Well, today is a much better day than the last three. I went to work for the first time since Monday. The cold I had really knocked me out.

Yesterday a very early birthday present arrived. Almost eight months early, but appreciated no less than if it came eight months from now. A very much needed gift too. Thank you, Mom & Dad! It will replace the folding chair that I’ve been using that hasn’t been good for my back. I need something a bit shorter than a normal chair but higher than the comfy living room chair that I had been using. As a replacement once in a while, I was using the radiator with a pillow which was about the right height. It didn’t work so well when it was cold outside though because the radiator was very hot. I can’t wait to use it! After Bryan arrived home from work yesterday, I asked him to help me put it together. The legs needed to be glued in and the back needed to be secured with glue and screws. I wasn’t up to doing it myself yesterday.

Before I got sick, I finished plying my first bobbin of the Garden yarn. It has some over-twisted spots but overall I’m pretty happy with it. I only managed to get about 250 yards out of about 2/3 of the first bobbin though. I’m not sure if I’m going to have enough yarn for a vest or not. I’ll have to knit a swatch with it to see what gauge I get and make some determinations after that.

Wednesday night and yesterday I felt well enough to knit and good things came from that knitting time. I finished the first piece of the Hobo sweater. Once I got to the arm it just flew from there. Project Spectrum really motivated me to work on this sweater and it paid off. Almost immediately after I finished the first piece of the sweater, I made myself cast-on for the second piece. I was afraid that I would get second piece syndrome since the front and back are exactly the same. Knowing how quickly the first piece went, I think I’m going to be motivated to finish it, hopefully by the end of May. Since I’ve been so focused on the Hobo sweater, I’ve really abandoned the Lilly socks. My problem with the Lilly socks is that they are too big for me. I’m tempted to cut them just above the heel and reknit the foot, I couldn’t just unknit the foot since they are knit toe-up. I’ve finally figured out why the socks I’ve made for myself are a bit too big since I started using the two-circs method. Addi Turbos size 2 are 3.0 mm and the other size 2’s that I’ve seen are 2.5 mm or 2.75 mm. Inox size 2 needles are 2.75 mm. So I’m think I’m going to have to decrease the number of stitches for the foot when I make socks for myself using the Addi Turbos. This is why I wish we would just do away with US sizes and all needles just go by the mm sizes and be consistent about sizes too.

A few weeks ago, I was thinking of starting Bryan’s CHRV (Cider House Rules Vest) in a few weeks but I think I should stick with the Hobo sweater as long as I can before starting the vest.

Despite still having a bit of a cold, I’m thinking a bit more clearly now regarding my plans for school. Getting a really wonderful pep talk from my supervisor at the library added a lot to my confidence too. In addition she said she would love to write a letter of recommendation for me.

I know I’m sick when…
• I enjoy spending time with your head under a towel inhaling garlic, eucalyptus, peppermint water’s steam and look forward to it nearly every hour
• An hour of Days of Our Lives feels like it lasts three hours
• Every muscle in my body aches
• I’ve blown my nose so much, I begin to wonder where is more coming from
• The only reading I can focus enough on is For Better or For Worse

books

• My naps are an hour and a half long and could be longer
• Nine cups of Throat Comfort tea doesn’t seem like too much tea
• I call in sick to work (the only job I’ve ever had that I don’t mind getting up at 6am for) and don’t feel guilty about it
• Knitting a two rows on a sweater is too many rows, knitting seems so hard

First of all, thank you all so much for your kind words regarding school. Amie put things in perspective for me when she said, “I’ve had things like that happen… with past boyfriends even! If those HAD worked out, you wouldn’t have Bryan, and think about how disappointed you were when those ended!” She’s so right, I wouldn’t even know Bryan if the past boyfriends had worked out. Elspeth mentioned the distance learning programs and when I’m feeling better I’m going to check into those.

As I mentioned earlier, not much knitting has been done since I’ve come down with this nasty cold. But a lot of knitting was done over the weekend, the body of the Hobo sweater is completed and part of the arm has been started. About 120 rows to go, which really isn’t a lot on 50 stitches. To think, 90% of the body was knitted in a month and five days. I may have this sweater done by Fall.

Dear Erica,

As your husband, it is my duty (one of many) to tell (actually remind) you something of such extreme importance that merely speaking the words will not suffice. Announcing them from the treetops (where Eisley lives) is the only way to tell you. It’s a well-known secret whispered into bullhorns by all your friends and family:

You are loved.

And not only this, but also:

Don’t let the bastards get you down, especially those faceless few who for whatever anonymous, bewildering reason find it necessary to say no to your dreams. But only you—YOU—can defy them. You and the legion of Those Who Stand Behind Erica Out of Love and Admiration in Hopes of Making Obvious How Powerful and Lucky She Is.

You know your two words: Defiance and Optimism, as in Defiance and Optimism in the face of temporary (though annoying) obstacles. Realize you’re one of the fortunate few who will not buckle under the form-letter anonymity of those who reject you: they know not whom they reject.

Got it?

Go forth unafraid. This is the gift you give to yourself, especially that version of you ten, twenty, thirty years down the road who, looking back on these bedrock days, will think “My fearlessness was second only to the feeling of being loved.”

Love
Bryan, et al.

Back in the 1920s there was a little boy born in Wyoming. His father was recent immigrant from Sweden and his mother was from Idaho. They named him Burt. I loved to hear about my grandfather when he was a kid. My great-grandma used to tell us about all the trouble he could get himself into.

(Burt in Idaho) Burt grew up to attend KU, where he met a girl, Mary Frances. Burt & Mary Frances were married in the early 1940s and had two daughters, my mom and Aunt Nan.When I was a kid, Grandpa would videotape nearly every dance performance my sister and I gave at home and dance recitals. There is also the famous lemonade stand videos.Several years ago, he started signing his emails G-pa, so we started calling him G-pa. He gave the best speech at our wedding rehearsal and our wedding reception. He’s been the greatest G-pa any girl could ever ask for.

Happy Birthday, G-pa!

Wednesday was a very weird day for me. As I was leaving for work, I noticed that an envelope from the school I applied to as in the mailbox. Since I was sort of running late, I didn’t want to stop and open it. And I didn’t want to be upset if I didn’t get the news I was hoping for. I was so nervous at work all day, it was the longest afternoon that I’ve had. When I arrived home, Bryan was already there, so we sat down together on the couch to open the letter. The letter I received as very disappointing, I thought this was my year but unfortunately, things don’t always work out the way we want them to. I thought that my library experience would help me but it didn’t this time. I was a wreck to say the least and didn’t get on the train. Bryan drove me to Chicago and it was the best thing that night for both of us. We talked through a lot of stuff and I’m going to meet with the dean from the school to see what I can do to possibly get accepted for Spring 2007. I’m going to continue to work at the library as I have and also volunteer with the homebound program. It’s going to be hard to tell my co-workers who’ve all been pulling for me so much.

It’s been good to be in Chicago again, my mom and I lazed around the house all morning then headed out for lunch and some shopping before meeting up with my sister for dinner. I bought a few things that I’ve thought of ordering but didn’t want to pay the shipping, and I found a baguette pan!

I head home on the train tomorrow.

This afternoon, I’m heading up to Chicago to visit my sister and mom for a long weekend. My mom is flying in from Kansas so it’s going to be a fun-filled girls’ weekend. I’m taking the Lilly socks to work on and of course several books to read. Bryan has to read a romance novel for one of his classes, so in support I’m going to read one too. I’ll be starting Key of Light by Nora Roberts on the train.

I made my project spectrum postcard last night and it’s on it’s way to Sarah.

Still haven’t heard about school. I’m hoping to find out before I leave.

Have a great weekend.

For those of you wondering, have I heard about school yet? Nope, still haven’t heard. They say that we’ll hear by mid-March and my idea of mid-March may be different than theirs. I guess technically mid-March could last until March 21, if we’re going to get very technical about this. With 31 days, 2/3 of the way through March is 20.46 and rounding up would give me till the 21st. Other than waiting, not a lot of newsworthy stuff has been going on around here.

Like I said in a previous post, I’ve been spinning to keep my mind occupied. Thursday morning, I finished spinning my third bobbin of singles. I’ve been anxious to start plying this yarn so Thursday, I got out the plying head and started plying my yarn. It’s looking really pretty and I can’t wait to knit with it. It has an iridescence to it that doesn’t show up very well in the photo. I’ve had some issues with my yarn being a bit over-spun and ended up winding the yarn from the bobbins into center-pull balls. One of the balls, I’ve had to rewind again because the yarn was still really over-spun. The over-spun bobbin was the last bobbin I spun so maybe some of my anxiety is part of the cause of the over-spinning. Friday afternoon after work, I watched Corpse Bride and worked on plying. If you haven’t seen Corpse Bride and you like Tim Burton, I highly recommend this movie. I loved the story and the characters. I really liked Nightmare Before Christmas but I liked this movie even more.

Wednesday night at my knitting group, I decided to rip out the top of the Snowflake vest. It’s now sitting in a bag waiting to be worked on. I think I might need a break from the vest for a while. When I work on it again, I’m going to try to knit the entire top in the round using steeks because it’s just too hard to keep a consistent tension while knitting fair-isle back and forth.

I’ve also been plugging along on the Hobo sweater. Unfortunately, the progress doesn’t make for an interesting photo. But you can see the progress I’ve made in the last month. Here is where I was on February 22 and here’s where I am now.

I’ll let you know as soon as I know about school. It has to be soon since I’m leaving on Wednesday to visit my sister and mom in Chicago. My project for the train up and back is the Lilly socks. I want to finish them so that I can wear them!