportunity to try dyeing the yarn. I'll have updates, just not a frantic as they have been in the past.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but Becci is experimenting with the way she spells her name. So far we've gone with Becka, Zebecca, and now Becci. Personally, I like 'Becci' the best. It matches her sister and me. (Although by pointing that out, I think I talked her out of using it.) She's really working hard at being a teenager, and that's beginning to scare me. I'm facing challenges with her that I never had with the older two (NOT that the older two were ever a piece of cake to deal with). She has double piercings in her ears now, and is talking about belly rings and nose studs. I've firmly vetoed the lip ring, but she's trying to negotiate a tattoo. She adores makeup, and shoes, nail polish, and all sorts of wonderful girlie things -- provided that you don't point out that they're "girlie." Her cell phone recently died; she says it fell in the water, but I think it was just worn out from being over-used. She goes from being the sweetest, most loving and thoughtful girl to being a pouting, sarcastic devil-child and then back again, all within a single conversation. But she's also the child who talks with me, so I think we're going to be fine.

And so the madness comes to an end...

... for me, anyway.


I had to work Saturday, so I lost a lot of knitting time. I probably should have tried to knit longer Saturday night, but I was just too tired. Sunday I took the girls to the mall, and sat in the food court knitting while listening to yarn p@rn on the ipod and slurping down mocha lattes. (Some people thought it was strange enough that I was knitting in public, even without my random bursts of laughter.)


Sunday night there were still two slots left in my division, so I stayed awake all night. Okay, I did nap about an hour, but I knit in my sleep - literally! - so that doesn't count. (Apparently all I can do while sleepknitting is stockinette stitch, so it all had to be pulled out and redone.)

When I left the house at 6 am today, I still had one stripe and the toe to do on each sock. Unfortunately, the slots have been filled so I won't be going on to the next round. I plan on knitting along with the group, but without any pressure.

Effort is not effort until it begins to hurt. (Ortega y Ortega)

I didn't get to do as much knitting this afternoon as I had hoped. By the time I got home from work, I was exhausted. (I have a great deal of admiration for parents of autistic children -- at least I get to go home after a couple of hours.) Then I ended up taking the kids out, since they had been pretty much cooped up in the house the past week.

But with the help of Folger's French Vanilla Roasted Coffee and a large bag of M&M's (how else am I supposed to keep track of what row I'm on?), I managed to turn the heel of one sock. I'm heading upstairs to nap a couple of hours, though, before attempting the second heel. I'm just too tired and giddy to be trusted with pointy sticks right now.

I've found a new favorite band, thanks to the Lime & Violet podcasts. If you haven't heard Brobdingnagian Bards, you really need to listen to their "Do Virgins Taste Better" medley. I think that Frog Kissin' needs to become my theme song (because there's a wealth of opportunity under each and every log).

Round 3 update

I'm not as far as I'd like to be, but I'm farther than I thought I would be with these socks. I've got one more stripe, and then it'll be time to do the heels. The problem is that I'm very tired and tomorrow is a work day for me. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to knit tonight.

I had two packages arrive today: my tea order and a yarn order. I love getting packages in the mail! These are for a couple of swaps I'm in. I want to take pictures and show off the wonderful goodies, but I don't want my swap partners getting any hints ahead of time. Hopefully I'll be finished with Round 3 by Sunday so that I'll have time to wrap up the packages to mail out on Monday.

I'm going to see if I can get a little more knitting done before I fall asleep in my chair (again!). I'm listening to Lime & Violet podcasts, so if you hear wild laughter it's probably just me. Seriously.

Good morning, good morning, the little birds say! (Wilderness Road Girl Scouts song)

As I'm getting ready to start my work day, this is as far as I got on the Slippin' Stripin' Socks for Round 3 of Sock Madness. I was really hoping to be much further along. Unfortunately, despite the 2 litre bottle of Pepsi and the bowl of chocolate I set up to keep me company, I managed to fall asleep in the chair while knitting. I woke up, from habit only, just in time to get ready for work.

I am already loving this pattern (designed by Tina Lorin). The picture doesn't do the colors justice. The yarn, Shadow from Knit Picks, is wonderfully soft and smooshy - especially in this slip stitch pattern. I got to keep the Reversai socks from the last round because of the sizing, but I can see that there's going to be some fighting amongst my girls for this pair!

If you're going to be able to look back at something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh now. (Marie Osmond)

The finished Lucy Bag. It's five days late, but she loved it anyway!

Today has been another really tough day at work. I'm not going to complain (only because I have the Sock Madness pattern waiting for me and I don't want to wait any longer to get them cast on), but let me just say that the bright spot of the day involved poop.

Most men are within a finger's breadth of being mad. (Diogenes the Cynic)

I've been worn out lately, between working the various jobs and my allergies/flu. This blog isn't the only thing I've neglected -- I think my mom is going to disown me if I don't call her soon, and my house is one visitor away from being condemned!

And yet, I'm still knitting for Sock Madness. Round 3 starts sometime tonight. Which times out nicely for me. I have to work with my behavior client this evening, and I'll be getting home right around the time the pattern is supposed to be released. I'll be able to spend the night knitting. (Who needs sleep?) And tomorrow I only work at the day program, so I'll have all afternoon to knit, too. This is the lace round, so I'm looking forward to working on this sock. (Although I don't know how any pattern can be as nice as the last one -- I'm still a big fan of Guernseygal's patterns.) I was smart enough to wind the yarn yesterday after work, and I'm glad I didn't wait. It took me several hours to get the lace into balls. I don't have a swift, so I made do with the back of a kitchen chair. And instead of a ball winder, it's just me and my toothbrush holder (which doubles as my needle case).

I'll try to strike a balance on the updates...

I did it!

I'm #18 for my division, which means I get to do this again for Round 3.

It's a good thing. (I'm pretty sure.)

There is an immeasureable distance between late and too late. (Og Mandino)

I finally finished the Reversai socks for Round 2. I'll talk more about it after I go take a nap...

A man is too apt to forget that in this world he cannot have everything. A choice is all that is left him. (H. Mathews)

There are already ten of the twenty finishers in my division. I have no idea of where the others are in their socks. I've still got the toe to do, then the entire second sock. I'm not sure if should panic, or just give up. It's a little overwhelming.

Especially since I have another project I should be finished with by now. I'm making a Lucy Bag for my friend. Her birthday is this weekend, and I had planned on having the bag finished by now so that I could give it to her at work on Friday (tomorrow!). Instead, I still have about 200 rows to do on the handles, and then it needs to be felted. There's just no way to have it done in time.

I did stop and get a large coffee on my way home from work this evening (I worked with a behavior client until 8:30 pm), so hopefully there's enough caffeine in my system to keep me knitting all night. I'm turning off the computer so that I can't obsessively check everyone's standings or waste time posting every hour about how far I've gotten. I've also hidden all medications and wine bottles for the evening, so I won't have either of those for an excuse. It's 11 pm, so I six hours until it's time to get ready for work. I'm going to spend as many of them as I can knitting, and we'll see how far I can get.

I'll post an update in the morning!

Friends don't let friends drink and knit. (annonymous)

If you are in a knitting competition, and you have ten rows left until you can start the toe of your first sock, and there are already 5 people in your division finished, but you don't know how many people are almost finished... it's not a good idea to start drinking glasses of sangria just because you're thirsty and there's no soda left.

I think I'm going to go lie down for a couple of hours. It's either that, or risk having to frog everything back in the morning anyway.

Ah! the clock is always slow; It is later than you think. (Robert Service)

I had originally planned on staying up all night knitting. But then, I had planned on having the first sock completed and working down to the heel of the second tonight, and that's obviously not happening either.

I'm a lot more relaxed this round, but I think it has more to do with the medication I'm taking rather than anything else.

We work in the dark - we do what we can - we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task.

The rest is the madness of art. (Henry James)



I didn't get as far with my socks as I had hoped last night. I'm blaming it all on the medicine -- I literally fell asleep knitting! But I started right back this morning, knitting at the train station while waiting for my son's train at 6:45 am.

Unfortunately, I still need to work (darn the need for yarn money!) so I won't be able to get any further on the sock until this afternoon. I'm just hoping that this doesn't take me out of the running, since only 20 of the 35 in my division will get to go on.