Happy Mother's Day

Just some random thoughts and quotes on Motherhood:

Job Description (what man would apply for this???):
WANTED: housekeeper -- 140 hour week, no retirement benefits, no sick leave, no private room, no Sundays off. Must be good with kids, animals, and hamburgers. Must share bath.

No man could stand being pregnant. The first time a man lost his breakfast three solid months in a row, he would make plans to have a nocturnal headache for the rest of his married life.
--Erma Bombeck

I've also been called a mother.
-- My DH

Catching Up

Dear Friends

I did not drop off the edge of the earth. Actually, there has been a bunch of things happening in Deep South Land. Not that they are all that exciting, but I haven't been hiding under a rock, either.

Here is the short version, in no particular chronological order:

1. DH was hospitalized with his 3rd case of pneumonia, along with some rather alarming mistakes in medication
2. DS#3 now has his learner's permit to drive
3. DH finally bit the bullit and decided to accept my offer of a kidney
4. Deep South Knitter has been having a lovely time being evaluated as a kidney donor; next step is COLONOSCOPY (I can hardly wait)
5. DD#1 gave me Mason Dixon Knitting #2 for my birthday (love it)
6. DD#2 gave me Lace Knitting in Estonia for Christmas (love it)
7. DH gifted us with a 42" television just before Christmas, and this baby is now located in the livingroom, which has been very handy since DH is still getting me up in the middle of the night most nights, and this gives me something to do while I knit at 3 AM.
8. Knitting keeps me sane. Whiskey is also useful.
9. DH wanted to give me a new watch for my birthday. Instead I drove him to the yarn store and asked him to buy me some lace-weight alpaca, and he did (lovely, lovely, lovely).
10. I found a copy of Nursery Rhyme Knits at the local Dollar Store -- yes, it was $1.00. And yes, I bought it.
11. We had to upgrade our cell phones just before Christmas. Santa got me a Blackberry. Very, very cool.
12. I am doing a lot of knitting. List and pictures will follow in a later post.

I Would Say That I'M BAAAAACK

But I never left. Just hanging around doing the same old things. You know, driving DH to dialysis, worring about money, driving DH to doctors, worrying abut money, driving DH to the emergency room, worrying about money.

There must be other things in life, but I do not remember what they are.

Looking at my blog postings, I see that the last one was sometime back in April. I think about posting more frequently, but I find myself whining about the unfairness of life. I would rather reserve this for private times in the shower.

Not a whole lot of knitting going on because I went off on a crochet frenzy. Doilies, mostly, but I did find an old window curtain that I had started years ago. Time this puppy was finished, so as of last Friday I had the following:

Presidential Election Politics also has its moments of personal interest. My oldest DS works at Ole Miss, and he and family attended the first debate on Sep 26. You can see just how interesting it was for them from this photo posted at some political website:

Some Things are not Meant to Be

The Must Have Cardigan. I was going great guns on this. Absolutely love the pattern, enjoyed the knitting. Finished the back and was half-way through the right front.



DD#1 came for the weekend, and I showed (off). Looks great, right?

Fabulous detail, too. She was impressed. I was smug.

Then I took a closer look and found this, right at the beginning of the cable pattern:

The first and third rows of the center cable are twisted the wrong way. Nothing for it but to rip out the entire back. No one will notice, you say? Yeah, right, in the same way no one noticed the "little boo boo" on that cabled sweater on the cover of Vogue Knitting a few years back.

I have been thinking that this yarn is not really right, either. A little too thin. The back will be a little too small. I will save up and buy a different yarn for this. (Oooh, new yarn!)

In the meantime, I ripped out the jacket and started the Urban Aran from the same Paton's pattern book. I am up to the armholes on the back and really love the cables. Goooorgeous! Classy. A keeper.

A little detail to show the cables off:

On the non-knitting side of life, one of my oldest friends passed away two weeks ago. So sad. We had known each other for more than 30 years, had our babies at the same time, raised them together. Her son and my oldest daughter have been best friends since birth. Her husband died 2 years ago, and she was confined to a care facility because of severe MS. She was once a great knitter, and when her illness became too severe, she brought me a partially-knit Norwegian sweater and asked me to finish it. Which I did, with pleasure. And I had the pleasure of seeing her wear it many times.

Whole Lotta....

Lotta flu. Nasty bug brought home by DS#3. He missed a whole week of school with high fever, vomiting, cough, sinus clogs, muscle and joint pain, the whole package. Then, in a misplaced spirit of generousity, he gave it to DS#2, his dad, and me.

Naturally, DH got it worse than anyone (starting last Friday evening), and by Monday afternoon he was in the ER with pneumonia. Last week was not a lot of fun, I tell ya. Not just pneumonia, but heart, kidneys, and liver were affected, too. He is home now but still feels really crappy, depressed, lethargic. Still sleeps a lot.

Spending 12 hours/day sitting in a hospital room gives you a lot of knitting time, so I started a pair of socks

Finished DH's dicky

Made some headway on the Must Have Cardigan

This is a lovely and fun pattern, by the way, from Patons Street Smart pattern book. Thanks to Yarn Harlot, finding a copy of this baby was really hard. Patons does not sell their stuff direct to public from their website. They do have a store finder. There are several stores in my area that carry Patons products, but did anyone have it? Nooooooo. I ordered it on line from Yarn and Thread by Lisa . Of course, Lisa had had a run on it, too, and was totally out of stock, but she emailed me a copy of the pattern (since I had already paid for it) so that I could get started, and she kept me updated by email and made sure that I knew that she mailed it when her shipment came in. FYI -- shipping cost almost as much as the booklet itself, but when I think of how much it costs to run my car to hunt for things, paying $9.40 with shipping and handling is a bargain. I highly recommend Lisa and her company for the excellent service.

This booklet has some nice, nice patterns. I am sick unto death of the Devonshire jacket (monochrome looks elegant but has become mind-numbingly boring, and I don't think that the yarn is the right weight, either) and am thinking of frogging and using the yarn to make the Urban Aran. Brooklyn Tweed made this as a jacket, so I will probably do the same, as his looks just totally cool.

Also finished are two Ball Band Washcloths

My yoga mat bag (free pattern from Lily Sugar & Cream)

A Pawprint Washcloth from Knitting Nonsense (I highly recommend these free patterns, such imagination!)

GAWD -- What A Bore

I refer to myself.

The Annual Passing of Another Year came and went. I am now 58 years old. Emphasis on old. This is the first time I have felt this way. No enthusiasm, no energy, vim & vigor are in hibernation. Little to say and less desire to make the effort. I feel like an old, old woman.
This, too, shall pass. At least I hope so.

Part of this, I am sure, is a result of inactivity due to a cracked rib (how this happened is too embarrassing to relate). Not much one can do about this besides just letting it heal on its own. And try not to sneeze.

On the other hand, I have a little knitting to report.

-- 2 Ball Band Dishcloths in Lily Sugar N Cream
-- Carrying bag for my yoga mat in Moda Dea Tweedle Dee Cinnamon Twist (this stuff stretches like crazy, so the bag now also holds the yoga strap and the yoga block).

In process are the following

-- "Devonshire" from Jean Frost's Jackets, using Ramwool aran in a lovely brown heather from stash. This design was originally done in three colors, but I think it will be lovely in the one. Very elegant.
-- Man's Dickey from Paton's "Men" in Woolease from stash.

Plans to start the Paton's Must Have cardigan as soon as I check for possible candidates in the stash area. Like thousands of other people, I was very taken by Yarn Harlot's posts on this sweater, and now I Must Have It.

I really admire knitters who have their stash organized, boxed, and available. I have seriously thought of doing this, it would make a lot of sense and would save me much pain and suffering. But it just isn't me. For me, it's the thrill of the hunt.

And If We're Good... Part 2

You may remember that ceramic plate that wonderful woman in Texas sent to me just before Christmas.







Well, I was talking on the phone to my Aunt Dinah not long ago and asked whether she remembered such a thing. There was a long silence, and then she asked if I knew who gave it to my grandparents.


Of course not.


It seems that my dad's cousin June (aka Claud, Junior) and his wife had a small pottery business in Dallas or Plano or someplace like that in the late 1940's, and they made decorative wall plates. This was one design that they produced.


The plate now in my possession may have been made by them ... or not.


Weird.

You Can Knit Only So Many Dishrags ...

...until your drawer is stuffed to overflowing.

So, what to do with all the Sugar & Cream you bought at the Michael's sale (and all the other sales throughout 2007)?

Mason Dixon Knitting has some handy uses for these inexpensive balls of cotton -- baby bibs and burp cloths. The bib uses almost a full ball, the burp cloth uses 1-2, depending on the size (your mileage may vary).

Easy, mindless garter, cute result, useful for moms and babies alike. Very portable. Nice change from dishrags and socks, too.

Final Knitting of 2007

I finished the Faux Russian Shawl on New Year's Eve. I stretched it over the dining table just to see how long it is:




Here is some detail




When (if?) I block it, I will photograph it in all of its glory.

Here is the final tally for the 2007 knitting.

1. Faux Russian Shawl in Knitpicks Shadow from Stash
2. Socks in Wildfoot from stash
3. Solaris jacket in Caron Simply Soft Shadows
4. 2 IPod cases in stash yarn
5. Baby Booties in Mexican Wave from Stash
6. Oregon Vest in Passport Dublin from stash
7. Secondpair of socks in Regia from stash
8. Pair of socks in Regia from stash
9. 2 wash cloths in Sugar & Cream
10. Beach Bands Bag from in Sugar & Cream from stash
11. Shapely Tank in Royale Quick Crochet Thread from stash
12. Shapely Tank in Lionbrand Microspun
13. Diagonal dishcloth in Sugar & Cream from stash
14. Amanda's Squatty Sidekick in Colinette Skye from stash
15. Tote bag in Philosohpers Wool from stash
16. Roundabouts in Philosophers Wool from Stash
17. Another Circular Dishcloth in Sugar & Cream from stash
18. Curve of Pursuit in Philosophers Wool from stash
19. Circular dishcloth in Sugar & Cream from stash
20. Another baby hat in Mexican Wave from stash
21. Tweed hat in Bernat Denim from Stash
22. Two baby hats in Mexican Wave from stash
23. Lace scarf in Baruffa Bollicina from stash
24. Baby Hat from stash
25. Raglan Pullover in Bernat Denim from stash

I was pretty good about Knitting From My Stash for 2007, and have made significant inroads into the pile. I may continue a modified version of this for 2008.

Now...what to knit next.....

And So A New Year Begins

I had every intention of wishing all of you out there in cyberland a Happy New Year. And Good Riddance to the Old One. Please accept my belated good wishes.

Christmas Eve was a blast at our house. It was only immediate, live-in family, so we had a pleasant dinner in our most comfortable clothes, listened to music, and talked a lot.

At around10 PM we put out a snack for Santa and the reindeer

and in the blink of an eye we found this --

Santa made this an entertainment Christmas

And he also reminded me that I need to put in a little more effort into my housekeeping by bringing me a new mop (I am not making this up, it was under the tree).

We intended to go to Midnight Mass at our parish church but, instead, attended Midnight Mass at the Vatican. Christmas Day DD#1 came and ...well, let's just say that I intend to spend Christmas Day someplace else in the future. Like Arizona. Or Texas. Or Baghdad. Somewhere peaceful with no recriminations, no bad feelings, no frosty silences.

On New Year's Eve we went to a friend's house and drank champagne with them at 10 PM (they correctly figured that we would probably not make it to midnight).

I hope to make 2008 a better year than the last one.

The Kindness of Strangers

We brought home a Christmas Tree last Saturday and put it up.

We generally get the same size and type of tree every year. Our decorations are all keep-sakes from over the years --

ornaments made by our kids in elementary school, special glass balls made by a friend of my mom when each child was born, garish stuffed ornaments that my mother sewed one year,

little souvenirs from our travels, paper chains, old tinsel, lots of little lights strung at random.

Nothing new, nothing sophisticated, nothing stylish. I love it.

Our tree is not crowned with a star or angel. When my first child was born, one of the baby gifts (I think it was undershirts) was decorated with a large, glittery butterfly clip, which I clamped onto the top of our tiny little tree that year. It has held pride of place now for 30 Christmases. The Santa right below is a recent aquisition.

On the eve of World War II, my parents moved to the San Francisco area, and my dad's whole family moved from Texas to take advantage of new work opportunities. My dad and grandfather (and probably an uncle or two) worked as welders in the Oakland shipyards, building liberty ships. They never left California, although I imagine that they longed for home.

When I was a very small child, my grandparents had a small ceramic plate on their wall. On it were two angels sitting on clouds. One angel says to the other, "And if we're good, we'll go to Texas." I don't know why it made such an impression on me, but this decoration remained in my memory for more than 50 years. I wrote about it somewhere on the web at some time in the past.

A couple of weeks ago there was a comment on my blog from a woman in Texas whose mother had given her a similar plate (she found it in some junk/antique store in Arkansas), which she was going to give as a gag gift to someone. First, however, she wanted to know if it was worth anything and did a Google search. Up popped my posting, she contacted me, and today I received this in the mail:

Receiving this little plate made me ridiculously happy. And it points out to me that one of the great lessons of the Christmas story lies in the unexpected kindness of strangers -- be they angels comforting startled shepherds, kings from the East, overworked innkeepers with no rooms but with a dry and warm stable, the Salvation Army workers who gave my late father-in-law hot soup and a blanket when he was released after 6 years of digging coal in a Siberian gulag, ordinary people serving meals to the homeless, or a thoughtful woman in Texas who correctly figured that I would be touched by a souvenir from my past. These and a thousand other small and great actions reflect the unexpected blessing and extraordinary kindness that underlie Christmas as God's gift to us.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I don't think so.

I have a headache.

All was starting to calm down nicely (found the right crutches, got DH started on a course of prednisone, DD#2 salvaged one of her overdue bills, I started to work on work again, I even made it to knitting group). I actually got some Christmas shopping done, almost a miracle since I usually get around to shopping 2-3 days before the event.

Yesterday afternoon I had just made a cup of greatly-needed coffee, waved DD#2 off to work, sat down with DH, and my cell phone rang. DD#2's name was on the caller ID. I knew what it was, I just knew that I would hear her voice telling me -- "Mom, I've gotten into an accident."

I was right.

I was very calm, grabbed my AAA card, relevant phone numbers, and drove away. As much as I wanted to run away from home, I had to go speak to the police, arrange the towing, call the insurance claim rep. In all fairness, this was a three car event, with the car in the middle causing the actual accident by rear-ending a sedan (car #1). DD#2 was driving car #3, and rear-ended car#2, which was rebounding off car #1 at the time. Obviously not my daughter's fault, BUT in California the law automatically assigns blame to the last car in the rear-ending incident. Her car was completely undrivable and may be declared a total loss. Three tow trucks came. Thank God, no one was hurt.

This is her third accident in 3 years. As she is 21 and still lives at home, she has to be on our car insurance. Why does she still have a car? I would really love to give a good, rational, mature answer to that question -- but I don't have one.

Comic Relief: A rubber-necker in the next lane was rear-ended by a drunk driver. Two more tow trucks had to be called to the scene.

DH was checking out mortgage refinancing options on-line a couple of weeks ago, filled out one of those inquiry forms, and was expecting a deluge of email, right? We have gotten unsolicited calls from at least 2500 people and places, to the point of getting pretty rude. Here are three actual exchanges between me (DS) and unsolicited callers (UC).

Call Scenario #1, which I like to call "Stuffy Old Bitch Answers"
DS: Hello?
UC: Let me speak to Claus.
DS: I beg your pardon?
UC: I'd like to speak to Claus.
DS: Are you personally acquainted with my husband?
UC: Well, no, but he asked for refinancing information, so I am following up.
DS: Young man/young woman, let me give you some advice, which you may already have heard from your mother but have obviously forgotten. Never, never ask for or address someone by his first name unless you have been invited to do so. I have no interest in speaking to someone as poorly trained and ill-mannered as you.

Call Scenario #2, In Which I get Rid Of The Caller As Quickly As Possible:
DS: Hello?
UC: I'd like to speak to Claus (pronounces it "claws", easy mistake to make)
DS: You want to speak to whom?
UC: Claus
DS: Sorry, nobody here by that name.

Cal Scenario #3, AKA Having Some Fun:
DS: Hello?
UC: I'd like to speak to Claus.
DS: Sorry, he no longer lives here.
UC: He moved?
DS: Yes, he has moved to China. Would you like his new telephone number?

Advent Quickie

Sounds almost obscene.

I really miss Hamburg. I usually spent the first 2-3 weeks of Advent in Hamburg, visiting my very dear MIL, going to Christmas Markets, drinking Gluhwein (mulled wine, sold on every street corner), eating sausages, drinking more Gluhwein, drinking beer, drinking Gluhwein -- I think you get the picture. As MIL passed year before last, I really, really miss going to Hamburg. Those Germans really know how to celebrate.

How did I spend the first Sunday of Advent of 2007?

Running around Pleasant Hill and Concord, trying to find a pair of crutches because the dialysis nurse took too much water out of Nick (after being told NOT to take out any), and he now has a whopping gout attack in his left knee. The pain of putting weight on his left leg is excruciating. The man cannot walk. At all. Period.

Bugger it.

Being Thankful

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and it was a very nice one. After several days of cleaning house, I brined and roasted my little 10-pound turkey, braised a brisket with red wine and mushrooms, made a German Apple Cake, my favorite cornbread dressing, cucumber salad, and pureed cauliflower. DD#1 showd up with her boyfriend, so there were 7 at the table. They provided bread, mashed yams with candied pecans, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and wine. A simple dinner, and very relaxing, too. Lots and lots of conversation. Sorry, no pictures of the food, it did not stay on the table long enough to be photographed.

Entertainment provided by DD#1 and DS#3.

DD#1 is a professional musician. Some of her music is up on the web, so, please, give it a listen. She is very, very good.

How Doth The Little Busy Bee

October and the first half of November have been busy times chez Deep South.

On the health front, DH has had (too many) things going. With his doctor's cautious blessing, he stopped dialysis. All was going OK (not well, but OK is also fine) for 9 glorious weeks, during which he had weekly blood work and office visits. It was determined that one of his hypertension medications contained a drug that retards kidney function. Since he needs all the help he can get, it was decided to simply use the other component of this medicine, which had a proven record of tolerance in kidney patients. HOWEVER, in a very small percentage of patients, this drug acted as a potassium retainer. I am sure that you can see what is coming, right? Less than a week into the new drug regime, blood work prompted an urgent-urgent-get-him-to-the-ER phone call. Potassium level was 6.8, which is pretty close to heart-stopping, quite literally speaking. The EKG was very disturbing. Massive doses of nasty polystyrene sulfate over the next 12 hours brought it down, but it was back to dialysis the next day.


The following week he got what we thought was the flu, and within a few days we thought it had turned into pneumonia. Back to the ER. Blood oxygen level was around 80%, not at all good. Also, he was severely aenemic. Chest x-ray showed no pneumonia, BUT it did show a huge amount of water surrounding the heart. DH was checked in this time (why, oh why does it take 9 hours to get from the ER to a room???) for dialysis the next day, treatment for the aenemia, etc.


Hospitals. Don't get me started. You have to be on top of everything! First the floor doctor asked me if he was "competent" to make any of his own decisions. I said OF COURSE, and how on-the-ball are you with a blood oxygen of 80% and hemoglobin in the toilet? They served him meals with tomato soup, mashed potatoes, honeydew melon for dessert -- poison for dialysis patients. It took 4 hours to get the meds sent down from the pharmacy. After dialysis (extremely well done, excellent nurse) it took another 6 hours to get the discharge (after a verbal duel with the same floor doctor). Finally, at 9:30 PM, I go to drive the car to the entrance to pick DH up and find a flat tire. AAA came and changed the tire, and we got home an hour later.


So ends the first half of October. Don't get me wrong, we had some excellent nurses and doctors during these two runs, but there are also incompetent staff and so much red tape that everyone trips over it. AAA is worth every penny.


At the end of October, DH finally had his cataract surgery.

Although my life seems to roil exclusively around DH, other Deep South family members also add to the turmoil, especially DD#2 who gives us no end of worry right now. No more to say besides that.


Knitting has been the savior of my sanity. Since my last post in September, I have done the following:


Oregon Vest in Passsport Dublin from stash. I still need to put in the zipper, but it is otherwise finished





A pair of booties in Mexican Wave from stash. I swear I used the same ball of yarn for both! This pattern was mentioned by Brooklyntweed (you can find a link on his blog).

His-and-hers IPod cases in various things from stash

Currently working on Solaris, a free pattern from the Berroco website. Classy design.

I am using Caron Simply Soft Shadows in the Autumn colorway, a gift from POPT. I really love the yarn and the pattern. Back and sleeves are knit separately. The you start on the bottom of the left side and knit up, across the back, and down to the bottom of the right side in one piece. The yarn has some wonderful color changes, as can be seen on the back

And a close-up of the stitches

Also on the needles is another pair of socks in Wildfoot from stash

The Faux Russian Shawl is currently on Sabbatical.

I acquired an IPod recently and have discovered the wonderful world of podcasts. There are some very good knitting podcasts out there, especially Sticks and Strings, the Knitpicks Podcast, Cast On, and a couple of others. What is really fun for me are the Lake Wobegon monologues from Prairie Home Companion, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me from NPR, free audio books and stories and the old time radio shows. There are tons of these, and they are terrific -- dramas, radio plays, almost anything your heart desires. I could listen to them all day long. The best part is that they are free. If you have ITunes, get them there. If you have a different kind of MP3 player, download them from the websites that feature them, or just download and listen to them on your computer.

Still Knitting

I will catch y'all up later on the past month. Life has been ueber-busy.


DH has been giving me grief over my knitting -- too much, not healthy to have such an obsession, not getting anything else done, spending too much $$$ on magazines, yada yada yada...


Then, just this last Friday he requested that I make him a case for his IPod. Something he can hang around his neck, is easy to pull the player out of, put back in. Masculine shape and color.


Sure, Honey, no problem.


Thirty minutes later it was done. Since then, no wisecracks or criticism.



Now for some quick Granny-bragging:

Charlotte (aka Charlie)

Armand (aka AJ)

Graceful Is as Graceful Does

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

Thank you, Ceallach Knits, this is pretty close to how I conceive of myself.

Last week I stepped out the patio door to give The Boys a treat (I prefer NOT to give dogs treats in the house). When I was young, back around the time of the First Crusade, I sprained my right ankle, and it has been weak ever since. This having been said, right ankle decided to give way on the top step, I heard a loud crunching noise, and down I went. Oddly enough, and in spite of the spectacular sound effects, nothing was broken, but, oh, did I ever mess my ankle up. Two days on crutches, and now hobbling around with a cane.

On the up side, I finished the eternal sock and knitted and finished another pair. Both of these are Regia from stash, which I bought on two separate trips to Hamburg. Delving deeper into the stash box I found 10 balls of Passport Dublin, a wool/acrylic blend made for Michaels and discontinued almost as soon as it came out. I think I have enought for an Oregon Vest for me, which would be nice, as the one I knitted for myself last year was much too big and ended up given to a friend who loved it and wore it a lot (and hopefully still wears it).

Bunch O' FO's

The past month has not been all that busy, but I have spent most of it holed up under a rock. My mother and daddy always taught me that feeling depressed and moody was part of life at times, but to fall prey to it was pure self-indulgence. Well, sometimes you have to indulge yourself. So I did. Or, rather DIDN'T -- go anywhere, that is, or call anyone, or do much of anything, or even want to.

That having been said, I do have a few small knitting items to report on.

#1. Lavender dishrag in Sugar & Cream

#2. Green face cloth in Knitpicks Cotlin (which knits up very nicely)

#3. Almost finished the 2nd sock

#4. Continuing the Faux Russian Shawl, I am half-way through the 4th repeat. There are supposed to be 5 1/2 repeats. 96 rows per repeat. By the end, there will be 526 rows in the body of the shawl. A lot of shawl. This is how long it is right now, unblocked, unstretched, just lying across the dining table:

The bottom edging is knit first, your turn the corner, pick up stitches for the body, and everything works up from there.

The shawl has some nice detailing in the center

Side edge trim is knitted as the beginning and end of each row

#5 Finally, the greatest FO of all:

I present to you Armand James Paul Hetzer