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.

Finished Socks

Pattern: Waterfall Rib from Sensational Socks by Charlotte Schurch

Yarn: Austermann Step, color 6

Needles: 2 circulars, size 2

I enjoyed knitting these. I hope they fit the recipient, my sister. The colors are gorgeous in person.

Next up: a sweater tunic from Saturday Sweaters, I think. Of course there are 8 more skeins of sock yarn calling, and a shawl. And those are just the projects for which I have definite yarns and patterns.

Work in Progress

I'm finally working on the pair of socks I promised my sister. I love the way they are turning out. I'm using Austermann Step Yarn and a "recipe" from Sensational Socks by Charlotte Schurch. I chose the Waterfall Rib pattern and I really am enjoying knitting it. The colors are much more vibrant than I could capture. I haven't figured out yet how to capture the rib detail either.

One more week til winter break! It's Spirit Week at my middle school. Since the kids are wildish any way the week before vacation, it seems like a good idea to tap into the energy. Monday is PJ Day - not my favorite day since some of the girls like to push the limits of appropriateness. My favorite day is Crazy Hair Day --- it doesn't matter how my hair looks for a change! Because of all the extra nuttiness this week, I don't expect a lot of focused attention in social studies, especially. So I postponed my hands-on simulation from last week to this week since I think that will keep them more on task. They will be creating all sorts of artifacts for a "museum" on Ancient China. They've done the "boring" work of research and now can share the fruits of their research by creating their artifacts. Crafty!! (pun intended)

Snow Day!

Yippee! A snow day! Our first big snowstorm of the winter and boy it is shaping up to be a humdinger. A great day to knit - after I get to a few chores that I have been putting off and really need to get to.

Last night I finished the 2nd fingerless glove. Pattern is "Knucks" from Knitty Summer 2006. I used 1 entire skein of Cleckheaton Country Silk and size 3 dpn. There's about 6 inches of the skein left. Next up is a pair of socks using Austermann Step and a pattern from Sensational Socks by Charlene Schurch.

I love snow days! I consider them a real gift, and try to treasure them as such. While there are always a few chores that I manage to do, I mostly try to do enjoyable things I don't usually get to do, and I enjoy them without guilt! This huge storm has been predicted for days, it seems, so when I left school yesterday, I purposely did not bring home any extra work than I normally bring home. I do 99% of my grading and planning on the weekends so I didn't bring that home with me. Today is a present to enjoy!

Almost Finished

I finished the knitting and seaming of the Swing Vest. I need to do some minor blocking to help the neck and hem edges lie flatter, and to lengthen it a bit. I'm not sure I'm happy with it yet. I had to reknit the left shoulder after I blundered by forgetting to slip off 19 stitches onto a holder before attempting the 3 needle bindoff. When I bound off I realized I had way too many stitches, and it puckered. In the process of undoing the bindoff I lost about 2 inches of shoulder and reknit it.

I started some fingerless gloves last night out of Cleckheaton Country Silk in a gorgeous garnety tweed. I've never tried gloves before. I guess they're not really fingerless either - the fingers stop at the knuckles!

Tonight is the church supper I'm coordinating. I had to bake 3 pans of cherry squares and what an adventure that was! I accidentally dropped a whole egg, shell and all into the bowl as the mixer was doing its thing --- had to dump the whole batch out and start again. Of course that meant I had to go out and buy more eggs and butter since each batch took 2 sticks of butter and 4 eggs. And of course I only had a dozen eggs and 6 sticks of butter. Let's hope that's the worst that happens. We usually serve about 100 people at our monthly suppers, and the income from the suppers is an important part of our budget!! Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy any one?

Stressed Out or What?

So, I speed grade about 30 spelling papers, figure out who didn't turn in their essays, and fire off a couple of emails to parents about their angels' less than angelic behaviors. I leave school early (relatively speaking) and head 10 miles out to my physical therapy appt. I'm running late and of course, am behind someone doing 30-35 mph on a 50 mph roadway for about 7 of those miles. I get to my appointment and discover they have no record of it. Never mind that I have a slip from Tuesday saying I have one, the computer and the appt book don't have it and the PT isn't even in. GRRR!!

O Where O Where can my knitting bag be?

I can't believe I left my knitting at school. I got home late last night and realized that I needed to actually cook something because I'd forgotten to plug the crockpot in. After a later than usual dinner, I finally collapsed into my chair and reached down to pick up the vest I really want to finish - only about 2 inches left to knit. And WHERE WAS IT!!!!! I distinctly remember putting my knitting bag on my desk chair to remember to bring it home. I searched the kitchen where I dump my stuff, and even put my coat on over my pjs to trudge out in subzero wind to the garage to see if I had left it there. Nope, no knitting. I finally gave up and started a pair of socks for my sister. Of course my knitting bag had the vest, and a 2nd project I'd started - some fingerless gloves. Today when I got to my classroom, lo and behold, there was my bag sitting right where I'd left it.

I have it tonight, so plan on getting some vest work done before bed time.

Feelin' Good

I am feeling pretty good this morning about how I managed to eat sensibly at the Super Bowl party I went to last night.

Before the party, I'd eaten well -- 270 calories for breakfast, 200 for lunch, and then at the party, I confined myself to 1 chicken wing, 2 shrimp, 3 slices of deli turkey, 1 slice of cheese, 1 bread, and LOTS of raw veggies. Oh, and 1 small piece of the cake I'd made and 2 glasses of wine. So for the day, I was definitely in my total range.

Snow and Projects and some Venting

We received our first measurable snow fall Friday night --- about 2 inches of perfect snow. This has been the weirdest weather. It's February no less, and we get our first snow on Groundhog's Day. It's supposed to get seasonably cold for the week, and people are acting as though that's unusual. I guess for this winter it is. I had daffodils pushing their tips through the ground right before December. Since this is New Hampshire, that is scary! We're supposed to have 6-12 inches of snow on the ground from Nov to March! Not green grass and daffodils.


Almost finished with Swing Vest from Oat Couture. I'm using Noro Silk Garden in colorway #88. It's an easy pattern once you get the lace pattern into your head -- sometimes not a quick process for me! I must have ripped out the back about 30 times! ( A good example of hyperbole -- which I'm teaching right at the moment in my language arts classes). I did rip out some rows 3 and 4 times because I goofed with the yarn overs or ssk's.

I tend to knit just one project at a time but I have a bunch of projects lined up and ready to go. It's hard deciding what to work on next. I have yarn for about 10 pair of socks, and I promised my sister a pair, plus I want to knit some more for me. It took me 3 pairs of socks before I got the perfect fit --- I didn't think that was too bad. I wear all 4, but pair 4 from XXL Trekking and the Slipped Rib stitch in Charlotte Schurch's Sensational Socks are perfect. I also want to knit myself a pair of fingerless gloves. I found a gorgeous silk wool blend in a garnet red that's just screaming at me to transform into the gloves, but I'm still looking for a pattern. I also have a Fiddlesticks Knitting shawl to do, and a gorgeous purple merino to knit up into a tunic. Too little time!!

Once I get home from church this morning, I have to do the billing for my husband's company, and then finish up some schoolwork. I got all my grading done yesterday (3 hours worth!) but I still have to write a quiz, work on some seating charts, and finish my planning for the week. It's school budget vote time and the town is voting on a new teacher's contract. Of course all the rhetoric is flying about teachers and how little/much they work (depending on your view, of course.) Having been both in the business world and now in teaching, I can say that while I spent many a long week working long hours in the business world, it's vastly different in the public school world. Yes, we do get those 8 weeks in the summer where we're not "in school", but don't let anyone persuade you that we're not working. We may not be in a classroom, but we are working. Last summer I revamped my entire social studies curriculum because for the first time in 10 years I had a textbook. I read through the text, aligned units with our state and local grade level expectations (GLE's), gathered resources, created a number of hands-on activities, and tried to find intersections with my language arts curriculum. I also spent time working with colleagues on grouping children, interviewing candidates for open positions, and met several times with the new principal about my new assignment as grade level dean. Most weekends I spend at least an afternoon doing schoolwork. When I worked in the business world, when I came home, I was home mentally and emotionally. The work stayed in my office - no parents calling me, or me calling parents, for example. When I was sick I took a sick day and stayed home. As a teacher, I have to write extremely detailed minute by minute lesson plans for a substitute who may never have been in my school before. Usually these plans don't follow what I'm already doing, because it's unreasonable to expect a stranger to jump into the middle of a simulation or role play or hands-on project without knowing the kids. Believe me, it's usually easier to go in sick than to try to write coherent sub plans when you've got a migraine.

Enough venting.

I'll end the day at a Super Bowl party, knitting. None of us is particularly interested in the game since the Patriots aren't in it. And I'm not much of a sports fan anyway, so even if "our" team was in it, I wouldn't be too involved in the game. It's fun thought to get together with friends, no matter what the reason!