What is the big deal anyway?

Seems like everywhere I turn today, someone is saying something about having an "extra" day.

I wish I did.  But, for me, today is simply Wednesday.  Which means laundry day.  Yesterday was Tuesday, and tomorrow will be Thursday.  Yet, for some reason, just because today is February 29th, which means this is a leap year, people keep asking "what are you doing with your extra day".  Well, like I said - I wish I had one.  But, I don't. 

I will say, though, that even though I'm a bit of a science geek myself, that I still don't totally understand how we can add an extra day to the (man made recording tool) calendar every four years, but that the vernal and autumnal equinoxes still fall on the same date, as do the solstices.  I mean, really - if we keep making the calendar year longer, shouldn't the dates and seasons slowly move around said calendar?  Shouldn't we eventually have summer in February?   I get the part about the earth moving around the sun every 365 and a quarter days... But because the calendar is a man made construct, why does it still work?

I guess it is one of those math things that goes just beyond my understanding.  I'm a science geek, not a math geek!!  Yes, I can hold my own doing a lot of mathematical stuff, but some of it just goes a little further than I care to.  I start to get confused a little after a while.... But, send me shopping for the best deal on my groceries, or get me to figure out how to piece a quilt or work out a knitting pattern repeat, and I'm your gal!!  I'm pretty much able to do a lot of basic math in my head, and even more on paper, but I have an upper limit. 

Otherwise, though - Yes, I love science.  Biology, physics, geology, even a smattering of chemistry (the part that doesn't delve into mathematics!).  Unfortunately, I'm just the wrong age.  When I was in school, I got a lot of the "girls don't do science" thing, and "boys are better at math than girls" so I didn't get to learn as much as I wanted.  We girls had to do cooking and sewing (chemistry, biology, physics, math...) and didn't even get to do woodworking or metal working, or any of the fun stuff like that.  I had to learn a lot on my own.  Having an interest helped, as did having a high school math teacher who was very encouraging.  I actually got exempted from my grade 11 math exam.  It still took until I was in University, and the math prof told me to stop saying I wasn't good at math as he handed me another test with an A on it...I missed one question, so missed out on the A+, and it was while discussing where I'd gone wrong with the question - silly number mistake, but I had the formula correct - funny I can recall that after 25 years.  That prof is the one who told me that it is perfectly OK to count on your fingers if you have to.  Funny, but since I learned that, I've slowly lost the need to.  So - what it was - for most of my life, I had some sort of mental block, and could not manage to remember the answer when adding 5 to either 7 or 8.  I would have to stop, count on my fingers, and repeat that sometimes because I didn't always trust the answer.  I know, silly - but really, it was hard.  So, under pressure of University test, I managed to mess up.  Had I gotten the simple arithmetic question correct, my overall answer would have been right - but I was, of course, one number out.  So, he told me to go ahead and use my fingers, and don't be embarrassed.  From then on, I did - and now, I rarely do.  Once I relaxed about the whole thing, I've been able to remember that 5+7 = 12 and 5+8 = 13.

I ended up working on the Sea Cruise sock last night.  Took it all the way to being ready to graft the toe.  That is another thing I still need the crutch of having the directions to refer to - but I'm getting better at that, too.  I don't have to look at each step before I take it.   Last night was watching The River.  I did like last night's episode better than the last few - it was suitably creepy.  Tonight is Survivor night, so I need to work on Hermione - mindless.  This incarnation is finally the right size, but is still wanting to spiral-pool.  I'm going to have to live with it. 

Should be ready to post pictures again tomorrow.  Along with my goals for March.

Here is hoping

So.  Here's hoping I can share the pictures.  Repeating yesterday, as well as some days back...

This was my first attempt at the second sock.  A distinct spiralling.

My second attempt was a more intense spiral, and it was also too tight.

I suppose I didn't need to do two pictures of them.  :)  But I did take two anyway. 

While I was taking pictures, I had some near interruptions.  I had the socks all on the kitchen table, and ended up with a dog on my chair.  The old, turn-on-the-camera-and-a-dog-appears trick.  She didn't stick her face in the way this time, but....

 She *did* give me the look of "why can't I be in the picture?"  So, I took one.  Got Delko there, too.  My babies!!!

So - will be knitting some more tonight.  Not sure which sock, but I know for sure I'm not getting any of my goals accomplished this month.  Well, I did learn a new technique in knitting.  I finished the toe up socks, which I started in January.  I learned a new toe-up cast on for January (though not what I was planning to learn).  And I learned a nice stretchy cast off in February. :)  Wonder what my new technique will be for March?  Haven't given it any real thought, so maybe that will be when I learn what I planned to this year...

(things to learn  - the "new" way of intarsia from Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia, the tubular cast on - I tried this before and it just wasn't clicking, and brioche stitch.  In crochet - tunisian stitches beyond the basic, and knooking, though I did play a bit once, and don't think it will be hard to figure out.)

I haven't met any of my other goals - I wanted to have the special project completed by the end of the month, I'm now working on being nearly three weeks behind that goal.  I wanted that document either written, or at least started - all I've accomplished on that is getting library books and starting research/reading the books.  I don't even want to talk about the house -and my love hate relationship with it.  Yes, I know, I've talked about it lots in the past and likely will again; I just don't want to talk about it today.  So - I'm so far, only managing to accomplish one of my goals.  Writing in this blog every day.

Now, is it because I've bitten off more than I can chew?  Or is it because I'm still working on healing from the year and a half depression, which has left me mentally and physically exhausted?  Or, is there something else that I just haven't explored enough to see yet standing in my way?

Maybe some good food for thought.  If I remember to think about it! 

(just another thought to leave you with.  In the pic above of the dogs, I'm standing beside my fridge, with is against the wall that goes to the livingroom.  You can see the table.  You can see the edge of the mat that is in front of the sink.  You can see my stove, and part of a cupboard.  That is how big my kitchen is.  Maybe I'll take a couple more pictures of it (after I sweep the floor, lol) I spent some time this morning clearing, washing and organizing one of the counters.  Seriously, I have two counters; one beside the stove above that cupboard, and one on the other side of the sink, where my coffee maker, kettle, can opener, and drainboard is.  I have a small drainboard....  I have no counters.  Really.  Two of them, that are maybe 18 inches long each....)  Oh, right, I said I wasn't going to talk about the house.

pictures, finally ready.

So.  I am frustrated... I tried a few different things to get to my archives, and the best I can do is get as far back as the 6th of either January or February.  Wonder what the issue is? 

Maybe I've posted too many pictures, and they have a limit on the page length?  Maybe I've made too many long posts, and there is a limit on page length?

But shouldn't there at least be an "older posts" button to click?  So I can see the first several days of the month?

Maybe I'm going to have to retire some pets, or something....  :(

Oh, well.  Here's some pictures showing some progress on the Six Sox Knitalong Sea Cruise socks that I'm making for DH. 

This shows the three anchor motifs on the leg - hope they are visible enough.  :)  Part of it is the size of the photo, part the dark yarn.  They do show when you stretch them out on an arm or a leg, or hold them so the light hits just right.  I'm sure when I get around to making the pair for me in the lighter blue they'll show better.  Now, here is the sock after the heel turn:

I'm past the gusset decreases, and now just have to knit for length.  Still following charts, though.

I'm also working on the sock that I'm designing - and had a strange thought... what if someone else who knits faster or writes patterns faster than me takes my idea from the pictures and runs with it?   Well, I'm not going to worry.... even though I'm much slower at the process, as long as these posts turn up even if not in their entirety, will show that I've been playing with the idea since back in January ;)

So, here's the last two progress pics I took:  leg first, then heel turn and instep.

Well, I guess this is the beginning of the heel - the flap and turn and gusset pick up have been done here.

And working on the foot.  Heading toward the toe....

continuing the kitty paws along the instep portion.

Next up - the redos of the Hermione.  First, a reminder of what had happened when I first tried the second sock.

You can see how the finished sock has mottled colours, but the part one has a distinctive spiral pattern.  Besides, I'd messed up on the cast on.

Aww, fizzleshitz.  Seems that blogger doesn't want to load any more pictures.  So, do I edit and take out the one above; wait a little while just in case; type some more and try again (that used to work in the past when blogger was acting up with picture posting) or just leave the pics as is, and try again tomorrow?  Well, I already invested the time to type and load the reminder picture above, so deleting all that goes against the grain (hm, the irony - I have to keep ripping the second sock, now I have to "rip back" the blog post!!!).  Typing some more now, I can try again after a few more minutes and a few more sentences.  If that doesn't work, then I guess I'll just have to give up and try again tomorrow. 

Today, DH is home sick - kind of makes it hard for me to get into any routine with him around, under foot, napping and wanting quiet, etc.  He isn't too demanding on my time or trouble, mostly it is just trying to work around him that bothers me.  I just don't need the extra excuse not to do much around the house.  I'm so far behind on so many things, and it just seems like everything is a priority - so many things to do, and some are dependent on doing other things first, and some are easier if I do other things first, and some of those firsts seem like lower priority so I feel guilty doing them, then other things get behind and become more urgent, and I end up shutting down because I don't know where to start.  Unfortunately, I become very unproductive in those situations.  As in, I spend time on the computer.  If only I could do something like knit when I don't want to do anything else... but if I knit, or try to catch up on the TV shows/movies that are recorded, then I feel guilty, and it drives me back into that depressed state...  but I don't feel guilty on the computer. 

I suppose I've vented about that many times lately, haven't I?  And the venting or talking about it isn't helping.  I really need a new strategy.  Now, if only I could figure one out.

Well, I just tried the picture thing again.  So, I guess you'll just have to wait until tomorrow.

Posting etiquette

I was going to apologize for yesterday's post - in some ways, it wasn't a good post.  Short, showed pictures at least, but really wasn't the best I've done.  Then, I realized.... this is my blog.  It is my self-imposed I must write on it each day in 2012.  So, why should I apologize?  I did write.  And I posted what I feel like posting.  Just because I slept in, and it was late, and I was posting while making something to eat, and I needed to get off the 'puter because there was something on TV that needed to be paid attention to... So, I admit, I rushed it. 

But, I did post about something that I've been thinking/dreaming about lately.  :)  My trip to Mexico last year.  I have something going on in my little pea-brain that is related. So, I'm thinking on it a lot.  Besides the fact that we have finally got winter starting now - even though it is nearly over.  I can hardly wait until I can start hanging outside with the dogs, wearing shorts and T-shirts, and relaxing in the warm sun...

In the meantime - today just happens to be my anniversary :)  35 years...

Last night, after eating and after the news, I watched a few more episodes of that Walking Dead thing.  I was nearly ready to give up on the series, because it really was getting more and more boring.  BUT - finally, at the end of what I think was the fourth episode (third last night, and I only watched one before that) it got good.  Now, as long as it keeps up being good.  The other night, we were waiting for Grimm to come on, and ended up catching part of that show, "undercover boss".  I watched the first season of that. (just an aside here - for some reason my shift key is misbehaving, and instead of constantly correcting the missing capitals, I'm leaving them for a while).  Anyway, the first season of Undercover Boss was not bad - but after a few years, you start to wonder, does no one watch TV?  I mean, this show isn't one that is on some of the cable networks that not everyone gets, it was on the regular networks.  So, how come you can actually fool some of these people still?  Like, really, if I'm working somewhere, and someone comes to me to say they are making this show about whatever in the workplace, I'm going to be suspicious.  Either everyone on the show lives in isolation (mind you, the other day, they *were* on a fishing/factory boat that was pretty isolated for months at a time) or people aren't so dumb, and that is why the boss gets all the shit jobs.  My point, though - this show is still on the air after several years.  But shows like Criminal Minds Suspect Behaviour or Terra Nova are gone.  Oh, and I  had forgotten about another oldie but lost - No Ordinary Family.

Who makes these decisions, anyway???

Well, on the bright side - if the shows are boring or just plain unwatchable, then I can get in more knitting ;)

Time to take stock - I have not finished all the socks I wanted to this month.  I'm trying to access my archives in another window - don't seem to be able to get it to open properly.    Damn.  I don't know why I can't get the archives to open properly.  I can get most of the month of January, and most of February, but not the beginning.   I wanted to use the beginning of the month posts to say what projects I planned to do, so I could go back at the end of the month to see what progress I'd made.  I'm frustrated now...

Well, let's see if I can do it from memory.

In January, I planned to work on an afghan that I'd started, the celtic cape that is a year old and I'm barely started, a crochet twin set (tank top and bolero) that I'd started but kind of got frustrated with, and I allowed myself to start four new socks, plus one that I was working on using two colours.  During the month, a baby blanket need came up, so I started and finished that.  When it became obvious that I wasn't going to get the socks done, I carried them over to February.  I finished one pair of the carry overs.  I started a new pair.  So, my February goal, if I recall, was to finish the January socks, try to make progress on the new sock, and to catch up on the unfinished stuff from last year.  The afghan got finished.  All ends woven in. :)  So, so far this year, I have completed - one afghan, one baby blanket, one pair of socks.  I've started four new pairs of socks. 

I'm going to see if I can get at least one pair of socks finished by the end of this month, though I doubt it will happen.  My plans for March:  seems I'm going to want to start two new socks from that sock group on Ravelry.  I may or may not do the mystery sock from them.  I won't start them, though, unless I can get a few more of the UFO type socks done first.  And I really need to get those other projects worked on, instead of buries away.  I want to start a new shawl, and I want to start working on making some afghans for the grand kids for next Christmas. 

I guess I should stop starting new socks, but I know I need more, and so does DH.  So, maybe I should just try to work on one thing at a time, and just get it done!!!!  Well, I guess I could/should allow myself one mindless type project, and one concentration type project.  Problem is, right now, most of the projects require concentration.... :P

Well, it isn't March first yet, so I still have some time.  Maybe I'll be able to find the archives properly before then!   I mean, in another way, if I can't even remember which projects I've got in the "current" pile, then maybe I have too many!

Memories of Mexico

Just going to share some pics of something that has been on my mind for a few days.  Yes, winter has been mild.  Yes, it will be over soon.  But, I'm still already tired of it, and I wish for warmer days :)

So, just a few pictures from our trip last year. 

Some hibiscus flowers.  I didn't know what they were called when we were there last year, but now I know.  They come in all sorts of colours; rich reds and gorgeous pinks as well as white, and bi-colour.  Picture searches on the net revealed even more colours!!  :)

Of course, there were lots of other types of flowers, too.  I even saw some wild roses.  Bird of Paradise, and tons more that I dont' know all the names for. Pointsettias was another plant I saw growing in the ground, not in pots like here!  (yes, they did have some in pots, too, for decor.)

 And, as one would expect, coconut trees!! :)

So, short post, but at least I shared pictures. That's what happens when you sleep in in the morning!

Finding my way around

I've always found blogger to be one of the more user friendly blogs.  I did need a bit of help when I first started my blog, in finding out how to add stuff to the side bar.  And now and again, I've had glitches happen, but I've been able to figure out how to fix them.  No formal training in html codes and stuff, just what I've picked up along the way doing it. 

And, I've learned some of the technical jargon along the way...

Anyway, the current incarnation of blogger dashboard is very much more user friendly - less coding, more "what you see is what you get" kind of of thing.

So, I had noticed one day, after I posted, that I had some "draft" posts.  So, I checked them.  I was sure I'd posted the messages, though.  One was from 2008, one from 2007.  I went through the archives of my blog, and sure enough, the posts were there, right where they were supposed to be.  I have no idea why they are also sitting in a draft folder.  And, to be honest, I'm kind of scared to delete them, lol.  Since they really aren't bothering anything, I figure, I'll just leave them there.  Maybe one day, I'll see what happens if I delete. 

Today was a tiring day for me.  Our streets aren't in perfect condition right now - so far this winter we've had mild temperatures and nearly no snow.  Or, not much to speak of. Or, whatever did fall melted away again.   Well, this week, things are changing a bit.  We did get a few inches of snow, and some of it did the melty thing.  But now it has gotten cold, and the wind is picking up.  So we're getting drifty snow on top of ice.  And I had some shopping to do this morning.  I planned my trips, as always, so that I could do a loop.  It wasn't too bad driving; but I do drive cautiously.  I did have a bit of difficulty getting into my yard again.  Kind of went a bit sideways instead of straight in, and might have ended up driving over the area we pile snow when we do need to shovel.  So, that was loose snow, and there is potential to become stuck in it.  But, I didn't.  Just pulled back out into the lane, and tried again.  Made it in that second time.

So - Last night I worked on the Hermione second sock.  For about one round.  Was thinking about all that I posted yesterday, about the differences in yarn.  And couldn't remember if I'd finished all my thoughts on the topic of variance in knitting.... See, I did use two different needle brands for the sock.  I started sock one using Lantern Moon Ebony needles, size 2.75mm (US2).  Then, when I got tired of the one needle breaking, I switched to Brittany Birch needles.  Well, there really isn't a spot that you can tell where I switched.  BUT for some reason.... well, sock #2 is working up very differently.  A lot did have to do with the difference between the cast on number, but I already took care of that.  I was rather surprised to see that I was still getting a pooling effect causing a spiral stripe.  I decided to let it go, and just carry on knitting.  Then I had a THOUGHT.  It wasn't a happy THOUGHT, either.  I grabbed the completed sock, and placed the new cuff on the old. 

Pictures to follow when I take them and download from the camera.....  (Frog pond, here I come!)

So, instead, I worked on the kitties and butterflies sock.  Because we were watching some recorded shows, and I didn't want to have to be chart dependent.  Will be working on whatever socks I happen to pick up tonight - haven't decided yet.  :) 

BUT - I am probably going to end up abandoning any unfinished socks in the next couple of days, once I sort some ideas out in my head.  I have a plan for a new shawl design... a spark of an idea started and became an ember yesterday, and when I heard about a particular lace yarn, which I saw and purchased today, the ember has ignited and is taking off into flame.... Should be a raging fire in the next few days, which means, my ADD will take over, and I'll get all excited and have to run off and make it!!

What to write about

Don't know what to write about again.  I put my camera on the table beside the laptop.  I put the cord beside the camera.  But didn't plug the cord into the camera or the laptop.  And, lately, I've been sharing all pictures in groups!  So, I don't have any ready to show you.

I worked on the Hermione sock again last night.  Got the cuff done, and a few rows into the leg.  Haven't taken a picture - need it to get a little longer, I think.  And, I've proved something.... That it is important (I kind of already knew this part) to stay within needle types/brands for a project. Sure, lots of patterns tell you to switch from one length of needle to another, or sometimes you switch sizes for certain parts.  And some recommend a switch from circular to double points, or vice versa.  In some cases, the brand or type doesn't matter at the switch, because it is often for another section entirely - like the rib waste band, or picking up for a collar, etc.  BUT - when you are making something, and need to switch out needles for other reasons, such as because one keeps breaking... It can have a dramatic effect on the project. 

I've already shared a picture of what can happen when you are out by one stitch.  If I were using solid coloured yarn, that wouldn't have mattered one tiny bit.  But I'm not - I'm using a yarn that is referred to as a "print". 

Ombre yarns are one colour scheme, but varying degrees of colour - eg, dark blue, medium blue, light blue, and the gradation is over several inches or even feet of yarn.  Variegated is the same idea - longer stretches of colour, but varied - such as red, blue, white, yellow.  This may repeat in reverse order, or the same order.  When the portions of yarn that is one of these colours or tones is very long, the result is a striping effect.  Some yarns have shorter stripes, meant to appear on socks or scarves, while others will have longer sections to be used for larger items like sweaters.  Then, there is what is called the "print" - usually  one base colour, then small bits of one or more other colours of an inch or less. 

Depending on the project, the size of needles, the individual tension of the knitter/crocheter, these non-patterning variations may still end up "pooling" or even striping.  In some cases, the colour will be randomly distributed throughout a piece, while in others, there might be sections where the same colour ends up.  One of the reasons I had wanted to crochet the afghan with that red variegated - I thought with crochet using up more yarn to create stitches, it would help to avoid a lot of the pooling potential. 

When knitting socks, the put up of the yarn used can make a difference to the end results, too.  If the yarn is sold in 50 gram balls, requiring one ball for each sock, it is possible to get two different socks, even within the same dyelot.  The machinery used to wind the yarn into balls is  not as precise as we'd like to think.  When the yarn has reached the correct weight or yardage, the yarn is cut and another ball started - there can be slight variations in the spacing in relation to the colour patterning on the yarn.  So, you can get two balls of yarn, and they might have ends that start in two different places in the sequence.  One such case still has me baffled as to how it happened - I start balls of yarn off from the inside end.  I had two balls of matching yarn, that I was going to use to knit my husband a pair of socks.  As neither of us is overly fussy, I didn't worry about matching the start point in the yarn.  However, what I did notice as I knit the leg - one ball had a sequence of colour stripes that went A-B-C-D-E-A-B-C-D-E etc.  The second ball went E-D-C-B-A-E-D-C-B-A etc.  Both from the same dyelot, same company, both pulled from the center of the ball....  And,, of course, there will be variation if working with a handpainted yarn - by definition, the hand painted yarns are just that - someone will add colour to each individual hank of yarn, and variation will occur.  Each ball will be unique, even if it contains the same colours.  But that is the beauty of handpainted yarn!

Larger 100 gram balls shouldn't have a problem with variations. Some people will wind off half the ball, and line up the colour repeats, so they can make two socks the same.  Other people don't mind slight variations in starting points. 

So - imagine my surprise when I started the reknit of the second Hermione sock.  Yes, there is the potential for me to have some differing personal tensions, since it has been quite some time since starting the first sock (yet another good reason to be knitting two socks at the same time, whether on circulars or by having two sets of dpns on the go at once).  I know that the reason I was getting stripes spiraling around the second sock had to do with the number of stitches changing.  But now?  Like I said, you'll have to wait a bit for the picture, but I'm still having some spiral striping issues with the reknit.  I'm not starting again - I want these socks to get finished!! 

Tonight will be some working on these socks during Big Bang Theory.  Then I'll probably switch to working on Sea Cruise.  I still need to hunt up a fresh needle for the mystery socks, and since I've now freed up the other needle, I might go back to working on the sock I took off it so I could do the mystery sock.  I can't recall if I took pictures or not - it is a striping yarn with black cuffs, heels, and toes...I'm not up to the toe yet on the first one, and it will be afterthought heels, so I haven't done that yet either. 

Well, guess that is it for now.

I thought I might have written about something else, but I guess not.  It was suggested to me that I consider going back to counseling, but I don't know if I want to.... Not yet, anyway....