Why am I not Surprised?

I took a quick peek at Joanne's blog and found another survey. This is about as much time as I have for diversion these days! Sorry for the minimal content!

I did finish knitting my test knit project (shhh! it's a secret!) and I cast off my modular shawl - I'm hoping to block it tomorrow and I promise to take some photos. And then tell what's new on my needles!

You Are 87% Non Conformist

You're incredibly strange. And a weirdness like yours takes skill to cultivate! No one really understands you. And you're cool with that. You just hope you never have to understand them!

Are You a Nonconformist?

HP Rules!

The sorting hat says that I belong in Ravenclaw!

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Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose intelligence is surest."

Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable.
Notable residents include Cho Chang and Padma Patil (objects of Harry and Ron's affections), and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine's editor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

I have been following Annie Modesitt's blog and I found this link there today. It's a long quiz, but fun - if you like this sort of thing.

We did go to see the new HP movie, although I waited until after work on Wednesday - Ruby & Tori went to the midnight show and then saw it again with me. They are planning to attend a book party on Friday night, too. I guess I'll wait and read Ruby's copy when she's done, unless I get impatient. I can't see buying more than 1 copy!

But I do want to know what happens...

Sorry for the sporadic posting! It's easier to post from my office, but I've been juggling approx. 2.5 jobs since May and so I just don't have much free time for posting there, or taking photos, either. I am planning to buy a pc laptop, which will enable me to post from home, but there hasn't been time for that, either! Our summers tend to be pretty crazy - I'm lucky if I can work a 6 day week. This is what we are busy with: Bluemont Summer Concerts!

Health Issues

I have an immune system disorder called Reactive Arthritis. I was diagnosed in 1996, but apparently I've had it since 1976, and the diagnosis explained a series of seemingly unrelated health problems I had experienced over those 20 years- achilles tendonitis that appeared out of nowhere, several bouts of iritis, and other periodic arthritis symptoms. I had a particularly bad episode in '96 &'97 when I could barely climb stairs and lost the use of my right thumb for 6 months or more. My children were 7, 9 and 12. It was tough.

This condition was originally called Reiter's Syndrome, but apparently Dr. Reiter was a Nazi sympathiser and so they took his syndrome away. It is generally considered to have one major episode and then go into long term remission. I have had numerous minor episodes and 3 major episodes lasting for 18 months to 3 years.

It has really been kicking my butt for the last few years. Well, more than my butt - it moves around. This past 18 months or so, I've been dealing primarily with chronic neck and shoulder stiffness and pain, along with muscle spasms in my back and wandering hip and leg pain.

I have worked with a rheumotologist, but I prefer not to take drugs, especially type X drugs where they ask the serious questions, like if I am planning to have any more children anytime soon. I have worked with accupuncture, energy healing, massage and I have studied taijiquan for over 10 years. All of these things help, and sometimes help a lot, but I think for me that diet is the primary key.

When I am good, I am very, very good, and I don't consume wheat, oats, rye, barley, dairy, chocolate, coffee, white sugar, white flour, pork, beef, peanuts, fried food, alcohol... I think that's the whole list.

I have been very, very good since March 9th. I have lost about 15 pounds, and I hope to slowly continue to lose the 35-40 lbs I gained when I went on a drug called Arava a few years ago. But one of the problems with taking away allergens in your diet is that it tends to stir up inflammation before it helps, so I've been in as much or more pain for the first 3 months of this diet.

In the last week or two, I finally feel like I'm getting Better. I'm experiencing less pain, I can stand up straighter and walk more easily and I'm sleeping better. It's such a great corner to turn, and to feel that I'm well enough and strong enough to take on more things that will help me continue to heal. I haven't been going to taiji class for most of this last year because it hurt to participate in class, but I'm going to start back again. And I'm going to start exercising regularly soon.

OK - that's all I have to say about that today. I'd be happy to correspond with anyone who has questions about researching food allergies and alternative therapies. And next post, I'll tell you what I've been knitting!

The Graduate

Our Ruby graduated on Sunday!

The school, in it's wisdom, decided to hold graduation outdoors in spite of the fact that it was raining. Not sprinkling, not intermittent rain but raining. And cold. And as far as I can tell, no one trimmed the program or the individual speeches. When they announced that the seniors would now received their diplomas, the crowd cheered like mad - at last! And as names were read, the bleachers emptied.

But we had a nice family weekend, collecting grandparents and having a family dinner out on Saturday evening and then a leisurely brunch at our house on Sunday morning. The grands elected to stay at the house rather than sit in the rain, and it was one of the best decisions made all day. Peter & I stood under the bleachers until Ruby walked, we watched her walk and cheered like mad, and then we went home to change into dry clothes and put the kettle on for tea.

Lily & Hannah were Ruby's attendants, so they got to sit through the whole thing and came home drenched. Ruby's mortarboard got so wet it came apart!

But it's over and we are done with the public school system in our county. Onward & upward to three girls in college next fall!

Sorry - no photos yet, but I'll add some when I can.

Webs Tent Sale stash

OK - a quick report on the Webs tent sale!

I went, it was fun, and I spent more money than I meant to.
Doesn't that sound familiar?

I bought:
1 bag of Lavold Angora in black to go with 9 skeins of vared colors in some scarves.
and
2 bags of Debbie Bliss Cathay to make myself a lacey summer sweater.

I've been looking for the Perfect Lacey Summer Cardigan for several years now.
I'm thinking that eventually (soon) I should give up looking and just design it.
Since I know what I want better than anyone else...

I also bought:
1 skein of Orangey yarn for a tiger hat for Miss Hannah
1 skein of a new Kureyon color and 1 skein Cascade 200 in dark grey to make a hat
and
a really cool Lexie Barnes bag to hold a small project.
Nice Day of the Dead type design, Lexie!
We met Lexie at Stitches East because her young son made frequent visits to our Peace Weavers booth to see the puppets...

And I also bought LOTS of Kureyon for my Lizard Ridge...
I didn't take a photo of all of it, just one of each skein:

Miss H got a pattern book and yarn to knit a cardigan in dark blue merino.
I hope the dark color won't make her crazy.
This would be her second started sweater and potentially her first completed sweater!

And now I will STOP BUYING YARN for a while.

I'll let you know how that works out...

Lizard Ridging!

I have been lured into the Lizard Ridge project... and now that all the hulabaloo for MS&W is over, I have started knitting squares.

I haven't knit with Kureyon before. I knitted a bias scarf with Silk Garden a few years ago, and I have some Kureyon garments on my wish list, but this is my first Kureyon project.
Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a before and after blocking square:Knitting these squares is a little like eating popcorn - I want to knit one more ridge, one more square - just to see how the colors come out.

This last square came out orange and green and ugly on it's first incarnation, so I frogged it and chose the colors on the next try, avoiding the orangey-green parts altogether. And the second try is so prismatic!

So I'm viewing this as an exercise in trying to use colors I wouldn't normally choose, and in learning how to use a ball of Kureyon effectively. There is a good amount of yarn left after knitting one square and I'm tempted to weigh my leftovers and remove this amount before starting the next square, because it would give more contrast, especially at the beginning.

I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these later!

True Confessions

We had a great weekend at Maryland Sheep & Wool! We sold more yarn & puppets on Saturday than we've sold in an entire weekend before. We were really busy and very tired at the end of the day.

I was so busy I didn't take any pictures! And I only bought a few things. I wanted to get two skeins of Brooks Farm Duet to knit a Wool Peddler's Shawl from the Folk Shawls book. Last year I went to look at their yarns for the first time, but I was so tired I just couldn't decide on a colorway. It was still a challenge to choose just one, but I plunged in and got the job done. It's hard to go wrong with blue in my wardrobe!

I also got a new spindle from Bill Hardy, whose wife Celeste I know from the Waterford Weavers Guild. It's just lovely. I haven't had a chance to spin on it yet, but I will soon.
And I bought a wee skein of Claudia Handpaint from our booth neighbors at Cloverhill Yarns. I just love the colorway, and I went back to my booth and picked out a coordinating color of Fleece Artist Sea Wool to go with it. And, OK, I ordered some Tye-Dye yarn to make the cute little top that is in the ads this spring & summer. But that will come later.

Here are the real confessions: I did a little online shopping last week, on the strength of our successful show. I felt like I deserved a few rewards... so I ordered some black & off-white sock yarn to complete the stash for my Jack Sparrow's Favorite Socks. (These are going to be for me!)

Then I went over to Two Swans and ordered the last ball of Kidsilk Haze that I needed for another project. I've been eyeing the Glade sweater in Rowan #40 since last September. There's something about the color and the stitch pattern - I just love this sweater. But it's a hefty investment in Rowan yarn, and upon further consideration, I realized that it wouldn't really fit into my wardrobe - I probably wouldn't really wear it. So I decided to knit a scarf using those yarns and that stitch pattern. I managed to collect 5 of the yarns from my spring travels - some from Yarntiques in Johnson City, TN and the rest from Ewe Knit Kits in Virginia Beach, but there was one more color of KSH.

I remembered that Two Swans was a Rowan stockist (that sounds so posh!) so I went to her website and found what I needed... and I found some Sakatieli that I didn't need but that I suddenly really wanted. I was going to buy two skeins until I had a look at the Ilga's sock pattern (Nancy Bush, Favorite Socks)and decided, what the heck, I just made some money - and I bought 7 skeins. It is just gorgeous. I love it. It is going to make some wonderful, special socks. Isn't it beautiful?

And then I ordered some Lanaset dye from ProChem. We used this dye at the guild dye day a few weeks ago and I lurve it. Especially how well it takes up and how little rinsing is required. So there is a project for the summer... I have a bag full of undyed yarns, longing for some color...

And that's all. No more yarn purchases until I get some FO action and unload some more old stash! Although my trip to Northampton this weekend just happens to coincide with the WEBS tent sale...