Felt Like Knitting

The Exercise-Time Vortex and Other Ramblings

• I may have made the most amazing discovery of the 21st century.  I have discovered something to make exercise fly by in the blink of an eye.  It is called the Internet.  My little bike was previously parked in front of some windows by a table.  I worked my Sudoku or crossword puzzle while I pedaled away.  But it got hot.  And my neck got sore from looking to the side to solve the puzzle.  And it was boring after a while.  Not anymore!  Yesterday I pulled my bike in front of the computer.  I checked my email.  I read my Bloglines feeds.  I did Sudoku and the crossword puzzle.  That was in 30 minutes and I hadn't even looked around Ravelry yet.  Should I pedal for 45 minutes?  Sure, why not?  So I checked Ravelry and bought a vest pattern (Fad-Classic).  I was going to go for an hour, but I wanted to be able to walk when I stood up.

• Many of our friends have Guitar Hero and we've been wanting to try it.  S and E decided they couldn't resist getting it, so they bought it this weekend.  It's a pretty fun game and I'm hoping it may help my rhythm and syncopation.  (I just wish some of the songs had better lyrics and the female characters wore more clothes.)  After playing for a while, I decided to practice "for real."  If the game has this side effect, it will definitely be worth it.  Soon we'll need Rock Band.  :)

• On an entirely different note, have you been watching the Jane Austen movies on Masterpiece?  This weeked they aired Mansfield Park.  I hadn't read that for so long that I'd forgotten what it was about.  I actually may have never finished reading it.  This made the movie more enjoyable because I wasn't comparing it to the book.  I guess I'm a romantic because I just love it when the right two people get together - finally!

• I'm almost done with my second Retro Chain Bag.  This one is purple and black.  I took it with me to the hair salon this morning.  My stylist gave me a deep conditioning treatment.  When I made the appointment on Saturday, he told me I could knit while I sit under the dryer.  I guess he knows how to motivate me.  :)

• I've received an award from Pooch!  Thank you, Pooch!  :)

                                                     

  I'm supposed to give this award to other lovable bloggers, but I can't single anybody out.  So this award goes to all of you!  Truly, you are all lovable, wonderful friends.   You celebrate with me when I'm up and you comfort me when I'm down.  Thank you.

The Invisible Woman

Recently, I was tagged by Moo and Jessica for a book meme.  The idea is to turn to page 161 of a book you're reading and post the fifth sentence.  (Feel free to play along if you like.  I've decided not to tag anyone.)  I thought I wasn't reading anything then I remembered a little book that a friend recently gave me called The Invisible Woman.  It's a short book, so I'll use page 61 instead.

In various forms they are shouting into the world, or whispering into our hearts, "We see you."

This refers to a group of female artists who have created works "from an unseen place, trying to make their way in the world."  The author, Nicole Johnson, mentions Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, Janis Ian, Georgia O'Keefe, Flannery O'Connor, and Carole King and says that all these women have created art out of feelings of invisibility.

Have you ever felt invisible, like nobody sees what you're doing or notices you?  Maybe you ask your family to turn down the TV and nobody listens.  Or maybe the laundry gets done but nobody seems to care.  The author says that God sees and cares.  He sees the work you do and the piece of art you are becoming.

I'll close with an encouraging excerpt:

I'll keep building away, pouring my heart into this life, trusting that it is not in vain.  I'll carve tiny birds into things that few eyes will ever notice.  I will see my work as prayer, and trust that His eyes miss nothing.  I will resist the temptation to live only in the now and keep reminding myself that I cannot see how wide the influence of my life could be, nor the length of my possible legacy.  Those are not for me to know.  It is for me to keep building, and pray that long after I'm gone, my work will stand as a great monument to an even greater God.

A new beginning

     

                                                                                                                                                                                   Georgia sunrise

Just like a colorful sunrise, I feel like a new me is dawning.  Goodbye, ever-increasing Beth.  Hello, healthy Beth!  I've been continuing to watch what I eat and exercising throughout the week.  As a result, I'm down five pounds!  This is just in time for my yearly physical.  :)

I ended up joining Weight Watchers Online after all.  The Discovery site never would come up right for me and that was frustrating.  I love the WW site!  It's very versatile and tracking what I eat is so easy.  I've seen several sources say that tracking what we eat is a very effective way of losing weight.  As a friend told me last night, it's not worth pulling out her food journal to write down 10 M&Ms, so she just doesn't eat them.

One feature that I really like about the WW site is that I can type in recipes and it will tell me how many points a serving size is.  I found this delicious pork chop recipe at Cooking Light.  This recipe is definitely a "do-over."  It was so yummy!  For those of you counting points, one serving was about 7 points (with 2% milk instead of 1%).

Several people have told me about health/diet web sites they've been using and I want to check them out.  Here they are in case you want to, too.  (I can't remember all the ones I've heard about.  If you have any you like, let me know and I'll add them to this list.)

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

http://www.thedailyplate.com/

https://diet.webmd.com/webmddiet/default_home.aspx?secure=1

http://www.webmd.com/diet/default.htm

In knitting news, I love my new felted bag!  Just love it.  I felted it yesterday and this afternoon it was dry enough to use on a trip to the grocery store.  (It looks a little wonky in the post-felting picture, but it's really fine.)  I'll probably end up lining it and will include some interior pockets.  I can't wait to make another one!

                              

Thank you again to everyone for your nice comments and for checking on me.  It's been a week since Phoebe died and we're all feeling much better than I thought we would.  It was so shocking and heart breaking at the time that I felt like I would never feel right again.  Fortunately, the shock has faded now.  There are still some sad times and I'm not yet used to having to pick spilled food off the floor.  Phoebe was a good vacuum cleaner!  :)  I thought I'd never get another dog because there's no replacing Phoebe, but now I think we need one.  We're trying to figure out when we should get another dog (or dogs!).

Felt like felting

Thank you all for your very kind words, good thoughts, hugs, and prayers.  Having you support us has helped a lot and I appreciate you all very much.  We are feeling a little better each day. 

We had an unexpected visitor last night - SNOW!  It started snowing around 4:00 or so and continued for a few hours.  Then the rain started.  There is not much snow left now, but it was very pretty while it lasted.  E and her friends had a blast playing in it!  This morning I heard on The Weather Channel that this is the first snow we've had here in three years.  That would explain why people were driving 25 mph when the roads were fine.  :)

Yesterday I felt like starting an easy project that would knit up quickly.  You may remember that I had set aside stash yarn to knit the Retro Chain Stitch Bag.  I started that and have it about half done.  (The colors in this picture are closer to the real color.)  With our drought, I'll probably throw it in with a load of sheets instead of putting it in by itself with a pair of jeans.

I was considering signing up for the Weight Watchers online program to help me get back into shape.  Then a friend told me about Discovery Health's National Body Challenge and I registered on Monday.  I haven't started following the meal plan yet, but I have been conscious of how many calories I take in.  This video convinced me to watch what I eat (second video on the list - called Calories and Exercise).

Stay warm, everyone!

My heart is broken

I've debated many times about whether or not to write this post.  But I think a blog isn't just about the projects we complete.  It's not just about the good things that happen.  It's also about the sadness we experience.

Our beautiful dog died suddenly last night.  Phoebe went in for a tumor removal surgery yesterday and came home in the late afternoon.  Soon after that, she had trouble breathing and died.  The vet thinks that her heart couldn't take the stress of the surgery.  We are all tremendously shocked and sad.

Phoebe was such a sweet girl and I miss her more than I can say.

                                                

Robotics update

Wow, yesterday was a terrific day.  My daughter's robotics team went to their regional qualifier and won 1st place in robot performance and the 1st place Champion's award, too.  They have qualified to go to the state tournament!  We are all so proud of them and are very excited!!!

My friend and I were mentors for the team and helped with their research project.  We will most likely be busy over the next few weeks, so I'm not sure how much blogging (or knitting) I'll get done.  But, I'll try to keep up with what you're doing through your blogs.  Have a great week, everyone!

WIP Wednesday - 1/9/08

Thanks for all of the helpful information about address book options!  I'm going to try the 3x5 card system that Randi suggested.  You were all very helpful and I'm glad to know I'm not the only person with address book issues!

We have been very focused on robotics around here lately.  It's been hard to find time to knit, so I'm going to set fewer knitting goals for this week.

Project #1:  Gretel is progressing nicely.  E has decided she wants the slouchy type Gretel, so I've started that section of the pattern.  I added a cable to the needles so I could see the hat better.  This made the top of the hat stand up.  When E tried it on, she looked like Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan on Star Trek!

Project #2:  I didn't get 6 inches of the scarf done, but that's okay.  I'm just happy to have this project back on track again.  It's fun to see all of the color combinations on Ravelry.  I'm tempted to put most of my sock yarn into scarves!  I just wish this project was a bit more controlled.  Using two cakes of yarn isn't always very handy.

Project #3:  I haven't finished the hat sample, but I have made progress and made some modifications to the pattern.  This time I'm knitting the hat in the Vanna yarn I bought a while back.  This color is looking a little too 70s to me.  It looks very similar to the bathroom in my in-laws' old house.  It's going to end up being a child-sized hat.  I'll probably knit another sample in a larger size after this one is done.

Knitting goals for the week:  Work on (and hopefully finish) the hat sample when I need a simple or portable knitting project.  Knit at least a few rows of Ariann when I have time to sit down and concentrate.

Address books

This is a totally non-knitting related matter.  I've been cleaning out a drawer or cupboard each day of this new year.  Today I cleaned out the drawer with stamps, envelopes, and my address book.  And I have a question for you...

How do you keep your addresses under control?  I have a regular old address book.  It's always overflowing and a mess.  My husband swears by Outlook, but I can't seem to get myself enthused with it.

So, what do you do?  Do you keep an address book?  Do you have a software program that works well for you?  Help!

WIP Wednesday - 1/2/08

Project #1:  The tubular cast on for Gretel went fine and I'm enjoying knitting this hat.  I did complete my weekly goal, but I haven't felt motivated to knit on it since then.  I think that might be because I have to pay attention to it and I'm not in the mood for that.

This week's goal:  knit through the first part of the instructions.

Project #2:  I went through my stash and made plans for several projects:  Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, Mosaic Mitts from the 2006 IK holiday edition, Felted Retro Chainstitch Bag from Anne Hanson, Koolhaas Hat from the 2007 IK holiday edition, Designer Gloves from Creative Knitting, and Colorwork Hat from IK.

                              

                              

I had frogged the Chevron Scarf because my gauge changed when I switched needles.  So tonight I cast on again with my size 4 Addi Natura needles.

This week's goal:  Knit at least 6 inches on the scarf.  Put the other projects in bags and file them in my yarn closet.  (They are listed above in their proposed order of knitting.)

Project #3:  I completed another sample for my hat pattern.  (This is the third time I've knit it.)  I like the decreases better this time, but the ribbing isn't long enough and the whole hat is a bit short and tight for an adult.  So I'll be frogging and re-knitting it.  I did get the pattern written up so I plan to follow the directions while pretending that I've never knit it before.  Writing a pattern is more time consuming than I thought it would be.

This week's goal:  Knit the hat again while following the instructions.  Edit the pattern.  If the hat is completed, create a PDF of the instructions.

Christmas gifts

Somehow I haven't mentioned anything about Christmas Day.  It was very relaxing and I stayed in my pajamas the whole day.  I've actually been a slug for a week and half.  It's been sunny lately, so I was able to take some photos!

Earlier in December, I found an unexpected package in the mail.  It was a Christmas gift from Caitlyn!  I was so touched by Caitlyn's gift to me - an adorable tissue cozy and some lovely warm handwarmers!

                                                

The handwarmers fit so well and they look fantastic with my favorite jacket.  (It's gotten cold here and I've been getting a lot of use out of them!)  Check out the customized label Caitlyn made.  I absolutely love that label!  And isn't the sheepy fabric of the tissue cozy great?  I smile every time I reach into my purse to grab it.  Thank you so much, Caitlyn, for the wonderful Christmas gift!  I feel very honored that you made these gifts for me.

I also received my Special Swap Christmas package from Valerie.  She had everything wrapped in beautiful paper and bows, but do you think I remembered to take a picture?  No, I jumped right into unwrapping before I even thought about it.

                                                

Valerie included Godiva cocoa, a tin of lavender and chamomile tea, many cute Christmas things (like bandaids, tissues, and soap), and delicious chocolate from Switzerland.  And she sewed a beautiful project bag for me that I love.  Inside were two skeins of ShibuiKnits sock yarn in Wasabi.  This is going to be great yarn to knit with and I'm considering making Poseidon Socks.  Valerie also gave me some Karabella Lace Merino in a very elegant dark blue-gray color.  I think it should become a lace scarf.

Did you notice the grumpy looking sheep?  Here's a close-up:

This may say a lot about our sense of humor around here, but we just love this sheep!  We've played with him so much that he's out of jelly beans and needs to be reloaded. 

Thank you for such a fun, Christmas-themed swap package, Valerie!  It was very special and I really, really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow:  WIP Wednesday (one day late!)