It's Almost Over

Only 2.5 days more! The last week or so of school just drags by. Today was especially long. Our students went to climb Mt. Monadnock, one of our town's claims to fame. I didn't go though. I stayed back at school to supervise the handful of students who weren't able to go on the trip, mostly because of disciplinary issues. I put the kiddoes to work, cleaning, and packing up classrooms, but it was a long day nonetheless. The rest of the kids had a great time on the mountain, and the weather was perfect for the trek.

Last night was Parent Info Night for the parents of next year's sixth graders, and the kids themselves came to visit during the day. Monday is Field Day, Tuesday is "Keep 'Em Busy" day, and Wed. is Awards and the final school wide assembly. Dismissal is at 11 am. I can't wait!

Bistro Shirt

Here's the latest finished project - the Bistro Shirt by Oat Couture. I used Goshen by Valley Yarns in periwinkle on size 8 and 9 needles. It took me about 10 days (in between working full time). I wore it today for the first time and it was really comfortable. The really neat thing is that I made it 2 sizes smaller than I've been knitting and it fits well. It's nice to see what losing 33 lbs can do for one's knitting! I'm ready to order more Goshen for more summer tops. It's really soft and drapes really nicely. It's 48% cotton, 46% modal and 6% silk.

I also finished the Homespun prayer shawl and took it church for our prayer shawl ministry. Next up on the needles is another baby afghan, this time from some Leader acrylic I bought at the WEBS tent sale. I'm using another Debbie Macomber pattern, Baby Cables.

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.

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)


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:

So . . . it's been awhile

It's been a longer break from writing than I expected. The last 2 weeks have been crazy - school, home, and weather!

Our town managed to emerge relatively unscathed from the huge storm that pounded the Northeast this past week, but many folks in nearby towns weren't so lucky. Many flooded basements, yards, houses turned into islands, etc. And the road damage is pretty incredible. Sections of a major highway have been closed since Monday due to landslide, washouts, and bridge damage. Several local school districts have been closed much of the week. The sun finally came out yesterday, and the next few days are supposed to sunny and warm and late April-ish!

I also went to VA Beach over Easter weekend to attend my brother's Navy retirement ceremony and party. Cold, unseasonable weather there that weekend, even snow! But we had fun too!

I have been knitting pretty feverishly on a baby blanket --Debbie Macomber's "Baby Blocks"

I used an acrylic yarn - Caron Le Soft.

Close up of the blocks:

They alternate between garter and purl and look interwoven.

I'm almost done with the 2nd "Town Meeting" sock. Then it's time to decide what new major project to tackle. I have lots of sock yarn for the in between project times, and a shawl to do, and a summer shell to finish. But the new project -- hmm, I'm thinking a summery top or cardigan.

It's vacation week for me. We're taking a mini-trip to Nantucket. I've never been there, so I'm looking forward to exploring a new place. We're only going to be away 2 days, but even a mini-trip is great! The rest of the week will be devoted to grading 39 myth projects, and planning out the rest of the year for social studies and reading/language arts -- Rome, and poetry, and another novel. At least I don't have to get up at 4:45 am!

SNOW - AGAIN

A foot of snow fell overnight! Another snow day here in NH. Of course the sun is out now, and temps are almost 40°. At least it seems as though our flight will be on time later today.

I finally decided to take my sock and the baby afghan I started on my trip. I would just take the socks but I really need to get the afghan finished before the baby for which its intended arrives. I'm using a Debbie Macomber pattern, "Baby Blocks" and Caron Simply Soft. I haven't used acrylic yarn in a long time. My hands have gotten used to the feel of merino, and alpaca, and silk. I prefer using the natural fibers over acrylic, but for a baby item, I wanted machine wash and dry, and I really didn't want to use cotton. THe afghan looks really nice, and the pattern is finally getting internalized so I don't have to keep reading and re-reading the directions.

I'm hoping to find a sunrise service on Easter that I can get to before our 10 am flight!

Traveling - and Lent

I hate packing! I love to travel, but I hate trying to figure out what to pack. I always manage to take way too much stuff. I think it's because I've been raised to be prepared for anything. I usually end up traveling at those iffy times of year too -- the weather is too changeable to know whether to take a coat or not, spring shoes, or winter ones, etc.

We're not traveling far - only from NH to VA, and only for 3 days. My brother is retiring from 20 years in the Navy, and we're making mad dash down to Norfolk for the celebration. Trying to figure out what to wear, when it's snowing like the dickens at the moment here in the north can be challenging.

It will be weird traveling this weekend. I have rarely missed Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter services at my church and I will be missing them all this weekend. In fact, I'll be in the air just as the Tenebrae service gets underway, and again on Sunday as the Resurrection is celebrated. It's been an odd Lenten journey for me this year. I have been trying to read The Last Week, and find time for reflection, but have failed miserably. I feel as the disciples must have felt, falling asleep in the garden, rather than keeping watch with Jesus. So in some ways, I do not feel prepared to celebrate Easter joy - I haven't been keeping Lenten watch. . . . and yet, that is the true grace we are all offered. We are still offered the gift, even though we don't deserve it.

Town Meeting Socks

Last weekend was our annual town meeting, which had been postponed from the previous week due to heavy snow. If you've never had the experience of attending a bona fide town meeting, you are missing something. It is the remnant of democracy at its best - one person, one vote, all voters getting a chance to stand up and speak if they so choose! It was perfect timing as far as I was concerned. I'm teaching Ancient Greece in my social studies classes and we had just been discussing the development of democracy in Athens. I challenged my 6th graders to come to town meeting for at least a bit, to see for themselves something of what was intended. (Only one showed up, but that's another story!). Town meeting does require a commitment of time - our meeting lasted about 6 1/2 hrs, but where else can you literally stand up and be counted? The big money items, which are usually discussed for what seems like for ever, usually result in a secret ballot, but in this particular meeting we also used voice vote, and a stand up vote. I'm always amused when we approve a huge expenditure for a $2 million bond, and then spend 2 hours fighting over whether to spend $5000 on a repair item. It's sad to see this experience dying out. Too many of us just don't have a day to devote to discussion and voting. Most minds aren't changed by the sometimes heated discussion, and we'd rather just take 10 minutes to go in and cast a ballot. Years ago Town Meeting Day was a holiday of sorts --- every thing else was put on hold so that the voters could meet. I make a point of making sure my students learn that in ancient Athens, voting wasn't just a right, it was a duty. Citizens who failed to vote were fined!

So what does this have to do with socks? Easy! Town meeting is a perfect excuse to sit and knit and know that aside from being a good citizen, you have a good long spell to sit and knit! I started this sock using a basketweave pattern from my sock bible - Sensational Knitted Socks.

I'm using Regia Strato and size 2 circular needles. The color isn't coming out well - it's a navy background with lighter blues, browns, and tans.

Finished Sweater At Last

I finally finished the the sweater I started earlier this month. The body took a week, the sleeves over 2 weeks. It fits well. I was all set to get a picture of me wearing the sweater, but the camera battery died and needs recharging. I did get a couple of pics without me!

I used Valley Yarns, Amherst in Eggplant. It's 100% merino and is super soft, but warm. I used size 11 needles to get gauge, and a pattern from Saturday Sweaters by Doreen Marquart.

Here's the sleeve join. I used a slip stitch crochet, and I really like the way it turned out.

From Spring to Winter ---- In 12 Hours

One moment it's 59°, and sunny. Spring is definitely here.

The next moment:

Don't you just LOVE New England springs!

Actually, the daffodils aren't from the garden. They're from the American Cancer Society. I always buy several bunches at school, and my church also sells them. We purchase them for the altar flowers on "DAFFODIL SUNDAY" -- in memory/honor of our loved ones who have battled cancer. I've got 2 bunches to pick up at church later this morning - once I shovel the 3 inches of white delight!

Is this sweater cursed?

I don't believe it! I finished the sleeves on my sweater finally. I sewed one sleeve on. The seam looks perfect!!

Guess what ??????

I sewed it on upside down! The underarm is attached to the shoulder seam. ARRGGHH!!!

Back to Winter Wonderland

Winter was very slow to get here, and now doesn't want to leave. We received over a foot of snow in the last 24 hours. It started just after noon yesterday and my trek home from school at 3 pm was adventurous. I am so happy I have a wonderful 4 wheel drive Subaru that gets me up the hills and over our country roads safely. Of course, I had to creep the 2 miles down my road at 20 mph, gripping the steering wheel very tightly. Ever since I slid off my road one February morning, I've been a bit tense driving on slippery roads.

I spent most of the day grading papers. I finally got through all the reading projects! My kids will be glad to get them back on Monday. They've been anxiously awaiting feedback. Most of them did well. It wasn't particularly difficult - but you had to pay attention to details. Those that didn't . . . .well, let's just say their grades reflect their attention to detail. That seems to be the case for everything. I also graded 38 spelling assignments. One part of the assignment required capital letters since the answers were titles to books. Over half of the 2 classes lost 15 points because they didn't capitalize. Not only were the directions right there in the book, but I specifically called that particular detail to their attention when the work was assigned. They're always in a rush to be finished, and don't take the time to check directions or to proofread their work.

I ventured to the grocery store this afternoon for a break from paperwork. I really dislike grocery shopping but my husband loves it. Unfortunately he couldn't go this week, so I had to brave the crowds. And there were crowds! What really drives me nuts though is the local store's practice of deciding to stock shelves at the peak of customer presence. Between dodging others' shopping carts and the stockboys and their pallets of cardboard, and new product, I felt like I was in the middle of rush hour. It took me over an hour to negotiate the terrain and spend $102.93. And of course, the teenage baggers were much more interested in discussing their social plans than making sure that the cans of soup were under the grapes instead of on top of them! GRR!

I finished my afternoon chores by booking hotel rooms for Easter weekend. My brother is retiring from the Navy on April 6th and we're flying to Norfolk, VA for his retirement bash. It will be a mini family reunion since one of our sisters and her family will also be able to make it as well as one of our cousins. We're looking forward to that.

I have 3 more sets of papers to grade and some planning left to do. We're studying ancient Greece now in social studies, and have just finished a novel in reading. I decided to create a short Greek mythology unit to go along with social studies, so I have to pull that together. I've done folktales in the past, so I will adapt some of my previous resources for this unit. I'm psyched because for the first time ever I teach ALL the kids in my pod reading and social studies. This makes it so much easier to integrate curricula. I will be able to use double blocks of time for this unit, so it should be very effective.

Lost in Sleeveland

My tunic sweater is STILL not done! The sleeves continue to throw up obstacles to completion.
After re-knitting sleeve #1 on Sunday, I blithely sewed it to the body of the sweater. I tried the sweater on and was extremely pleased to discover that it fit well and I'd gotten the sleeve length exactly right. I picked up my needles to begin sleeve #2, and started knitting away at the cuff. I reached the pattern part, and suddenly had a downright-rude-slap-me-silly moment. My perfect sleeve #1 was knit using the wrong pattern! Instead of a 2 row pattern (row 1: knit 4, purl 1; row 2 knit round), I'd done just row 1 for the entire sleeve! After much self-loathing and language shown in comic strip speech bubbles as xx's/!!!? *** and such, I decided to go ahead and knit sleeve 2 correctly, and then rip out sleeve 1 and start again. So that's where I am, hoping to finish sleeve #2 tonight, and then get sleeve #1 re-knit this weekend. Fortunately I had attached sleeve #1 using a single crochet seaming from The Knitters' Companion so it should be easy to remove. We'll see. Of course, since Monday it's been spring and way too warm to wear a merino wool sweater, but . . . . .

"The Sun is A-Shinin' to Welcome the Day . . . .

And it's Heigh-ho off to the Fair!"

My mom used to wake us up singing this little song to us. Haven't thought of it for many years but today the sunshine is brilliant, and it's supposed to be in the 50°'s - a regular heat wave. The roof is a-drippin' as the snow melts and there are puddles everywhere. Can spring be far behind?

I would normally be heading off to church this morning, but with the time change and the number of tasks still to accomplish before 5 am tomorrow, I've decided to play hooky. I need to get at least the barest minimum of housework accomplished (unpile the table so that we can put our plates on it!), grade a couple of stacks of papers, and plan out my social studies for the week. I also need to get some birthday cards addressed, and some gifts wrapped, and I need to finish laundry. That's what I NEED to do. I also WANT to finish the sleeves on the sweater I'm knitting. I started a tunic sweater in the round on March 1st. The entire body is finished - all I need to do is knit 1 complete sleeve and 4 inches of the other sleeve and then attach and block. For some reason, the first sleeve has been a bear. I can't figure out why either since it's being knit in the round and it's a knit 4 purl 1 pattern. I had about 10 inches knit when I realized that I'd done the increases wrong. I had forgotten to knit into the back of the stitch when I did a make 1 increase and that's why I had this rather lacy eyelet effect going up the underside of my sleeve. It looked terrible! So off to the frog pond and start again. That was Thursday and Friday night's work. Last night I was going along nicely when I realized I'd messed up the pattern, again due to the increases, and now I had a zig zag effect rather than a fanning spread as the sleeve increased. Rip-it, rip-it, rip -it. I started again, and now am happy. I have about 4 inches left on this sleeve and then the other one. I had hoped to finish the sweater this weekend, despite the detours, but then ended up with a ton of school work to do.

Cold Cold Day

Today I had bus duty outside . . . I usually don't mind this assignment but today was brutal. It was -1° and the wind was blowing. I had on a wool sweater under my long wool coat, and the wind just went right through. Fortunately it's a short stint of time, and it's only once a week. In a few more weeks, it should be warmer! My room was cold though most of the day. Usually my classroom is more than toasty (actually it's usually much too warm) but the wind was blowing towards my windows. It was good to get home tonight and turn up the heat!

I'm reading a challenging but fascinating book right now for my Lenten practice. It's called The Last Week, by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. It's day-by-day discussion of Jesus's last week as portrayed in Mark's Gospel. A couple of us at church are reading it and hope to find a time to get together to share our reflections and questions. I've read several of Borg's books before and never fail to be enlightened, nourished, and challenged. This book will not disappoint!

losing myself

It's been about 5 weeks now that I've been working hard at losing weight. As of today, I've lost 18 lbs! I've been counting calories, and measuring portions, and that's what's working for me. I've been keeping up my exercise too. I did sit down with a dietician a month ago and reviewed my eating habits. I didn't really need her to tell me what to eat --- I KNOW what I should and shouldn't eat, it's just that I don't do what I should be doing. I've basically cut back to between 1200-1500 calories a day, probably closer to 1200 most days. I've found that I'm more successful with fewer choices too. So I have 3 breakfasts that I rotate: 1 slice of whole grain toast (100-110 calories) with 1 tbs of peanut butter (90 calories) and 1/2 cup nonfat cottage cheese (70 calories). I recently added 2 tsp of soluble fiber to the cottage cheese (like Benefiber or Fibersure) for another 30 calories. Breakfast 2 is one serving of a high fiber hot cereal (current favorite is Hodgson's Mills Multigrain cereal with soy and flaxseed) and 2 tbs of my one indulgence, 1/2 and 1/2. That's a total of 190 calories. Breakfast 3 is 2 soft boiled eggs with 1 slice of whole grain toast sprayed with I Can't Believe it's Not Butter. For lunch I eat lots of greens and cut up raw veggies, with a protein like a can of water packed tuna or 1/2 cup of black beans. I use the new spray dressings. For dinner, I eat sensibly --- a meat protein, more salad , veggies, and perhaps 1/2 cup brown rice or whole wheat noodles. I have some snacks and mini-meals --- an apple and 1/4 c almonds, usually, and a nonfat yogurt.

I am sticking with at least 2 4o minute sessions of aerobic exercise per week, and 2 3o minute strength training sessions at the local health club, and I try to fit in another aerobic exercise time as I can.

I was excited to be able to pull out some pants I haven't been able to wear since last winter and have them loose!

I am hoping to move that big weight over one notch in another couple of weeks and be on the lower rung of the balance. It is such hard work! I can do it when I want to, and I haven't wanted to since my mom died 2 years ago. I think this means I'm finally on the road to healing.