Knitting Cybrarian

A nice problem to have

I may have mentioned:

• I bought some new clothes in November -- 5 pairs of pants (!) because I badly needed pants.  My jeans were quite snug and I really didn't have anything to wear.
• I donated a lot of clothing to Salvation Army before 31 December
• and that I've lost some weight

Well...

• 4 of the 5 pairs of pants no longer fit, and the fifth is barely hanging on for now.  I was able to return two pair tonight (thank you J.Jill for a generous return policy, and my obsessive ways for hanging onto the receipts!).
• I'm reduced to wearing jeans (again) and they're quite baggy. 
• The bathroom scale seems to be acting more like usual and now shows I've lost about 32 lbs since 1 November.  The trick?  Weigh BEFORE I take a shower and steam up the bathroom and everything in it.
• I'm taking a pair of pants I didn't donate to the tailor tomorrow to get a zipper replaced.  It's an invisible zipper and the way it was sewn in is too much of a pain for me to replace.  If the fixed pants are baggy, then I know I'm definitely on the losing train.

Getting sick in December jumpstarted everything.  It's no fun eating when you cough so hard your gag reflex kicks in.  And then when I could start eating again, I didn't overdo it.  I've made small changes.  Half a sandwich for lunch instead of a whole sandwich.  At least one piece of fruit a day, preferably two.  Not so much pasta.  More water, very little soda, and cutting back some on the coffee.  Keep the candy for the students, not for me.  And moving more -- gentle exercise.

I won't say how many more pounds to go, but it'd be great if this kept up.  However, I'll have to invest in some more clothing along the way. 

Snow, ice, taxes, weight, saying no, sinus crud

We've had typical prairie weather the past week or so.  Rain, followed by descending temps and snow.  Then temps hovering around 0F.  Lovely.  Typical, though. Sleet/snow is forecast for the afternoon and evening.  I'm at home (school is closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. day) and catching up on some work.  Some jots:

• The pants I bought in early November fall off of me (really!).  I got on the scale Saturday and I've lost about 20 lbs. since November.  Then I got on the scale this morning and according to it, I've lost about 70 lbs. in the past two days.  I know that's not true.  I wonder if the battery needs to be replaced?
• Before Christmas, I received a phone call from a high-ranking person in an organization asking me to do something important for the organization.  I said, thank you for considering me, but no.  Don't faint, dear readers, but I did say, no.
• And last Monday night, I was at a meeting where those of us serving were asked to consider running for another term.  I had already thought about it, but got back to folks on Wednesday morning, and again, said no.  And while I'm at it, I'm really tired and worn down and would like to give others the opportunity to do a few of these things.  And gave up a few more commitments.
• After buying it a year ago, I finally tried NeilMed Sinus Rinse this morning. I've had the sinus crud for a while now -- not quite an infection, but a constant annoyance that my usual allergy/asthma meds haven't been able to banish.  I feel somewhat better already.  What remains to be seen is how things feel tonight -- I'll use it around 7pm or so, and hopefully it'll help get rid of my nighttime post-nasal drip that turns into a nagging cough.
• Oh yeah, taxes.  I need to get my rear in gear.  I told the hubster I'd categorize the receipts, etc. for our taxes.  I need to complete that before he comes home tonight.  I'm the one responsible for most of the itemizations, so I save the receipts and compile the data.  Fun, huh?  But we have a great accountant, and he helps make sure we can claim every legally deductible cent possible.

Have a pot of tea waiting.  Nothing like a spot of tea on a cold winter's day!  Stay warm, stay safe, and don't drive on our still snow and ice-covered street!

Snowy Dawn

Snowy Dawn 1
Originally uploaded by lauragayle

What we awoke to this morning

Wishing you a wonderful 2008!

Today I went back to work after the holiday break.  2008 got off to a great start in the library -- my first in-person reference question of the year was

I'm looking for some 17th century bawdy songs in English.  Do you know of any?

My patron left with 4 scores of catches, glees, and rounds that I pulled for him less than 5 seconds after he asked me the question.  Yes, that's five seconds. 

Next question?

My place of employment was closed 22 December - 1 January.  I look forward to this forced break and this year was no exception.  I had lots of plans involving cleaning, reorganizing, knitting, baking, piano practicing, maybe even sewing.  This year's plans were thwarted.  The sinus CT I mentioned in my last post was negative, meaning no sinus infection.  Thank goodness.  The allergist called in cough meds for me.  I've loaded up on generic mucinex (with a decongestant) as well as the cough meds.  I've still coughed, sneezed, blown my nose, etc.  Ugh.   I've coughed so hard that my ribs hurt as well as the muscles around my ribs.  I've downed gallons of water to move the gunkus out of my body.  I finally got to sleep in my own bed the past two nights, but apparently I coughed too much last night and Joel got up and slept on the couch.  Guess where I'm sleeping tonight?

I went in to work today for about 5 hours or so.  I got there a little late and left early -- I was pretty pooped and my voice was gone.   When I talked with Joel today he said he wasn't feeling good.  We made dinner plans (homemade potato soup) and then when he got home he didn't want soup, didn't want anything and went to bed.  Now I'm wondering if I had some allergy or sinus thing and then caught a cold or other bug -- and now Joel has it?  ERRRGH!  Poor guy! 

And he took good care of me while I was sick!  He made curried carrot soup, hot tea, rubbed my back, and did other wonderful things to keep me comforted.  Guess it's my turn to give now.

Knitting.  I didn't get as much knitting done because it's not fun to have yarn and needles covered in ... well, mucus.  But I did get the body of Joel's Aran sweater done.  I need to have him try it on to verify that the chest length is correct (the part between the armhole openings and the shoulders) before I join the shoulders and start on the sleeves.  I won't wake him up for that!

I also blocked a wrap I made for myself.  It's based on a Feather and Fan or Old Shale pattern and made out of Colinette's Prism yarn.  I think mine is in the color "Dusk."  Photos to come!

Last night I cast on and started knitting That Little Scarf by Anne Hanson.  I'm making it in Handmaiden Sea Silk, color Nova Scotia (and often available at The Loopy Ewe). 

And I need to cast on for a pair of fingertipless gloves for a friend.  I did wind the yarn this evening (Louet Gems "pearl" wool in Charcoal, also at the Loopy Ewe) and now I'm contemplating gauge.  Have the pattern -- Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns is a wonderful resource.  If you knit items for friends and family who are a wide variety of sizes AND you have the imagination to add some texture and design elements of your own, I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Stay warm and stay well, dear readers!