Just killing time; Tock wouldn't like it.

Little Guy just got in my lap and stuck out his tongue. It is yellow. Why is it yellow? I don't think I want to know.

On this Good Friday I am still working in the morning because Hubby is not off and since I am only contract work, I don't get paid for the days I don't report. Money needs making so I am working. Ph-i-l, however, is not working and yesterday asked me nicely not to came prancing through the house before at least 8:30 a.m. because he fully intends on sleeping in. I assured him I would not be out of my house and in his before 9:30, especially since not only will he be trying to sleep in, so will my brother-in-law and m-i-l (not sleeping, but most definitely doing housework).

Fast forward to this morning. Little Guy had me up at 6:30 a.m. (normally I'm stumbling out of bed at 7:05 and he's not up until 7:40) and it is 8:43 and I am wondering what to do with myself since I can't go in to work yet. Fold towels?

I worked some more on the Shalom Cardigan last night and this morning. I think this one might actually fit me right, tight enough where I want it but still roomy enough to move around. It's fun to knit; there are lots of ptbl (purl through the back loop) and ktbl (knit through the back loop) that I thought would drive me crazy but they aren't too bad. Purling through the back loop while knitting continental can be tricky, especially if you're trying to make sure your stitch doesn't twist. The last time I had to ptbl it was with that Class Wrap and it was done while making a ruffle. That was hard and I'm not going to willingly try that again. But with this, when done in a rib pattern the ptbl and ktbl makes almost a braid look. It's what gives the texture on the collar (yoke?) out to the sleeve. There are 3 tiers of it, with increasing the # of stitches each tier. I'm on the 3rd. After this one I will BO the sts for the armholes and continue in stockinette with a garter border for the body of the cardigan. Depending on how much (or little!) I have to do this weekend it is feasible to finish by Monday. I'm not holding my breath but that would be a nice little present for myself.

It's nice working on a project that uses chunky yarn; it finishes before you know it. I'm so used to the sock yarn and the finer sport-weight yarns that take a while; to keep yourself sane while knitting the 8 sts = 1" gauge you prepare your brain for weeks spent on the project, even if it's a little bit of something. When it's finished you look back on the tender, delicate handiwork and marvel that you did that with your own hands. With the bigger gauge projects, I find my mind is still prepared to take forever with it, but then it's suddenly finished (after only a week or two!) and I'm looking at the solid, secure handiwork and still marvelling that I did that with my own hands!

Makes me think of your US #1 needle tank top, Snakewoman. Here's to creativity, persistance, and time off to utilize those virtues!

Knitting is definitly melachah!

Since I'm not working well with #3 right now (and it's not easy to carry around) I went back to the one project I CAN post: the Shalom Cardigan. Funny I did that, since today is Passover (Happy Passover to whoever is Jewish, the lady who introduced me to this pattern, and that wonderful family I baby-sat for throughout college!) This pattern moves along fast, lots faster than I remember it moving along when I was getting distracted by my surprise projects for LMSS. I might work on this one until it's finished. I'll be able to wear it for another month or two while figuring out those projects I have to fix.

The house front has a new addition that thrills SuperGirl to no end: a flag in the flagpole. I had thought we wouldn't be able to put one up there because of the gutter placement but a few days ago I realized that wasn't the case! It's a lovely American flag (it came with the replacement pole) which I figured was nice for Memorial Day and 4th of July, plus I've never been one to display seasons on or in my house and I might need to do a little something. Hunky Hubby says at football season we get an LSU flag, though. No arguing! I told him that was fine as long as it wasn't so big it blocked the front walkway.

Galaxy defender?

#3 is going to be more challenging than originally thought. I am tempted to start posting it because this is one to talk out but I don't want to ruin the surprise. Maybe it's just first few row jitters...

I think my sock hiatus is closing to an end; I'm starting to eye the bag of sock yarn with that burning sensation in my brain saying "what shall we do today?" I would like to do something different but these skeins have such lovely self-patterning parts I'd hate to not knit them to their full potential. I'm also trying to keep from starting anything new because I have the chenille hat to knit, the purple cabled newsboy to make bigger, the ski hat to eventually get back and make smaller, the Shalom cardigan to finish, and that #3 to wrestle with. Hooray for starting new projects but hooray for not having UFOs hanging around the place. For those who don't know, UFO means "Un-Finished Object"; appropriate, I think. When they are spotted they cause panic, wonder, and concern, only I don't think knitting has little men in black to show up and rescue the innocent citizens. Nice to know I'm doing my bit for humanity.

Nippy Noodles

SuperGirl helped me find the buttons and #3 has been coming along ok. I'm wondering if I'll have enough yarn but I did get gauge and the pattern says "yes." Hopefully it's not a compulsive liar.

I got the purple hat back from the Lovely Aide to fix and add to (she needs 2 more inches) just in time for the 40 DEGREE WEATHER HERE IN APRIL. I had to cover my brand new, just planted/potted plants last night! What the heck? The one time I actually get out and garden it freezes. Too funny. Thanks to Mom I found out about this weather attitude and whipped out the spare sheets to cover them. They looked just fine this morning and Piper (our orange cat) has a little nest of sheets on the front porch rocker until I decide to wash them or use them tonight if there is another freeze.

Now on to work. Drat.

By the way...

I finished Secret Project #2 last night. On to #3 and a button search for #2 (keep you guessing, LMSS!).

You can also click on the pictures below to make them bigger. The detail from my camera is amazing! I didn't realize how nice it was until I clicked on one to see what it would do. Learn something new everyday!

The View from Saturday

Isn't it great? And you can barely see the ashy marks the gardenias had left on the siding (right side of the steps). I scrubbed and scrubbed trying to get it off. The small bushes in between the orange pots (which hold Meme's original plants, still here and ready for spring) are Indian something-or-other (shouldn't I remember that? maybe Hawthorne) and have little white and pink flowers, the flowers in front of them are Gerber daises (in honor of SuperGirl), and the bushes on either side of the steps are camillias (gorgeous in Jan/Feb). The azaleas, alas, aren't as pretty as they were 2 weeks ago but you can still see one of them blooming. That is LMSS's big fat bird on my steps (happy as always) and I couldn't resist taking pictures of SuperGirl's swinging turtle (those purple plants are also Meme's, happy and ready for Spring; isn't it great a part of her still lives on?). Yesterday morning we watered everything again and I buried 2 cans of cheap beer to dissuade the slugs from eating SuperGirl's daisies. We have some big ones and where I don't like killing nature, these are abnormally huge and healthy (I suspect they are the ones stealing the cat's food) and I would like my flowers to survive the season.

The trellis at the far right will have vining pink flowers (don't remember the name) and the potted plants on the porch are in honor of my M-i-l who loves those mixed flower-y pots and always has really nice ones. The green plant at the top is citrenella, dissuading the Louisiana state bird: the mosquito (just kidding, I know the state bird. Dodo, right? Heehee... and the brown pelicans and my elementary school teachers are screaming right now...) and I even included SuperGirl's big happy family picture for Hunky Hubby.

Life is grand. Yes, Hubby is a big baseball fan. I wanted to get the one that said "The [insert last name here]: putting the "fun" in "dysfunctional" " but we aren't dysfunctional and I sometime have people I work with coming by the house that wouldn't understand.

I'm finally not as sore as I was. I also have so much energy I have plans for the backyard too. Herb garden. I can taste it now...

Saturday is for...

I never thought knitting would have helped prepare me for gardening but it has. I have forearm muscles I never knew were there before and they came in handy yesterday. I have these gardenias in my front flower bed that are unhappy and UGG-LEE to say the very least and I am feeling so fabulous I totally redid the whole bed. I got out there with my hose, Ph-i-l's old jeans, a shovel, and had all the neighbors wondering what in the world I was up to. They were impressed once it was all said and done. It was great. And I even did it with no Hubby (he was at a wine tasting but I do have to say he did spend a nightmerish Saturday morning at Lowe's with the rest of Shreveport's population getting soil, mulch, and sand for me) and with 4 kids running around (cousins were over for me to baby-sit) and I DID IT!!! Now there are lovely happy plants with no mean-y weeds and I even did the rest of the front and the sides too.

Now the backyard... That one is going to take a full weekend in itself.

Pictures to come soon. This is a momentous occasion!

I have been knitting, meanwhile, even though in tackling the garden it nearly won and I am VERY SORE. The secret project #2 is 5 rows away from being finished and I will post it once LMSS receives it. It turned out great!