Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Sick cat

This week has sucked. All 4 of our fish died, including the one we've had several months and who has survived 2 trips on the carpet. I think the 3 new ones DH brought home from Pet Smart were sick or something. So yesterday we got a new one, a big white fish with an orange head. Today we got another one that looks the same but is smaller. The big one is Tiger, and the small one is Maria. Interesting huh?
We've had a sick cat for a week or so, but didn't know which one it was. We suspected one, but it turns out it wasn't her. This afternoon I went into our bedroom and found 2 more pee spots on the carpet (that is why we knew one was sick) and Annie looked so skinny and lethargic. In fact, I wasn't sure how long she'd make it, so I called the vet right away and took her in. That's a challenge with 3 kids in tow. She was tested for FIV and FIP, and Thank God it was negative. They gave her some fluids, and did a $100 panel of blood work to try and figure out what is wrong. They said her liver is breaking down, either because she has a liver disease, or maybe it's just because she's dehydrated and hasn't been eating. I got some cans of cat food to basically force feed her too. Well the food is absolutely disgusting. It took DH and I 20 minutes to get a little down her (forcefully). She kept that down OK until I tried giving her some fluids too later. Then she puked all over DH, and the smell was so bad I puked too. Poor guy, cat puke all over him and a wife with her head in the toilet. Fortunately he has a stronger stomach than I.
He said that the cat was in drinking water shortly after that so maybe she's feeling a little better. I just can't have another animal die this week. The fish thing was very dramatic for B since the fish was a birthday present.
Knitting wise, I've basically just knit on my hats this week. I designed a fair isle hat (on paper) that I need to start trying to knit up. I tried it using some yarn I had, but didn't like it so I ripped it out to try again with a different yarn. I also started a scarf for my SP but don't like it either. I need to make her something fast since it's basically the end of SP season. I haven't been the best SP I could be and I feel bad. Usually I'm much better than this.

Monday, October 22, 2007

A week has passed.....

And I've only knit hats. I finished 3 for my friend's 2 kids and her husband, and then I knit myself a Jackyll & Hyde (from Knitty) for Halloween. The kids love it and I love that I feel like Clark Kent with my Superman suit beneath my suit. I wore it today and showed it to Cee-Cee's teacher and K. who loved it. The kids had a great time wearing it too.
School is going well and the kids' grades are great. Homeschooling has just been a blessing to us. Today K and I took the kids to the park and met another homeschooling family, people we hadn't met before. We told them about our upcoming co-op and hopefully they will join. She belongs to another one in Hillsboro but was interested in ours too. Her boys were in K and 2nd, and all 4 boys really enjoyed playing with each other.
I'm knitting K an Anemoi hat right now, then when I'm done I'm going to start knitting hats to sell at the bazaar. We're thinking of getting a table in some bazaars in Hillsboro too, since we likely won't make too much money here in the sticks.
Our church had a concert on Sunday by a wonderful Southern Gospel group called Blackwood Legacy. They have a young gentleman (just 21) in their group that is a piano virtuoso. He played and it totally amazed me. I bought some of their CD's, and they plan to use the proceeds to record an album of him playing piano.
Prison Break is back on again. I always miss it when it's not on, because I don't get to see Wentworth Miller. God he's cute.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Apparently.....

I upset someone with my rant about the baby sweater vest that just didn't work. The pattern was vague, and I just couldn't figure it out. So I ranted about it in my blog, which is my personal space to say any damn thing I want.
Today I got a comment about it saying that maybe I should have contacted the yarn manufacturer instead of downing them. I have a few comments back to you.
1. Why should I contact the manufacturer? Isn't it the responsibility of pattern publishers to make certain that patterns are clear to the general public? Shouldn't they be test knit by people of all skill levels to make sure instructions are easy to understand? I know that mistakes can be made but this pattern had been out for a long while. And, interestingly, it has now been removed from their website. Coincidence maybe, but I still would NOT recommend that pattern.
2. Do you honestly think that the manufacturer has any idea what the designer had in mind when the instructions read "at the same time"? The manufacturer is just publishing a free pattern and likely has no relationship with the designer to even find out that information.
3. The only badmouthing I did of the company was to state that they published ONE vague pattern. I never made any comments about their yarn, or any other pattern they have ever published.
4. Dammnit, this is MY blog, and I can say ANY FUCKING THING I WANT!!!!!!!!!
5. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ MY BLOG!

That said, I got my socks off in the mail to my target. She didn't respond to my email so I hope she doesn't flake. Seems as if my assassin has socks in the mail to her too, so it will be interesting to see where my target's socks end up. I sure wish my assassin would have been slow but no such luck. That's OK, this way I will only have to mail 1 pair of socks. I had fun making them too and the ones coming to me are very pretty.
I'm knitting a bunch of camouflage hats to sell at our local Christmas bazaars. My friend and I will get a table together and she's going to sell scrapbooks or something similar. I bought a bunch of yarn to get hats made. I made a test one for K's son A today. She took it home today after they left from a visit. I'm making one for her husband now, who is a big hunter. That's why I think these hats will go over so well. Almost everyone in town hunts. Camouflage is standard wear around here.
School is going well. The boys have each had a few tests/quizzes and are doing well. Some days they are more resistant than others. Poor G had 3 quizzes today, and 2 tests on Wednesday. It hardly seems fair. I hope things spread out better over the course of the year.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Sock Wars

I've not had a lot of knitting time as we are in full homeschooling mode right now. But I forgot I signed up for Sock Wars. You see, your goal is to knit a pair of socks (from a given pattern) as fast as you can then mail them to your "target" to "kill" them. They then send you their partially completed socks along with the info on their target, and you kill them, and so on. Well, my "dossier" came on Friday and I dutifully knit as fast as I could. I finished the socks this evening, but I'll be killed at about the same time these arrive at my target. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!
On another note, we spent the entire Friday at doctor/orthodontist appointments. Garrett got his poky wire fixed first, then off we went to OHSU for 3 different appointments. First, a comprehensive hearing test for Brendyn. He failed his screen at school in the spring, and we found out about 2 months ago that it's because he has fluid behind his eardrums. We waited 8 weeks hoping his body would rid itself of the fluid, but the hearing test proved that it hasn't. He didn't do any better this time than 2 months ago. So, off to the ENT doctor we went. According to her, it won't clear on it's own, and our choices are to let his hearing stay bad, or get ear tubes placed. So, we're opting for the tubes. While they're at it, they're going to remove his adenoids and possibly his tonsils. If so, I'll be glad. He's a snorer and mouth breather and maybe getting rid of that stuff will help that. Plus he had exudative tonsillitis this summer. He freaked out on the table and was bawling his poor little eyes out at the thought of surgery until he learned he could have lots of ice cream. Now he's going around telling everyone he's having surgery.
We got a quick x-ray of his neck (the adenoids), then we rushed off to eat a quick lunch in the hospital cafe. It was pretty good.
Then, off to Garrett's developmental pediatrician. We've elected to add an afternoon dose of his ADHD meds for better behavior control. We forgot to give it to him this weekend but I'll hopefully remember tomorrow. I might have to set an alarm.
I ordered some camouflage yarn and I'm going to try to knit up a bunch of hats to sell at Christmas bazarrs this season. My friend Katie is going to have a table selling something so I'll probably share with her. Even if I could make a few bucks that would be good. We live in hunting country so camouflage stuff will go over well.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Books are here

We finally got our books today from Connections. Two giant boxes with over 50 pounds of stuff. It took me a while to sort it, then determine what can be written in and what can't. I thought it was coming FedEx which comes in the morning, but it turns out it was coming UPS which comes in the afternoon. I ended up not being able to leave the house all day because I had to sign for the boxes and I was afraid I'd miss the delivery. My good friend took Cee-Cee to school and back for me, and brought over lunch afterward. They stayed until about 2 and then she took B home with her to do some school lessons with her daughter. I'm glad things have finally arrived so we can get down to "real" work and not just do a ton of math every day.
I have one Random Rib sock basically done and since I need to check it's fit, I guess DH will know what one of his Christmas presents is. It better fit, or I"m not doing it over.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Why is it...

1. That I get every illness that goes around? It wasn't bad enough that I caught the awful cold that was going around. This weekend I became the proud owner of the stomach flu too. I'm still not over that.
2. That the boys can get through 2-3 math assignments in 1 day when we are doing homeschool and they couldn't even get one done during school hours? At this rate, B will have his 2nd grade math done by spring. And even G(who isn't feeling well) put in 2 lessons today in prep for a test tomorrow.
3. My mom can't make up her mind on a sweater to knit? Seems like every thing she tried this weekend was a bust. I feel bad. She really wants to knit a sweater but just can't find the perfect combination of yarn and pattern.
4. That this stupid sweater vest is knitting up so freaking slow? Maybe it's the 312 stitches around, and about 9 million rows I need to knit to get up to the armpits. Yeah, that's it.
5. That I can't ever remember that G needs to attend "live lessons" for school that start at 11:30? I always remember after 12 and they are done at 12:15. I'm going to have to start planning better.
6. That Cee-Cee never pees her pants when we are at someone else's house, at school, or in town, but she refuses to take herself potty at home? I'm tired of all the wet pants.
7. That no matter how much I clean, my house always looks messy? Maybe it's all the stuff we have. I should de-clutter. Yeah, right.
6. That the baked apple pie candles smell so good? I'm going to have to invest a fortune in buying them because they make the hosue smell so nice.
7. That I have "start-itis" again, and can't wait to get a new project OTN?
8. That I joined sock wars? I did it before I decided to HS the boys. We'll see how fast I get killed I guess.
9. That I have no desire to start knitting the projects I was going to knit as Christmas presents? They are just so freaking boring. Maybe I'll have to change my plans.....
10. That I'm sitting here blogging instead of knitting????????

Friday, October 5, 2007

Not much knitting time

Since starting homeschooling the boys, my knitting time has been significantly reduced. And that's OK for now. We're trying to get into a routine and they need frequent guidance at this point. They are both actually doing quite well and I'm very proud of them for what they've done so far. When our books get here on Wednesday we'll be able to work on the entire curriculum and not have to postpone parts.
As far as knitting goes, I'm just working on the Hyland Argyle Sweater for DH, and a pair of socks (Random Rib Socks) that will go along with the sweater. They are going fast, and the sweater is not. It's long and boring. I might also cast on the new socks from MagKnits, that are done in short rows. That is if I can decide which yarn to use........