Busy, busy day at work. Tai Chi and a quick trip to the library after that. A rather uninspired supper consisting of nuked leftover spagetti and some canned pears. Not a lot to blog about. So I followed Sara and took a test so I'd have something to post.

you are aquamarine #7FFFD4

Your dominant hues are cyan and green. Although you definately strive to be logical you care about people and know there's a time and place for thinking emotionally. Your head rules most things but your heart rules others, and getting them to meet in the middle takes a lot of your energy some days. Your saturation level is medium - You're not the most decisive go-getter, but you can get a job done when it's required of you. You probably don't think the world can change for you and don't want to spend too much effort trying to force it. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

What color are you?

I See You

Still more kits. Last night The Girl came down and was looking at the pics of the kits in Picasa. I was playing the the "crop" feature and found a surprise. Here's the original pic.



And here's the crop.



And now the weekend is all over and it's back to earning my keep. What did you do this weekend??

Kits at Play...

...and dinner but I'll spare you that.



Friday at 5 PM found our place of business empty except for me and the clinical coordinator. Everyone had been gone for at least 30 minutes and the parking lots had been quiet. So after punching out, I headed out for the weekend. My brain was already fixated on two days for me and as I rounded the corner I almost tripped over one of the kits. It scurried off the sidewalk and I got in the car and turned on my camera. While he/she (I haven't seen any boy things so I'm guessing a female.



So, while she was hiding I slid back out of the car and walked quietly over to the curb and sat down, camera at ready and aimed where I last saw her and her sib.



Click, click, click as fast as I could at nothing, but at last a head poked out. She looked at me. I was very still and probably 5 feet away and maybe she thought.."hmm old lady won't be fast..it's safe to come out". And up she popped. Sat for a minute and then started playing tug of war with the one still down under the sidewalk.



I keep clicking and half the time the sun makes it impossible to see the view screen thing. So, it was a lot of surprise (and a lot of pictures of the sidewalk when I uploaded them). I finally just sort of clicked and watched her play hoping that I was capturing some of it. I totally missed "dinner" until I cropped them on the computer.



There was nobody around, not even any traffic. But then a couple of cars slowed down and I really don't want a lot of folks to know they are there. I'm so scared someone will kill them. I can't say I stood up quickly..that's not possible. But I got to my feet after about 15 minutes and tried to make fierce noises and they hid again.

Babies at Work

Well..not human babies, but still. Our facility is pretty much surrounded by park and a golf (bleh)course. We used to sit outside and watch foxes play before the golf course came into being.

But...apparently the fox doesn't care about all the fancy schmancy that the golf course would like to promote. And we hadn't seen any in a a really, really long time. However, in the last couple weeks, we've been seeing a rather thin female running around. We've all been worried about her. Now we know why she's a bit too thin.





Actually there are 3 but I only got pics of two of them. And sorry that they're sort of blurry..my zoom isn't too up to snuff. One of the nurses went back out by herself and one of them started coming towards her being all curious. She really wanted to see what would happen but was a bit intimidated by the mama so she gracefully came back into the building.

There's a road that divides us from the golf course. They were all over on our side..snooping in the drainage tiles. Mom told them to go with her back over to the golf course side. She went across the road but a car was coming and thank goodness! The kits just sat down on our side. Being children though, instead of going to mom when the coast was clear, they just looked like they were laughing as they ran up into the parking lot and then raced down the hill. I'm sure they got a good talking to once we went away and she got them under control again.

Toooo fun! And what a grand start to the day.

Done!

After totally ripping the thumb back to the gusset and re-knitting the Bird in Hand mitt is done. I am soooooooooo proud of me. My very first stranded project! Perfect? No. Done? yes.





Pattern: Kate Gilbert's Bird in HandYarn: Cascade 220 in Colors shown (like I still have the ball band??)
Needles Crystal Palace #1 dpns.
Started: A while ago. Finished on Earth Day 2008 just before Deadliest Catch started.
Modifications: I just could not figure out the Estonian Braid despite numerous attempts. So it was replaced by some purl bumps on the cuff. I'm sorry, Kate!

Still needs to be washed but that will wait for the next batch of socks to be washed. Have to be thrifty with my wool wash.

I loved, loved, loved doing this. It was such fun to watch the pattern emerge and although some of the floats on the inside could be looser or tighter, I'm pleased.

Yesterday was a very sad, emotional and long day as we said a last goodbye to a friend and coworker. I finally got home exhausted both physically and mentally exhausted but happy that her struggle was over. And as I finished up the little birdie on the thumb I realized that she was flying free. So, Sharon..this bird's for you.

Etc

I was hoping that Bird in Hand would be finished by this time and I could show it off. Alas, I'm about 6 rows from the end of the thumb and noticed I skipped a couple rows. I just wanted to cry. So it's been tinked back and is resting quietly while I sort of regroup my brain.

It's been a fun and busy weekend. I had Friday off unexpectedly and got the laundry done early and rewarded myself with a trip to the City. I had two goals...one to find a skein of bright yellow Cascade 220 and to find a book/mag by Alan Dart that I learned from Ravelry other people had found at Barnes and Noble or Borders.

The yarn I wanted was out of stock so I got a skein of white and decided I would just dye it. And after hitting 4 bookstores I finally found the book. And now I have the pattern for the gnome that I have wanted forever. (I would insert pic here but my batteries went down a bit ago and I have to get more)

Stopped on the way back to watch The Girl play softball but ummm all that was there was a machine pitch game. They've promised me a revised schedule.

Yesterday and today was a mixture of work and play. I have decided to go through every cabinet and closet on this place and do a thorough sorting and cleaning. The bathroom is complete. My little closet is done and there are boxes of clothes waiting for the next Habitat pickup. One would think that if you became a grown up you would quit growing :-( The cabinet in the kitchen that my dishes/glasses are in is done. One down and a bazillion to go. I did manage to the the propane heaters back down to the basement and the propane bottles out of the house. I planned on going to the can bank today but I've added it to the next list. It's amazing how much stuff I can cram in small places. Hershey kept me company and enjoyed a nap with my newest softie (thank you Nature Conservancy)



The yarn got dyed. Actually it got dyed twice. Once yesterday with Koolaid Lemonade and a bit of food color (Yellow food color makes stuff kind of orange in places. After it dried, I noticed a lot of places that were missed so after replenishing the Koolaid, I overdyed today. I'm glad I did..it toned down the orange. It's very windy today and I hung it in the archway and with front and back doors opened it dried really fast. Now to wind it so I can put the ball winder and swift away.



And the mitt was worked on as noted above. It's going to be a one mitt project I think. Primarily because knitting with worsted weight yarn on #1 needles makes my hands hurt. But I really want to do more stranded stuff. It's addictive, or like working a jigsaw puzzle. I have company for that too. Here in a wonky picture you can see Hershey helping me hold up my lap desk, and Mary down there warming my foot. :-)



It's springtime and everything is being decorated with helicopters..or whirly gigs..whichever you prefer. They are sooo pretty coming down. And I love the reddish tint on the "wing".




OK..back to the thumb.

M-m-m-m-m-m Maple!

Awhile back, Jessie, of A Piece of Vermont, had a post on her blog about going to a friend's sugarhouse where maple syrup happens. Lots of pictures and I was fascinated. I commented that I didn't think I'd ever tasted real maple syrup. She said I broke her heart :-)

A big box was on the porch yesterday when I came home from errands and inside was this!



Look at the syrup with the sun shining through it...pure gold!

Well after over 6 decades now I can truly say I've tasted maple syrup. This morning I got out a happy plate.



Then there was this..

And finally...

and life is soooooooo good! Thanks so much Jessie!