So... still alive ... two ankles that work!

So, I'm still alive and you would think that having been home from mid-January until the beginning of April I might have blogged more. Somehow that didn't happen, which might not be too much of a surprise for those that know me.

But today I'm here to ask for money. My nicely repaired ankle and I will be going on a 5K (walk, not run) for NAMI (the National Alliance of Mental Illness) and I would love to ask for your support.

Since I'm pretty sure the 3 of you that read this blog, are also my facebook friends, please feel free to point anyone that isn't my facebook friend that you think would like to donate to my walk to this link.

Donate to my walk!

I will try to see if I can't manage to sit myself down and give a summary of the ankle recovery and what I've been up to since getting back to work later. But please, if you know of anyone that would be willing to contribute to this great cause, click the link!

Reading Challenge, Part 2

So I've had some time to read a few more books and I can check off a few more things on the reading challenge list.

A trilogy and a book set in the future were checked off the list by three Margaret Atwood books:
Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, and MaddAddam

A book you can read in a day was checked off by a JD Robb book, Celebrity in Death. I tell people I consider her books to be brain candy or book junk food and just like a bag of chips, sometimes you just keep eating and before you know it the bag is empty!

The Friends That Live in My Computer

Today was a day where I was shown once again that I am blessed with wonderful friends. In this case they are friends that live in my computer.

First I received a delivery of a wonderfully colourful and cheery bouquet of flowers. Unfortunately there was no card or florist information so I was at a loss as to who sent them to me. Luckily, the card was found in the mailbox!

They are from my friend Judy, who lives on the other side of the state. Judy and I have "known" each other for at least 15 years now, but we've never met in person. We met on the Prodigy bulletin boards in the late 90s/early 2000s. After Prodigy folded up, many of us moved to another bb site but eventually we started keeping in touch via facebook.

A little while after Keith got home from work, I could hear a package being delivered to the front door. Since I was expecting a basket that I ordered to use for my walker, I wasn't too surprised. But instead of one box there were two! The other one was from my friend Calista in Oklahoma. Calista and I have known each other for about seven years, again thanks to the internet. We did meet in person a couple of years ago at Rhinebeck, though.

She decided I could use a tropical vacation, but since that wasn't really an option she would send me a vacation in a box!

Floral leis, macadamia nuts, a CD from a group called Tiki Gods, a Tiki mug, and some great yarn. (cat not included).

So, anyone who thinks it's weird to have friends that live in their computer just isn't lucky enough to have the friends that live in mine!

2015 Reading Challenge

I've seen this in several places on facebook, and pinterest so I was thinking of giving it a try anyway, but I really might as well do it now! I have a lot of extra time to catch up on my reading right now and I might as well take advantage of it.

I recently finished The Farm by Tom Rob Smith which checks off a book set in a different country, a book by an author I've never read before, and depending on definition a mystery/thriller.

Last night I finished V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton. This one is definitely a mystery/thriller, as well as a book I've owned but never read, and a book by a female author.

I'll have to see how far I can get on this list before I go back to work.

Oddly enough, feeling lucky and blessed

So, for those that don't know already on Monday I was going down our front steps to get to the car so I could go to work and I slipped on an icy spot and fell. I thought it was only a sprain or twisted ankle and tried to (very unsuccesfully) get myself back in the house. Failing miserably at that, I did manage to get myself into the car - still under the dillusion I would be able to drive myself to an urgent care place in the neighborhood.

Reality eventually kicked in and I called Keith, crying the entire time asking him to please come home and get me. He made it here in record time and took me to the emergency room. They diagnosed me with a fracture on both sides of my ankle which meant surgery to put in a plate and pins to stablize everything.

Somehow I managed to make it to age 46 without having a broken bone or needing an overnight in a hospital but that went out the window pretty quickly. I will admit to a bit of crying when the doctor gave me the news. The idea of having to ask people for help is a difficult one for me, even if I'm asking the person I love most in the world (and that I know feels the same about me).

Surgery was Tuesday and it went well. But Wednesday was a very hard day for me. The surgeon's physician's assistant's answer to when I could go back to work was "whenever you want" (WOOOHOOOO!!!!!) followed by "but you're not allowed to drive for 6-8 weeks because you can't put any weight on that leg" (BOOOOOOOO).

So now reality is really setting in, and as Keith will tell you, I was pretty down for a large part of Wednesday. But there was some light at the end of the tunnel - they let me go home. But I was going home faced with the prospect of spending an unknown length of time in our very nice, fully furnished, and comfortable basement because we had no idea how I would get up the stairs. Attempting the stairs with the physical therapists at the hospital was a disaster. I just could not convince my body to put my left foot on the step first in order to use the crutch. Apparently I am VERY right footed!!!

So even will all of this, why am I feeling lucky and blessed?

Well, lots of reasons actually.

I am lucky and blessed because I have the best husband in the world who is doing such an amazing job of taking care of me. He has had to step in and do EVERYTHING around the house, help me with physical tasks, and worry about me (the one part I wish he would do less of though).

I am lucky and blessed because I have AMAZING friends. My friend Heather, packed up and headed to PA from Ohio to help me out. She hung out with me Wednesday night so Keith could go to bed and all day Thursday as well. With her help the three of us were able to formulate a plan to get me up the steps and into the main part of the house. I don't know many people who have friends like that.

I am lucky and blessed because my work has been fantastic about all of this. My co-workers genuinely care about how I'm doing. Many have sent me text messages checking in on me and are planning visits to keep me company.

I am lucky and blessed because I have a fantastic support group of knitting friends around me as well. Many of them "live in my computer" but they have been there to listen to me, offer suggestions to me, and just be the wonderful friends I need in a time like this.

I have a fantastic nurse. She has four legs and fur, but Bobble is quite good at keeping an eye on me. She even got enough courage to visit me in the dreaded basement when I was there for the night. She seems to want to keep an eye on me as much as she is able to, following me to other rooms and sitting there watching me until it's time to head back to the living room.

I am also lucky and blessed because it is hard for me to ask for help (this one seems odd I know) but part of the reason it's hard for me is because I have, as my sister calls it "the Woody stubborness." So yes, it's hard to ask for help, but it also means that I am bound and determined to do as much as I am able to for myself and to find solutions when obstacles present themselves.

So I'll be out of commission for a while, but in the long run, I think I'm pretty lucky.

Well, this is certainly a day!!!

Most people don't associate 11 September with good things any more, but this is one AMAZING day for me!!!

Three years ago today, I was lucky enough to marry the most wonderful man in the world.

And today while we were out to dinner, we got a call from our real estate agent...

Yes, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!

We saw it online, went to the open house on Sunday, went back to see it Monday with our agent, made a formal offer last night, did some back and forth this afternoon, and had a final decision before 6:30 tonight!!!

I CANNOT wait to have a gas stove again!!! I have hated having electric stoves for the past 3 years!

We have plans to turn the basement into an Ohio State theme.

And...... we have a koi pond!!! I had to laugh last night that the koi were listed on the list of things that were to be left at the house after the sale!!

Sometimes I Feel .....

"I ain't got nobody to love me

I ain't got nobody to hold me

I ain't got nobody to squeeze me

I'm just a motherless child

I'm just a motherless child"

It's Mother's Day here in the US. Normally this is a day that doesn't bother me, in fact I don't even normally think about it. My mother has been gone for 40 years this year (in 15 days to be exact) so Mother's Day to me hasn't been a big deal.

For some reason this year, the fact that I am a "motherless child" is bothering me. I can't really say that I miss my mother, I was 3 days shy of my fifth birthday when she died, so it's very hard to miss someone you never knew. But maybe that's what's bothering me -- the fact that I have no idea who she was, what she was like, what made her laugh, what she believed in, what she would have thought of me as an adult now.

Maybe it's bothering me this year, because I am the same age she was when she was pregnant with me. From what my aunt, her sister, told me when I was growing up, they didn't know what to expect. The doctor had given them a HUGE list of things that might be wrong with me because of her "advanced" age and the lack of prenatal testing that exists today.

A few days ago, it was what would have been my parent's 48th anniversary, and I changed my facebook profile picture to the only picture I have that was taken on their wedding day. My husband commented how much I look like my mother (he's not the first to make that comment) and asked me what she was like. I had to say "I don't know."

My memories of her a very, very few and some I wonder if I really remember or if I just have a picture of a photograph in my head. What do I remember? I remember one morning when I woke up very early, before my dad went to work, sitting on her lap, having toast dunked in her coffee while they talked before he left for the day. I remember having my mouth washed out with soap, I don't remember what I said though. I remember sitting next to her chair, while she watched a soap opera (Days of Our Lives, maybe) and she brushed my hair. I remember seeing her in her casket, which is probably not your typical childhood memory of a mother.

Is there a point to all of this? No not really. I'm not looking for sympathy or pity or anything like that. In most ways, I've come to terms with the fact that I am a motherless child a very long time ago (plus my dad ROCKED when I was growing up), but maybe this year, if you remember my mom, you can share a memory or two with me. I would love to know what she was like.

One week in...

Well so far I have knit every day this month to keep up with the contest at KNOTS.

And that means that even after a very big trip to the frog pond last night (I mean seriously, HOW did I forget to turn the heel????) I am on pace to have this sock done in time to wear it to the game next Sunday!

The knitting is to the point where it's all plain knitting for a bit until I get to the toe decreases. Hopefully I'll have it done before Friday so I can have another project ready to go on the needles for the drive to Chicago!

Click on the picture to see the rest of the sock!!!

February Challenge

My not quite LYS has issued a challenge for the month of February, knit or crochet every day during the month. I have to admit that I don't knit every day, even though I carry my knitting with me to work all the time.

I have some projects that I am working on that have a deadline so I've taken the plunge and signed myself up for the challenge (plus there are prizes!!!)

Even if I don't win anything, I'll at least make sure I get to wear my Miami Redskins socks when we go to Chicago in a couple of weeks. We're going to watch Miami play Notre Dame at an outside hockey game at Soldier Field and I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!

So far I have one sock done and a decent start on the second, so with the challenge I think I will be in good shape to have warm feet at the game!

I still need a picture of sock number one finished, but at least you get the idea!

Olympic Knittng Wrap-up

So I finished my wingspan in plenty of time to cross the finish line for the ravelympics,I mean ravellenic games.

By the time I left my bookgroup on Friday night, I had very little left to knit. I figured I would easily be able to finish it between driving to Ohio and spending some time at the nursing home.

I really only needed the drive to Ohio to finish. Although I did do the cast off at the nursing home instead of the car.

It was done in time to show it off to Jeanne when I went to her trunk show at KNOTS on Saturday.

All of the pretty yarn I bought will have to be for another post so I don't overwhelm this one with too many pictures!

(scroll to see the whole thing, sorry my choices were teeny tiny or HUGE!!!)


I even got a medal for completing it by the end of the Olympics!

Now I just need to finish the socks I was working on before the Olympics started!

Halfway Point

The Olympics have reached the end of the first week as of yesterday, and I've reached the halfway point of my shawl!

And, as promised last week, we have some action shots!

Click on the picture to see the full image!

Wings over Pittsburgh

First, my apologies to Sir Paul, but hey - a catchy title is a catchy title!

It's too dark to get any nice action shots of the shawl in progress but I didn't tell you much about it yesterday, so I guess we can fill in some gaps tonight!

The pattern is called Wingspan. It's a pretty nifty concept, short rows, all garter stitch and a total of 8 triangles (although you can make it larger if you choose).

For my yarn, I've picked Sausalito by Crystal Palace. The colour is Mediterranean and it's a lovely group of blues.

I've just started my third triangle, so I seem to be on a good pace to get this completed before the Olympics are over. Hopefully some action shots will be coming soon!

Is this thing on?

Well, it certainly is dusty in here! Guess that's what happens when you don't do anything with the blog in 5 months!!! February is for Finishing didn't exactly get all of the stuff finished, but it's Olympic time and tham means Ravelympics Ravellenic games! I've decided to try my hand at a shawl this time around. And in hopes of maybe actually doing some blogging I've decided to link up with Jeanne at Life in Cleveland's social media link up.

No pictures yet, but I've gotten one of the triangles of the shawl completed! I'll try for pictures later this week!

February is for Finishing

Jumping on the bandwagon started by Life In Cleveland. I have at least three projects that I would really like to see finished this month, a pair of socks for Keith, a pair of felted clogs (again for Keith), and a Harry Potter scarf for his mom.

I am sure that if I manage to get these finished, I have some other things around here that could use some attention too. Like the DeGrazia needlepoint that's been sitting around unfinished for a couple of years!

Now to get to it!!! This stuff won't finish itself (obviously or I would be done by now!)

This post is brought to you by the Letter P!

Because P is for Pickles.

A couple of months ago, I decided to try my hand at making my own pickles. No real canning involved, just a easy refrigerator dill pickle.

They are just the way I like them ... really really sour. In fact, I've made them a second time since then!

P is also for Pittsburgh Pirates.

In July (yeah I know I'm behind) Keith and I went to the Pirates Stitch N Pitch event.

P is also for PBS, which carries Antiques Roadshow.

I managed to score a tshirt at the Liberty Mutual Booth on the way out of the event!

Earlier this year, I learned that Antiques Roadshow was coming to Pittsburgh so I entered the drawing for tickets. To my surprise we got tickets! They don't allow you to take any pictures on the appraisal floor but it was really neat to see all of the "behind the scenes" workings of the show.

Will we be on TV? Probably not, unless we're in the background of some shot. Nothing we took with us will make us rich, but on the plus side we didn't over pay for any of out items either!

Day Thirty - A Song You Liked Last Year

I actually discovered this song (or more accurately this video) about two years ago. Yes the song is a nice song and I enjoy it .... but the video!!! Well if you know me you'll understand :D

Enjoy!!!!!

Day Twenty-Nine - A Song From Your Childhood

If I had to pick a song from my childhood I would say this is the QUINTESSENTIAL song from that era. For some reason I was OBSESSED with this song and would sing it constantly.

Why this song? No idea. It came out when I was 5 and I probably didn't fixate on it until a year or so later (when I was 6 or 7). I think at some point I probably had the 45 for it (and may still for all I know!).

My obsession with song was so rampant that my cousin actually posted on my facebook wall earlier this month that she heard this in the grocery store and IMMEDIATELY thought of me.

So I would say that 36 years later this is the song from my childhood!

Day Twenty-Eight - A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty

OK I am seriously stretching the whole "guilty" thing here. Because, honestly, I can't think of a song that actually inspires guilt. But this is a great workout song and I really haven't been working out lately. Why? No real good reason but if I did I could certainly listen to this song more often!!!

Day Twenty-Seven - A Song You Wish You Could Play

Well Blogger ate my post the first time I tried this, so here is hoping the second time is a charm!

As I mentioned yesterday, I don't play an instrument and never have. That being said there is ONE instrument I've always had a not-so-secret desire to learn how to play.

The Bagpipes.

I blame the Welsh in me for that one. And yes, the Welsh do pipe. In fact, the video today is of Welsh bagpipes. Originally I was going to go with something modern and Scottish but as I said Blogger ate that one and I'm too lazy to be arsed to go and find it again.

Day Twenty-Six - A Song by a Group You Should Know

Not really. Today's official topic is "A Song You Can Play on an Instrument." That would be NONE. I've never played an instrument or had any sort of lessons. And somehow I think that the organ my dad bought me when I was a kid, where you played the songs based on the numbers on the keys, counts as playing something.

Although I still know that Silent Night starts 5-6-5-3 (with 5 being middle C). But anyway I digress.

So I thought instead of giving you nothing to listen to, I would pimp the band my friend Emma's husband is a part of, The Woe Betides. They are a just starting out group in England but well worth a listen to (I have their first CD).

Hope you enjoy them!