S'wheatie is HOME

I meditated this morning and the told the universe that I release all my expectations and would take whatever I was offered. About 20 minutes later the shelter vet called to say S'wheatie had a terrible case of mange and did we still want her? I said YES! They agreed to spay her.
After a long and difficult day, many phone calls to our vet and pediatician, she is home. She is spay, she is dealing with a bad case of sarcopic mange, she has been bathed and she is resting in her crate. Until then, here are photos. It has been a challenging day for both of us.

Names for the New S'Wheatie and a rescue comes to visit

I remembered treats, a brush, a tennis ball and a notebook, but forgot the camera. Sorry! This photo is compliments of the shelter volunteer who posts animals on the web. Many thanks to the long-suffering Ginger for giving up her lunch hour and not getting a lunch only to rescue a life. Ms. S'Wheaten Thing is joining our family maybe Thursday. No, she does not have a name. She is young. She is mellow, she is curious.

1. Saoirse (SEAR-sha) Gaelic for Freedom
2. Sheenagh (Sheen-ah) an irish form of Jane and means God is Gracious
   
3. Faraday, heroine of The Wayfarer Redemption and last name of famous Irish Scientist
4. Freedom
5. Taffy
6. Freida

are some names we're kicking around. While I am intellectually drawn to Saoirse, I like the sound of Faraday. I am, however, hesitant as I fear she will become electric in a bad way if we name her that.
On another note, the other dog we had considered in the finalists, Hannah (a Chesapeake bay mix) is coming to foster at our house until she jumps on the doggie transport Thursday of next week. So for a brief moment we get to help her. The kind rescue lady, Katherine, took pictures of Hannah and William and used them to help get Hannah accepted by Connecticut Lab rescue (I think). Hannah is just too mellow for our family. We hope she blossoms when she's here.

Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Rescue

This is dog that is scheduled to join our family. She is a young Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. Aside from an abraison on her elbow and quite a few ticks, she is healthy. She is scheduled to be spay hopefully Wednesday and we will be able to pick her up Thursday. I feel ever so slightly nauseated. It feels an awful lot like when we were trying to get pregnant with child #2 and the test came back positive. Excitement then "what were we thinking? can we really do this?" kicks in. I am hoping she'll be an easy addition. She has no name, but we did find some mardi gras beads in that fur. It's soft, you have no idea how SOFT! We brushed and brushed her today at the shelter. She was fine with it, but there is a lot of hair to remove before she looks good. She never barked the entire time. She was very easy going.

Ann Hood, "Knitting Circle" is coming to Memphis!!!

If you do not live in Memphis, check out Ann's website and see if she is visiting a bookstore near you (hopefully a wonderful independent bookseller). We are fortunate to have Davis-Kidd Booksellers here and their special event and marketing staff are phenomenal. I met with them in January and they gave me several copies of Knitting Books and asked if I, we, MemphisSnB/DK Knitters had any suggestions etc. They are wonderful and accommodating and we enjoy meeting there bi-weekly (no matter what special event they're hosting) and knitting, chatting, noshing etc. Today Katherine (marketing) called to tell me that Ann Hood, the heart-warming author of "Knitting Circle" was coming! Mark your calendar:

Ann Hood, "Knitting Circle"
May 30th, 6 p.m.
Davis Kidd Booksellers
387 Perkins Road Extended, Memphis, TN

Ann is rumored to call this leg of her book tour the "BBQ tour" and I am waiting to hear back from her (or more likely her publicist) because I know several of us would love to take her out for lunch, dinner, drinks or a massage (but even I draw the line at a massage with BBQ sauce, yuck!). Stay tuned to this site for more information. If you have NOT purchased your very own copy of this book, please purchase it from Davis Kidd. I know you can get it for less at Amazon etc, but they aren't bringing Ann to town now are they?

There's no Seder like our Seder, it's fun and it's not long!

Can you hear Ethyl Merman singing that? (go ahead, try) So ultimately we hosted a total of twelve people for first night. Big hugs and thanks to my darling wife Ginger for helping clean for days and ironing linens (which she announced as she dropped off to sleep last night "must go to the cleaners next time") Thanks to Diane Mc and Pat S. for loaning card tables. Thanks to the boys for making the plague bags, peeling oodles of potatoes and making salad. The Haggadah was our very own and I noticed more errors than before (the Aricept is working!) so I might make a new one or buy a new set. Any one used the "30 minute seder" with any luck?
The menu turned out well, if I do say so, and I should probably post the recipes on my other blog, but that will have to wait until I have regain some energy.

• Chicken Soup with matzo balls
• chopped liver
• gefelte fish (thanks Pat!)
  
• homemade maror & charoset
• salad
• potato kugel
• carrot tzimmes
• orange stuffed chicken
• matzo latkes (thanks Scott!)
• cheesecake (thanks Dave!)
• wine (Thanks Terry, Scott & Dave)
• chocolate macaroons (thanks Michael)
• chocolates & coffee (thanks again Ginger)

A neat idea this year was to make the meal on the grill! The side burner heated the soup (which was made in advance), the grill cooked the chicken (in a roasting pan) and the kugel. It kept the heat outside and worked great. Here are a few photos. Guests in attendance were Dial & Terry, Pat, Dave and Charlotte (I'm dancing at your wedding), Scott, Michael, Ginger, Max, William and me.

The world is too large and busy for me

When dementia strikes, little things like being re-routed on the way home and too many options for a weekend or a cancelled-much-planned-for-trip-to-Dallas send me to complete paralysis. So I sit, at my computer, contemplating the virtual belly-button lint and wait for the muse to give me a hint. No help, no nuturing from anybody, just over-whelmed and waiting. Oh muse, where are you? Of course a good glass of nurturing or full-bodied red wine wouldn't suck, but I won't be holding my breath.

Busy little baker (and cook)

No knitting to report. Sorry! I have visited the DASNI dementia chats a few times in the last week and reconnected with old friends. It's a great chat if you have dementia. I went a little nuts in the kitchen yesterday making blue cheese dressing, Tzatziki, french bread and grilled, marinated chicken breasts. Then when it was all done I went back in and made cookies! See my other blog (dianesrecipes.blogspot.com) for the actual recipes and photos. Planning for 1st night Seder is in progress. I am about to run out of room. But I am keeping it simple to help with the dementia. No more cooking for 22-30 people, I'm asking people to bring things. I'll post photos in a couple of weeks. Here's a great shot of Ginger and Max just hanging out the other day after she got off work and a photo of William with yet another potato cannon he built.

Kayaking

A beautiful day Sunday and the plans to take Max out to kayak actually came to fruition. Besides struggling with the car top kayak set-up, which eventually worked out nicely, it was an enjoyable trip from start to finish. Patriot Lake at Shelby Farms is perfect for kayaking. Small enough to be manageable and smooth enough to work on stroke techniques. Max did a few rounds and then let me paddle a bit. I really like his "creek boat" (Old Town Otter XT) better than his whitewater yak. I wish I could afford one for myself too, but then we'd have to invest in a real roof rack to transport both of them. That is a big Cha-CHING!

I LOVE my family!

A gigantic enormous hug and kiss to my brother, sister in law, neice and nephew for hosting us this past weekend. What fun! For the first time ever we just had a non-planned visit. We let the kids hang out, play, imagine and it worked like magic. No tears, no shouting, it was pure unadulterated heaven. The food was phenomenal thanks to Roxanne for breakfasts and Andy for lunches and dinners. My parents joined us for a fabulous dinner, even better than Carabas. Andy really could be a chef if he wanted to. He enjoys it as much as Roxanne and I do. I think if we lived closer together we might set up a catering business.

The cat is out of the bag

I am a person who thinks there are some things that just should not be knit and when the knitting goddess hears me say this, she laughs. I think knitting a grocery bag/sack is ridiculous, yet I just finished one knit out of organic cotton for heavens sake! The cats LOVE it. Adore it, as in "gee, that's great, how did you know I wanted one!" Witness the photos. Knit sack, Cat outside bag, cat INSIDE bag!
I can't make this stuff up. Friday is market day and I'll see how well it holds up. It's an altered version (I made 2 loop handles on the side, like those plastic sacks at the store) of this

The nature of the beast

Here is William's cat. She's a handsome one year old now and quite the huntress. She's brought us many a gift and despite bells, whistles and being confined to only our yarn, she continues. (If you are offended, don't tell me, just be grateful you're not here cleaning it up! And don't tell me she shouldn't be outside, she's an inside cat with access to a dog door. I won't keep the old dog from his potty access.) Max's cat went through a similar phase (remember the flying squirrel incident?) fortunately she's outgrown it. I am hoping Galadriel will too. Until then we document her prizes occasionally.

recycling yarn from thrift store sweaters

There are good tutorials about this thrifty knitting technique on the web, but I have been reluctant to try it. Thankfully Sarah showed me a sweater she had purchased and then proceeded to frog it at a MemphisSnB group so I was brave enough to finally give it a try. I purchased 2 sweaters at the local DAV on super mark-down day. I washed and dried one before frogging, the other was 100% wool and I decided to frog it instantly. It was a window pane sweater and probably not the best choice. I apologize for not taking before photos, but was too eager to actually start. The boys enjoyed holding the sweater while I wound the resulting yarn into balls. They ran through the house and one of them even ran out the back door with the sweater swiftly unraveling behind him! Here are some photos of the boys then winding the balls of yarn into hanks and a photo of after hanking and after washing. The yarn is fingering-sport weight. Not sure what it will be. There is an angora blend sweater that I also quickly (and much more easily) frogged that is also lacking any photos. Note that one child did chair hanking while the other did roaster pan hanking. His own idea. They worked diligently. Maybe they were both hoping the yarn would be their next sweater?

PeaceJam Memphis 2007

I regret that I invested heavily in another event during the weekend of PeaceJam so was unable to attend as an advisor. I am, however, thrilled that another homeschool mom and 3 of her kids agreed to go along with our kids. Here are a few photos of the weekend compliments of the Eclectic Homeschool group. Next year I vow to concentrate on this event to the exclusion of others. Bridges is the sponsor locally, but the event is international in focus. Betty Williams was the Nobel Peace Laureate who participated this year. She is, from my very brief encounters with her, a warm and passionate individual. As our fourteen year old son said "it was all very deep". PeaceJam was not a feel good event, but a thinking event that spured our already heavily motivated and involved children to even greater events. Thanks to Rody for including us.

William's sweater

Here's the first part of his sweater. It's literally on hold now as it is not a cardigan and we appear to be having spring. I think he's going to grow too much to invest any more knitting. I'll pick it up at the end of the summer, probably when we're at the beach, and finish it. I got the yarn to finish it and had to round out the order with yarn for Max's cardi and (of course) some more sock yarn.

KnitPicks Bare Donegal socks (another pair)

These are the 2nd pair of socks I got out of one hank of Bare. One was knit on size 1's the other on size 3's. Size 1's are better, but sure take a lot longer. The yarn is soft, incredibly soft, and because of that it doesn't wear as well as it might. Be careful about wearing these with any shoes that have friction. I tossed them on with a pair of old tennis shoes and the back of the heel pilled some. (note I did not do a reinforced heel). I will happily knit with this yarn again, I might try a different heel due to the softeness, but probably not. It's great. It's available in colors as "essential tweed" from KnitPicks. Speaking of, I want to rant a bit about their current magazine/catalog format. YUCK! Pages upon pages of books for sale and projects shown from books knit with their yarn and then at the BACK they have TINY rectangles of swatches of their yarns. I want BIG picks of the yarns so I can dream. How about you?

Tahki Stacey Leaf Sweater, changing neckline

For those of you who are on the best knitting list in the world (knittingparents at yahoo groups), you might remember I posted a question about reworking a neckline of the Tahki Stacey Leaf Sweater that I finally finished. After some consideration I crocheted in a stabilizing line, fortified myself and CUT the center neckline, began carefully picking out the former neckline only to discover that I could not possibly alter the neckline without ripping out the seaming and frogging back. So I did and here is the new altered sweater. BTW, I am not fond of the stupid thing and have destroyed the pattern lest I am ever tempted again. My body requires shaping all over the place and this sweater doesn't have any. Unless you are board straight and thin, do not knit this pattern even if it is free and the yarn was deeply discounted, you won't be happy.

Yoke Sweater for William

I have started a sweater for William. My idea was to use up some bits of Swish that I had laying about and hope it was enough for a brown sweater with a patterned yoke. HIS idea was for me to purchase more of the brown yarn and make a cream colored yoke that I later duplicate stitch his name is Japanese Kanji. Since it is his sweater and he is a bright and opinionated boy (and since I do not relish spending time knitting a sweater he will outgrow and never wear) I wisely defered to his wishes. I now am stalking the postal carrier for the latest order from KnitPicks so I can get this thing done while it is still cool. The lastest blast of warm weather worries me and I fear it will have to be frogged before he even gets to wear it. Next time I might consider making a top down sweater so I can add length, but it won't help if he grows rounder as well. I am happy using 2 different sized needles and the Options cables for the sleeves. My latest brain problems make 2 matching items difficult to produce, so I knit sleeves, socks, etc, on 2 circs at the same time. I am using size 4&5 for the cuffs and size 5&6 for the body of the sweater.

Scenes from Radiothon 2007 benefitting Ronald McDonald House Memphis

Radiothon benefits Ronald McDonald House Memphis. Ginger is on the board, the boys and I volunteer here. This House is supported by donations, the local McDonald's owners group and St. Jude. I am lucky and get to volunteer for a grueling shift or 4 during Radiothon and I see it live and in person. Last night I served Rendezvous to the families. (a gigantic thank you to the groups who serve meals here, I know why you bring more than one person!) I was a tad inept with the ovens and dinner was a few minutes late. A family who had been at the hospital all day, like most of them are, was tired and waiting in line for dinner and they offered to help. I thought they were too sweet to jump in when I was supposed to be helping them, but that’s an example of what goes on around here. And while I was prepping the pizzas from Papa Johns, I saw a cute little toddler dressed in pink fuzzy footie jammies stop toddling around and silently throw up, repeatedly. Families gently helped clean up, nobody panicked, she wasn’t rushed to her room. Her parents cleaned her up and later I saw her slumped on her mother’s shoulder while her parents ate a quiet dinner together. Life goes on and here, everyone understands.

When I was cleaning up I overheard many conversations. Parents, coming together after a day at various treatments, check ups and appointments were listening to each other. A parent with concerns about a procedure the following day was reminded she could call the doctor to clarify instructions first thing in the morning. There were no tears. While stirring pasta and discussing the merits of whole foods diets, I heard a mother tell of a family she bonded with last year and that family’s child lost his battle with cancer. She continued to cook, the other mom continued to listen. They were able to speak without explaining medical terms to friends and family, they didn’t have to worry about upsetting anyone, they were among a unique family. One mother said “they’re supposed to be children, they’re supposed to have a childhood! But he (her son) doesn’t seem to mind. Sometimes I feel bad.” And for many many children every year, this home-away-from-home becomes a part of their childhood, a weird, fun, painful, healing, part of their childhood. The children here are with a parent; lucky is the child who has two parents here, or a grandparent. Despite having an ill child, there are other children to care for at home, mortgages to pay and jobs to keep so often parents rotate here. One at a time, weekends together, but weeks and weeks apart. Without the daily support of other parents, this journey would much bleaker for them. Their lives are disrupted by cancer, but they have a haven, a space to live and share and care and laugh and learn from others. Studies show that helps survival rates, and the donations from Radiothon and other RMH fundraisers keep this place going.

Thanks for being here, thanks for doing this. If you haven't donated, you can donate online:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2c9hww

There was a birthday in there somewhere

Max is in here, but you can't quite see him. I enjoyed lunch with friends Friday at a Sushi restaurant, dinner with friends Friday and a surprise WONDERFUL German Chocolate Cake (thank you LANCE!) and then Saturday friends called (not knowing it was my birthday) and whined about not having one of their slippers yet (I promised them for weeks) so they came over, oblivious to the fact it was my birthday. They joined us for rice and smothered venison tenderloins and I dutifully knit on her slippers. I did finish them the next day, I just can't quite locate the photos.

I have a fuzzy feet addiction

or so it would seem if you note how many of these I have knit in the last year. Here is the latest pair (before and after felting. Notice in one photo the length extends over the 12 inch tile.) Right. I finished Renee's and CO immediately for another pair for myself. My latest pair has a hole and is wearing thin on the sole. These are knit out of a terribly inexpensive yarn that is 75/25 wool acrylic. They cost me about $6.

Ann Hood, "Knitting Circle"

This is the first of the complimentary book from DK that I have completed. KnitLit. Parenting, mourning, women’s lit. as a social worker I had to suspect this woman was writing a great deal of non-fiction in this novel. A quick perusal of her website confirmed it. She experienced the sudden and unexpected death of her 5 year old daughter in 2002. after a 2 year journey through depression and inability to focus, write or think straight, she emerged with an essay on grief and then this book. She is, in deed, a knitter. She did not learn to knit to write the book. She learned to knit to save her life and the book came from that. She has even offered a little gift to the readers, listeners and supporters of her latest effort.

http://www.annhood.us/blog

I will bring the book to DK tonight and pass it along. it was a very quick read.

I'm learning Japanese, I'm really learning Japanese I really think so

Apologies to the 80's band that covered that song. Here are the boys working on their Rosetta Stone Japanese. I was floored that one of them ASKED to work on it after having finished two gruelling tests in other classes. Neat! Also very expensive. Here is a link to the full-version online demo. http://tinyurl.com/y49std

and something still OTN after 17+ years

Our marriage! Seventeen years married and nineteen years together. We had planned to spend the weekend with my family in Oklahoma, but honored my father's wishes that we not travel due to the storms. We missed out on some great fun, but enjoyed a rather quiet and long weekend here. This is Ginger with her present, flowers and card. I'm not telling what she received :)
We had a nice lunch at a dim sum restaurant, shopped clearance racks together for hours and generally enjoyed each other immensely. The boys were good too. Of course an XBox rental helped that along...