Ennui

Patient of the Week : her name is Gorgeous. She comes in for hydrotherapy.
Been anxious/depressed the last few weeks, so my limited ability to focus has been employed towards the essentials : eating, sleeping, showing up at work, breathing. Some days I couldn't even knit, imagine that.
I'm getting better.

June 4, 1968

Everyone but me had left the dorm for the summer, and I liked being alone in the house at 913 West Franklin. The only other person I knew still on campus was the overnight switchboard operator, who listened to the radio in the little glass room that used to be a conservatory, in the Ad. Building, former residence of the Ginters.
I am a sound sleeper, and it took a long time for the hall phone to wake me late that night. All Rick said was "They shot Kennedy. Bring your tv."
I put on shorts and a tshirt, picked up the small black and white tv from the parlor, and walked barefoot to the end of the block. Walter Cronkite came on wearing no makeup - he has a lot of freckles - and we watched the tape for the first time.

Lace Experiment

My artistic director tells me I've been slacking lately, so here's what I've been working on.

I've rethunk the shawl that defeated me a few months ago. A rectangular confection will be more versatile, and the vine lace pattern from Barbara Walker's first book doesn't make me want to scream and rip up the project. Of course I did a swatch, to make sure I could do it, and I keep the swatch close by for encouragement, since lace in progress looks crappy. The pattern can be easily worked while chatting with the knitting peeps at the Yarn Lounge, or while keeping my artistic director company during her children's baseball games. It should not be attempted during a pedicure, or during an episode of House.

Heirloom Lemon

In a casual phone conversation with my artistic director, it was mentioned that a lemon purchased in, I believe, 1971, was still in my refrigerator. This was not absentmindedness, or slovenly housekeeping, though both descriptions are accurate. This lemon was acquired with other groceries with a specific picnic in mind. My boyfriend at the time was an English gentleman named Terry. He knew how to throw a picnic - the lemon, accidently left behind, was intended for the shrimp cocktail.The night before, Terry roasted an eye round of beef to pink perfection for the sandwiches. It was a beautiful day; I wore my best jeans and favorite t-shirt. Terry, being an English gentleman, wore creased dress pants, a crisp cotton shirt, and a lovely tie - I think it had silver stripes.

Anyway, Emily thought it was blogworthy.

Dyeing and Felting Made Easy

Step one : Let your dog eat some wool. What with one thing and another, it will felt with no effort on your part. Bile from the liver will provide the dye.

Step two : This is the awkward part. Pay four thousand dollars or so for surgery to retrieve the wool. Wash and enjoy!

( Since I am able to see the funny side to this, you may be assured this did not happen to either of my dogs. )

Same Socks Different Day

These would have been added to yesterday's post, but Blogger won't let me edit. Anj sent me this photo of her sock on her foot. I wish I could get artistic lighting like this. Sigh.

I Am the Groundhog, Koo Koo Ka Choo

This time of year, I emerge briefly, glance around, assess my current mental, emotional and spiritual state, then go back underground for At Least six weeks. Doesn't mean I haven't been knitting.

Rudy needed a sweater. He has one now. Pattern from Dogs in Knits. Yarn is Tahki Donegal Tweed in Lime.

Angela, my English friend, needed warm socks to go with the Crocs I gave her. Stitch pattern is the twin rib in Sensational Knitted Socks. Yarn is Scarlet Fleece in Persimmon from the Loopy Ewe.