As I See It

Depression

2011-12-02T19:59:00.002-06:00

A dear friend has blogged about depression a fair amount lately. And it has gotten me to thinking about my own struggles with depression.

Sometimes I'm just depressed because of a situation I haven't been able to reconcile.

Most of the time it is a general feeling of not belonging...anywhere. I go to work and feel I'm incompetent (it doesn't help that my new "boss" agrees with that assessment and reminds me regularly). It doesn't seem to matter how many mountains I scale and good deeds I accomplish there. I still feel like I'm pretending to be a grown-up. I'm really about 6.

I go to a gathering of friends or to someone's party and am convinced I don't belong there. They only invited me to be nice but they don't really care if I'm there or even want me to be there. I'm an embarrassment to everyone there because I just can't do or say the right things.

It isn't just once in a while. It's pretty much all the time.

One thing I do to combat this overwhelming sense of inadequacy is to knit. I knit pretty well. I'm not confident enough to make a whole sweater. Too much money for yarn to just waste it on my knitting. It probably would be too big, or too small, or disproportionate, or fall apart. But I knit smaller things because I can do them pretty well. Hats (they usually fit), mittens and socks fit me and my girlfriend. Not so much for bigger feet. I made one pair too big and I don't know about the others. I ran out of yarn so they ended up being anklets...for a guy.

I also practice a LOT of tai chi chuan. If I can't physically do it, I do it in my head. I visualize myself standing in the school room starting with the preparation and opening posture. I know a dozen or more forms made up of many postures. It's relaxing and I believe it really do know what I'm doing. It keeps me from thinking of any other things. I have students to act like they like me and I choose to believe them. My teacher seems to like me as well. That's a blessing.

Knitting and tai chi chuan help me achieve being "centered" which is a phrase I read about repeatedly in a 12-step group for "adult children" and I never understood what it meant. I think I know now.

I pray a lot, too. God, I believe, kept me from killing myself several years ago. There's no other explanation for why I didn't carry through with it. But I struggle to believe I really have any value to God. But I continue to struggle and pray and listen to the life lessons given at Eagle Brook Church.

The rest of the time, I just grit my teeth and endure.

Dish Cloth

2011-05-31T17:47:00.002-05:00

I created a dish cloth for an author friend of mine, Kelly McCullough, based on the web goblin, Melchior.

Arizona 2011 #2

2011-02-25T19:44:00.003-06:00

Today we went to Tucson to the PIMA Air and Space Museum. You'll have to click on the photos to see what's in them.

I don't remember half of what the tour guides had to say because I don't have the frame of reference David does, but it was very interesting stuff.

This is a picture of about a dozen B-52's mothballed. Over the last ten years or so they've dismantled all but about 100 of these behemouths to satisfy the nuclear disarmament treaty. Sad but necessary. Good that we aren't dragging the nuclear warheads around any more. We still could, but pretty much we don't.

The story we heard about this one was someone saw it flying overhead after 2001 and called 911 to report a UFO carrying off an airplane. That's radar on top.

That's all for now.

Arizona 2011 #1

2011-02-24T19:45:00.005-06:00

Wow! It's been a long time since my last entry. Sorry about that. I guess twitter and facebook have kind of replaced this blog but since not everyone is on facebook and twitter, I'll make a couple entries from Arizona.

We arrived Tuesday afternoon and drove the rental car to the motorcycle rental place where we picked up an 1800 Honda Gold Wing. We had it for 3 days and drove about 600 miles overall.

This next image is what helped make this ride more comfortable. It's a seat heater (as you can see)! The last ride we took was up to Payson and we were near 5000 ft. altitude with the temperature in the mid 40s for much of that ride. Add a strong wind and the speed of the Wing and I was on the edge of very cold.

When we got to Payson, we decided to eat some lunch at the Knotty Pine Cafe. It's a very nice little Mom 'n' Pop kind of place. When we walked in an older gentleman invited us to join him at his table. It turns out he and his wife road Gold Wings for about 15 years. It was a very pleasant meal.

The following two pictures are from the Boyce Thompson Arboretum of the Southwest. It's a huge cactus garden for the most part. Unfortunately, I had the camera set on SMALL so these are not high-res photos. Drat. But you get the idea.

This last photo was taken coming back from Payson. I held a little video camera for the ride back and ran it until the battery gave out. We'll see what David uploads to YouTube later and I'll link to it.

That's all for now.

Dieting and other stuff

2010-04-23T18:25:00.003-05:00

This dieting is an interesting adventure. Once I get over the idea that I MUST eat everything in sight and I DESERVE it, not eating too much actually feels good.

Before I started my diet, I sometimes had coughing spells I couldn't stop. I would occasionally even cough until I threw up. I found out from my doctor that, rather than post-nasal drip (which I sometimes still have), I have GERD.

Many nerves are in the lower esophagus. Some of these nerves are stimulated by the refluxed acid, and this stimulation results in pain (usually heartburn). Other nerves that are stimulated do not produce pain. Instead, they stimulate yet other nerves that provoke coughing. In this way, refluxed liquid can cause coughing without ever reaching the throat! In a similar manner, reflux into the lower esophagus can stimulate esophageal nerves that connect to and can stimulate nerves going to the lungs. These nerves to the lungs then can cause the smaller breathing tubes to narrow, resulting in an attack of asthma.

GERD is aggravated not just by spicy food but by putting too much food into the stomach as well as being overweight, which doesn't leave much room for the stomach. I started a regular regimen of omeprazole and began eating Tums Smoothies like candy every time I had a coughing fit. After 3 months, I've cut way back on the Tums because I cough much less.

The side benefit is the diet. I had already decided I needed to lose weight. I looked at a video of myself doing a tai chi form and didn't recognize that fat lady with the gray hair. Yuck. And, my biggest pants no longer fastened. DINGDINGDING. Time to take it off.

Before the diet, I would eat because I thought I was hungry. I think (totally unscientific thought) the GERD was triggering a nerve that said I needed to do something to stop the icky feeling in my gut.

Now, with a stomach that is much less full, I don't really feel hungry. If I think I do, I chew a little sugarless gum (not much because of the laxative side-effect) or drink more ice water. When I do feel hungry, it's usually time to eat anyway.

And, best of all, I'm down 13 lbs. and one pants size. Goal: another 37 lbs. by Christmas.

Oh and I'm finally knitting up Ruby's yarn. Ruby was a lovely golden brown alpaca. She is becoming my first knit sweater since I became a yarn snob and learn a better way to make the stitches. Pictures to come.

Oooooffff

2010-02-28T08:53:00.003-06:00

After two weeks of dieting (yes, I know that's not very long), we went out with friends for dinner last night. Today I'm enjoying (?) a mild case of food hangover.

Years ago I would go on a crash diet every January to prepare for the skimpy clothes of summer. I'd only count calories and limited myself to 800 per day, Monday through Friday. Saturdays and Sundays I could eat however much I wanted.

My current diet is similar, but I have a 1500 calorie limit and am averaging about 1000 per day. I'm calculating the fat, fiber, carb, and sodium amounts but not working too hard to control them. Same schedule of dieting M-F with weekends free.

Once I replace the battery in my scale, I'll start tracking weight.

Who is that fat lady?

2010-02-24T22:34:00.002-06:00

So far, in a week and a half, I’ve unofficially lost about 8 pounds. Instead of “Desperately Seeking Susan,” I’m desperately seeking myself. I’m in here somewhere trying to get out.

When I could no longer do tai chi chuan without my bulging stomach getting in the way, I got annoyed with my weight, but I wasn’t willing to stop eating all the yummy foods available to me.

When I started really having trouble getting my pants to close, I wasn’t yet willing to stop eating.

When I found out that my nagging, hacking cough is the result of GER (Gastroesophageal Reflux—I don’t think it’s GERD yet) because partially digested food/vapors backing up into my esophagus were triggering nerves shared with my trachea, causing my trachea to think I couldn’t breathe, well, I decided I really had to do something about it. Too much fat in the gut area leaves too little room in the abdomen for those important things, like organs.

So, I’m using the Calorie Counter app on my cell phone (I could just as easily use the little calorie/carb book I found at home under a stack of other things) to count calories, carbs, fat, sodium, and fiber. I’m trying to stay below 1500 calories (succeeded all but one day), 15 grams of fat (I have yet to come anywhere close to that amount—no Alli for me), and 2400 mg of sodium (I missed that mark twice but I’m out of Jolly Time Better Butter popcorn now) per day.

To keep me on track, all I have to do is look at the videos David took of Sifu and me doing the 2-person form. I don’t really recognize that fat lady in the movies. She isn’t someone I want to be.

Check back next month (or sooner) for an update.

Southern California, 2010, Part Deux

2010-01-25T19:28:00.008-06:00

This is the pier at Oceanside, California. There were surf warnings over the weekend.

The surfers were happy. We watched several of them playing around. They were all wearing wet suits. Air temperature 60-63 F. Water temp, unknown.

This is a view from part way out onto the pier. There's a cute little cafe called Ruby's that is sort of a 50s style eatery on the end of the pier. We just had dessert but their salads and burgers looked delightful.

Along the pier there were a couple pelicans resting on the railings. We could get amazingly close.

Walking back from the pier I spotten a McDonald's that isn't open. Maybe it's a weekend or summer thing.

Southern California, 2010

2010-01-25T19:09:00.004-06:00

SQUIRREL!

Knitting is allowed on the plane. This is another NORO Silk Garden 1x1 scarf. I may have it finished by the time we return from California.

David has relatives and business here in Carlsbad/Oceanside/Vista so I tagged along with him. It's a balmy 60 F.

More Socks

2009-08-25T18:49:00.004-05:00

These are made from Punk Junkie yarn gifted to me by my buddy Betty. I knit the body of the socks in k1p1. While making them, they decided they were Sifu's birthday gift this year.

The green socks were knit from Knit Picks Esssential™ Ivy Kettle Hand-Dyed Yarn (also a gift from Betty) using the cauchy pattern found in Sock Innovation created by cookie a (that's her name)(honest). It's a great book with all sorts of really valuable information including a formula for making the heel flap turn.

The sock on the right is a "plain vanilla" sock ala the Yarn Harlot's book, Knitting Rules. What I like about the plain vanilla sock is that it's just knits. I made a pair, two-at-a-time, toe-up on a magic loop (60 in. size US2) in just two weekends and about 5 evenings. I always wondered how long it would take.

Now, if Hoffman would just use something besides really sharp tiny gravel bits in their parking lot so I wouldn't get them into my shoes and chew through my socks (two pairs already--I want to learn something besides holding the socks over a trash barrel and saying "darn, darn, darn).

David's sox are finally done

2009-07-26T21:50:00.004-05:00

David's sox started modestly enough. Toe up, two-at-a-time 100 stitches on a 60" magic loop size US1.

I started these in December of 2008. Since I have a day job, I wasn't able to make as much progress as I'd have liked. He was (sort of) patiently waiting for me to finish them.

They are just a little bit loose. I hand washed them but I think once around in his front-loader washer will bring them down just a little bit. These next two photos are more accurate colorwise.

Thanks for modeling them David!

New Ride

2009-07-21T06:45:00.003-05:00

These lilies grow by our deck at the campground and are always so pretty.

And if you aren't on Facebook and haven't seen all the photos there, here's Sunny!

And the red lilies.

San Antonio, Texas - Part Two

2009-07-12T16:47:00.005-05:00

Along the River Walk in San Antonio, there are a lot of ducks and this very interesting Black-Crowned Night Heron.

Remember the Alamo! We took a nice tour and listened to some history of a battle that could not be won but fought by men who truly believed in the cause.

The King William Historic District is an area just south of downtown with a couple dozen really big mansions. I took a lot of photos but am only showing the niftiest.

Click the photos to embiggen and see the great details in each picture. The people who built these homes truly were craftsmen.

This one was restored as a museum and we could have toured if we'd only been there half an hour sooner. We didn't feel like waiting another two hours for the next tour.

This is a more modest home that has a black lava rock chimney. Amazing.

Just look at the brickwork detail.

San Antonio, Texas - River Walk

2009-07-03T12:01:00.003-05:00

San Antonio is HOT this time of year. It was 103-4 a couple days in a row. While David was off at the convention center for the ASSE convention, I wandered quite a bit.

River Walk is a loop of water below street level in downtown San Antionio. It is mostly restaurants, but there are a few shops as well. Even a CVS. There are several little bridges to get from one side to the other.

You can hear these fellows singing and playing Mariachi as you walk along or dine.

We at lunch here one day.

This is one of the fountains along the walk.

There are boats used as taxis. You can also take a very entertaining 30-minute tour of the River Walk for less than $10.

Michelle Schmidt and I took a walk to the King William Historical District (photos in another blog). This is the walkway we took on the return trip.

Now it's time to go. It's the Fourth of July and I'm going to find a swimming pool and tomorrow there's roast pig.

Stuff of spring

2009-05-03T19:50:00.005-05:00

Betty and I attended the Land O' Lakes District spring contest in Steven's Point, Wisconsin. Because photos are not allowed during the contest, I don't have much to show. And because of a failure in communication with a fellow at work, I had to take work with me. I put in enough hours to make up for not being at the office Friday. Anyway, there are these.

What does "nuclear free zone" mean for a convent?

Skunk Cabbage -- Not smelly yet. Just odd looking:

Tilted Kilt Lager:

On the needles -- Cauchy socks:

Ah, Spring.

2009-04-24T11:42:00.007-05:00

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away... .

OK, here in Minnesota about 20 years ago, I used to take off work on my birthday, April 1st, to go to Taylor's Falls for a hike. I haven't been able to do that since then because it's always been way too cold and icky. Winter has moved at least one month into spring. Actually, I think all our months, weather-wise, have moved one month later.

So yesterday, when the weather was predicted to be in the 80s, and since I'm being forced to not work (no pay--they call it a furlough and say it's better than being laid off), I drove to Taylor's Falls. Actually, I went to the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River to Interstate Park.

These might be anenomies.
I gave my flower books to Ben and Steph so I can't look them up.
The white ones look like wild strawberries.

Ah, I love the natural pine smell of the forest floor in the warmth of the day.

These are the ones that look more like strawberries.

Lake O' the Dalles Trail on the SE side.

A view of the river.

A pothole.

I first walked up the Ravine Trail. The map says it's only .5 miles long. For someone who hasn't been hiking lately, and who is just a little over weight, I thought I was going to die from a heart attack. When I saw the 260 feet rise notation on the map, I felt better about myself.

From the top of the Ravine Trail, I turned south west on the Skyline Trail. (I'd wanted to walk the Meadow Valley Trail but it's under water. Actually, the picnic tables just north of the parking lot were in an inch or so of marshy water. And I forgot my hip waders.) Anyway the Skyline Trail is about 1.6 miles and mostly down a very gentle slope. The only green things visible are the flowers I photographed.

Digital photography has given me the option of taking enough shots to be sure to get one or two good ones. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the camera to focus on what I want to take a picture of when it's in macro mode.

Skyline Trail ended in the Pines Group Camp area. After an outhouse stop (I know, TMI), I hiked a trail that parallels the Eagle Peak Trail but instead of going up it goes down further to the South Campground. I came out on the south end of the campground. Turning back north east, I hiked to the Camp Interstate Shelter where I had my lunch.

From there I headed to the Lake O' the Dalles Trail and walked the south eastern side of the lake. After my afternoon snack and general laziness reading my book, I drove up to the Pothole Trail to do some more relaxing. I thought about knitting but couldn't bring myself to do more than one round.

Around 3:30 p.m. I drove into Taylor's Falls and had some chocolate almond fudge ice cream with a cone.

On the way home, I thought I'd stop at the little bar/restaurant in Marine on St. Croix. Unfortunately, it is closed with a For Sale sign on the door. Too bad. It was a great place to stop, especially when riding the Gold Wing, for a brew and a burger.

One thing nice about this time of year is there are few bugs. There were some black flies when I first started out but they disappeared along the Skyline Trail and never returned. No mosquitoes. Also, no kids and no dogs. I think I only saw about 5 cars.

Being a loaner I like that sort of hike. In my humble opinion, there are too many people in the world and most of them are next to me most of the time. No offense intended. That's just the way I am.

Sorry I took so long

2009-04-08T21:13:00.006-05:00

I learned some time ago to throw my own birthday parties. This year was a visit to Jensen's Supper Club in Eagan. The supper club is a restaurant format that has never, ever gone out of style. And Jensen's does it well. The food is excellent, the service attentive and prompt, the atmosphere conducive to conversation. I can't say enough good things about it. (Hint: Their martinis and gimlets are very generous so plan to spend a fair amount of time sobering up before driving home.)

While gifts were not requested nor totally expected, they were welcome and not refused. This is one of two pairs of lovely sock yarn that Betty got for me. Ivy Kettle Hand-Dyed Essential (tm) (75% Superwash Merino Wool and 25% Nylon). Uber soft.

The next is the Bordeaux colorway of the same yarn.

Here are CJ and Sandy, friends I've known since the mid 1980s. That's Ben on the left.This lovely lady is my tai chi chuan teacher, Sifu Phyllis Calph. I've been with her for 16 wonderful years.

Here's my small cut prime rib with a bit of creamed spinach and some mashed potatoes. Very, very good. When I said rare, they did rare. Yum.

Betty is on the far left, then Stephanie and Ben.

No birthday dinner is complete without a very chocolate birthday cake and whipped cream on top.

Back row: CJ, David, Ben, Stephanie. Front row: Sandy, Betty, me, Sifu and her husband Ed.
It's good to have so many wonderful friends. Unfortunately, Nikki couldn't make it as she was out of town.

Typical of Minnesota, the next day was snowy. This was taken at 9 a.m.

David had left the camera on an odd setting, but I think this really speaks to the feeling of this sort of weather on April 2.

It took so long to get these up because my 4 GB card couldn't be read by my old card reader. Had to go get a new reader.

Calms my nerves

2009-03-12T19:24:00.003-05:00

Misti Alpaca: 80% Baby Suri Alpaca, 20% Silk
Hand Paint Baby Sury Silk - Sugar Sand colorway
From Paradise Fibers

Click to embiggen.

Viking Knitted Designs

2009-02-26T20:09:00.005-06:00

Not much blogging lately. David "invited" me to join Facebook and I couldn't exactly say, "No." What it means is there's one more online place to keep track of. But it's also kind of fun.

Anyway, last weekend Betty and I went to Yellow Dog Knitting in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to take a class from Elsebeth Lavold. (No link here. I don't think she has a website. Google her and you'll get links to places to buy her many yarns and books.)

This photo, since I didn't ask for permission to post her photo, is of her back. It shows off the lovely vest she was wearing. Very simple design. It ties under the arms and has a split front. The photo also shows a sample of the types of things we were learning in the class.

Here is my class project about half way through. Once we learned how to follow her charts and how to make cables without using a cable needle or cable hook (not nearly as difficult as it first seemed...just a little scary), then we learned how to turn a 90-degree corner.

There were actually two classes, the second of which didn't end until nearly 5 p.m. So Betty and I asked for recommendations and were told to try Stella Blues. Their website is kind of fun. Anyway, I had the Guinness Ribs. Like the Jack Daniels barbeque sauce you get at the chain restaurant but made with Guinness. Very good. I took half home and ate that Sunday afternoon.

Here's my class project after the corner has been turned. Cool, huh? Elsebeth, when questioned about Celtic Knotwork. She sighed and said that all of these designs originated around the fourth or fifth centuries and can be traced to Scandinavia, the British Isles, Western Europe, and even as far South as Western Africa. She did say that the Irish "are somewhat insular" about "their" designs. Then she smiled and went on with her teaching.

Interesting view of the back. You can hardly see the purl stitches...they so thoroughly rise to the top, as it were. This swatch is about 3-inches wide on size US 7 needles.

Yellow Dog Knitting had some bulky yarn on sale so I bought a couple huge balls of it. These are size US 17 needles. The pattern portion of this sample is 7-inches wide.

And here is the back side.

So who wants this one?

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T14:54:00.004-06:00

This is what the view from my desk looked like Wednesday-Friday this week.

David gave me one long-stemmed red rose for each of the 10 years we've been hanging out together. Aren't they pretty?

On the needles

2009-01-21T21:54:00.002-06:00

These went up in the reverse order of what I'd planned. Something must have changed in the settings. Oh well.

This is a pair of socks I'm making from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn - Black Watch - 304.
It's from Jimmy Beans Wool in Reno, Nevada. I have bought more than one colorway from Jimmy Beans and their service is fast and accurate. I love this yarn. It has a great finger feel as you're knitting it and it washes well because it's 80 % superwash wool, 20% nylon.

I'd nearly finished the pair and wanted to wear them to a party the Saturday before Christmas. It's a fancy party at a very elegant home built by the owner/architect. The floors are white bamboo so I prefer to take off my snowy boots (and it WAS snowy that evening). These were warm and comfy. I put in a "lifeline" before binding off loosely so that I could un-bind off and begin knitting again. I may end up with knee socks, there's so much yarn left of the two skeins.

I finally consented to make socks for David. Here's the start. I usually knit my own socks on US 2 needles and put in 64 stitches. I'm making David's on US 1 needles and there are just over a hundred stitches in each sock. I prefer to knit two at a time so they match. The yarn is Trekking pro natura. 75% New Wool, 25% bamboo. I hope I have enough to get past his ankles.

This last is a start on another Lacey Keyhole Scarf. I bought the kit from Double Ewe Yarn Shop. They had a table at the Minnesota Knitters Guild meeting in November. I made one is reds/browns that my son wants to use on his photography models. He hasn't taken/posted any yet so I'm interested in what he will do with it.

That's all for now. Gotta get to bed.

More of this and that

2009-01-16T07:02:00.003-06:00

Brrrrrr. It's -21 F outside with wind chills between -30 and -40 F. I'm glad I park in a heated garage.

Here's my Christmas cactus.

It is more than 30 years old and hasn't bloomed for the last several. It was worth the wait. As you can see in this image, it has bark-covered trunks. There aren't a lot of blooms but, as I said, it's the first time in 12+ years.

Knitting: Yes, I still knit. I've fallen for the Noro 1x1 two skein scarf. The first image is made of Noro Silk Garden in 84L and 245. The colors are very bright. I made this one most recently. 45% silk, 45% kid mohair, 10% wool. I never thought I could wear mohair so I'm glad I tried this one. It doesn't itch at all.

This second one was made first using Noro wool. I didn't keep the wrappers so I can't tell you the numbers. I'm amazed at how soft this one is. It's 100% wool and is very scratchy in the knitting process. The yarn sticks together and that's really annoying.

Professionals

2009-01-09T22:02:00.006-06:00

All the photos used in our spec sheets, catalogs, and brochures are taken by Terry Anderson Photography. These guys have been taking photos in their studios and on locations for years. The photos below, taken with my T-Mobile Slide, show the process of photographing some items we will be selling in the next few months.

The first photo shows Rollie and Nathan attaching the enclosure to the pendant arm. Myron (I'd previously typed his name wrong. Sorry Myron.) is standing to the left waiting for them to finish. As a frame of reference, Nathan is 6' 2" (or is he 6' 4"...?) so this item is very tall.

Jeff has moved into the mix to ask what needs to be the focus (pun intended) of the shot. (Click the image to "embiggen." The image will be surprisingly good when you do that.)

In the back is a sheet of heavy white paper on a rod hanging high enough to block out the background. We're in a warehouse here. There are photo lights in the black umbrella looking things. The one on the right has a 4 x 6 sheet of vellum in a frame to further soften the light. Jeff is holding a black foam-core board behind the object to change the lighting. In this picture the subject is a small wall-hanging device for computers that has been bolted to a shipping crate.

Below is the object of the above photo. The packing crate has a white foam-core board between the crate and the item they are photographing. All our photos are outlined and the background removed so the images can be placed against any background for printing.

Back to the first object to be photographed (sorry, I put them in in the wrong order and don't feel like re-arranging them). Nathan decided he wanted a photograph of the device...from above.

The tripod Jeff's Hasselblad camera is attached to has extensions on its extensions. They ran it up above the pendant arm and Jeff climbed up on a step ladder to peer through the eyepiece.

Having clicked on these photos myself, I'm rather surprised how good they are. The lens is 1/4" in diameter and almost always smeared with gunk. It's not too easy to wipe clean but I tried. So they aren't exactly focused but you get the idea.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T19:19:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas, one and all. This is a photo taken by Dave V. on the street just west of his house. It was snowing enough that day/evening to make attendance at the poshest party in my lifetime really slim. Fortunately, there were just enough people to supply 3-4 appetizers, 3-4 main dishes, and 3-4 deserts. It was a lovely night.

Because of all the co-pays getting my new shoulder, I chose to knit presents this year. I put them all into a bag and had everyone pick what they liked best from the bunch.

This is my daughter-in-law, Stephanie, wearing an Alpaca Glitter scarf. It is a simple k1p1 scarf of two different colors. Click the photo to embiggen to see the colors. It looks nice on her, don't you think?

This is Steph's brother, Paul, sort of wearing my favorite of the hats. It is Calm wool with Noro every two rows. I like the way the black sets off the color changes. Noro, for those of you who don't know, is hand-spun and hand dyed in Japan and lovely once it's been washed. Please, do NOT put this (or any of the other knits) into your washing machine. You will be very disappointed with the outcome...shrinkage and feltage.

This is Heather's mother (Steph's Grandmother) Gladys. She chose the richly colored Alpaca Boucle scarf. It is VERY soft. Hand wash, please. She looks so pretty in it.

And this is John, Gladys' hubby and Steph's Grandpa. He has the more pastel-colored Alpaca Boucle scarf. He looks down right dapper.

This is Richard, Steph's other brother. He chose the Shades-of-Green Malabrigo Wool scarf. Nice job modeling, Richard. (It's for your neck.)

Here's Heather with the Alpaca bulky hand-dyed scarf. I knit it on size 19 needles so that if she wants it could be worn as a shawl; a drafty shawl. It ended up being quite long.

Last, but not the least of the gifts I knitted that were chosen, is a slinky scarf of Malabrigo wool from Uruguay. It is a lace pattern that Ben thinks would be good on a model. Ben is a photographer who occasionally takes pictures of comely ladies.

Betty chose a reddish Malabrigo Scarf for herself. I have a couple more hats at home, one of which I'm definitely keeping for myself.

I'm really getting into this knitting thing. A friend asked how I found the time. Easy: compulsivity. I figure it takes 10-15 hours for a hat. Maybe twice that for a scarf. I'm not a fast knitter but I'm getting faster. I hope everyone enjoys their gifts.

Thoughts while sitting at my computer

2008-12-16T22:25:00.001-06:00

Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my computer cruising the web, I feel like I'm omniscient.

om·ni·scient
Function: adjective
Etymology: New Latin omniscient-, omnisciens, back-formation from Medieval Latin omniscientia
Date: circa 1604
1 : having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight
2 : possessed of universal or complete knowledge
from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omniscient

It was always my dream that when I died and went to heaven, I'd be able to sit at a TV/Computer monitor and tune into different times and places to see what "really" happened. How did the Chicago fire "really" start? Was there anyone else involved in the Kennedy assassination?

At this point in time, we can google almost anything and anyone. We can use Google Earth to look at nearly the entire world. Some places in the world, we can even see things from "street level" and look at buildings and sometimes people.

We can look at what the weather is like anywhere, too.

News is almost instantaneous. Just 150 years ago, news was hard to come by. A hundred years ago, telegraphs made news more timely, but we still had to wait until it was printed. Radio brought the news into our living rooms. TV brought the news with pictures every evening. Now we have so many channels with news to choose from, all with a slightly different slant on the news, that it is increasingly difficult to know who to believe.

A few years ago a friend of mine came back to us with the very same information shared a week earlier by someone in our peer group, which my friend had pointedly ignored at the time. He now said it must be true because he had found it on the internet.

That scares me.

Christmas used to be fun

2008-12-07T16:44:00.003-06:00

When I was a kid, there was all the hype, sparkle, and promise. When I was really little, my parents always had an open house on Christmas Eve. Charlie and Ruth and Eleanor and Hubert would come. They were cool people and nice to me. My Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Marvin would show up later in the evening after they'd visited with Dorothy's family.

Uncle Ted MacMichael (not really my uncle) came for several years. He was great. I don't even know if he had kids of his own. Anyway, he was a singer with the Merry Macs. Google them, if you want. I felt really special around him.

Mom would boil shrimp the day before and chill them with lemon juice. She had real sea shells, large clams of some sort, kind of cream/beige/pink in color and about 4 inches across. On Christmas Eve day she'd mix up a sauce recipe she got from Ricardo's in downtown Chicago back in the late '40s or '50s. I still have the original hand-written recipe Chef Ricardo wrote on the menu. Anyway, it was sort of like 1,000 island dressing. She'd put the shrimp in the shells, pour the dressing over them, and sprinkle garlic flavored bread crumbs on the tops. Everything would go under the broiler for a little while (I'm not giving away the entire recipe here) till the bread crumbs were brown and the shrimp were hot.

I don't remember if anyone else brought food. Mom would have pitted black olives (I still can't get enough of them) and creamed herring (yum).There was other stuff but these are the foods that stand out. Oh, and we'd have egg nog. I have Mom's egg nog bowl and cups. It was always yummy. I don't know if it came in a bottle or carton like it does today. I don't know if she made it herself. When I was really little, Mom was a great cook.

Things changed as I got older. Mom would drink more. Everyone would drink more. Charlie and Ruth moved to Florida. Eleanor and Hubert moved to California. Uncle Ted went to California, too, I think. The ones we could always count on were Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Marvin. And Debbie. She was/is five years younger and I. Or, the way I saw it, I was five years Older than she was.

I don't want to go into the details of why things stopped feeling magical at Christmas. It just did.

As an adult I grew to hate the fall. I'd spend hours in the garden over the summer making vegetables and flowers grow. In the fall, everything would die or grow dormant. Days would grow short...and cold. In the 1970s and '80s at least we'd get enough snow to "make the season bright" so to speak.

Now, I don't have a garden to die. Just a tomato plant and some ratty petunias on my balcony. On the bright side, my 35-year-old Christmas cactus has one flower on it. It's the first in a couple years. Its cold out and we have just enough snow to cover the grass. It gets dark early. It's cold out. I am glum. Sorry.

In the past several years I've turned into a hermit. More than four people is a crowd. I don't like crowds any more. I've decided not to go attend Christmas with the extended family this year. I have nothing against them. That's not it. I'm not sure what I want but being part of a crowd isn't it. And David won't be around. He's going to visit his mother in Arizona.

I don't have much money this year because of the extra costs involved with my new shoulder. But I have Stash...so I've been knitting up a storm. I'd intended to start after my shoulder surgery in August on Christmas gifts but I couldn't really knit for a couple months. I'm way behind.

Enough whining. Back to my needles.

Three-Month Checkup

2008-11-21T18:16:00.003-06:00

Thursday afternoon I had my three-month checkup and an X-ray of my new shoulder. The socket, being plastic, is next-to-impossible to see. But I could see enough to understand how delicate the prosthetic is and why I'm being told never to hammer, box, fall on or anything else to that arm that would have "impact." It could much-to-easily be dislodged.

The humerus has a bone build up just below the stem of it's prosthetic where the bone flexed a little too much. The bone is more flexible than the titanium stem so this is a normal event just after surgery. It's all healed but the bulge is pretty obvious.

I still don't have the strength or range of motion I want but after only 3 months I think I'm doing quite well.

Just in case you wanted to know.

The Noro Scarf

2008-11-17T22:37:00.004-06:00

As Stephanie Pearl-McPhee said, it's all about the scarf. Actually, it's not the lovely softer version of Noro here. It's the plain old itchy 100% wool Noro. I wore it for a couple hours this evening and just can't wait to give it away.

She likes it!

2008-11-14T18:33:00.003-06:00

I knitted this scarf for my cousin Debbie in Georgia. It is made of Noro sock yarn (I forget the colorway, sorry).

The pattern is basically:
Cast on in multiples of 5.
Knit a couple rows in garter stitch (knit each row).
Then,
k5, *yo, k2tog, k3*, across, k5
k5, purl to last five sts, k5
Each successive pair of rows, move the pattern over one stitch to the right.

If you have questions, let me know.

Debbie, I'm so glad you like it. You deserve it.

Wish List

2008-11-11T19:10:00.003-06:00

I understand completely. Considering that my gifts to others will be somewhat meager this year due to the added expense of my shoulder surgery, it would be tacky to post a wish list for Christmas gifts for myself. But, what the heck, I'm going to do it anyway.

I figure, it would save my friends and loved ones money if they just purchase gift certificates at a couple of my favorite yarn sites. When added together, I can easily add to my stash. And gosh, you could conceivably get it back in a year or so in knitted form.

Of course, if you already have something purchased, that's OK, too.

Hoffman Halloween

2008-11-02T19:52:00.004-06:00

This is the part of the Hoffman Marketing team...the part that has serious fun. On the left is Rita dressed as the Devil. Next to her is Toni, as the perfect counterpoint, an Angel. Third from the left is Angie as a gorgeous Cruella de Vil. Then comes Greg as Captain Azora. Andy is dressed as Martha Stewart in her gardening garb. And last, on the right is the resident "tai chi master."

Another look at Captain Azora.

Click on Angie to embiggen.
David says my camera's ISO setting is wrong so the flash overpowers the photo but not to use the flash creates grainy stuff. Oh well. Next year.

Barbershop Harmony Society

2008-11-01T06:52:00.006-05:00

Last weekend (October 24 and 25, 2008) was the Fall Competition of the Land o' Lakes Division of the Barbershop Harmony Society. It was held at the Performing Arts Center in Appleton, Wisconsin. Friday evening there were 17 quartets competing for the top 10 spots for the final competition Saturday evening. Saturday during the day 17 choruses competed for the district championship and the chance to travel to the International Competition this summer.

As usual, I went with Betty. She takes notes and I should. I didn't post this right away and wish I had because the details like names have faded. First Tony Hillerman passed away and I had to say something about it and then, because I sit at a computer all day every day, coming home to do more of that is, well, not appealing.

This first is of a chorus that did a great job in the costume and acting department as well as very good singing.

Our favorite, the Great Northern Union (GNU) won the contest with very high scores. I figured out how to turn off the lights that come on when I take photographs fairly late in the day, but I haven't yet figured out how to take good pictures on stage. The previous picture came out OK because they were closer to the front of the stage and multi-colored. The GNU were wearing black and so the white of their faces washed out. I could have zoomed in but wanted to show there were 70 men on stage.

The Midwest Vocal Express, Greendale, Wisconsin, gave the GNU a real "run for their money." They are known for their skits and this year was no exception. They were dressed as penguins and did a wonderful job.

This is the part of the skit where they were lamenting that having pizza delivered is just not a good idea.
What I want to know is why isn't the UPS guy covered with ice?

The quartet finals were also very close. There were 3 quartets I thought could have won. I'm glad I'm not a judge. Here's a photo of the judges. We were sitting in the second row because we registered at the spring contest.

I zoomed in on the GNU to show the twins. They don't look as much alike as they used to. They are the second and third from the right in front in this photo. One sings with the Happiness Emporium quartet and we think he's letting his hair show the gray so he'll fit it in the other three older fellows. He also weighs a bit more than his brother. At first I thought it was his brother who sang with the Happiness Emporium but that's because when I first heard that group, 12 or so years ago, he was thinner and didn't have gray hair. Betty set me straight on that one.

I put the yellow smiley face on this photo so as not to embarrass the singer. We thought maybe somebody should have told him about his hair and fixed it for him.

Considering this is barbershop music, you'd think there'd be more handlebar mustaches. Out of the 690 men on stage I counted 4 period-appropriate mustaches. I liked this fellow's.

The out-going quartet champions from 2007 were Vocality. They put on a great performance while the scores were being tallied.

When we weren't busy watching the stage, we knitted. It doesn't look like I accomplished much, but my stole is 20 inches wide. Betty went from the marker to the left up the ribbing of her sock.

At first, I thought going here would be a fun idea. But in the evening, there were many smokers hanging out on the sidewalk in front of the place and it stopped appealing to me.

Saturday night's restaurant was Victoria's. The food was plentiful and delicious. We each ordered a slab of ribeye steak and a platter of pasta. They have a list of maybe 20 different types of pasta you can choose from.
Here's Betty's:

This is my steak and seafood pasta.

Ordinarily you'd expect a couple cups of noodles but it was a platter of noodles. We brought half of it to put into the trunk of the car.

I only bought one skein of full-priced yarn. It is hand-dyed silk and yummy. I also scored some $3 skeins of feltable wool for ... something. I shopped the stores along College Ave and was really disappointed. There are tons of bars and empty storefronts and very few shops actually open, at least within walking distance of the hotel. The fall trip has more than once been Christmas shopping time. Oh well.

So, now I have to learn more about my camera. One thing it does if you use the flash is overpower the photo and wash it out. So I sometimes don't use it, as on the last few. As a result, they end up grainy. Gotta work on that.

Tony Hillerman

2008-10-28T19:07:00.003-05:00

I need to interrupt my irregularly unscheduled blogging to remember one of my favorite authors. Tony Hillerman passed away Sunday, October 26, 2008. He wrote 18+ books. They were mystery stories for the most part, written in Navajo country. The "legendary" Leutenant Joe Leaphorn and Sargent Jim Chee were cops in the Navajo Tribal Police. Joe Leaphorn was a skeptic regarding the Navajo spiritual ways. Jim Chee was working to become a shaman.

I've read all but the last book, The Shape Shifter. One of the things I do when I go into a book store is wander to the mystery section to see if he has anything new. I didn't see this one the last time I was out. I'll really miss reading them and may just have to read them all over again.

Perhaps more movies will be made from these books. PBS produced Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, and A Thief of Time. Adam Beach played Jim Chee; Wes Studi made a perfect Joe Leaphorn.

Good journey, Tony Hillerman. You will be missed by many.

k. d. lang

2008-10-19T22:03:00.005-05:00

Wow! What a concert! It was worth every penny I paid for it, and I paid several. k. d. lang has a beautiful voice and a powerful set of lungs. She has great control over volume and sings well whether it's a quiet piece or she's belting the notes out there.

With apologies to Jeri Heiden, who took the photo, I couldn't help but steal it to put here.

My first impression when ms. lang strode onstage was, she's really put on a few pounds. But then, so have I. I soon forgot about it as she began to entertain us.

She had five great guys backing her up, a fellow from Brazil, a fellow she said was French, the drummer, base player, and someone she called the "man child" who was three years old when she cut her first album. Since there was no printed program, I don't remember any of their names. They were, however, outstanding. The base player would switch between upright acoustic base and electric. I love the upright base sound.

She sang three of my favorites from Ingenue which came out in, I think she said, 1994. It was my first exposure to k. d. lang and I love every song on that album. She did a very interesting "girl dance" when she sang Miss Chatelaine. It was quite comedic but I think that was intentional. She also sang A Kiss to Build a Dream On from the album she recorded with Tony Bennett.

I can't say enough good things about this concert. O'Shaughnessy Auditorium at St. Kate's in St. Paul has great acoustics. We were smack in the center of the fifth row of the balcony. David and I had a great time.

Warning to my co-worker Duane: I'll be singing along to k. d. lang tomorrow at work and probably throughout the week. I'll try to sing softly.

Sneek Peek

2008-10-12T19:45:00.001-05:00

This and that...

2008-10-11T21:10:00.005-05:00

Sorry this photos is a little fuzzy. My cell phone doesn't take the best pictures and I left my real camera at home this week. This is a maple tree outside one of the buildings at Hoffman. I used to work on the second floor and in the fall you could watch the leaves turn from the conference room window.

When my microwave quit and exuded a decidedly acrid burnt-electronics smell, I thought I'd not be able to lift it much less put a new one in its place. I was wrong. I waited a couple more weeks and have now enough muscle power to do some lifting. This is my new GE 1.1 cubic foot nuker. I tested it. It works. Well, it makes water hot, anyway.

I decided to go to church this afternoon rather than tomorrow. Pastor Bob (Eagle Brook Church) has begun a new series on bible study and how important it is. It's called Awaken, but I guess you could tell that from the picture.

After church I went to Carbone's Ristorante in Circle Pines. I've driven past there many times but never stopped. I had shrimp alfredo and a yummy chocolate "tuxedo" cheesecake for dessert. I'd say it's worth going back again.

That's it for now.

Chinatown Tai Chi Center

2008-10-08T21:33:00.003-05:00

This is my tai chi instructor, Sifu Phyllis Calph, of Chinatown Tai Chi Center. I've been studying under her tutelage for over 15 years and see no reason to stop. She's a great teacher who holds herself to the principles of tai chi and is always encouraging to her students. (Click to embiggen the photos.)

This is our school. When the economy is down, so is membership in the school. I guess for some people, a martial art is a luxury. Not for me. This is a necessity. I've used Sifu Calph's school to treat my occasional bouts of depression. It has kept my joints lubricated so that my artificial shoulders can regain nearly total range of motion. I have friends here that I will have for many years to come.

Now all we need to do is get more students. This is a wonderful martial art. As with any other learning experience, we all get exactly what we put into it. It's not easy but it's definitely fun.

LEAN Practices

2008-10-01T17:42:00.006-05:00

Where I work I am often amazed by the company's "lean" practices. For instance, consider the one-hour meeting about LEAN Office Tools, which was nothing more than telling us, repeatedly, again, that we shouldn't do things the customer isn't willing to pay for. (I should have stayed at my desk and kept working, but I didn't know that was an option.)

Then there's the United Way 2-week blitz. Last week was the auction of many donated goods. I won two things, a bottle of wine from someone's wine collection and a gift for my son, so I'm not saying what it is.

Yesterday and today (the playoffs) and again on Friday (the finals) are the tug-of-war games. At Friday's event we can "bet" on which team wins. The money goes to United Way and the winning bet gets something like a day of extra vacation time.

Waiting for the games to start

Angie is the official videographer

More waiting

Muscles and art

PULL!

Anyway, it gave me an excuse to get up from my computer and do something very un-work-like.

(Shhhh. Don't tell our customers.)

Alpacas and Things

2008-09-28T19:28:00.005-05:00

Photos from the fall Minnesota Alpaca Farm Tour 2008. I won't bore you with a lot of words, except: aren't they cute?

Bravo and Betty

This is a movie showing them moving around.
Listen for a moment over the wind noise and you can hear them humming.

At the Applebees in Lakeville (where the house sirloin steak was inedible for all the gristle so they didn't make me pay for it), we came out to this very brightly colored car. (I painted out the license plate so as not to embarrass the owners.)

Yup! That's duct tape!

Politics

2008-09-18T06:56:00.002-05:00

I'm getting really, really tired of politicians telling me how bad the other guys are without really telling me how good they, themselves, are. Al Franken keeps talking about Norm Coleman's taking money he shouldn't and not giving it back. Norm Coleman keeps ranting about Al Franken's radio show content. I want to hear more about why I should vote for either one of them, not why I shouldn't.

The same thing goes for the presidential race. But that's for another blog. I have to get ready for work.

Hurricanes

2008-09-15T20:36:00.002-05:00

Hurricanes are a fact of life, even more so now with the rise in the Gulf water temperatures. My first reaction to people who chose not to evacuate was "Why did you stay? Quit complaining! It was your choice!" Some of the people who stayed behind are too stubborn or too stupid to understand what the consequences are and then they scream bloody murder when they find out.

But I realize as I read the news accounts from various sources that one big reason so many stayed is money. It costs money to get into your car and drive and it costs money, usually, to stay somewhere other than your own home. The extra cost after having evacuated once already for Gustav can be too much for a family.

To these people I suggest, "Stop complaining!" Stop complaining because it took rescuers so long to get to you. Stop complaining because you don't have any power to run your air conditioner or refrigerator. Stop complaining because you can't use your toilet. These things happen.

To the ones who are in shelters, again, "Stop complaining!" Perhaps you are only getting a small amount of water every few hours and a little peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat. Perhaps the folding cot you are sleeping on is uncomfortable. This isn't your home. It's a shelter. Things are supposed to be meager in shelters because of the sheer numbers of people needing assistance. I suspect a large percentage of people giving the assistance are volunteers. Give them a break.

Because of the increased number of hurricanes and their increased size and intensity, I say it's time for people to start thinking about living somewhere else. Somewhere farther inland and up the hill.

Living in New Orleans, for instance, below sea level, is just asking for problems. Living inland but still at sea level is still asking for trouble. I understand there's a lot of history to be lost by abandoning places like New Orleans or the many small towns along the gulf that have been there for a couple hundred years. But that history is in danger of being washed away anyway. Better to lose history than lives. Things can be replaced. People can't.

- - - - - - -

Sometimes I wonder if the earth is just getting back at us for trashing it. I read in the Discover magazine about all the trash in the oceans. There's a huge floating garbage dumb that circles the Pacific. I'm glad Jacques Cousteau isn't alive to see it. We have land fills containing poisonous trash. We have industrial sites that seep poisonous chemicals into our drinking water. We have nuclear waste that will never go away. We have trashed Mother Earth.

I think she's pissed and wants to wash us away like so much dirt on her hands.

Physical Therapy

2008-09-10T12:38:00.003-05:00

Apparently, Dr. Daniel Buss decided at some point to find and train up in his tradition of treatment a few physical therapists around the Twin Cities area. I met one of them yesterday, Rick Hjelm (pronounced Yelm). He is a very interesting and interested person to work with. He asks good questions about what I do for a living and about my martial art.

He tried a number of passive (meaning I didn't have to use my own muscles) exercises, only to find I could do them without difficulty or pain. He prescribed four exercises to do this week, a couple of which I've already aced. He explained why I shouldn't yet be trying for external rotation, especially with my palm up. Until the subscapularis tendon is firmly healed, I could damage it and delay the healing process. I forgot to ask about the biceps tendon and what I need to avoid.

But I go back next Tuesday morning, so I can ask him then.

Working is much less of a problem now. I still take Aleve every 8 hours. Sometimes it doesn't quite last 8 hours but I'm on a schedule (6 a.m., 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.) that fits my life so I don't take it early. I still take Vicodin when I go to bed, but I don't think I'll continue that past this week. We'll see how that goes.

The one problem is I still get really tired in the middle of the day. I try to eat well-balanced meals to avoid mid-afternoon droop. There's no way to take a nap at work and get away with it. I try not to nap when I get home because this makes falling asleep difficult at 10. Whine, whine, Merlot ... .

These are all expected problems that I am confident will go away soon.

Popcorn at the movies

2008-09-09T10:25:00.003-05:00

While driving to work this morning I heard on public radio the following discussion:

"McKenzie: OK, well, what the theaters are doing is walking you up your demand curve and charging you a high price for the first few ounces, then they're sort of walking you down. They know they can sell you more, but they've got to drastically lower the price on those marginal ounces.

"Jagow: Show us what you're talking about.

"McKenzie: OK, what I'm going to do is pour out the contents of a full tub of popcorn, the large. [sound of popcorn pouring out out of a tub] And then I'm going to take the medium bag and I'm going to pour it into the tub. [sound of popcorn pouring into a tub] And as you can see...

"Jagow: It overflows.

"McKenzie: It's on the floor.

"Jagow: So, why do people buy the large?

"McKenzie: Well, I think some of them think that they're getting more popcorn. But you also get the option of free refills. And there are some customers who will buy the tub and then on the way out of the theater ask for another refill ...

"Jagow: You're kidding.

"McKenzie: ... to take it home. And once you get two refills, you've got the price of the popcorn at the margin, down to less than 8 cents an ounce. But ...

"Jagow: That's a heck of a lot of popcorn.

"McKenzie: I have to warn you that if you get a tub, refill it twice and smother all three tubs with butter, you're going to be consuming the calories recommended for an adult male for three days."

[I admit, this is copied directly from their web page and violates all sorts of copyright laws, but I have at least given you a link to their page. Red text is my emphasis.]

As my grandmother used to say . . .

2008-09-06T19:16:00.002-05:00

"I'm some better." Working a full 8 hours is just too much. I plan to work a little bit this weekend so that, if I need to, I can leave work early once or twice next week I can.

The air is cool this weekend. Some friends at our campground had a "Finnegan" on their lot. There's a little statue, kind of like the one in the add for Travelocity or whatever that is, which they put on their deck. David and Bob burned brats and burgers; everyone else brought food to share. One estimate had 50 people there. Our camp is known for its food.

For those who want to know

2008-09-03T20:47:00.003-05:00

After only 2 days full-time at work, I ended the day in severe pain and exhausted. My arm and upper left back hurt and my left hand cramps. But when I got home, a vicodin took the edge off, after about 45 minutes. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Thanks for asking.

All shapes and sizes

2008-08-30T16:54:00.004-05:00

As I sit here on the deck of our park-model trailer at the co-op campground we belong to, I marvel and the variety of shapes and sizes in this small community.

Very few have "perfect" shapes; some are thin; some are not. A few have had bariatric surgery, and some of them have defeated it and gained back all the weight they had the surgery to lose. Some of them have lost the weight and kept it off by whatever methods they chose. One went on a severe calorie-counting plan and lost over 100 pounds. A couple years later, it looks like he's gained back about half of it.

Weight loss is definitely not an easy project. Our bodies have been hard-wired since we started walking upright (and probably before that) to eat when we can because you never know when there won't be any food available. Now that we live in an era of abundant food, much of it not even especially good for us, we still eat as if there's no tomorrow. To not eat excess calories takes effort. It is effort so many of us are not willing to make.

Last January I reached my own milestone in weight. We got back from a lovely week in Jamaica, the Christmas and New Year's holidays came and went, and I climbed onto my scale and was within a pound of 200 pounds! That was a shock.

I'm happy to say that I now weight 185 and have held it for the last couple weeks. My weight loss plan is simple. Fewer cookies, fewer cakes and pies, smaller portions, take some home if I eat out and eat it tomorrow. Yes, it has taken 8 months to lose 15 pounds, roughly 1.8 pounds per month. It could be faster but think of how easy it has been!

I know the times when I'm likely to eat extra sugary foods or foods with butter slathered on. So I've found other things to eat instead that are equally appealing to me. At my age I've learned the necessity of F-I-B-E-R. Fiber One (no they are not paying for this entry, but they should) has a lot of foods that taste good and have more fiber per serving than any other so-called healthy, whole-grain foods. I like their caramel cereal. It has the consistency of a Chex-like cereal but fewer calories. Their granola bars have only 140 calories but 9 grams of fiber. Yes, there's a fair amount of sugar, but that satisfies my sweet tooth and still there are only 140 calories.

I guess I just want to say that I'm serious about losing weight and gaining some stamina. I'm appalled that I can't walk as far as I used to and find it so difficult to climb stairs. Yes, I'm older, but I have a few older friends who have far less trouble than I. Yes, arthritis seems to run in my family, but I don't want to force myself to get new knees and hips. I've already got two bionic shoulders. If I can avoid getting anything else replaced, I really want to do that.

Let's see, my goal is to lose 50 pounds at least. I've lost 15 so that leaves 35. Hmmm. 35 lbs. / 1.8 lbs./mo. = 19.4 months. I can speed that up. I don't know if I will. But I won't stop.

Kung Fu Panda

2008-08-27T22:15:00.003-05:00

My friend Betty and I went to see Kung Fu Panda this evening and I'm exhausted. I noted an amazing example of absorbing the opponent's energy and turning it around against the opponent. It was a very good movie. Thanks for the recommendation.

Saw the doctor this afternoon. I only have to use the sling to rest my shoulder and should take it off as much as possible. I was even told I could sleep on my new shoulder, if it doesn't hurt too much. Yeah, right. The instruction to wear the sling at night is because some people sleep very heavily and toss and turn and end up with their arm in positions it's not ready for yet. I can't imagine surviving the pain that would cause. I start physical therapy on the 9th. I only will need 4-6 visits but I know I'll have "homework."

All in all, I'm pleased. I still feel pain (duh, after only 2 weeks, of course I feel pain) but I have the good stuff for night to sleep with and ibuprofen and ice during the day. I guess I'll be ready to drive in and work a full day or 4 next week. In the meantime, I'm still working from home. I have some of my work downloaded to my hard drive and discovered if I disconnect from vpn my computer works much faster. So if anyone from work reads this, that's why I'm not always on top of my Notes e-mail.

Remember, there is no secret ingredient.

Amazing, considering

2008-08-25T13:50:00.001-05:00

When I consider how rotten I felt yesterday, I feel really good today. I'm using ibuprofen and acetiminophen instead of vicodin during the day (saving the good stuff for night time sleep) and I'm holding my own. Oh, my arm aches all the way to my finger tips, but I'm not in severe pain.

I've been working since about 7 a.m. My vpn connection to work is amazingly slow, but I can live with that.

Ouch

2008-08-24T11:06:00.003-05:00

I'm not at all sure I'll be able to work tomorrow. I'm going to have to call the HR nurse and ask what to do.

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to a movie with Betty, Cirque du Soliel's Delirium. Very good but I was glad I was paying movie theater prices for it. Anyway, we stopped for some supper after and by the time I got home I was in extreme pain. At first I couldn't pinpoint the pain. It was all over my arm. Up in my top neck/shoulder muscles where I tense up when I'm in pain...where everybody holds tension. Down the top of my forearm.

The top of my forearm ended up being the primary locus of my pain: in the muscles associated with holding the hand up. If you put your hand palm down on a table and rest your arm all the way up to the elbow on the table and then just lift your hand up, the muscle(s) that does that was what was hurting. It's also how I am able to type but only for short periods of time. Also, just above the elbow on the inner side of the upper arm was cramping up.

I've already tried to go an hour or two past the schedule for vicodin to see if I can survive without it. Nope. Doesn't work. I end up way behind and it takes a couple more hours for the drugs to get ahead of the pain. I won't be very useful working "under the influence." I can do a few small things, but nothing that takes a great deal of thought. And if I'm in a lot of pain because I stop the vicodin, I still won't be too useful. And nothing at Hoffman is "simple."

I'm disappointed.

Boooorrrrriiiiiiinnnngggg

2008-08-22T11:10:00.003-05:00

I've cut my vicodin dosage to one tablet at a time every 4-6 hours. I'm hoping I'll be off it during the day next week so I can start working again. I still won't have much strength in my arm but maybe I'll be able to think more clearly.

I've had to be extremely deliberate when I put something down so I can remember where it is and not have to walk around my apt. 3-4 times looking for it. That was a real problem when I was taking 2 tablets at a time.

Cutting back to one tablet has helped me think more clearly as long as the pain stays at bay. But I still have no energy. I went out Wednesday evening with Ben and Stephanie to refill my prescription. It took 15 minutes for them to get around to telling us they didn't have any at Target. Cub foods did. When I got home I was exhausted.

Last night David took me to Walgreens to see if they had a softer sling. The one the doctor put me in is rubberized and hot and curls in at the edges. Now I have a nice cool one for daytime use. Again, exhausted when I got home.

The photo is the scarf I started before the surgery. I would put up a link but I keep getting a 404 error. Sorry. Basically it's k5 p1 forward and k1 p5 back, then move over a stitch so the p's all move diagonally to the left.

It's a relatively simple pattern that can be worked under the influence of good drugs. But I've only put about 6 rows on it. The problem is my arm can't rotate to a more palm-up position so it's very difficult to do any knitting. Darn. Double darn.

I'd read more, but it puts me to sleep. And I have trouble holding a book. Oooh. Sorry. Merlot, chablis, PORT.

I'm whining again. Maybe if I take a shower and walk all the way to the trash can to throw out my kitchen garbage, I'll feel better. Or be tired enough for a nap.

3 a.m.

2008-08-21T03:30:00.002-05:00

I don't usually get to see 3 a.m. But I was dreaming I was stretched out on a couch with 2 lady friends, talking about life and time and the way things are, and someone was banging on the door and using the knocker and wouldn't go away. On and on and on.... Then, the conscious part of my brain reminded me that when it's cold in the room where I'm sleeping, I dream about snow. So I woke up.

Nobody at my door. No notes shoved underneath. Only someone with a key to the building would be able to bang on my door. I gave my only other key to David but he would have called first if he thought there was a problem.

Overactive imagination. It was time to take my next dose of meds anyway.

Observation

2008-08-20T15:19:00.002-05:00

I was just napping (3:15 p.m.) in the recliner and as I was falling asleep I realized it is probably the only time when I can totally relax the muscles in my shoulder. In tai chi we learn to keep our shoulders down so we can be relaxed and breathe deeply. If we hold our shoulders up, our breathing rises to the upper portion of our lungs and we don't get enough oxygen.

If I keep fighting gravity, my shoulder hurts more. The more my shoulder hurts, the tighter I hold the muscles. The tighter I hold the muscles, the more my shoulder hurts. And on and on.

Just an observation.

Hand and brain still somewhat uncoordinated

2008-08-20T07:29:00.004-05:00

Fever still down. Yay. Left hand is still pretty spastic. I can lift it but it goes down by itself. Turns palm down automatically. I don't think it's supposed to be palm up anyway.

Tried knitting. That’s humorous. I can’t wrap the yarn around the fingers on my left hand except if I use my right hand to do it. I figure, when I can knit, I’ll be able to work. Assuming I’m not on Vicodin.

Been sweating a lot. Fevers do that and mine still goes up and down. I put a really soft bathsheet towel on the bed and over my pillow and use hand towels under my armpit to absorb sweat from there.

So I cooked myself a lovely flaxseed (fiber), whole wheat, grilled pb and choc sandwich. Target Archer Farms has a chocolate and peanut butter mix that is sinfully good. Probably not the healthiest thing to eat right now but what the heck.

e-Postcards

2008-08-19T08:13:00.002-05:00

Someone sent me an e-postcard. My computer "bad-stuff-software" stopped a Trojan from entering my computer as a result. If one of my friends sent the postcard, it was really nice of you, but please don't do it again. I won't get it anyway. Just send an e-mail or comment on my blog.

Not much new today. Starting to react to steri-strips over incision. Noticed redness and itching on top couple. Gently ran my fingers over it to alleviate itching (I’ve learned never to use fingernails) and my fingers came away damp. Using a mirror, I lifted the end of 2 steri-strips and cut them away, leaving the incision covered. Water blister beneath. Claritin isn’t enough. But with Vicodin, I don’t really want to use Benedryl.

Fever staying under 100 for a change but it's early, 8:15 a.m. Pain is manageable but Vicodin is good for that. This is all the typing I'm willing to do for now. If I write something that doesn't make sense, let me know.

I'm home

2008-08-17T17:29:00.005-05:00

One-handed typing is a challenge.

Thanks to all who have sent prayers and good wishes. Forgive me if I don't write to you all individually. This blog entry will take long enough to complete.

I left the hospital Friday and spent the weekend with David. I'm sure he's happy to have dropped me at my place this afternoon.

No big surprises, really. Fever is within acceptable range according to the handout I got. I have a cooler full of ice for the Cryo-cuff and am trying a blue ice thingy in my armpit. This cryo-cuff is significantly smaller than the one I had before and my arm is very hot on the side away from the ice (i.e., armpit). Pain is manageable but I AM on vicodin. Thinking isn't tooo clear. But I don't have to think, so that's a good thing.

This is the Cryo-cuff ice bucket label. (Please forgive the shaky photos. I'm not too steady shooting one-handed. The cuff can be used on knees as well as shoulders.

This is the inside top of the bucket. I had to refill it with ice a while ago and...

...I missed.

Fortunately, I have a lot of ice. It should last till Ben arrives Wednesday evening with more. ( Ben, bring this much.)

Warning, it looks icky.....

This last photo is David's fault. I figured if he was interested in the gorey details, someone else might be as well.

Surgery went fine

2008-08-16T11:32:00.003-05:00

Pain is starting again and I thought, before I take the vicodin and while I'm still able to think, I'd check in. David took a couple photos but I'm not sure you want to see them.

What disappointed me was the incompetence of the nursing staff after the surgery. None of them came sooner than 5 minutes after pressing the nurse call button. I'm glad I wasn't choking on that roast beef I cvoulnd cut (can't type either). We had a colonoscopy nurse on the surgical orthopedic floor. Who thought to put her there? She was the best because, even though she didn't know what to do, she was willing to admit it.

I met a lovely woman (50's maybe) from Tibet. She said that if China is willing to admit to the whole world that the opening ceremonies had a stand in for the little singer (I felt bad for them both...to be told you aren't cute enough but you sing nicely...to be told your looks are your only asset) and the fireworks were computer generated--if they were willing to admit they were cheating to the whole world, it's no wonder "they treat us the way they do."

Pema came with her husband and 4 (or 5, I cant remember) daughters by way of India where she and her daughters went to school and became educated. Mmmmmm. More later can't type owie.

How I will spend my next week or so

2008-08-14T07:13:00.005-05:00

I'm having a set of these installed in my left shoulder. . . at 2 pm today. No blogging for a few days.

I have my work computer all set up at home, ready for when I can think straight but not drive yet.

On a tastier note, my tomato plant is doing so well that I've already eaten 3. They are about 2 inches across and quite tasty.

Tomato

2008-08-09T06:31:00.004-05:00

Here's my lovely tomato plant. I originally had it in a small pot like the one to the left. But it got so big I couldn't keep water in it. The poor thing would wilt after less than 24 hours. So, I bought $35 worth of dirt and a big pot for my free tomato plant. I'm using a rope to help hold up the center stem. I ate my first tomato last night.

This 'n' that

2008-08-08T07:01:00.005-05:00

Betty and I went to the Stitch 'n' Pitch at the Dome again this year. Here are members of the Barbershop Harmony Society singing the national anthem. They did a great job.

I said in an early post this spring that when the lillies bloomed I'd post some photos.

There was a strong thunderstorm that moved very quickly into our area. The people who own the camper below had left in the morning to go shopping when the sky was blue and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day. They didn't tip one end of their awning down to let the rain drain. As you can see, the water pooled in the awning and got heavy enough to break the tubular support. With the help of others at the camp, it was repaired before the weekend was over enough to get the awning up out of the way. I understand, however, they had to buy a new one.

Years ago, this lovely old oak tree was the support for a wonderful tire swing. The rope was long enough to really get your stomach going. You could swing very high on it. We lost several large trees, but, except for the awning above, there was no major damage to buildings or campers and no people were injured. We have a couple storm shelters on the property, one of which has a little TV set to watch weather warnings.

This lily really needed to have it's picture taken one more time after the rain.

Wish me luck

2008-08-07T20:30:00.003-05:00

There's nothing like an up-coming medical procedure to create a period of introspection.

For those who don't know, in less than a week I'm having a total shoulder replacement. There are several websites that discuss the procedure, like this one, and this one has an annimation. There are others out there but you'll get the idea.

Anyway, I decided, after working late this evening on the huge project we are in the middle of (and will be for a few months), that I should take myself out to dinner. I haven't done that in a couple months (or more) and have discovered increased savings. (I have also discovered that not buying fiber [yarn] also increases one's monetary holdings.) Ironically, I was also reading a book called Half-Assed, a weight-loss memoir, by Jennette Fulda. She also has a very nice blog.

Her book is incredibly easy-to-read and thought-provoking. A friend had told me about Jennette's blog months ago when we were discussing our mutual weight problems. I looked at the blog a couple times but wasn't that interested in it. It was a slow-motion study of Jennette's weight-loss program. I mean, I don't expect many people to be interested in my blog. I certainly can't be expected to read everyone else's blogs religiously. (Well, there is the yarn harlot. But that's different.)

I teach tai chi chuan at Chinatown Tai Chi Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, and at first it was a weight-loss program of sorts. I lost a little and gained a lot of muscles. But then I figured out how to eat enough to make up for it. Then a couple months ago, the most wonderful young woman started taking classes. She bicycles 20 miles every day (or something like that) and we got to talking about weight loss. She's lost 50+ pounds since January. I mentioned Jennette's website and the book I knew Jennette had written. Turns out my student bought the book and read it in 2 days! And, she let me borrow it.

I'm inspired. I don't know how well I'll do at weight loss. I have no idea how much extra weight a stainless steel arm bone will add. But I've been eating more healthy food for some time and now it's time to pick up my feet and get moving. Wish me luck.

But first, the surgery.

How I spent my 4th of July, 2008

2008-07-08T19:55:00.007-05:00

Here are two pairs of socks I'm currently working on. The blue-ish ones are (I think) Lorna's Laces in her BlackWatch colorway. The green ones are Army green from a kit Betty got for me from the Red Cross. The pattern is Fancie.

This is the walk-way in front of our Immobile Home and Taj Ma Shed. Betty gave me these Hostas several years ago and this past weekend I spread red bark mulch around them. They look very nice. I'll post another photo when the lillies bloom.

Someone gave us this reflector with a wire outline of a bear.

These clematis are from Joanne's yard. Her mother, a floral fixture for many years, isn't doing well at all. She's in her 80s and I remember 35 years ago when Millie could always be found on her knees in the dirt, planting or pulling weeds. The place was always beautiful because of her efforts.

I occasionally teach a Chi Kung class. The only really reliable student has been Pam. Here is a picture of her "Clouds and Boulders."

The big July 4th tradition is to roast a pig. They used a LOT of garlic when they dressed the pig Friday evening.

After initially trying to roast a pig in an open pit, 30 or so years ago, a member purchased and eventually donated this cooker.

The guys are clowning around, pointing at the pig, ready to start cooking Saturday morning.

Bonnie brought Bloody Marys and Tequilla Sunrises to the Saturday morning start. I brought my camera to capture the process so David can write an instruction sheet for when he's not around to help get the pig roasted sometime in the far distant future. I also brought my socks.

To show how early it is Saturday, here's a photo of the pool, kiddy pool, and hot tub (farthest from camera). Later that day, someone counted around 200 people for dinner...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

David used an electronic thermometer to measure the temperature of the meat in several locations. Is it ready yet?

It sure is!

Eagle Brook Riders in the Rain

2008-06-22T21:06:00.006-05:00

Eagle Brook Church has a motorcycle group: Eagle Brook Riders (formerly known as Velocity Riders). Every spring, summer, and fall there are scheduled rides. So far this year, David and I haven't made many because of his heavy traveling schedule. But we decided to go today. It was planned as a long ride (230+ miles).

The day started sunny with little innocuous puffy white clouds against a blue, blue sky. I forgot to count the number of bikes but it was a couple dozen or so. Here we're resting our arses after the first hour or so.

This is David's Gold Wing 1500. I, of course, sit behind and am referred to as a "co-rider" in the Gold Wing circles. I used to drive a little Kawasaki 120. This is nothing like that. Relaxing, for me at least.

At the half-way point, the group stopped at Hansen's Hold-Up. It's a great little place situated on the top of a hill. David is standing next to a PVC pipe saguaro (sawarro) cactus statue. The valley in the background seems to go almost forever. We're looking mostly south here.

Here's a list of the specials for the day. David had the pulled pork and I had the Philly beef. It took a LONG time for our food to arrive but we did all show up at the same time and there were other people there as well. The food was well worth the wait.

And we don't want to forget the current traveling socks. These are, I think, Lorna's Laces in her Black Watch colorway. Thinner yarn than I'm used to on size 2 45-in. flexible needle. Can't wait to finish them. What I like about knitting socks is they are portable. I got a couple rounds done while we waited for our food.

David stood in line to place our order and is seen here looking out the window at the weather.

It looked rather gray when we arrived.

The rain started to fall.

This is our ride captain for the day, John, taking photos of David taking photos. John is part of an organization that raises money for a surgeon to travel the world and reconstruct children's faces. See www.rideforsmiles.com for more information or if you'd like to contribute. John will be going on a 30-day fund-raising ride. He is paying all his own expenses and taking pledges for the miles he will be traveling.

The rain came from smallish black clouds moving at a fair clip. Several passed over us, and our bikes, while we ate. David had found a nice covered location and spoke to the owners of that space when we left. They were quite nice about it. (I guess David is into forgiveness rather than permission.)

When there was a break in the weather and we'd finished eating, David and I took off and drove straight west. That was a good idea. Except for a few rather light sprinkles, we stayed pretty dry all the way home.

As always after a ride like this, I'm pooped. A nice hot shower to wash off a little road grit and a Cuba Libre (made with Appleton VX and [I'm sorry...] caffeine-free diet coke), I summoned the energy to write this blog.

Now I will load my home printer driver onto my work laptop before I lose administrative rights. Pentair is pretty careful about what is loaded onto their machines. But the fellow who built the machine for me suggested I load my home printer driver so I can print things at home if I need them. Thanks Marco.

Then I'm off to bed early. All that fresh air is just too much for me. By the way, my shoulder did well on the trip. Full-strength Motrin is a wonderful thing (if you ignore the flatulence it causes [Gas-X seems to help some]).

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

2008-06-18T05:52:00.003-05:00

When David went to Las Vegas for an ASSE (American Society of Safety Engineers) trade show, I was unable to join him because of my work schedule. I would really have loved to go. I haven't been to Vegas since the '90s.

Anyway, I asked him to pick up some Ethel M chocolates for me. There's no artificial coloring or preservatives. And the flavor is TO DIE FOR.

These are the fruit creams. The darkest ones are strawberry; the speckled ones are raspberry; the light green ones are lemon; the dark green are key lime. I forget what the squarish ones are but I'm sure they are wonderful. Because I've lost 10 lbs. and want to continue that, I'm only going to eat one or two per week. (Thanks David!)

When I went to the Ethel M website to see what the squarish ones are, I didn't find them. This image shows the appearance I'm used to seeing. They all taste wonderful no matter what they look like.

A Hat

2008-06-06T08:32:00.005-05:00

I couldn't wait till it was blocked. I completed my first 2-color knitting last night in a class with Shelly Kang. Shelly is a patient, helpful teacher. There were three classes at the Yarnery in St. Paul. It was great fun and not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Once it's been blocked, if it looks much different, I may post another image.

I've asked my son, Ben, to design a Celtic design for me using two strands so my next hat will be one base color and two colors. That will be a bit of a challenge but I think I'll do just fine.

Finished Objects

2008-05-17T20:58:00.005-05:00

I haven't blogged for the past week. Well, if you click to "embiggen" the smallish photo below, maybe you can see why. This was last Sunday.

I haven't felt quite right all week.

This is Saturday and David is off in Arizona visiting his mother. They have a good relationship and I think it's great he's able to visit her. So I have spent much of this afternoon finishing the socks you see in the above photo. I've also blogged a bit about them already.

I still have a fair amount of yarn left but the tops are 6.5 inches long and I needed the needle.

The needle is a US 2 and I'm knitting "Francie" socks. Starting to knit them, that is. I read about them on Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's blog and became quite intrigued. Usually I don't knit complex socks. A simple k2, p2 is complicated enough, but these just spoke to me.

I'll take photos as soon as there's something to take photos of.

Quartets and Choruses

2008-05-08T17:50:00.008-05:00

Friday night, May 2, was the 2008 Land O' Lakes District International Quartet Semi-Finals. 14 quartets competed and 6 made it to the finals on Saturday evening. The event was hosted by the La Crosse Coulee Chordsmen chorus and took place in West Salem, Wisconsin. The event was well-run and the only hitch was when 2 of the judges, coming through Chicago, were held up by weather.

On Saturday morning (if you can call 11:30 a.m. morning) there were 10 choruses competing. The Southwest and 10,000 Lakes Divisions were represented. I was most interested in the 10,000 Lakes Division because the Great Northern Union (GNU) is a part of that group, as is the Minneapolis chorus, the Commodores.

GNU came in with 1009 points, the Commodores with 906. In all there were 4 choruses that qualified for the fall District contest. Winning then gets them into the International competition in 2009.

Saturday night 6 quartets from Friday night competed a second time. After Midnight, Vocality, and Main Street Station all got enough points to qualify for the International Quartet Contest in July.

Unfortunately, no photos of the contests themselves.

Betty and I went over to Lumber-Jack's Saloon in the Stoney Creek Inn after the contest winners and point spreads were announced.

This is Vocality. Jay, Tony, Bob, and Dave really know how to put on a show.

Main Street Station has Matt, Colin, Patrick, and Steve. Nice guys and we were so lucky to get front-row seats.

Gold Rush is always fun. Their web address is http://prettygoodquartet.com/
Steve, Cleon, Steve, and Steve. One of the Steves is a twin. He sings bass and his brother Rick sings baritone.

Have you noticed that the photos are a bit blurry? They're singing and moving around and basically hamming it up.

This is After Midnight, my personal favorite (at least for the moment). When you click this link, after a moment or two, you get to hear them singing. I'm currently listening to "Linda." Tom, David, Jim, and Steve.

I confess I put my camera on video for one of After Midnight's songs. It's lovely. I hesitate to put it on the web because of copyright stuff and because I don't have their permission.

Subhead: Socks on Tour

This is Dave and Julie being kind enough to make friends with my "traveling socks." They often ride their GoldWing motorcycle, but because of the cold and rain, decided to drive a real car instead. We've run into them several times over the years.

And of course, there's John. Betty and I had dinner with him in Winnipeg a year ago because his wife wasn't able to come to the contest with him. Very nice fellow. And he's nice to socks, too.

Main Street Station was willing to hold my socks, too. They seemed to be quite amused by the whole idea.

After Midnight seemed befuddled at first, too, but willing to humor the old lady. Thanks everyone for showing my socks a good time. I'll wear them to the fall contest in Appleton, WI.

Needless to say, a good time was had. Right Betty?

Friday Night in Wisconsin at the Quartet Competition

2008-05-06T20:59:00.002-05:00

Here we are in West Salem, Wisconsin. This is the "lake" of water Betty and I had to ford to get to the building only to find we were too early to register and pick up our tickets for the weekend's festivities. Because I took this photo with my cell phone, it's hard to see but there was an inch of standing water everywhere, deeper in some places and the rain splashed a couple inches high. I was wet to the knees because I don't use umbrellas but just a raincoat. Usually that's quite enough but a golf umbrella would have been a better choice.

Anyway, the last couple years we've been going to these events (it's been around 12-13 years altogether), we've felt a little cramped sitting close together, rubbing shoulders with other barbershop fans and trying to knit and/or tat. So last fall, we decided to pay for an extra seat. Since we needed a name, we chose "Lacey Purl"; Lacey because Betty makes lace (I have too but find it tedious when all I really want to do is zone out), and Purl because I enjoy doing the purl stitch when I knit.

Here we're showing my "traveling socks" the stage. Nobody is allowed to take photos during the contest so this is the sum total of the photos I took (that came out anyway) inside the auditorium. I'm nearly done with these. Click here for a closer look at the yarn.

There's much more of the weekend to see but I'm not going to try to put it all up at once.

National Eagle Center

2008-05-04T21:56:00.005-05:00

On the way to the Spring Barbershop Harmony Society Contest, Betty and I stopped in Wabasha, MN, to visit the National Eagle Center. It was a great place to stop on a rather cold, very rainy spring day. The facility is relatively new and has a number of interesting exhibits that explain about how eagles live.

This is Donald, a golden eagle. All the eagles at the center were birds with injuries that keep them from being released back into the wild.
In a room surrounded by vintage U.S. flags was this sterling silver eagle sculpture by A. Gianelli. The stripes you see on it are reflections from the flags.
We got to hear this gentleman talk about eagles. We learned that even one tiny piece of lead buckshot can kill an eagle within 5-6 days because their digestive tracts will completely dissolve it.

Did you know they exert over 400 pounds per square inch pressure with each talon? Betty and I each managed almost 20 pounds on their grip tester and thought that was pretty good but it's nothing to what an eagle can do.

Eagles weigh about 10 pounds on average and can lift about a third of their weight. They don't use muscles to hang on to the fish they catch in the Mississippi river. Their tendons, once their talons wrap around their meal, lock into place. So if they grab a fish that's too big, it's difficult for their pea-sized brains to understand that even though it's their dinner they've got, if they don't let go, they'll drown. The people at the Eagle Center tell fishermen if they see an eagle go into the water, they should carefully scoop them up in their fishing net, move to shore with them, and then just let the bird walk out of the net. DO NOT, under any circumstances, use your hands to "help" the eagle. They have their dinner, and you could add to their protein intake.

This is Columbia, named after an astronaut visited the center. She's just finished a meal of fish and other raw meat.
After we left the Eagle Center, Betty and I drove on to West Salem, Wisconsin, to the Friday night quartet contest. I'll blog further on the weekend's events later.

Fleece Artist - My latest project

2008-04-24T19:01:00.003-05:00

This is lovely yarn to work with. It is Merino fingering weight from the Fleece Artist, Nova Scotia, Canada, on US 2 needles. I'm making two-at-a-time, toe-up socks with a simple 2x2 ribbing.

Santana

2008-04-20T23:31:00.006-05:00

Santana was at the Excel Center this evening. We were in row 38 left on the floor, seats 5 and 6. Pretty good, actually. The stage wasn't up as high above the floor as it was when Manilow was here so when people stood up, which they did often, it was much more difficult to see. I'm not the tallest person who was there, by any means. Saw a friend from tai chi there. Small world.

The opening act had the unlikely name of The Derek Trucks Band. Derek Trucks is a pretty good guitar player and definitely liked by Carlos Santana himself. Santana came on stage during the opening act to play with Derek and also had Derek come out during Santana's show.

It's difficult taking photos in low light. I didn't have my "new" camera because I just didn't want to carry such a large thing. So my older little one sufficed. David had the great idea of setting it on "museum" so it opened up and did better. Still blurry but everyone was moving.

And here's a blurry shot of Carlos Santana playing. What I really liked about him this evening is that he didn't steal the show from the other players in the band. He'd stand in the back and let different people take the spot light. Great bone player (trombone, for those of you who don't know that slang word). Two great conga drummers. Great guitar, keyboard, and base players, too.

Santana's primary theme for this tour is peace. Stop shouting my religion is the only one, stop the war, struggle for peace. Let's all get along.

It's Spring Somewhere...

2008-04-18T20:07:00.007-05:00

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park in St. Paul is a great place to take flower photos.

The Sleeping Sloth

Fiddlehead

There's a spider here.

Fountain

Perfect

Knitting in the Snow (warning: photo intense blog)

2008-04-11T20:21:00.009-05:00

Those of you who know who the Yarn Harlot is will understand why so many people came out on the windy, showy, icy evening to hear Stephanie Pearl-McPhee speak. For those of you who don't know who she is, click here to read her blog.

Here we are at the University of St. Thomas waiting in line for the event to start.

The Yarnery put on the event, scheduled and rented the space, advertised, gave away door prizes, raised money for Knitters without Borders. To help pay for the event, they also sold books that Stephanie was kind enough to sign, as well as miles (kilometers?) of lovely yarn.

This is my friend Betty.

And my friend Ann.

I "Kineared" a gorgeous shawl. I'm not showing her face because she had no idea I was taking her picture. Isn't that beautiful work?

Of course, we started the event with the Canadian national anthem, Oh Canada. Stephanie is from Toronto.

Periodically, the Yarnery lady would draw for door prizes. Pattern books, yarn, you name it. We all got lovely bags that work like little backpacks to put our prizes in.

And, of course, the event wouldn't be complete without some "roasting" in the form of music. I apologize, I can't remember the name of the Yarnery's group! I'm sure some wonderful person can put it into the Comments for me. Anyway, you can see the photo of Stephanie on the slide screen above that adorable young man. There were 4 who played and sang: The adorable young man, the two ladies singing (one of whom played guitar as well), and the piano player. They were very, very good. My next blog may well have a brief video, assuming they don't put a comment in here asking me not to. Of course, they will have to find my blog to do that.

Finally, Stephanie came out to begin her talk.

But first she had to take "sock" pictures of us all.

As always, her comedic presentation had us all in stitches.... (sorry)

Mixed in with her humor was some serious information about knitters entering the "theta brain state" and becoming healthier, calmer, more alert people, who are more aware of our surroundings and able to learn and remember more than those who don't knit. (And did you know knitters outnumber golfers, 2 to 1?)

She was very validating.

After a brief question-and-answer period where she elaborated on her walk to the store for toilet paper and beer (see March 18), we politely ordered ourselves numerically (we were given numbers as we arrived), and lined up to have a brief moment with our hero and have our books signed.

This is Betty again; we're waiting in the line. I was #58.

Ann was number 61.

I "Kineared" a gorgeous, lacy sweater while we waited.

Just behind us was this amazing piece of knitted tapestry. She's doing a series of these.

Finally, Betty and the Harlot.

Me with the Harlot

And Ann and the Harlot.

At the beginning of this blog entry I mentioned the snow. When I left my office in Anoka at 4 p.m., it was just very, very windy. I had to struggle to keep my car in my lane. By the time I reached St. Paul it was snowing heavily. It felt like God was throwing snowballs at me.

After the event was done it was just raining (albeit freezing rain). The drive wasn't too bad. There was a lot of slush on the road but driving up Snelling Avenue at 35-40 mph didn't feel too scary.

But I realized, as I was getting close to home on County Road E, that it was ice, not dirt, that was blocking the light.

Blog Concerns, Food, and Movie Error

2008-04-07T06:23:00.001-05:00

I've gotten two Comments on my blog from people I've never heard of before. I was dumb enough to click on the first one (see my own comment to the 4/2/8 entry). It took me to another website and started scanning my hard drive. It could have been a benign activity by a helpful website. However, I sincerely doubt it. I stopped it as soon as I realized what was happening, just a matter of seconds. But what harm it could have caused!

I discovered I could delete comments and did so, leaving the commenter's name and my own comment saying never to click on the "click here" message. A day later, there was a comment from someone else (perhaps--different sign-in name anyway) with a similar "click here" message. I have now completely deleted these comments.

What I haven't figured out is how to contact the Blogger people to let them know about this. There is an online forum but it doesn't have anything about this type of problem in it.

In the meantime, I just want to share some photos from our weekend repast.

My company cafeteria sometimes has meat sales and this past week they sold t-bone steaks by the case. They are really quite tasty and David is a master chef with his (George Foreman) gas grill.

We have also gone to a few wine tasting events and this is one of the wines I purchased.

My final note before getting ready for work (my "magic" self-setting clock got me up an hour early this morning). We went to see "Leatherheads" yesterday afternoon. I definitely enjoyed watching George Clooney's antics on screen (he really is an adorable young man). Zellwegger gives a believable performance. Krasinski was rather lackluster but passable. But then, Clooney was definitely the star of the show.

Clooney was also the director and made a big editorial error: Zellwegger was shown smoking filtered cigarettes in 1925.

Although cigarette filters were invented in 1925 by a Hungarian named Ayvazh and patented at that time, they weren't in even limited production until 1927 in Europe. In 1935, in England, a machine that produced a cigarette with a filter was invented.

It wasn't until the 1950s or 1960s, depending on your source (I used Wikipedia, too), that filtered cigarettes became the norm.

Sorry, George. You need to do your homework a bit more carefully.

Knitting is usually a clean activity

2008-04-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

This yarn colorway, from the "Raven" color group, is "Pallas Athena" from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and is a joy to work with, for the most part. In the words of Blue Moon, "What happens if you add a color or colors to black? Does it shade the colors or the black? This depends on the saturation of black in relation to the saturation level of the other colors."

Here I'm using a double strand to make a neck cozy on size 10 (US).

If you look closely at my index finger in this image, you might see a bit of a smudge at the first knuckle. The black is rubbing off. Hopefully, when the neck cozy is completed and I wash it to block it, I'll be able to get most of the excess dye out of it before giving the neck cozy away. (It's a gift but I'm not telling who I'm making it for.)

At any rate, go to Blue Moon Fiber Arts and check out the Raven group of colors.

Another Birthday

2008-04-01T19:28:00.001-05:00

Several years ago, David gave me this camera. It has been a great camera and still is.

However, David has decided he wants to get himself a new camera, so he gave me his:

I'm sure I'll have quite a time figuring out how to use it. That will be fun, especially after I get the book that goes with it. (This picture is a little wierd because I took it in a mirror and then flipped it.)

Betty made these lovely Celtic tatted earrings for me. They are wonderful. Thanks, Betty.

Ben and Stephanie gave me a $25 gift certificate to thinkgeek.com . I have no idea what I'm getting from Think Geek but I'll post it when I do know. They have all sorts of fun stuff including a card you can plug into the back of someone's computer that adds random keystrokes to whatever they are doing.

And Ben gave me a framed print of this picture. Go look. It's gorgeous. It's Minnesota at its best.

Neck Cozy

2008-03-30T20:53:00.000-05:00

I bought this lovely blue yarn from Pattern Works. It's Koigu premium merino wool. Along with it I got a pattern for a neck cozy. Since I was working with a dark blue, I was having trouble keeping the texture of the pattern so I frogged and made it ribbed. I believe it was optimistic to say 175 yards was enough. I was getting close to the end and running low so I finished it off with a bit of a variation. Betty says it's long enough to go around her neck.

I plan to try my variation of the pattern with longer tails so when it's worn in the winter it will actually cross the chest to keep the wearer warm. And make the part that goes around the neck wider and flatter (less ribbing) since this one tends to roll a bit.

It's lovely wool. Nice and soft and pleasant to work with.

Now I'm trying valiantly to knit the second sock to go with the first Noro sock I made. This yarn is NOT soft. It likes to stick to itself so much that pulling yarn from the center of the ball tends to bring a wad of yarn with it. It goes from barely spun to lace weight and back again so it's lumpy. I'm making the second sock because I feel I "should." Then I will wash them both and see if the yarn softens any. If not, I'm afraid this absolutely gorgeous yarn in vibrant, creative, lovely colors is destined to be fodder for felting only. I'll let you know.

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T06:49:00.000-05:00

I finished my spring socks. A co-worker said when I first told her about them, "you could have them done by Easter." I thought that was optimistic. But, being as obsessive about it as I can be, I managed to finish them Saturday morning! The color is too blue in this photo which is too bad. The actual colors are green, yellow, and pink on white.

Spring in Minnesota

2008-03-18T18:05:00.001-05:00

While the drive to work this morning was difficult on the side streets, the world around me was lovely. I took these photos with my SideKick cell phone. Not bad, actually. (Yes, I pulled over to take them. This phone is too difficult to use for even an ordinary phone call while driving. Very safe, as a result, since I refuse to use it while driving.)

It looks like more snow than there actually was. I think maybe a couple inches fell over night. The side streets were covered with compacted, icey gunk. Fortunately, the freeway was just wet. We didn't top 37 F today as it stayed foggy for quite a while and then just overcast. Very gray.

But spring is on its way.

St. Paddy's Day

2008-03-18T07:14:00.001-05:00

Although David isn't Irish, I am. Our family, McConnell, was part of the English effort to force Scots into Ireland to take the land away from the Catholics. It wasn't our fault. And my family wasn't there all that long anyway. The family myth is there was a dispute over the ownership of a horse so in the late 1700s my great, great, greats came to America. My son is more into Scotland. I want to go to Ireland.

At any rate, a good draught of Guinness was in order. Guiness isn't charged with carbon dioxide like most other beers. They use nitrogen. So Guiness came up with The Widget. If you look down the bottle neck, you can see the widget floating in the suds. I looked into an empty bottle and realized that while it slips into the bottle before filling and capping, it won't come out when you drink. When you open the bottle, it expands so it can't come too high up the bottle neck. Very clever, those Irish.

And of course, we needed to have corned beef and cabbage. I haven't made this in a LONG time, like 20+ years, but it came out OK I think. And Rainbow foods was kind enough to have a delicious chocolate and green cake. It was spendy but yummy. (And this was the first collaborative cooking David and I have done without coming close to blows. We each have different ways of doing things, ifyouknowwhatImean.)

Gotta run off to work now. Had to stay late last night to get ready for our do-or-die software test this week. Hope I did enough.

Catching Up

2008-03-14T18:52:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while I "Google" the names of people I've known over the years to see if I can find them or to find out what they're up to. This week I found a lady I hadn't seen in over 10 years. It's good to know she's well and she sounds happy in her life. That makes me happy. Hopefully, she'll answer the e-mail I sent and we can reconnect.

I have enjoyed contacting and reconnecting with a number of people I've found through various means. I have a cousin in Georgia I haven't actually seen since the 1970s. My first husband found me by "Googling" me and now we correspond from time to time. As I get older, this just seems like the thing to do.

Now to my current life. I've made a lot of progress on my socks in the last week. My friend Betty says that turning the heel on a sock is an act of faith. I'd gotten quite comfortable doing it just one way and decided it was time to try something new. It's always scary and last night I was sure I was doing it wrong. It may not be exactly right, but it doesn't look too bad.

I had to take the sock off the needle with the other sock to work the back of the heel. When the other one is done, I'll put them back together on the same needle again. While it may be a bit putzy to work two at a time, it certainly gets them both done faster. It just seems more efficient. I might even have this pair done in time for Easter church!

Kindergarten?

2008-03-06T20:05:00.000-06:00

While I understand some of the reasoning behind the push to keep our work areas neat and tidy, I question the tactics being used to do it. Although, I must admit, without someone standing over my shoulder, marking items off a check list, my cubicle would likely return to its former state. You see, I have always filed by strata. A place for every stack, and something in every stack. I know what pile each thing is in, and if you give me a time frame, I can tell you how far down it is in the stack.

Now we will have monthly inspections. A photo was taken of each person's cube, laminated with each person's name and the "rules." Each month a team of 2 will circulate among the offices and take an inventory of our space, comparing the current appearance with the photo. Everything must be put away at night (do they really think the janitors care how my desk looks?); drawers must be clearly labeled; surfaces will be cleaned. I always thought someone who worked in an area this clean didn't have enough to do...that he or she had too much time to think about organizing stuff and not enough real work to do to keep occupied.

And as for putting labels on all my drawers? I always thought rifling through someone else's drawers was inappropriate behavior. It just wasn't done. I know, I know. I'm pretty old fashioned to be thinking like that.

Anyway, I spend at least 5 minutes every evening taking what I've been working on and finding just the right place to "hide" it. Every morning I have to go to my hiding place and pull out all that work so I can continue. Another 5 minutes perhaps is spent. That's 5-10 minutes each day not working. Hmm. 10 minutes times 5 days/week times 50 weeks equals 2500 minutes or almost 42 hours spent not working. And I'm getting paid for it. Maybe that's not so bad after all.

I guess I've fallen off the blog

2008-03-05T19:24:00.000-06:00

I've been working my little fingers to the bone at work. We are in the middle of a huge project to prepare for database publishing of our catalog. The last catalog was almost 1300 pages. This one will be comparable. The new software should make life easier once it's set up.

In the meantime, I still go to tai chi. That really helps me stay centered and helps me stay calm. This is my 15th anniversary. I joined Sifu Calph in early March, 1993, and haven't left yet.

When I'm not working, I knit. I just frogged a pair of socks I was knitting for the second time. I totally underestimated how much yarn I had. I'd run out the first time, so I started again, this time toe-up, on smaller needles. But I still couldn't get past the top of the gussets. Pooh. So I figured I'd let the yarn age a while in little balls.

Now I'm working on Lorna's Laces Spring Forward '08 colorway from Jimmy Beans Wool on a long size 2 (US) flexible needle. As you can see, I'm working both socks at the same time. The pattern is pretty much made up. Once I got to the body of the sock, I started the top side (32 stitches) k4, p2, *k1, p2* to the last 4 stitches, then k4.

It makes a rather nice pattern. I hope it isn't too lumpy when I'm wearing shoes. Here it is a little closer.

Well, back to them. Would you believe I started these last weekend. I'm making great progress for someone with no time.

Valentine's Day Meal

2008-02-18T23:19:00.001-06:00

Valentine's Day is about chocolate. At least it is for most women. While at a wine tasting event last year, I discovered this lovely wine from Boekenhoutskloof, in South Africa. It's actually a blend of several types of wine: syrah, grenache noir, cabernet sauvignon, cinsault, voignier. It was expensive but absolutely delicious.

Before we started cooking, I made us some dessert. Puff pastry in 4" squares. Egg wash. Chocolate candy (in this case, Mounds and some truffles by Nestle).

Pull up the corners and then the sides to close; give the top a little twist to be sure it's sealed. More egg wash. 400 degrees for 15 minutes to melt the chocolate and brown the puff pastry.

Our dinner consisted of baked potatoes, topped with butter, real bacon bits, and blue cheese dressing; rib eye steak grilled outside on the balcony in the snow; and green beans.

Add a little candle light, some crispy sour dough bread, the wine. It was yummy. (Note the cute barbeque tongs.)

And here's the dessert:

Valentine's Day

2008-02-17T22:36:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day came two days early. David surprised me with this lovely bouquet on February 12 along with a couple pieces of his Aunt Elsie's home-made candy (that was a real sacrifice on his part, I'm sure). The most amazing thing? I took this photo today, February 17th, and they are still gorgeous.

Noro Sock Yarn

2008-02-05T22:29:00.001-06:00

In a fit of avarice, I purchased an assortment of Noro sock yarn, over the internet. It wasn't "sight unseen"; it was "touch untouched." This is the scratchiest, lumpiest yarn I've ever used. My gauge swatch hand washed to a somewhat softer consistency, but knitting with this yarn is just not pleasant. To me knitting is a tactile experience. I certainly hope this stuff (70% wool, 30% nylon) washes to a softer feel.

Did I say lumpy? Yes, I did. Whoever spun this yarn was not at all consistent. It's difficult to see in this photo but I'm grateful that the biggest chunks of barely spun yarn didn't end up on the bottom of the sock. And some parts of it are basically lace weight thin. I hope these hold up in the wash.

But it IS pretty. Right? Now I have to knit the second sock.

Flowers in Jamaica

2008-01-08T20:44:00.001-06:00

I don't know the names of most of these flowers. If anyone wants to give them names in the comments area of this blog, feel free. What I do recognize is that some of these are houseplants that we nurture and talk to and fuss over here in Minnesota.

This is a hibiscus and the resort was loaded with them.

This is a "Wandering Jew"

Croton grows practically wild (it may be wild for all I know) everywhere. It's the tall red plant behind the palm. Look closely at the row of plants near the bottom of the photo. Then look at the next photo.

Sansevieria trifasciata (Mother-In-Law's Tongue) used as a fence line.

More croton (the narrow leafy thing)

More croton

They called this Red Ginger.

Pothos

More Animals We Saw in Jamaica

2007-12-27T18:22:00.001-06:00

One of our side trips was to the Black River where we rode on a pontoon boat. David took this first photo of an egret. These egrets seemed larger than the ones in Minnesota, but for all I know, it's a Minnesota egret wintering in Jamaica. Who knows? There were also several nestlings but none of our photos of them turned out.

This next is a fresh-water crocodile. I hadn't been aware they lived in Jamaica until our horseback ride at the Rhodes Hall Plantation, northeast of Negril. This photo is of a croc on the Black River. The tour guide was able to reach his hand under the croc's chin and lift it up. I suspect they keep the crocodiles well fed so they won't nibble on tour guide "finger food." Look at those teeth!

This peacock is located at Rhodes Hall. I didn't even try to get it to spread its tail (you tai chi types should understand that statement).

Paz is a donkey at the Appleton Rum Factory. (That's a fun link. Cruise around to look at all the chances to win a trip to Jamaica.) They used to use donkeys to turn the sugar cane squisher (I have no idea what its real name should be). They'd have two donkeys walking in an endless circle while the cane was fed into the squisher and cane juice would come out the other end.

At the end of the factory tour, we came to another cane squisher. Guess who volunteered to be a donkey! The cane juice was sweet but otherwise had little flavor.

This is one of two kittens at the LTU pub, just south of where we were staying. LTU served, of all things, veiner schnitzel, which David said was quite good. Anyway, neither of these kitties was tame but would come up to you if you had food in your hand. Then they would bat at your hand to try to make you drop the food (only one claw came out when I wouldn't drop my bite of lobster). I suspect the cats are kept for catching mice and other vermin. Must be doing a great job. I didn't see any vermin.

There was another horseback riding place just below YS Falls. I'll put more photos from our trip to YS Falls later. You already saw one if you checked out my Christmas day entry.

And to end the list, this is a gecko. Years ago, when we were in Jamaica, the resort had many of these little guys. I got used to seeing them hanging on the walls in the bathroom. They would eat the little bugs that came in. This is the only gecko I saw this trip. And there were a lot of little, teeny, tiny, itty-bitty ant-looking bugs. They were light in color and maybe a millimeter long. I tried to invite this fellow in, but he didn't seem interested.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T22:48:00.000-06:00

From YS Falls.

(No, that's not me.)

Ahhhh. Relax. Enjoy.

2007-12-17T21:21:00.000-06:00

"Serious Chicken" - in Jamaica

2007-12-16T19:14:00.000-06:00

These pictures are for my son Ben, especially, and the others who went to Jamaica with us in 1986.

Back then Ben and I were in Jamaica one week before the rest of our friends arrived. While out walking we came across a fellow with a 55-gallon drum who had converted it into a grill. His only menu choice was grilled chicken. He'd take a large piece of foil, put a couple pieces of white bread on it, pour catchup and some hot sauce on the bread, and place the chicken, which he'd literally hacked up with a cleaver, on top of the bread.

While there waiting for him to finish our dinners, a "rasta mon" on his bicycle came along and, in pattoi (I think he figured we wouldn't understand him), asked the man at the grill if we, the poor unsuspecting tourists from America, knew that chicken had only just been scraped off the road. From then on, Ben and I referred to it as the Road-Kill Chicken place. The chicken was very, very tasty, by the way.

On this trip, David and I discovered, located in roughly the same spot, Serious Chicken.

(Dave took this photo and the last two.)

While we were waiting for our food, I asked Felix if he was the same fellow who'd been cooking chicken along side the road all those years ago. He said "yes" and showed me a photo of him with his cooker back then. It's the same cooker, retired now, out by his sign in front of the little restaurant.

David ordered the conch soup and said it was delicious.

I ordered the chicken and it was also very good.

Actually, we ate there for dinner earlier in the week. I don't recall what David order, maybe the Jerk chicken. I ordered the lobster, which was a whole lobster, maybe 8-10 inches long, cut in two in lengthwise along the back, and grilled. It was very good but I couldn't be sure what parts of it I was eating so I was glad it was dark out.

Security System

2007-12-09T19:08:00.001-06:00

The resort where we stayed in Negril, Jamaica, uses dogs for security. Twenty-one years ago, they were German Shephards. Now there are two Rhodesian Ridgebacks and a Mongrel of some sort.

Ridgebacks are identified by the well-defined ridge of hair growing backward toward their heads. They are quite large dogs, weighing 80-90 pounds and standing 25-27 inches tall.

- - - - - - - - - -

This is Sugar, or, as the Jamaicans who worked there pronounced it, Sugah. We were told she was pregnant but it is too early for us to see. She is the youngest of the three dogs and the most playful and most alert. When someone comes onto the property that she hasn't been introduced to, she stands tall and makes a couple hearty barks of warning. Then she loses interest and lies down. I do not want to think what she might do if she didn't want you to be there.

- - - - - - - - - -

This fellow is Tensing. He's actually a couple inches shorter than Sugah and more laid back than she is. I guess he figures if she's going to be vigilant, he doesn't need to be.

- - - - - - - - - -

And here's Bella. She's the oldest of the three and mostly mutt, I think. Sugah often tries to get Bella to play and Bella doesn't seem interested. 90 percent of the time, Bella can be found on the patio in front of the office with the other dogs, but lying in the shade.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

2007-12-05T09:40:00.001-06:00

The bridge has no handrail and is 20 feet above the water. It's a popular place for people to jump from. This was taken from our balcony.

The hammocks are a lovely place to relax, nap, knit, watch the dolphins.

Hibiscus in the predominant flower at this resort. They are what we find in our room every day on the bed when the maid is done.

This is our shower, located below the Pillar House.

This is the view from the loo.

Sock, gorillapod, and iPod.

Horseback riding by the sea and in it.

Peacock does not spread its tail.

Sock progress Tuesday afternoon.

Sunset Tuesday.

Sock progress Wednesday noon.

A Sock's Eye View of the Carribean

2007-12-03T15:00:00.001-06:00

Full blogging will happen after we get back. While we have internet here, it is relatively weak. Fortunately, there is a somewhat comfortable couch outside the resort office where I can sit and feel the breeze, listen to loud music emanating from across the street, and type.

On Saturday afternoon, my sock was quite small.

By Sunday evening it had grown considerably and was deserving of a refreshing drink of Red Stripe, the local lager.

I've turned the heel on my sock but not taken a photo of it. Suffice it to say, I've snorkeled, I've eaten yummy food (lobster on the first day, snapper last night), napped a little, knit a lot. We're planning to dinner at a place called Rock House this evening.

The water feels like it's around 82 degrees. Cool when you first get in, but easy to get used to. Because it is salt water, I float like a fishing bobber. There are a lot of pretty fish in that water. The contact lenses are working fine.

Well, that's all for today. Stay tuned for further adventures of april and David. We're going horseback riding tomorrow.

Eat your hearts out, folks

2007-12-02T14:36:00.000-06:00

This is the view out the sea-facing door on our deck, the Middle Pillar house.

And this is the lovely group of blossoms arranged on a bath towel on the bed.

Remember, you can click on these photos to see a larger view.

That's all for today.

BLOG used to mean something else

2007-11-28T20:06:00.001-06:00

I find it interesting that I BLOG. I know it means weblog but it used to mean something else. Like now, while I'm fighting off the effects of a cold, just 3 days from getting on a plane to fly to Jamaica. BLOG is the word I would say back in the 1900s.

We used a few other strange acronyms. IGAS meant "I Give A Sh#$" and was usually said in a bland sort of way.

BLOG is how I got up this morning after essentially no sleep last night. I took a sudafed. I don't know if it kept me awake. It kept me breathing. That's important. But today was the tai chi demonstration for my Sifu's boss: the US Government. Someone from Washington DC was in town and the Colonel decided to have "events" in her honor. So we spent an hour demonstrating what we do at the school. Dave, Warren, Sifu, and I had a great deal of fun. Sifu performed all the forms: cane, fan, 40-form, sword, broadsword (saber), 2-person form, applications. She's amazing, which is why I have stayed with her for 14+ years.

I'm busy planning what to take to Jamaica. I'm knitting an alpaca and sparkles scarf. It may end up with the sparkles on the ends and plain "Ruby" in the middle. Ruby is the animal it came from. I'm also bringing socks, er, not socks but sock stuff. I have one and a half pair already done to take along. Unfortunately, it is going to be a bit loose. I used US3 needles for the first completed pair and they are too big. Panda bamboo and cotton does not, repeat, not shrink, no matter how hard I try.

So I'm waiting for my Jimmy Beans Wool order to arrive. The tracking says UPS will get it to me tomorrow, Thursday. We leave at Oh Dark Thirty Saturday, so I should be fine. I ordered a couple 40" US2 circular needles to do the magic loop sock knitting trick. It'll be my first but I have a book in case I forget due to lack of sleep or something.

Watch this blog for vacation posts. If we have a decent internet connection, that is. I'll try to get one photo up Sunday.

Yarn Cafe and Baklava

2007-11-23T23:06:00.000-06:00

A couple months ago, Betty e-mailed me with information on how to get a $50 gift certificate for $25 at the Yarn Cafe in Maple Grove. She, Ann, and I decided to go for it and today, the day after Thanksgiving, we visited the shop. There were a lot of ladies there and gobs of gorgeous yarn. My eye kept being drawing in different directions. Wherever I looked was a dizzying sea of color and texture. Once I steadied myself, I realized I'd already paid for my purchases and all I had to do was take it to the counter. I settled on some sock yarn.
Ann's eyes landed on an amazing felted jacket. The first one we looked at was in an off white and just lovely. There was a tourquoise one as well as a small child's jacket. Betty enabled Ann quite nicely. It was fun watching them going from wool yarn to mohair and back again finding enough skeins of compatible colors. Ann settled on medium gray wool and a mixed pastel mohair. It will be lovely.
The Yarn Cafe also serves food and we all had their chicken noodle soup, which I thought was quite good, if a bit salty. And we had half sandwiches to go with the soup. Clever idea, yarn and a cafe.

After we were sure there wasn't anything more we just couldn't live without, we drove to the house of a lovely woman named Pat who taught us how to make baklava. She had already purchased all the ingredients for us. The nuts were ground and seasoned before we arrived. Philo dough is extremely thin and you have to work quickly before it gets dry and crumbly.

The first thing we had to do was layer 15 sheets of philo dough in the pan, painting each with clarified butter, using paint brushes. Then we layered the ground nuts (not quite powdered) with more philo and more nuts, etc. When we were finished with the nuts, we layered the rest of the philo sheets and butter until we were out of philo. We cut them into triangles and poured the rest of the butter over the tops.
Then we waited for them to bake in the oven. A little wine helped the wait.

When they were nearly done, we created the sugar syrup, flavored with honey, lemon, orange, and a cinnamon stick which we poured over the finished baklava. Yum.

SPEBSQSA, Inc. or Barbershop Harmony Society

2007-10-28T21:34:00.001-05:00

SPEBSQSA stood for Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. But it's more than quartets. It's much more.

Betty and I spent the weekend in beautiful Rochester, MN, attending the Land O' Lakes 2007 District Fall Convention and Contest of the Barbershop Harmony Society . She and I have been attending spring and fall contests for over 10 years and have enjoyed every minute of it. It's our regular twice-a-year getaway.

I wasn't able to take any photos during the contest. There are copyright issues and it's really important not to do anything to distract contestants while they are singing.

Friday night there were 22 quartets competing. The top 10 came back Saturday night for the final contest to earn the right to go to the international competition which will be held in Nashville next summer.

Saturday during the day 17 choruses competed for the same honor: competing at International.

Friday evening's contest was followed by the ADC (Association District Quartet Champions) show. Every year, quartets are invited to perform on a 5-year anniversary. This year 1967-1997 quartets appeared plus the 2005 and 2006 district champions. I took a few photos during this show. It's hard to get good color and they move around a lot so bear with the fuzzy yellowy colors.

This first photo is of Downstate Express, 2004 Seniors Champion and 1982 District Champions. Here their bass singer, Gary Rogness, wears a "tiger" face complete with fur while singing "Hold that Tiger" and all the while complaining loudly that it's a "stoopid" song. It is a favorite among those who've heard them and funny to all.

The Happiness Emporium were International Champions in 1975. They have a wide range of music, from comedy to gospel.

Jackpot won District in 1997.

Voices Only won the District Championship last year, 2006. Young, energetic, friendly. Great performers.

And for those of you who have read my blog because I knit, here's a photo of my Panda Cotton (and Bamboo) sock (Fall Herbs colorway). The pattern is Perriwinkle. They are a little loose so I need to see what I can do to make them smaller. The label says machine wash in cool so maybe warmer water will shrink them up a bit.

The last photo is my newest project, Monkey Socks, made of Knit Picks Felici Superwash Wool, Hummingbird colorway. I've started them with #3 needles but since I did the previous socks on #3 I'm thinking I ought to frog back and use #2 needles to make them fit better. Can't decide yet. It's time for bed.

Alpaca Farm Tour 2007

2007-10-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

Every fall the Alpaca farmers in Minnesota put on a farm tour that can cover a LOT of miles. Betty, Ann, and I drove north first, then west of the Cities.
The first 3 photos are at the same farm. There was a little yarn here but I was saving my purchase for "Ruby" yarn from Hollyhock farm.

These boys are guarding their flock. The owners were not home. I'd especially wanted to visit this farm as they were very friendly people and we'd found some lovely specialty alpaca yarn that had been spun with some sparkly stuff. But nobody was home. I was glad the dogs were tied.

This barn had lots of yarn, some of it even almost the right color of brown like Ruby. But still I waited. You see, if you buy yarn or roving from the same animal, it will always match.

Gramps looked cute greating everyone from his bench.

This black and white face intrigued me.

This is Ricky. He is a very inquisitive and friendly animal. He seemed to want to sniff everyone who came into his barn. His nose and mouth are very soft. I watched children feeding dandelions to the alpaca and they were very gentle as they took the leaves. Ricky even let me scratch his neck.

When I grow up, I'd like a Ricky.

By the way, Hollyhock Farm had sold Ruby. They had photos of her with her brand new baby. They did not have any yarn from her. Neither Ann, Betty, nor I came home with any new purchases. That has to be a first. But we all know our stashes are pretty healthy at the moment.

We finished with dinner at Texas Roadhouse on Main Street in Coon Rapids. Thanks for driving, Betty.

The Finished Tenderloin

2007-10-01T20:14:00.000-05:00

My September 22 blog entry discussed the end-of-summer and a final dinner party at the campground. Since David actually read that blog, he sent a photo of the finished, cooked, resting-for-a-few-minutes beef tenderloin.

Also, since I'm still sick, I don't want to spend much time sitting here at the computer. So here it is. It was really delicious.

Thanks again, David.

Knitting Retreat

2007-09-30T21:08:00.001-05:00

[First of all, I really don't think I was contageous. I'd had this cold for more than a week, as of last Friday when the retreat began. And I tried to stay pretty much off to the side of the great room and away from the rest of the ladies. Except during meals when we all sat together. So if any of you come down with this cold, I am truly, truly sorry.]

A friend of my friend Betty, named Darcy, put together a wonder weekend. She found a lovely lodge north of Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, on the eastern shore of Pipe Lake. There were a couple bedrooms upstairs with room for four plus a bunk room downstairs with 3 double bunks. We could see Pipe Lake on two sides of the lodge. There was a large screened porch and a deck in back; a great room upstairs and another downstairs, both of which had large fireplaces. Those would be very nice in the winter.

And there was a large, well equipped kitchen. She got lots of yummy food from a caterer, in Lakeville I think; several lovely meals which she prepared for us. Her husband also fixed a few of the side dishes. Some of the women who attended also brought snacks and things to share. There was cake and pie and cookies, wine, water, soda, assorted breakfast and lunch foods.

In all there were 10 women, Betty, Ann, Ann, Marna, Darcy, Kate, Shauna, Lynn, me, and Pam (in no particular order). I knew some of them from elsewhere and met some of them for the first time at the retreat. All were very nice people, indeed. Knitters are like that; yeah, they are.

When we arrived, there was a lovely bouquet of roses waiting for us. The upstairs great room had many spotlights in the ceiling so we had more than enough light. It rained for most of the weekend, but we didn't mind. We were warm and dry and knitting.

We took a field trip to a local yarn shop and found several kinds and colors of yarns I'd never seen before. The lady who owns the shop opened specially for us. It's not the tourist season any longer. I think we made it worth her while to take a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon.

The bunks down stairs were quite comfortable. Rumor has it the upper bunks were somewhat difficult to get into.

Once or twice the sun came out.

More often it rained. But if you look carefully, you'll see the leaves turning orange across the lake.

Marna brought this jigsaw puzzle of yarn and knitting.

Everyone seemed to get a long well. There were no smokers (yes, I'm prejudiced against smoke--I grew up with a smoking mother and am very sensitive to it). Everyone pitched in at meal time and clean-up time. Those who knew more than the rest were quite willing to share that knowledge with us.

There's probably a lot more to say about this weekend. However, this cold is not responding to the sign-away-your-identity-pseudoephedrine I bought at a 24-hour Walgreens and I think I just need to try to go to bed and get some rest. I forgot to mention the thunder and lightening that kept me awake for quite some time in the middle of the night Saturday.