One Solution to Winter Malaise

I woke up early Sunday morning determined to go to Puerto Rico.

Before I even read the paper, I researched flights to San Juan.

You see, my friend Sh. is currently living in Puerto Rico. And with every vacation my boss schedules, my heart grows more and more bitter and resentful, because if he's away, I have to be in the office. I realize that winter needs to be his time to take vacation, but it needs to be my time to take vacation too, and I feel slightly taken advantage of, sitting there keeping his company going while he's out gallivanting the globe. So I decided Sunday morning that instead of being bitter, I should just schedule a trip already. And then I decided that when fate hands you a free place to stay in Puerto Rico, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and you would be a fool to let it slip by.

So I emailed Sh. to see whether she was up for a houseguest (she was). And I ran it by the hubby, who was hesitant but ultimately okay with my visit (he worries). And today I ran it by the boss, who--to give credit where credit is due--immediately said that next week would be fine, even though he had been talking about going to Florida. (Oh, and when he mentioned going to Florida, I asked him when he was planning on working. I'll be apologizing tomorrow).

But, long story short: I leave for Puerto Rico next Thursday. SQUEEEEE!

Lower Your Cholesterol with Diet and Exercise!

So, I've lost 9 pounds since Jan 1.

The ball got rolling from stress-related lack of eating early in the month. That managed to take 7 pounds off in one week. But then the stress got better and I figured I might as well take advantage of the strong start.

To keep from gaining weight back, I took out my old, broken-down running shoes. It had been so long since I'd used them, the mice had commandeered them to store birdseed and nest fluff. (Seriously, there was a big pile of birdseed and some fluff jammed into a toe.) One thing you learn when you work in landscaping is be very careful with mouse nests. So I went out and bought new sneakers and the dog and I hit the trails.

Jogging and I have a long, troubled relationship. I've always enjoyed it, but after I'd jog a mile in college, I'd cough for an hour. Which my mom would try to cure by giving me her version of a hot toddy--hot tea with whiskey in it. It's gross, try it! It never occurred to anyone that I could have asthma--even my doctor told my mom that I was the only child he'd ever seen in his career who kept getting whooping cough. "You're supposed to be immune after you get it once, but she keeps getting it. I just don't understand," he said. Oh, and of course, there was nothing he could give me--although apparently modern medicine prescribes antibiotics for whooping cough (according to articles in the Globe that I can't link to). Not that antibiotics would have helped asthma, but it would have been nice if he'd had even a vague clue.

Anyway, every few years I'd take a stab at jogging and stop shortly after, because it's just no fun when you can't breathe and your muscles aren't getting any oxygen. But last year, Kellee suggested that if you take your asthma medicine regularly, it makes jogging a lot more feasible, and she's right! Not that I can even measure my jogging in miles yet (combined with walking breaks, I can--the total run/walk is about 1.5 miles). I'm actually enjoying it and the dog is in heaven. And the sleep! At the beginning of the month, even Ambien couldn't help me sleep, but now I'm out cold by 10 p.m., every night, and I almost sleep through the night--just wake up once at 2 am for a few minutes (every single night). For me, that's about the best sleep I can ask for.

I've been jogging about 4 times a week for the past three weeks. I do notice some improvement in how far I can jog before needing to walk for a bit, so my legs must be getting stronger. Maybe this time I'll stick with it. At least until I buy new pedals and shoes for my bike...but that's another story.

Progress and Setback, all in one post

I'm a spotty sweater blocker. To paraphrase the immortal Adam Ant, I don't block, I don't swatch, what do I do? Well, I knit a lot of sweaters that are way too big for me. Luckily, I always seem to err on the large side, which is infinitely preferable to erring on the small side. But swimming in one's sweaters isn't optimal, either.

I am blocking the Nantucket Sweater parts, though. Partly because they really have to be blocked--the seed stitch panels that form the peplum pull up in a way I'd rather they didn't--and partly because I would like it to fit right. So I pinned and I measured. Now watch this be the sweater that's too small (if it is, I can block it much harder).

Then I immediately cast on for Arisaig, because I needed something to knit during the Pats game. And then, after the game, I ripped out everything I had knit--on size 4 needles at a gauge of 7.5 stitches per inch--while expressing my hatred for Peyton Manning (seriously, could he do any more commercials?) I am a big believer in the cathartic nature of destruction. (Ask me about the sofa I sawed up sometime!)

But I didn't just rip to vent. The rib section I had started with was clearly going to be snugger than I wanted it to be. Oh, right, had I swatched, I'd have known. Damn. Well, it was sort of a swatch, a 142 stitch, 18"x2" swatch. Yeah, that's right.

Tonight, Nantucket seaming starts, then the crocheted border. I don't think I'll be on track to finish by the end of this week, but it might be close.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Laziness

So I thought I'd copy Maryse, and post a picture of myself knitting on the morning train to Boston yesterday (for Lucia's knit-socks-in-public series):

I just want you to know I felt pretty good about myself yesterday until I saw this picture.

(Yarn, Vesper Yarn in Tropicali, won from Claudia's MS ride drawing. Been working on these Jaywalkers pretty much since then.)

Catching Up

My post-Rhinebeck goal of blogging more often seems to have fallen by the wayside. There's been some unbloggable weirdness the past couple of weeks that required Deep Thought, and while I hate to be cryptic, that's my excuse for not blogging, because I've been sort of consumed by this thing I can't blog about. Anyway, things seem to be worked out for the time being and a tolerable semblance of normal life should resume. And so shall the blogging.

There has been knitting: the sleeves, back and one front side of the Nantucket Jacket are done. I hope to have the other front completed by the end of next week and am aiming for a total completion date of Jan 27th at the latest. After that, I plan to start Arisaig, with my first-ever! Rowan yarn.

I'm focussed on the knitting because I honestly need new sweaters. I purged all the unflattering garments from my closet last summer. As a result, I have about three everyday sweaters left, and I'm sick of all of them. Love Rogue, but can't wear it every single day. Although, can I just say: the most flattering hoodie ever. Casual, makes it look like you're not trying, but you end up looking good--exactly what an everyday sweater should do. Maybe I should make another one of those, too.

And there's been spinning, although not much. If it weren't for Carole's spin nights, I'd have gotten nothing done on that front. I'm still working on the blue-green Grafton Fibers roving--which I'm now calling "peacock," because that's what the finished yarn looks like. My goal is to be done spinning that up by Spa, which would be a year from the date I bought it. Sigh. I have about 2/3rds of two batts left (remember, I'm alternating two batts into one yarn, for subtle--I hope--stripes). Jury's still out on whether or not I'm going to keep the yarn, although I am leaning in that direction. I really want to see how the striping knits out.

But if I'm going to finish that yarn up by Spa, I have 36 days to spin. I am little over half-done now and I've been spinning it since July. Oh, and I want to finish two sweaters in about the same timeframe. Wish me luck!

So Glad I Spent All That Money on Career Counseling

Found over at the Knitigator:

Your Career Personality: Brainy, Logical, and Efficient

Your Ideal Careers: Archeologist Astronomer Book editor Business manager Civil engineer Designer Economist Inventor Judge Scientist

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

At first I thought, "ha! they got me wrong!" and then I saw Business Manager, which I essentially am. Bastards. I'm with Kathy, though: it'd be nice if they at least threw in a few more exciting options. I've always sort of fancied myself a femme fatale. (except, really I could never).