Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Guess what? I have a babysitter today! AND the offer of one next week for a while. Both completely unsolicited. It never ceases to amaze me how things work. Free will being inherently human, means anyone can believe whatever they want and make their choices accordingly. For me, though, having my prayers answered so many times is proof enough. I never doubted, for the record, but I do enjoy the proof that I'm heard and loved, even though at times I feel unworthy. It's a very humbling experience. Especially since I've had a very bad attitude lately. I haven't let much of it out in here, hopefully, but it's been, well... I'll leave it at that. Sometimes we deserve to have our little bad attitudes, because things are unfair or this or that, but they easily get out of hand and turn to discontent or something of that nature. Not that I've been going around with a rain cloud over my head or anything. I try to keep the spirits up in general. It's a little hard to explain outright, so I'll stop trying for now. Anyway, thanks to those of you who've been wishing me well from a distance, it's still working. (and I'm working on my attitude)

Well, I didn't mean to, but I took a break from my knitting for a couple of days. So weird how sometimes you just count the minutes until you can get back to it, and other times you say, "EH, no thanks, maybe tomorrow." Me thinks I needs more socks. Maybe the Strawberry Swirl has learned it's lesson by now and is ready to be socks? We'll see.

With my time being mine today, I decided to go all out. I went to my favorite health food/grocery type store and loaded up on all sorts of interesting stuff for my little bread making adventure. I got Spelt and Barley and Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and Oat Bran (for the dusting top and bottom) and more yeast. Hopefully I won't wreck too much of it, but I'm pretty sure I'll eat it, even if I do =) I also got some delicious smelling Dead Sea bath salts, and a peach scrub stuff, and a loofah, and some very interesting new teas. Green Tea with Jasmine and some stuff called Honeybush, which smells very nice and a couple others. Green Tea fanatic that I am, have to have at least two cups a day =) The Jasmine stuff is superb. I never liked the Jasmine air fresheners, too strong, for my senses, but this tea is. Well, go get some. The brand is Numi - it's awesome.

OH, I was going to spoil myself even more and buy myself a basketball and go to the park and shoot some hoops, but the ball I wanted was gone. I know I'm being all... picky, or whatever, but it really was TOO cool. It was a very pretty pink. (I KNOW, silly me, but - that's the one I want and I think I'll wait) I've never seen a pink basketball, and I SO should have just snatched it while my heart was thumping, (I KNOW, stop saying that) but I talked myself out of it, or rather, I looked away thinking I was being all silly. OH ME, why dost I deny myself such a simple if vain but innocent pleasure? **snicker** mmmm chocolate

The rambling is starting to annoy me. YES I get on my own nerves, don't worry, it's normal for me. (and I can't escape) NOW I'm going to go take that walk, even if it IS raining.

Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

No, I'm not getting married! Been there, done that 12 years ago =)

In my ongoing search for better titles, I figured that was close enough to true. The couch is old. (That's the back drop for the lace pic) The lace is old AND new, because it's getting old taking pictures of it, and there are two new repeats to report. (I'm really scraping it, aren't I)

I also have a new skill thanks to a borrowed recipe! I can bake bread and it's GOOD =)

I think I could bake bread already, but this bread is different. It takes very little time and effort.

I borrowed (or stole) the idea and link to the recipe from one of the blogs I read, Micah's ReALity Tour, by a fellow knitter and Ravelry person. It's good bread. I need to fiddle around with the temperatures and times, because I don't have a cast iron pot, and what I used doesn't really close that well, so more heat gets in and I got premature browning of the crust. So a little cooler for a bit longer will probably do the trick. It's call No-Knead Bread and it's a really cool concept, you should totally try it!

**Revised!** A more thorough recipe can be found at KnitXcorE's blog. The video seems to leave out a couple of crucial steps.

I'm having issues with the vocabulary today, there are 6 kiddos running around here asking me questions. (Like can I please eat the whole refrigerator? I'm hungry all day. lol) Actually, it's only 5 at the moment, one is over at the back yard neighbor's house. (You know, our back yards are back to back, so they just climb the fence to see each other)

BTW...thanks for all the kind words of support in the comments from my last post, it really helps. I don't want you all to think that I am wallowing in my freakish misery, or anything. Even when I don't realize the date of the anniversary of a traumatic event, it still affects me. Last year, I got seriously ill on the anniversary of a family friend's death. I didn't realize it until a week or two later that the dates were the same. Anyway, since that happened, I've been more aware and on guard when those sort of anniversaries come up.

That being said, I've done very well this week, feeling pretty good. Of course the memories creep in, now and again, but they aren't bothersome. I have plenty of distractions to keep me busy. AND I am drastically close to investing in some basketball equipment so I can work out the rest of my kinks that way. =) Either that, or I'm going to have to join a gym, get a babysitter and learn to play racquetball. I don't see the gym thing being too terribly likely, but it sounds fun.

I feel a rant coming on! hahaha You know, I really enjoy this job of being Mom and all, it's the thing I wanted to be when I grew up. My particular brand of motherhood, however, has put me in a spot, temporarily, anyway. There is hardly any time or opportunity to do things for me. I can still knit, obviously, but, I'd like to go out and take a walk, by myself, without having to arrange an act of God. (babysitter) And, I don't mean to complain, but after being THE babysitter for, pretty much my whole life, (I started being the go-to babysitter around the age of 9) there really isn't anyone for me to call on. Everyone else has their own life and job and whatever, which is really how it's supposed to be, I know, but I find myself looking forward to when I can say that for myself. I find myself ALMOST wishing that the kids were a little older. Which I can't really WISH for because I also want them to stay little and innocent for as long as they can. It's just the same catch 22 that we all find ourselves in from time to time. Of course, I have to say, it's much better than it has been for me, but I'm greedy. lol I want JUST a little more. I want to take a long walk.

Fern Lace Progress

Two posts in two days, almost unprecedented, I know, but, since I finished the 13th repeat and started the 14th, I decided to update y'all on how this project was going.

I would be about two rows further, if not three, if I didn't have to tink nearly one whole row last night while being disturbed deeply by the auditions on American Idol. =) I managed to do row 7 as row 9 for most of the width of the stole. Who knows why? It could have been the grating sounds on TV, I suppose, I'm surprised I didn't do worse. I do it to myself, though, I don't HAVE to watch it, do I?

Anyway, I decided to take a couple of back lit pictures to show off the lace pattern. Even unblocked, it actually looks ok.

I'm very much looking forward to getting it blocked to see how airy it can get. I plan to block it rather severely so that it will be all floaty and light. squeeeeeee!

Of course, I also had to do at least ONE artsy photo with depth AND back lighting =))

OH, and I should mention, too, that Shannon suggested the Russian Join for lace. I have used this join previously, but was a little skeptical of whether it would work with a two ply yarn. Well, let me tell ya, it works JUST fine. Great, even. I haven't gotten to the second yarn cake, yet, but came upon a knot in the yarn (my second one, actually) so I decided to give it a trial run. I'm super happy with the result! When I do the join next time, I'll photo the process just in case any of you would like to see how well it works.

Since I am nearly half way on this project, I may just cast on for my super secret project in the next week or so. That way I'll still have something to blog about while working on that a bit here and there.

Of course, those of you who have access to Ravelry can always see what I'm up to in there. The rest will sadly have to wait until the project is gifted before I post it here. (unless you are super curious and email me for info)

On a little less positive note, well, maybe not less, just different. This week marks one year since my first major meltdown. This week through next week, actually, and I don't always do so great with first anniversaries of traumatic events. I've been a little melancholy, but not too terrible. Tired, mainly, because of how much my brain keeps trying to work the whole thing out. I'm not dwelling on it in the conscious so much, and the advice I was given was to turn it over, as something I can't control, to God. Which is what I've been doing. It works pretty good, of course, but it doesn't hurt to also ask for help. (something I've not been so good at doing in the past, and part of how I got to that dark place before) So, here I am, asking for help. Positive energy, vibes, whatever you call it in your house. Think about me a little here and there during these next few days? Thanks, everyone! Love y'all =)

Book Reading Meme

I haven't been a very good meme responder lately. (Sorry, about that peeps) Mainly because I was barely even in a blogging mood for the longest time. This meme, though, is super easy peasy and I am actually reading something, so I can play along.

Page 161 /Sentence 5: "But I am sorry to relate what ensued."

Too bad it wasn't sentence 6, which is a true to form Jane Austen sentence. It says, "All that Mrs Ferrars could say to make him put an end to the engagement, assisted too as you may well suppose by my arguments, and Fanny's entreaties, was of no avail."

Of course they are BOTH Jane Austen sentences, since they are both found on page 161 of Sense and Sensibility, which is the first in the giant book I am reading that contains "The complete novels of Jane Austen" I am actually reading Persuasion, which starts on about page 1227, but doesn't have 161 pages. **sniffles**

As for tags... well, I'm sorta gonna flake on that point, since this is the first meme to which I have responded in over a year. So, if you wish to play along, feel free. Leave a comment to that affect and keep the ball rolling. Otherwise.... well thanks for reading my humble little blog =)*)

My Fern Lace Stole is still growing. I'm on the 13th repeat now, which means, it is finally longer that it is wide! Yippee! I am getting close to the end of my first yarn cake, which now begs the question, "HOW do you discreetly join another ball of yarn when you are doing lace work? Won't it always show?" The whole weaving in the ends in the finishing stage, seems to be rather inconceivable as well, because, it's GONNA show, right? Anyone have any awesome lace joining/weaving in tips to share? me scared

Promised Photos

OK! I finally took pics of the hats. All but one, of course, the one that is lost. I'm hoping to get up to the school in the next day or two and dig through the mountain of lost and found stuff to see if I can find it. (yuck)


I made two of the hats mostly according to the pattern in the January 2008 issue of Creative Knits. I say MOSTLY, because I only used one size of needle and a chunky yarn, instead of two worsted held together. (I'm doing this from memory, it may be wrong) Anyway... I did the other two in all cables instead of cables and bobbles. Bobbles are weird, but coolish for texture. My first few sucked pretty bad, but eventually I got decent at doing them.


I'm still making slow progress on my stole, I couldn't do much with the intermittent migraine I've had for... well yesterday was Tuesday, so 9 days, off and on, but never totally gone. KHAN! (I saw the episode where they take Khan out of stasis the other day, pretty funny) but, I digress.


OH, did I ever mention that I love lifelines? I make a weird mistake a couple of days ago, and if I hadn't had my life line, I would have been totally.... um.... bummed, yeah, bummed =) Gotta love those life lines! (too bad we don't have those for real, life, right? Like, oops, that was a big mistake, lets just go back a few minutes and start that over - oh TOO BAD, that's just your imagination wishing that was possible)

I made a little jaunt over to one of my LYS's yesterday and got another cake of the WONDERFUL Jagger Spun Zephyr silk/merino lace weight I'm using, (Blueberry is the color - I had ripped the band and couldn't remember, so now I know!) and another in a different color, for a top secret project. (cue dramatic music) bomp bomp BOMMMM! I think it has to be top secret, anyway, one never knows who is looking at one's blog, does one? BUT, I can rattle on endlessly about it in Ravelry, because SOME people still can't get in there. BWA HA HA HHHHAAAAAAA. Our very own secret society of knitters. SO... if you want to know the secret, I'll have a project page up soon. (hopefully that means today?) =) Oh yeah, I'm Aprilknitta, in there, if you didn't already know.

MAN! I SO should have gotten some more small stitch markers! DRAT - why can't I think of this stuff 24 hours earlier? RATS

Stolen Blog Fodder

What April Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are influential and persuasive. You tend to have a lot of power over people. Generally, you use your powers for good. You excel at solving other people's problems. Occasionally, you do get a little selfish and persuade people to do things that are only in your interest. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?


Stolen from Robin

Interestingly, Robin and I have a couple of paragraphs in common. =) I admit that I have the tendency to start stuff and lose steam, but I steam on past the boredom and finish anyway. MOST things anyway. If I put down something I was knitting and can't get back into it, I usually just frog it and start something else, but I finish all my knitting, one way or another. I guess that's the "accomplish a lot in a short time" - just get it done during that phase, right? lol That being said, I still have a pumpkin in my cabinet waiting for me to start something with it. How long do pumpkins last? I'd better get to that pretty soon. I think that procrastinator should be somewhere in there, don't you?

Did anyone else notice the blatant contradiction between the last two paragraphs? Tightly wound versus relaxed and chill. Yep, that's me. As ever, the walking oxymoron A type in therapy. =) Remember this post?

I think all those years I was saying "I need therapy" I should have really listened to myself. OH well, no time machines around here that I know of. So onward into the future, which at this moment, means breakfast, coffee, a blanket, my knitting and possibly Persuasion.

OY! Mi Cabeza!

And not as in Loco, but as in OY! Yes, another stupid, dumb, stupid, stupid, dumb, dumb stoooopid migraine. It started Sunday night, when I ate Chinese food that I had requested to be MSG free. (well I guess they forgot - stupid dumb stupid dumb dumb stooopid) So all night Sunday, all day Monday, a break for Monday night and Tuesday, but then, back again full force last night and all day today with a vengeance in spite of taking TWO doses of Excedrine Migraine. I've never taken the doses this close together before, and yet, I am still in ridiculous pain. Typing with only one eye open and screwing up my face quite horrifically.

I had meant to blog this lace progress on Monday or so, but no explanation needed for that, right? And of course I haven't been knitting the last few days, and I may not again until next week.

So far, I'm happy with how it's turning out, the only real problem is going to be a shortage of yarn. I should have known, right? I think I did know, in spite of myself. Maybe I can find this same stuff locally, even though the dye lot will probably be different. At this point, I don't care that much, but that may change.

One other thing, I see now why most lace things have 2 or more lace patterns in them. BOREDOM =) This will be really pretty though, when it's done, and keeping it simple for my first major project is still a good idea. It not even going to need a border, because it's already wavy on the ends and sides. So that's a plus.

I'm sure I'll be starting some other project soon, since I'm already getting tired of taking pictures of this thing. So until then see ya in cyber space.