an amputeehee guide to: living in a state of denial

I've known about this for weeks but have not been able to bring myself to blog about it. I don't even know if I am ready now, actually....but it's a time sensitive issue, so if I am going to say anything at all here, now is the time.

Do you all recall earlier this year when TheMostImportantGuy's dad had cancer surgery? They removed his bladder. Post-surgery was a huge struggle for him because he is diabetic and his blood-sugar went all wacky-wonky during his healing process, so he was in and out of the hospital. Well, okay. I guess he was never really OUT of the hospital, he was only really IN. If he's not been in the hospital "proper", he's been in one of several convalescent/rehab type facilities. I think he was "home-home" for one day, if memory serves me correct...then went right back in because the of the blood sugar stuff.

Well, somewhere along the line, he developed a secondary issue: a sore on his foot that would not heal. It's been months of treatments, testing, huge courses of antibiotics, and meeting with specialists...and guess what today is.

His amputation surgery.


I'll give you a minute to let that sink in.




There.
Was that long enough?

It still hasn't sunk in all the way for me, due to varying levels of anxiety, sadness, and denial about it...so don't feel bad if your mouth is still open. I was chatting online last night with my friend Mouse and sorta dropped the news in her lap just as we were saying goodnight (see? so much denial, I'm not even talking about it---it just sorta "splurts out"). I don't remember exactly what she said (more denial), but while the news was sinking in, she got to the part where she was putting together the flowchart of this crazy little scene, and the myriad of ways this touches all of the involved players. If you really take the time to put yourself into the shoes of each person involved, it's bananas.

As for Dad, he seems to be taking it well. I asked him how he was feeling about it, and he said, "It feels like losing an old friend." If there is something going on with TheMIG on an emotional level about all this, I'm not hearing about it. Maybe he's just downright adjusted to having amputees around by now, I dunno. Maybe it's just old hat. He's been mostly busy with supporting his mom (who seems, from the outside, to be her regular perky self--her own way of coping, perhaps), by helping her with researching stuffs and keeping the financial bits in place.

In my own little corner of this, I feel sad lots, and I worry lots. I hope like anything for TheMIG's dad that he doesn't have to deal with phantom limb issues, or nerve sensitivity, and that he heals well from this surgery. I have all sorts of worries that if his blood sugar went all over the map with the bladder surgery, and if he can't heal from a little sore on his foot, then WTF is gonna happen when they do a surgery to take off his foot??

Other more selfish concerns have me fearing that I will be consulted as "the expert" by the involved parties, and...well...I am not. I am only expert (and that is using the term very loosely) of myself. Our situations are entirely different in terms of age, health, amputations, expectations, and pre-amputation mobility. While I am certain I have a point of view about being an amputee, I most definitely do not have the same frame of reference. I am hoping I can be brave enough to be support for him (because I have been behaving sort of chicken-shit so far), but my way of dealing with my own amputation has been to keep a keen eye out for the humor in all of this, as we all know. I have no idea if that's something he'll appreciate.

Some more technical bits:
They are pretty much removing only his foot, just above the ankle. This is good news in terms of him being able to be fit for a prosthesis. It's more like slipping on a boot, really....and he's only really needing it so that he has two legs underneath him for balance when he is vertical. He's really only standing up when he's transferring in and out of bed or on and off "the can", at this point. It's not like he needs to get to a level of functionality where he will be jogging the track or something. This is not to say that he shouldn't aim for walking again, but since the bladder surgery, most of his getting around has been happening in a wheelchair anyhow....and prior to the cancer surgery, it was only short distances with a walker.

The key thing though, is that once you cannot transfer yourself in and out of bed or around the surfaces of your environment yourself (ie if you need to be "lifted" by someone, for example, to get out of bed and into a chair) this puts you at entirely different level of convalescent care. It dictates what type of facility you can be placed in. It's a big deal. For him it will determine whether or not he can ever come home, or if he would be in more a senior care environment, or in a setting that is more like a hospital.

Another big concern is that because the foot is being removed due to an infection settling in, there is some about whether or not this amputation will take care of the situation, or if it has "settled in" farther than they thought it had. There is also added concern about vascular issues and whether or not the blood flow is good enough for him to heal well. In other words, if this doesn't do the trick, he's going to have to go back in to remove more of the leg, above the knee.
We'd be a matching set.

So.
All y'all out there reading this:

Wonder Twin Powers!
ACTIVATE!!!

Any healing vibes sent, no matter whom involved you send them to, are greatly appreciated.

TheMIG is up with his mom, and surgery is later this afternoon.
It's probably pretty good timing for me that today is the day I make my rounds at the two convalescent hospitals. Distraction (but connection) from a distance.

buh-byeeee...!

There she goes!
I forgot to take photos of the new one while the light was still good.
That's because it's so quiet, I forgot it was there.

Whee!

clearing out the fridge

Spent some time today emptying the fridge and removing things either on or around it.
The new one arrives tomorrow morning. Yay!


That Prosecco? I cracked it. I didn't want it to spoil.

hahahahahaha

i did everything today *except* to take a snap on saturday

Just home from the show and I'm very close to passing out. The show was good and I didn't do too shabby. A couple of small lighting errors, but I was able to fix them in time with the music, and nobody else really noticed but me in the long run.

MyFavoriteKid had an 8:40am dentist appointment about 45 minutes southeast of home, and then after lunch he had an audition for the Youth Orchestra 35 minutes of home. Getting to the show was a whole 'nother direction to drive in.

It wouldn't surprise me if you find me in a lump on the couch tomorrow.

how it went & hopes for how it goes

In my experience as a dancer, this formula has always held true for me:

When my dress rehearsal goes smoothly, I boff-up on the night of the show. Alternately, when the dress rehearsal runs screwy, the show is great.

Now, I am not a dancer in this upcoming show Saturday night. I am the one doing the lighting and the sound, and it's my first time doing so. Let's hope for everyone's sake that the above formula holds true as I perform in this new role, because last night at the dress rehearsal??

I sucked ass.

And I was an EqualOpportunityFuckerUpper, goofing up at least one thing during each and every piece. Nobody was immune.

Now in defense of myself, the only time I have ever touched this lightboard was at last week's tech rehearsal, and most of my time that night was spent taking notes about cues and what levels to set things at. We never ran through the pieces, so I never got to play with the flow of things. It was more of a, "when I put my arms in the air, turn that up (or down). I did not even get to attempt a cue-to-cue (that's where you walk through all of the cues and changes from one to the next rather quickly, just to try them out, but you do not run the pieces in their entirety). As a result of having no actual practice doing my "job", last night I really stunk.

Some of the highlights of my evening were having my finger stick to the sliding dimmer switch that runs the center spot (ie I accidentally turned the spotlight right back off just after turning it on) and having my knuckle bump into the track advance button as I was closing the tray to the CD player (ie I started the piece halfway through the music). Neat-o.

I think I've figured out my flaws though, and I know how to correct them. Let's just hope that there aren't any more out there lurking like tickling little time bombs. Again, I'm hoping that my historic performing formula proves correct that this means Saturday night will be awesome. We shall see.

I did learn one other big thing about myself, and why doing the lights and sound is so hard for me. I have been going to dance class every week for 16 years. Even seeing the floor, or the light of the room...it's like a trigger reminding me that I can turn off the left side of my brain. I can drop into my body and allow my right brain to flow freely into it's creative side.

This is exactly what happened when I walked into the studio last night to run the dress rehearsal.

Not the best mental state for reading linear notes written on graph paper about what sequence to perform tasks in.

I am hoping know this will make a difference. It feels like I need to get my brain in the gear I used to use when catering. I could create and be inspired, but could totally put all the ducks in a row, if you know what I mean.
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In other news: today was just good.
I took the stinky dog a self-service dog wash.
Brooke came over for a visit and I made us a nice brunch while she played with the electric spinner.
I got on top of some paperwork.
I got MyFavoriteKid off to his first middle school dance of the year....and need to leave now to go pick him up!


Tomorrow is going to be a bit bananas. MyFK has an 8:30am dentist appointment, then he has a 2pm audition for the Napa Valley Youth Symphony, and then I need to be at the studio by 5pm to set up for the 8pm show.

Betcha all you get tomorrow here is a photograph (which is good, because today I am rambling!!)...but that's perfect because it's "Snaps on Saturday".

i think i'm just gonna do this right now and get it over with

I'm not particularly inspired to post tonight because I am just feeling downright overwhelmed. I didn't sleep well last night and today has been a whole lot of work and running around...but I don't think that is what has me with that "butterflies on crack" feeling in my tummy.

I think what is really gnawing at me is what is about to happen with the rest of my evening.

I have to leave in 45 minutes to get to the studio and set up for tonight's Dress Rehearsal (our students are performing Saturday night. I'm not in the show this time...I'm part of the production team, and I'm kind of freaking out about it. I'm running the sound system and the lightboard, and I've never done it before. I only got one crack at it last week, and that was during the Tech Rehearsal, which was more about setting the lights and sound, rather than actually doing it...if ya' know what I mean.

The task itself feels more difficult than actually performing, for some reason. I am sure it's just because it's a new skill and it's due to the fact that I'm usually the performer and on the other side of the box. I get that. I think I'm just flipped out that I'm going to miss a cue, or press the wrong button, or (*eek! horrors!*) put in the wrong CD. I'm probably so worried about these things because I have been the dancer at the other end of these errors (every. single. one of them. yes.), and although I am a solid enough to performer to weather them, it does take a level of skill to weather them and still hold my center. I would never wish the situation on anyone, so I most definitely do not want to be the cause.

Anyhow...tonight will go very late, and then I will hit a wall of traffic coming home due to the late night closures of the freeways while they do overnight construction.
Doody.
I guess the traffic jam will at least give me plenty of time to reflect on what I could have done better LOLOL ;-)

finally finished some knitting

I finally finished up the socks I was working on.





Seems like they took forever, and they are only ankle socks for crying out loud.
I love 'em.


Ravelry Project Page. here.
Pattern: In Season, by Melissa Morgan-Oakes, available here.
Yarn: A Verb for Keeping Warm, Creating: Superwash Sock, colorway "Mermaid"
Started: July 18th
Finished: August 24th (In my defense, I'm always working on multiple things simultaneously. Oh, and knitting is "supposed" to be a fun hobby for me, not a contest. It's the path, not the destination. Blah. Blah. Blah.)



I updated my Ravelry page with this project and then "stood back" to admire the project I've accomplished so far this year, which is sadly quite minimal (two pairs of ankle socks, a hat, a scarf, and a shoulder shawl...whoop-dee-doo).

I immediately cast-on for a new hat with the brown handpsun I made a couple of weeks ago in an attempt to lift myself out of the little hole of self-judgement I had dug myself into, based on that realization. Didn't help much, because even though the hat is looking cute and whipping right along, I was working on it instead of cleaning the house, so got on myself about that instead.

I'm so much fun...LOL.

too fried to type

I'm too fried to type much tonight, partially because it was a very busy day. Convalescent hospital rounds, a quick stop home in the afternoon to meet up with MyFavoriteKid, and then I had to head out to the middle school for Back to School Night.


Note the three minutes to get from one class to the next (I was actually thankful to be in a wheelchair---I was faster than the two-legged folk! A good portion of MyFK's classes are on a second floor, and I have finally learned to stop by the school office in the earlier in the day to pick up a little present they have waiting just for me: my very own personalized elevator key.

The other reason I am feeling fried is because my brain melted somewhere around 12:30 this afternoon. It was 95 degrees out when I was making hospital rounds, and by the time I got home the gauge in the car was reading 106!! I might just be a wee bit dehydrated, too.

Glass of water. Bed.

I stayed up too late last night tinkering with the new toy (if you missed it, I splurged on an iPad). I'm feeling mighty tired and I still have the Monday night conference call with the co-dance teachers in an hour or so, and the house could really use some love.

I did do a couple of test-posts/drafts yesterday, and I am indeed able to post from the iPad, but indirectly. Blogger and the iPad dont quite get along yet, apparently. When you are in Blogger, you can't get the iPad's keyboard to come up. You can click on any buttons, though. What I found is that I can email a post (using the iPad/my hotmail account) to Blogger, and have it post directly, or go in as a draft. I can then use the iPad to get into Blogger and click around a bit to add tags (or anything else I can click on that's a button), and I can preview the post, and then publish it. I can also add photos into the post as an attachment, but it don't have any control over where those photos land...and I haven't figured out how to move them around in draft-mode yet, but I bet that where there is a will, there is a way.

So. Tonight I have photos, and a couple of other things to get off my chest...and I need them placed where I want them...so here I am, on the laptop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ya' know, I held a blog contest recently, and one of the winners was KathodeRayTube. I sent her her prize, and she sent me back stuff! Silly (because that isn't how contests work!), but super-duper sweet! :-)



Some of her favorite goodies from Maine, she writes. A wonderful woodsy smelling air freshener, and some yarn. I have two skeins of something very similar that I picked up when I was back east visiting Plimoth Plantation (seen here, scroll down). The labels are different, but by gosh it is so similar that I think I can put them all together and do a project of some sort. I've been wanting some try some felted bowls or baskets for a long time.
Thanks, Kathy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some not so great news next.
I lost another person last week. I got the call while I was in the middle of tech rehearsal last Thursday night, and I know it's been days and I should have posted by now, but....
I've got all this guilt going on.
So time to spill the beans, I guess.

My Uncle Milton passed away. I think the was 92. Milton was my Grandfather's (my mom's dad) brother. I don't ever remember meeting him as a little kid. I might have, but if I did, I don't remember. I do remember meeting him when we moved to Northern California my senior year of high school. I remember going out on a boat with him into the bay and sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge. I remember his wife Odette, too. I remember his daughter, too. I also remember going to her wedding in the Berkeley hills. I remember getting news of Odette's passing.

The guilt? I remember little else. And I don't recall ever seeing him again past my early to mid-twenties. And I liked him. A lot. And he was family. And he lived only an hour or so from where I live. And I just never saw him. And I'm not quite sure why. And it's been eating at me ever since I heard the news. Why didn't we visit??! I mean, it aint like he was calling me either, but....why??

I am confounded. And full of very strange feelings that I can't quite sit still with comfortably for long enough to put my finger on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, onto something better (I am the queen of avoidance techniques).

Yesterday TheMostImportantGuy and I ate for the first time at a Napa institution:

(psssst....I love TheMIG's hands *grin*)

The ButterCream Bakery
(do click the link if you are into vintage photos)

It was on the good side of okay. It was kinda like a greasy spoon, sans grease. Not sure how else to explain it LOL. What I will say though, is the pastries?!?! Oh. MyGosh. To die for. Next time I have to show up anywhere for a breakfast potluck, I know just where to go. Best I have ever had. Ever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More food (more avoidance?), with a side of "friendship".

Today I had lunch with Donna after going to the midday practice at the zen center. Our plan today was to hit this gourmet food cart guy that parks near her office. Like, grilled asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes on a little food cart, that kind of guy. I was so excited.

And he wasn't parked there today! Gah!
That's when Donna spotted "The Bun Truck".


There's Donna's buns ordering her buns ;-)

Now, I was skeptical, lemme tell ya'. I think I have had a steamed pork bun only once in my life ever, and apparently once was enough, because I have never had a steamed bun again since. I'm so glad I got over myself because this was one of the best things I have ever eaten.

One was duck confit with asian spices and sliced mango, and the other one was garlicky greens with a this slice of crusted tofu and some sort of cheese. And the bun wasn't all doughy and tacky. DANG so good.

Even Donna's cow liked it.

She's slurping on a "Salted Carmel and Pineapple" tapioca sort of drink, with lots of crushed ice. SOoooo good.

Then I laid back on the blanket we had laid on the grass in a shady spot near the truck, and looked up at the trees for a bit.


Pretty awesome.

Everywhere I went today, people commented on the weather. It's finally hot. It was 95 up here where I live today, and only just a bit cooler where we had lunch today. Tomorrow is supposedly going to be hotter, but I think once we head into the weekend it's back to being "unseasonably cool," so I'm hoping to get out and enjoy it as much as I can.

kachink!

This has been one expensive day, kids.

The first big purchase I made today I have been planning on and saving up for. I wrote a few months ago about really needing a new refrigerator. The one I have now came with the house, and was put in when the hosue was first built. It's over 20 years old, which I suppose is not ancient, but it's the basic of the basic of models, too. The last year or so it's been freezing foods on the top shelf of the fridge, and not keeping things cold enough in the freezer. The deal breaker though (for me, at least), is that it makes this horrible buzzing sound when it is in chill-mode. It's kinda like chinese water torture or something. It is seriously making me grind me teeth.

Over the winter, TheMostImportantGuy had done a bunch of research for me. He found a model that would fit in my kitchen without making changes (I have low overhead cabinets), had the features that I wanted (yay! an ice maker!), had a good Consumer Reports review, good feedback from owners, and was rated the most quiet in it's category. We went and looked at it in person a couple fo months ago, but I didn't buy it because I couldn't work out a good delivery date with the sales guy. I missed a big 20% off sale at Sears last month, but today was their 15% version, and I walked right in knowing exactly what I wanted and plunked my money down. I am just thrilled to bits that come a week from Monday, I will no longer be gritting my teeth until I am in a state of lockjaw.
*ahhhhhhhh*

The second big splurge of the day was a bit more of a surprise. My laptop has been giving me greif for months, but I wasn't quite prepared to do anything about it right away, and I was trying to decide whether or not to ween myself off the PC habit and jump on the Mac-wagon.

I went in to Best Buy today to just play with the MacBooks and see how I liked them, and I somehow ended up walking out with iPad and I keypad docking station.

From which I am blogging from now.
I hope.

I am having so much fun experimenting with pressing buttons (that are not really buttons), and sliding pages around, and tilting screens this way and that way, and...well... who the heck knows what my posts are going to look like for the next week or so!

Tomorrow I will try adding some photos.

snaps on saturday

the zen center bell
beginnings of painter's tape in the background

This weekend is a "work retreat" weekend at the zen center. No formal practice, just a lot of painting and cleaning and gardening...but also a chance to get to chat and get to know people as we work ('cuz normally we are silently staring at the floor!).

In addition to painting, I became the unofficial photographer for the day. Took a pile of shots of people, but lots of artsy-fartsy ones, too. Everything I take is just as it is, uncropped, untouched (because I'm really lame, and I don't know how to use photoshop--LOL). Having zero-skillz has forced me to learn how to crop in the frame.

do tell

Oh man, was this morning hard.

Our dance students are putting on a show, and the three of co-teachers are not performing this time so that we can do a more thorough job of the production work and helping the students prepare. The process has be AWESOME great, and I will be writing more about that soon (famous last words)....

...but last night was one grueling tech rehearsal that didn't get me home until just after midnight (there is roadwork every night on the only route between my house and the studio).

I woke up this morning, got MyFavoriteKid off to school, dropped my car off for it's 60k tune-up and headed over to a coffee shop to re-write my notes from the rehearsal (I am running the lights and sound for the show). By the time I was done, I felt like I was gnashing my teeth due to the combo of caffeine and details and fatigue.

I had plans to meet Brooke for lunch (woohoo! we've been trying to connect for the longest!), but I had time to kill between the auto shop and our meeting, so I decided to drive around a bit on unfamiliar roads. I somehow stumbled upon a dead end near the Napa River, and discovered the whereabouts of the local animal shelter. I almost came home with another dog. Thank god she was already spoken for and they had just forgotten to tag her pen with an "adopted" sign.

Lunch was great, and now I'm making dinner for MyFK and his buddy who is here for the evening.
Adjusting to this first week of back to school has been a bit grueling.
Very much looking forward to the weekend.

What are you all up to??

planning is everything (or at least something)

Allow me to set the scene:
It's 1:05pm. I am at the check-out counter of Whole Foods in Napa, which is about 20 minutes north of home.

*ring ring!*

Me: Hello?

Hi, this is Helen!
(Helen is a good friend and neighbor of my mom and dad's, and I swear she feels like she could be related my dad's side of the family. She's like my Jewish auntie or something. I adore her.)

Me: Hi, Helen! Hey, can I call you right back? I am in the grocery store checking out.

Helen: Oh, no need to call me back...I'm just calling to tell you that I'll be about 15 minutes late for your class.

*crickets chirp...loudly...if only for a moment*

Me: Umm, what class?

Helen: Your knitting class! At the senior center!

*another loud brief cricket interlude*

(See, back in May sometime, I met with the director of our newly built local senior center. Helen had referred me to the director to teach a "knitting class", or at least facilitate a weekly gathering. The director and I agreed it best for me to start after school was back in session, and I offered a couple of different days and time slots that would work for me. She was to check the center's availability and also the schedule of the knitter's that had expressed interest, and she would get back to me. She never did, though. I had thought about this earlier this week, and had already made a mental note to call her next week about it.)

Me: Helen, Lori never called me back to schedule it! What time does it start?!!

Helen: 1:15!!

*sigh*

I pay for my stuff, go outside, track down the right number for the senior center, and call Lori, the director, who basically says, "Oops!"

I tell her I can come, but I'm going to be late, and she has to let me put my perishables in their big reach-in, otherwise I have to go home first. She agrees. I tell her I don't have any supplies with me, but she says they all brought their own projects. As for my knitting? Well, that's easy. My just happen to have my knitting bag is with me (it almost always is). In it I have a sock in progress, and a shawl.


*sound of a battle horn replaces crickets : TaTaDaaaaa!!!!*

I hereby welcome myself (and you! because you are certain to hear more about it!) to volunteer gig number three....and a whole new "cast of characters"!

not the brightest crayon in the box

It's MyFavoriteKid's first day of school, and he has homework.

TheMostImportantGuy is on his way over for our regular Wednesday get together.

And I have decided that right this minute is the perfect time to rearrange the furniture. Really.

pencils? check. pens? check. paper? check.

Tomorrow is MyFavoriteKid's first day of school. We've been making attempts at getting up earlier and earlier for a little over a week now, and I cannot say we've been all that successful.

Tomorrow ought to be FUN.













Yah. Right.

MyFK are also both feeling a little sick. It might just be allergies. We are both still adjusting to living next to a big open field o' weeds. But I have a hunch we're on the fringes of having mild colds. Grand.

Everything else is going okay, though. His backpack is all set and ready to go, I've cleared the decks of last year's papers and saved a little folder of all the really great stuff that I can use to embarrass him with when he is dating or has kids of his own. I cleared out my own binder that I use to keep all the junk sent home from the teachers, the office, or the district.

I'm signing off and going to bed early....will be sitting in bed knitting (socks) for a few, and maybe watching PBS. But I'm forcing myself to an early "lights out" tonight.

over-stimulated

I feel horribly over stimulated today.This has been happening to me pretty regularly these days. Maybe once or twice a week, for a couple of hours. Today it was relentless though. Every little noise seems too loud, too grating. Everything is getting under my skin. Every little sounds feels like an irritant, and I cringe at certain noises that dont normally bother me.

I don't feel like talking, and I dont feel much like listening either (and I have more of both of those still to be done tonight---it's the Monday night co-dance teacher conference call in a minute).

I even found myself searching on sensory deprivation tanks today, that's how desperate for silence.
Maybe I just need some bodywork. Some QUIET bodywork.
It's been awhile.

Really what I think I need is a few days in the woods.
By myself.

finished

I finished that yarn that I'd been working working on.


I actually finished it Wednesday, but I've been having so much fun thinking about what to turn it into that I forgot to post about it.

Now, as much as I dig the final outcome, it wasn't exactly what I was aiming for, either....but what I did get (aside from yarn I am pleased with), is that I learned quite a few things that I hope will help me next time.

Thing I learned #1: Don't look at the fiber all twisted up in its nice little bundle and make a plan of what to do with it. Open it up and play with it first.

A Verb For Keeping Warm, 100% BFL, 4oz

WoolyWonders! Fiber Club, colorway: Burnt Ember

I had already made my mind up that I was going to spin this fluff up into a 3ply semi-solid/mottled sort of thing, because it looked like it was dyed that way. Then I opened up the fiber and saw that what was really going on was two 2-oz strips of different colors---one more orange, one more red.

I had a conversation with myself about making a 2-ply instead of a 3-ply, or about carding the fibers together, or about holding both strips side by side and drafting across them both, blah blah blah....but in the end, I decided that more yarn was better than less yarn....and so I decided to spin each 2-oz strip on its own, and then do a 3rd single in a separate fiber that I already had in my stash.

A Verb For Keeping Warm, 100% Targhee, colorway: Transnational Fury

I twisted the three strips together to get a bit of an idea how it might look as a yarn, and it really did look like I'd still get a semi-solid yarn at the end. If you can see from the top photo, that's not the yarn turned out. It's got more of that barber-pole thing. Again, I still like it a lot, but I'm trying to learn how to make what I envision, and that's not what I envisioned, is all I'm sayin'.

Thing I learned #2: I lost my consistency on my singles, especially on the 3rd bobbin (the Targhee). That gave me a bit more thick-and-thin than I wanted, it gave me less yardage than I wanted, and it gave me a thicker yarn that I wanted (a sport/dk when I was going for a fingering).

3-ply ~ 5.2 oz ~ 236 yds ~ 11-12 wpi (dk/sport)
~ spun worsted/short Forward ~

Still, not bad lookin' at all.

Thing I learned #3: I need slow down considerably when I ply. I get so excited about being near the end of a project that I rush and get sloppy. I need to focus more on the process than the product.

Thing I learned #4: I need to find a way to hold the plies that works well for my wonky metal-laden right hand (that was also part of rushing--it hurt and I wanted to be finished). Next time I might try a using a diz (that's a little gadget with several holes in it, and I could run each single through a separate hole; it would keep the strands separated, and I wouldn't need to use my hands in a way that hurts).

Thing I learned #5: Even if I had worked 1 through 4 out, number thing #5? One of my bobbins is wonky! Because this was my first time ever doing a 3-ply, I had all of my bobbins in play, including one I had not used yet. It turns out that it barely rotates on the plying rod, and this just happens to be the bobbin I used to spin that ply of Targhee. I had no idea it was sticky until I went to ply and could barely get it on or off the rod, and the thing would barely spin. It explains why I was having such a hard time spinning that bobbin and why it was so thick-n-thin. This also explains why that single kept snapping while I plied, too. It explains why I have so much of the Targhee single left, and it also explains why the plying is so uneven (because it wasn't under the same tension as the other two). Gah.


I've been chatting with the eSpinner guy and he's been awesome. He gets the bobbins from the WooLee Winder folk, and sure enough, they had received a batch that had failed to be reamed properly. Mine must have fell through the cracks. I am to send it back, and it shall be fixed.


So.
First, I was thinking I'd use it for fingerless gloves. Then, I was thinking some sort of cowl. But now I'm actually thinking I might make some sort of boot-topper, leg-warmer sort of thing to wear with my skirts and boots this winter. I wouldn't have enough yarn to do that normally, but being that I only reallllllly have to make one.....

I have enough.
;-)

snaps on saturday

Last night at the goth club.....




For the record, my clubbin' days are long gone. Last night was a reunion event for a goth club from the mid-to-late 90's, and TheMostImportantGuy's band performed. The shot above was taken during the "Fashion Show" that took place just before the band took the stage.

a follow-up

A follow-up to yesterday's post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me: So, how did the WEB Leader training go today?

MyFavoriteKid: Good! I have to call 4 kids that will be in our group to introduce myself and remind them to come to orientation on Monday. My partner has to call the other 4.

Me: OH YEAH! I forgot about that! Who'd you get matched up with?? A hottie?!

MyFK: Actually, I got matched up with a guy.

Me: Hahahahahahahahahaha.

MyFk: It's because partners need to be in the same advisory class (ie homeroom), and the Leaders from my advisory are all guys. But actually, this is great. Most the other groups have three Leaders, two girls and one guy. And the girls just stand around blah-blah-blah-ing, and then the guy stands there looking an idiot!! I'm glad I got matched up with a guy. We'll be the only ones that get anything done!!

Me: Hahahahahahahahahaha.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I do understand that laughing is not always the best parenting technique, but sometimes I just can't control myself.

last minute post

Just got home from dance class and sitting in an arseload of traffic due to nighttime construction. Had me a little midnight snack. Was all ready to go to bed, and then..whammo! Realized I had forgotten about posting. Ugh. Blogging365 is mostly a really good thing for me, but on nights like tonight, I just don't know.

Today was quite full, and one of the things on my To-Do list was to hit the office supply store. I went in to buy a ream of paper for MyFavoriteKid's school (they have humbly requested paper as a donation...but it would not surprise me one bit, given the state of things these days, if this request is just the first of many). I also picked up some basic school supplies for MyFK, because there aint nothin' like the smell of a fresh pack of college-ruled paper to ring in the new school year.

I cannot believe summer (well, summer break) is almost over. He goes back next Wednesday, but there are already school functions this week.

* I just had a wicked case of de ja vu. Did I write this exact same post the same time last year??*

Last night we spent a couple of hours at registration night. Today, tomorrow, and Monday MyFK is participating in an 8th grade training program called WEB. That stands for "Where Everyone Belongs". It's a program where a group of 8th graders step into a mentor role, and they assist small groups of incoming 6th graders to feel welcome. They give them tours of the school and whatnot. The WEB Leaders become a resource for younger kids for the first few weeks, and actually throughout the year. It really helps smooth out the normal kinks that occur when there are new kids on the block. It keeps the big kids from picking on the little kids. When MyFK was in 6th grade, he felt so welcomed by his WEB Leaders that he vowed to apply for the Leadership team once he was old enough, and sure enough, he did.

Today they had some basic training, and tomorrow they will match up the WEB Leaders into pairs, one boy and one girl. Each pair of Leaders will get a small group of 6th grade kids to work with on Monday, which is when the 6th graders have their orientation. The WEB Leaders also show up early on Wednesday, the first day of school, to be of help to kids who get lost getting to their classes.


Me: So how did it go today?

MyFK: Good. Tomorrow they match us up in Leadership pairs. I hope I get someone hot.

Me: Hmm. Ok. Well, do you really think that's the most important thing? I mean, if it were me, I'd rather be paired up with someone who will do their share of the workload. Seems like a much better than being paired with someone who is hot but makes me do all the work. No??

MyFK: Oh. Yah. Good point. I guess I should wish for that, too. But I don't want to just wish for helpful. I think I'll wish for hot and helpful.



He has a point, I suppose.
But still.
Lordy, please get me through the next few years of parenting.
Please.