Tough Day in the Trenches

You can tell we're almost at the end of the school year. Minds are wandering so far from the classroom that you sometimes wonder if you've accomplished anything. Today was a tough day. It started with my wearing my CSI hat, investigating a trail of evidence to determine which student did what to whom when. That consumed about 20 minutes of first period - fortunately my class was working in groups on their ancient Rome power points, so I was able to do some investigating. Later in the morning I had to confiscate a forbidden PS2 from a couple of young men who thought their game was more interesting than their assignments. A few more run of the mill issues to deal with came my way -- I'm in charge of student discipline for my grade level team. At lunch time I supervised a roomful of young folks who had chosen to disrupt their morning classes in some way or another, and I had to consult with our guidance counselor about another student who ended up getting suspended for some very poor choices ---- All in a day's work, I guess, but I am getting very, very tired.

We have 14 days of school left, budgets to finish, end of year awards, 4th quarter grades, orientation for the incoming 6th graders (who come from 2 different elementary schools), placements, and end of year activities - a field trip, a field day, and assorted other events.

Oh well. My knitting looks really good tonight!

Fir Cone Finale

 

I finished this shell today finally. I started it last fall, and then it languished until today. All I had left to do was sew it together and do the trim around the neck and armholes. I was waiting til I found a camisole to wear underneath since it's pretty holey --- and I found one that matched perfectly at Eddie Bauer. So today I pulled this out of my basket and finished it up.

It's the Fir Cone Lace Shell by Vermont Fiber Designs. I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Provincial Rose and my trusty Denise size 6 needles.

Just for fun

In honor of the 30th Anniversary of STAR WARS!


Your results:
You are Yoda

Yoda 84% Obi-Wan Kenobi 74% R2-D2 74% Luke Skywalker 70% Princess Leia 67% Padme 66% C-3PO 63% Han Solo 61% Qui-Gon Jinn 60% An Ewok 59%

Wise and all knowing you are…yes. Tall, dark, and handsome? Not so much I'd say.

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Click here to take the Star Wars Personality Quiz

Yarn Addict's Delight

My fellow yarn addict and I ventured forth in pouring rain to the WEBS Tent Sale in Northampton, MA - about 2 hours from where we live in southwestern NH. We arrived just at opening time, and were lucky to find a parking place!

It was amazing! Kind of like being in heaven, I expect. We scooped up some great deals - 10 skeins of Noro IRO for $85, 10 skeins of Kona Pima Cotton for $20.00, 4 bags (10 skeins each) of Phildar Leader acrylic for $45.00 - baby blankets and Warm Up America squares here we come! I also found some beautiful Valley Yarn Goshen in periwinkle for a summer top.

We spent 2 glorious hours there -- would have spent more time, but I had to be back in NH for a party at 3. It was wall-to-wall yarn AND wall-to-wall people. I can't wait til next year's sale!

If you're in driving range of WEBS I wholeheartedly recommend a trip there. They have a huge inventory and variety of knitting and weaving supplies, and a VERY helpful staff. We usually head there a couple of times a year. So much yarn! So little time to knit!!

I came home and started swatching the Goshen for the Oat Couture Bistro Shirt. I love the feel of the yarn and the fabric is soft and drapy.

Finished at last

So this is what I've been up to recently. In between working on a prayer shawl for church, and all the normal school and exercise tasks, I finished these socks. They're from Regia Bamboo and were knitted on size 2 circulars. I like the feel of the bamboo yarn a lot and look forward to wearing them! I used the Twin Rib pattern from Charlene Schurch, Sensational Knitted Socks. I love this book!

Next up on my agenda - get the prayer shawl finished. One more skein of Lion Brand Homespun. I'm not enjoying this yarn as much as I would like to -- I really like the natural fiber feel better. But the shawl is pretty and should be finished in plenty of time for the dedication service on June 17th. Then I need to finish up a shell that I knit over the winter and laid aside because it was too cold to wear. Just have to sew together and do the neck and armhole edgings and block.

For Mother's Day I talked my husband into going up to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival for the afternoon. It was a gorgeous spring day - just perfect for attending a fair. I drooled over yarn! I only bought a pattern and some needles, but I had a wonderful time.

School isn't out til June 20th but it's a toss-up as to who's more anxious to finish, the kids or the teachers!

This and That

Since I last posted I celebrated birthday #53, finished a pair of socks, knit 1/2 of a pair of socks, knit 2/3 of a prayer shawl for church, traveled to Nantucket and back, assembled a gas grill, read and graded 39 myth projects, and headed back to school for the last 7 weeks.

The past week was pretty busy with a couple of late nights in a row. Thursday night was the monthly Nurture meeting at church and I didn't get home til almost 10. The next night I went to an Indigo Girls concert and got home at midnight. (A GREAT concert, by the way!). Two nights in row with fewer than 6 hours of sleep does not make me an easy person to live with. Yesterday was a church leadership retreat/long-range planning session. I'm using today as a "recovery" day. I slept in, had a leisurely extra cup of coffee and then actually got a few pressing chores accomplished. You know I'm in trouble when cleaning the toilet makes my day!!

I also managed to get to the gym 4 days this week! I've lost 30 lbs now since the end of January and feel like I'm getting a handle on how to eat well most of the time, and yet enjoy treats occasionally. I must admit that I was bummed out at not having ANY birthday cake this year. My husband had to work that evening, so I ended up celebrating my birthday with a can of soup! But we'd enjoyed a lot of good food earlier in the week on our mini-vacation to the Cape and Nantucket so I really didn't want to consume the extra calories. I'm finding that if I think of food in 100 calories increments I can make better choices. I allow myself 200 calories/day for "snacks". It's usually 1/4 cup of almonds but if I know I'm going out, it might be a beer or glass of wine instead. It seems to be working.

Here are a few of my Nantucket pictures: