Knitting Cybrarian

Short personality test

Your Personality Profile

You are elegant, withdrawn, and brilliant. Your mind is a weapon, able to solve any puzzle. You are also great at poking holes in arguments and common beliefs. For you, comfort and calm are very important. You tend to thrive on your own and shrug off most affection. You prefer to protect your emotions and stay strong.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Adina Flora is here!

Adina Flora made her entrance yesterday evening.  My sister-in-law delivered via C-section after a difficult time.  Mama and little Adina are doing well now.  Mazel tov and hallelujah!

Revenge served Portia-style

I've been on vacation since 5/18.  I went back to work today and wasn't very excited.  Mom asked me last night if Portia would adjust.  I told her I didn't know, but figured she'd deal with it all right.

Yeah.  Right.  When I opened the door from the garage, I started to do my usual shoe-shucking dance and looked down.  And carefully placed my foot in a different spot.  Portia had barfed sometime in the day and managed to deposit said barf in the spot where I usually place my left foot after the first step of the shoe-shucking dance.

I think that was her revenge for me leaving her at home by herself all day.  Alone.  No open windows or doors bringing in sweet early summer breezes.  No scritches any time she plopped her little furry body in front of me.  No snuggles in the middle of the day.  And a lovely barf ball to show for it.

I can hardly wait until tomorrow afternoon. 

Nieceling is on her way!

My brother-in-law just called to let us know that his firstborn should make her arrival in the next 48 hours or less.  His wife's water broke this morning.  Joel's at work, and when I told him about it, he said, "Well, you'd better get knitting!"

Silly boy.  I have a hat done, although I'm concerned that it's big enough.  I bought two more skeins of the yarn to make another hat, just a little bigger for the newest family member.  Then there's the booties, and the sweater and the blanket yet to go!

Vacation

It's Friday afternoon.  Mom's safely home in Virginia, I've taken a nap, and Portia is out on the deck watching the Grounhogs, our neighbor family.

Yes, you read that right.  Family.  Turns out I've gotten quite a few things wrong about our neighbor.  I originally thought a male groundhog had taken residence under our shed.  Last weekend I noticed several little noses peeking out from the burrows under the shed and it turns out that Mr. Groundhog was actually Mrs. Groundhog (now separated from her mate) and she has four little groundhogs.  These little ones have grown even this week and from what I've read, Mama will issue an eviction notice sometime around my birthday in July and they'll find new homes.  As long as it isn't in our house!

Mom and I enjoyed sitting on the deck and watching the Groundhog family and the many birds that visit our feeders.  Deer visited too.  I keep my Audubon bird and mammal guides handy -- a necessity here!

We've spotted the following birds at our feeders here:

• Blue jays
• Red-winged blackbirds
• Goldfinches
• Juncos
• Black-capped chickadees
• Cardinals
• House sparrows
• House and purple finches
• House wrens
• Flickers
• Downy woodpeckers
• Red-bellied woodpeckers
• Rose-breasted grosbeaks
• Ruby-throated hummingbirds (at their own feeders)
• Cowbirds
• Starlings (usually in winter, other birds drive them away in late spring)
• Bobwhites
• Mourning doves
• Juncos
• Tufted titmice
• Robins

In the skies above, we've seen blue heron, vultures, red-winged hawks, and of course, Canada geese.  Unfortunately I've not seen any bluebirds around - they are not seed eaters and I'd need to have mealworm feeders for them (plus the mealworms!).

We also have squirrels that love to torment us at the feeders -- hanging upside down and eating/throwing out food on the ground.  At least the ground feeding birds love it.  Mom would throw out in-shell peanuts for the squirrels to eat, and the "thievin'" blue jays would swoop down to snatch the peanuts, then light on the lawn and cover them with grass clippings!

I've had a mostly relaxing week.  We didn't go to Iowa to visit the Fons and Porter store, but we visited yarn and quilting stores in the KC area.   Mostly we just sat on the deck and watched the wildlife.  I knitted and have about 2.5 feet done on a prayer shawl for my aunt. 

I'm working at the Studio tomorrow.  Reading Sunday's lessons in Russian to help our parish celebrate Pentecost.  And hope to relax Monday before I face a week of catching up from vacation. 

Vacation?!?

Mom is en route to KC today; I'll pick her up in about 3 hours.  Between now and then I have to finish cleaning, including picking up and straightening clutter that's gathered in the spare bedroom and the sewing room.  My sewing room looks like a disaster hit it, but the reality is that I've just dumped various things in there without putting them away.  Not a good habit.

I've also got the heebie-jeebies today and it's just as well I'm home today.  I'm pretty jumpy and just anxious in general.  Not much fun.  Perhaps the work I've got to get done in the next three hours will help with that.

However, the weather here is gorgeous.  I've got the windows open to the fresh air, and have refreshed the hummingbird nectar.  I'll feed the birds before I go to the airport so Mom can enjoy seeing the birds feeding when she comes. 

Dinner tonight will be grilled out -- steaks for mom and me, salmon for Joel, salad, baked potatoes and probably cooked peas or some other green veggie from the freezer.

I'm out of the office until Memorial Day.  Let's hope I can control my urge to stay connected to the Internet during that time!

Recap

Mom generously bought some patio furniture for us from Plow and Hearth.  It arrived weekend before last, and we've really enjoyed it.  That translates into less computer time for me in the evenings.  We've had lovely weather for the most part, so Joel and I have eaten dinner outside most evenings, watching the birds and other critters.  I've been knitting outside as well and it's really been quite relaxing.

As dusk fell last night, I thought I'd take my laptop out and check e-mail.  I heard something rustle through grass and tree branches.  I heard whatever it was move south a little.  It made too much noise to be Mr. Groundhog or a rabbit.  I looked up to see a young deer in our garden.  We had fresh corn for dinner, and Joel put the shucks and corncobs next to the compost bin to decompose.  The deer sniffed at it, nibbled, and moved on.  Slowly.  When the wind shifted, the deer would lift its head and look towards me.  I kept still-- it could probably smell my scent in the wind.  The deer walked through the garden and over to the edge of our property to eat leaves off the trees on the property border.  I do love watching them on their spindly legs.  Graceful and a little awkward all at the same time.  Yes, I know deer can be destructive to plantings, but they don't seem to like too many of the native prairie plants we've planted. 

My evening knitting has alternated between the prayer shawl for my family member and repairing some of Joel's socks.  Instead of darning, I just snipped off the toe part of the socks (after measuring, of course), picked up stitches, joined yarn and knit away. 

Last week I did a workshop on Music Reference for the KCMLIN.  I was pleasantly surprised with a gift certificate to a bookstore.  After the workshop, I promptly bought Knitting Beyond the Edge, and it arrives today.  I own all three books (the first two are Knitting Over the Edge and Knitting On the Edge).  I can't wait to drool over this new acquisition tonight!

Where's a zoom lens when...

I need it?  I'm sitting on our deck, balancing the laptop when movement catches my eye.  I look across the lawn to one of the trees on the property border.  The groundhog  is up in the tree, on a branch, snarfing down leaves.

I had no idea that groundhogs climbed trees.  I knew possums and raccoons did, but had no idea about groundhogs.  I wish I had a zoom lens for my camera to capture the moment!

Absent-minded

I mailed two cards earlier this week.  One was to mom for Mother's Day and the other was to a young friend in California.  The one for the young friend included some small goodies for her, so I used a padded envelope.  Here's the rub -- I think I signed the card, but I can't remember.

So, my dear reader in California, when that envelope arrives, if there's no signature inside (and I meant to write a note too), note the return address.  Let the young one know that I was thinking of her, even if I forgot to sign the card!

Bless this knitting

One of my dear relatives has cancer.  She's had surgery and chemo, and underwent experimental treatment from a regional cancer facility.  The last chemo didn't slow down or deter the cancer, so she's now in hospice care, and pain management is the goal.

I should have knit a prayer shawl for her earlier.  I don't know why I haven't.  Last week I started one using a lace weight alpaca yarn, but I had problems with the pattern.  I just couldn't concentrate.  So yesterday I stopped by the Studio and bought some beautiful yarn Andrea at Crafty dyed.  The colorway is called "Little Sister," lovely greens, purples, blues all together on a superwash worsted weight wool.  My hope and prayer is that I can knit this quickly and get it to my aunt soon.

I'm using a pattern from Knit n Style (not one of my favorite magazines) -- October 2005 issue, Karenlee's Meditation Shawl by Julie Dietz.  I bought this issue specifically for this shawl way back when.  The original is knit in Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb. 

Photos to come!  Please send comforting thoughts for my dear aunt.