ARDIRI

Illness? Schmillness! I've some more Koigu KPPPM!

Up early, or at least early in my opinion, to take my antibiotic at its scheduled time along with a probiotic to restock the good microbial flora in my stomach (which the antibiotic destroys along with the bad stuff).   

Turns out my brain was fooling me--I don't have an ear infection, but instead have a sinus infection.  The trigeminal nerve on the right side of my face which runs along the sinuses and to the ear (along with two other main areas--thus the "tri" in trigeminal) and was--or actually is-- shooting pain straight to my ear.  And to the brow of my eye.  Ow!  And ow a million times over!

Spent yesterday lying in bed bemoaning the fate that my sinuses had delivered unto me.  I felt as if a plague had descended upon my right face as I downed excedrin, tylenol with codeine, and pseudophedrine in a desperate attempt to quell the throbbing, sometimes stabbing, pain.  Nothing worked for the majority of the day.  Finally around eight o'clock in the evening, I could make the short walk to the bathroom without feeling as if my brain were about to explode out of my right ear and eye.  This morning--cross my fingers and toes--not too much pain.  Perhaps I'll accomplish something besides lying in bed all day in a darkened room with a heating pad on my face. 

Luckily, if I do indeed have to stay in bed, I have two wondermous items to contemplate:

1. What to buy with a Barnes and Noble gift certificate that my super-duper Sockret Pal gifted me. 
2. This.  Oh my, oh my, do I have an addiction and my awesome Sockret Pal is an enabler.  Yep,  that's two skeins of Koigu KPPPM.  YUM...

Musical Chairs/Projects & What Must Be Done

I am busy knitting away promised gifts and an "angel" gift for a poor swapper from Tracey and I's first swap who didn't get any Mason-Dixon Ballband swapcloths.  So here's the list of UFO's and need-to-knits that must be done before I can think of knitting anything else:

1. Finish off the last five stitches on a Multi-Directional Noro Aurora (Colorway #1) Scarf for my mom (DONE!  02/11/07).  This will be replacing the HollYarns"Elle Woods" colorway socks that I was originally going to give her for mother's day.  When I took my last trip home in mid-January, she saw me knitting the Aurora scarf and fell in love with it.  Thus, it is now hers (even though it was for the recipient mentioned in item #2).  Nevertheless, for some   weird reason, I keep on screwing up royally on the finish of the last five stitches and then have to rip back a few rows and try again.  (Pictures of all Noro Aurora Scarves will have to come on a less rainy day.)
2. Finish off the last bit off the another Multi-Directional scarf in Noro Aurora (Colorway #4) (DONE! 02/12/07) for a friend/co-project partner who scaffolded me through our massive project for class last semester.  Almost there--have less than an ounce of yarn left to knit till finished.
3. Angel work (DONE! 02/16/07) for the poor swapper who didn't receive a single ballband cloth from the MDK Swapcloth Swap.
4. Another Multi-Directional Noro Scarf (Colorway #4) (DONE! 02/20/07) for a friend who did a humongous favor for me during the month of December.
5. Then I shall be swearing off of the making of Multi-Directional Scarves for at least a lifetime--or till I lose my nausea over making them.  I admit, I really enjoy making them--they are very meditative in that they are a simple pattern to make, easy enough to do in the dark while watching a movie, and you get to watch the lovely parade of colors as the colorway plays out.  BUT, right now, I am sick of them.  No mas, por favor. 
6. Finish up the "Elle Woods" socks that originally were going to my sockret pal, then to my mother, and now back to my sockret pal. 
7. And after all that, I'm killing stash by Knitting for Peace--knitting for charity projects (as well as for Cyrano's Creature Comforts Drive).  I am so tired of looking at the yarn in my drawers that has been there for so long.  A lot of it bought with the intention to make gifts, but then the yarn didn't knit up right, or the color seemed wrong for the intended recipient, etc. and on and on.  So, I am going to burn through some stash while listening to Stash and Burn.
8. Then, and sometimes somewhat in between, I get to be selfish and use some of the yarn that I really want to work with--like all the pretty yarns I got from my Sockret Pal (who is still a secret) and the de-li-cious Koigu KPPPM I got from my Secret Pal, Beth of Numerical Knitting.  Oh, and lest I forget!  That wondermous Alchemy Bamboo yarn in Forest Waltz that I got a week or so ago at Article Pract.

Woo-hoo! My Winter Wonderland Swap Package Arrived!

I have been spoiled!  Look at what my secret pal, Elaine of Kim-Chi Crafts,  sent me for the Winter Wonderland Swap:

• Two exquisitely crocheted items: The lilac one is a trivet/potholder and the white one's a washcloth.
• A cute card that features a spinning (literally!) sheep on the front and a lovely note inside.
• Two notebooks from a Korean Stationary store in LA called Morning Glory.  If you've ever seen either Korean or Japanese stationary (and not just Hello Kitty) you'll understand how cute and funny they can be.  There is also a folder with a blue bear and matching blue bear page markers.  Elaine felt it was best that I head back to school with some *serious* supplies!
• And finally some chamomile tea to calm me down at the end of some of my more hectic days!
• Thank you, thank you, thank you so much Elaine!

Super-Duper Secret Pal 9 Package

Look at what arrived in the mail on December 27th from my Secret Pal 9 Pal:

• A lovely holiday card.
• Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time by Betty Christiansen.  I have been fondling this book at the bookstore--impressed by patterns, pictures, and ideas.  For a while now I have been planning to do a humane society charity drive in honor of Cyrano after the holiday season ended and there are a few pages dedicated to just such a thing--perfect.
• Pretty, pretty, super soft Knitpicks Ambrosia (80% baby alpaca, 20% cashmere) in a plucky Petal pink that matches the cover of the book.
• Yummy butter pound cake smelling candle--I am so tempted to eat it!
• Coffee!  Starbucks Holiday Blend.
• Dark chocolate covered Altoids mints.

Wowzers!  Thanks Super Duper Secret Pal 9!  You rock, the package rocks!

Rockin' Sockret Pal Package!

• Gorgeous Yarn!!!  KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in beautiful colors: Autumn, Midnight, & Tide Pool.
• A beautiful, handcrafted bracelet!!!
• Chocolate!  Chocolate!  Chocolate!  Yes, three bars of chocolate--Dagoba Mon Cheri (dark chocalate, berries, & vanilla), Xocolatl (dark chocolate, CHILIES, & nibs--SPICY!!!), Dark 59% Cacao (pure semisweet dark chocolate).
• An uber-elegant trio of lacey scarf patterns titled "Elizabeth I".
• A couple of nice, friendly notes!
• And look at that box!
• P.S. Kitten didn't come in the mail!  Nevertheless, curious he is!
• THANK YOU SOCKRET PAL!

Go Ahead--Call Me a Crazy Cat Woman

Well, I have to admit, there aren't many brain cells functioning around here in my head.  I have spent the weekend drugged up on Tylenol Severe Cold & Flu and I now feel like I have a Severe Defieciency of Brain Cells. 

Spent yesterday evening in a hospital in San Francisco saying goodbye to one of John's relatives who has been in hospice care for the last two years.  Looks like Sun Choon (sp? Uncle in Korean?) will be passing away soon--his body has become so worn out.  Sun Choon had a stroke long before I knew John, and his (Sun Choon's)  body has been slowly deterioriating  ever since.  He recently had heart failure and the hospital resuscitated him.  His family has requested that if he has another heart failure that the doctors do not resucitate him.  I am in a weird situation of not really knowing the man, but feeling pain and sadness at seeing someone suffer in such pain, as well as seeing the family hurt so deeply.  I can't help but think of how much pain Cyrano was in before I put him to sleep.  There has to be a way of allowing people to die with dignity and without too much undue suffering.

I am looking ahead to a week of work/school hell--substitute today, tutor three hours tonight; substitute Tuesday, go to class tomorrow night; substitute Wednesday, go to class that night; and most likely sub Thurs., tutor 3 hrs thurs night; sub Friday; and somehow, somewhere find time to work on my major projects that have due dates rapidly approaching.  And, I believe that somewhere along the way I will likely lose my mind!

And to prove that I am a crazy cat woman, here are some more pics of my cats:

And the two cats coming closer together--buddy time!

*I PROMISE that the next post will include knitting stuff; specifically the rockin' package I got from my Sockret Pal, pics of knitting accomplished under the influence of Tylenol Severe Cold & Flu, and the pattern for my ballband soap holder.*

We're Doing It Again!

Tracey of Knitting Kneedles and I will again be hosting a dishcloth/washcloth swap.  The last swap was based on the specific Mason Dixon Washrag Pattern(s).  However, this swap will be based on the the theme of Winter Wonderland and you can chose whatever washcloth pattern you wish to make for your pal.  We are now accepting sign-ups at winterwonderlandswap@gmail.com.  And just so you know, this swap isn't holiday specific.  As  Tracey so wonderfully wrote on the Winter Wonderland Swap Blog:

"We aren't really focusing on a holiday, but winter as a whole. If your pal happens to love Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hannakuh, etc, then that's great, but please don't feel as if you have to go with that. There are lots of themes that can go with winter, and we don't want anyone to feel left out because of not celebrating a holiday, or celebrating a different holiday, or what not."

So please email us at winterwonderlandswap@gmail.com to sign up.  Tracey and I learned an awful lot from running the last swap and look forward to knitting along and swapping with all you wonderful knitters--new friends and old.

ISE Scarf--Finito!

At last--Finito!  My pal shall soon be recieving her International Scarf Exchange Scarf:

And, yes, that is Noro Silk Garden.  Seems to be one of my favorites lately.

Package from Purse Ho

Just gotta say--love typing the words "Purse Ho".  The name is so funny--but Jennifer over at Purse Ho Knits truly does have a love for purses...and knitting:
Witness the GORGEOUS Mason Dixon Washcloth all tied-up:

and look how PRETTY it is flat:

And LOOK at the goodies--knitting accessories and the lovliest-smelling soaps:

Now that I've actually held this washcloth in my paws, I can see myself making it for gifts with nice little soaps to accompany.  Jennifer, you've inspired me with this pretty washcloth.  When look at the MDK book, I always thought "too futzy, too much work," and now I can so see myself making some of these (maybe without bobbles 'cause I'm too impatient of a knitter for bobbles!)
THANK YOU, Jennifer!

International Scarf Exchange--Hila Rocks!

My International Scarf Exchange Pal, Hila of HPNY KNITS, ROCKS!  The scarf she sent me--made of the super soft and slightly fuzzy Country Alpaca--is soooo gorgeous and so perfect for the suddenly (or so it seems) cold weather:

And then--because she is just so thoughtful--she added in these beautiful fingerless gloves:

And chocolate:

And more chocolate and a CD with New York, NY inspired music:

A bag to carry knitting accessories (or keys, cell phone, and a wallet):

I HAVE BEEN SPOILED!  Thank you, Hila of HPNY KNITS!