Erica’s Blog

AUNTIE:  Well, it looks like Auntie’s going to have surgery the week before Christmas.  As some of you know, she’s been in a lot of pain lately due to a neurofibroma attached to her spine.  The nerve root injection for the pain worked really well, so they’re going to do surgery to scrape away some bone and give the growth some room (if they simply removed it, she’d lose all functioning in the leg on that side).  It sounds like a big deal to me, but apparently it’s microsurgery and is done as outpatient surgery.  Well, Auntie, here’s to one less pain in the butt!  (I’ve been dying to say that.)  [Edited later to add:  Just found out that it's been scheduled for the afternoon of the 19th.]

WIP UPDATE:  Picture, if you will, a lavender bulky camel/merino scarf blocking on the bed (HOW did I manage before I got blocking wires!  OH, MAN!).  Picture also a flame ribbing scarf and matching 1×1 rib cap in Kureyon, nicely finished & packaged in a Ziploc bag.  Picture a long, tweedy fisherman rib scarf likewise finished & packaged.  Picture the vine leaf scarf & cap waiting for their turn on the bed.  Lastly, imagine a navy Cashmerino Roman Stripe scarf on the needles.  That’s the status of my commissions for MEY.  I’d show you pictures, but we can’t find the cable to attach the camera to my laptop.

I need to get started on Hubby’s scarf.  I may have to start it today and switch back & forth between it & Mrs. Y’s Cashmerino scarf.  [Edited later to add:  Started.  My mods to the pattern are thus:  Galway on US 8's; eliminated the r- and l-twist mini cables and a couple of stitches, plus one from each side of the cable pattern so it's just selvedge, 5 seed st, cable section, 5 seed st, selvedge.  I like the way it looks as written, but these changes were necessary for the sake of time.  Color is navy, per Hubby's request.]

GENERAL:  As I’m sure you gathered from some of the ABCalong posts, the birthday was great.  So far, it’s lasted about two and a half weeks.  Woot!  I spent the $$ from Poppa & Nana on the aforementioned blocking wires, the Shepherd Worsted (wish I’d gotten just ONE more skein; don’t think it’s enough for a Clapotis), and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff from Joann’s.  I’ve already spent most of the Nine Rubies certificate from Bobcat.  As soon as I have the camera cable, I’ll attempt some yarnos of the Araucania Nature Wool I got. 

Dryer’s on the fritz, doing its taking-forever-to-dry-anything act.  Of course; I stripped the beds down to the mattresses to wash it all.  This could take till Sunday now (OK, sliiight exaggeration).

One of these opened nearby on Saturday.  Bwahahaha!  Stocking stuffers, here I come!  (Well, within reason.)

Mazel Tov to Jim & ChenChen on the birth of little Ian early Saturday morning!  Ian comes after one or two heartbreaking miscarriages, and the Things have been praying for a long time for ChenChen to have a baby, so this is really exciting for us.  I’m making him a top-down pullover from here out of bibs and bobs of leftover Karabella Aurora 8 and Filatura di Crosa Zara (I just love the feel of those yarns!).  Should be really cute.

Suzanne’s going to be induced on the 11th, and Sonoko’s having a scheduled c-section on the 12th (little Keiko is breech), so next week should be a busy one.

Well, back to knitting…

[Reported by Hubby, not actually witnessed by yours truly...]

Hi, you look really familiar.  Have you guys been here before?

No, it’s our first time.

Oh, who invited you?

I don’t know.

[puzzled look from Hubby]

See, I posted a message on Craig’s list saying that my wife and I were looking for a church, and someone replied and told us to come here.

Cool!

I had a nice, long post written, then accidentally hit something with my hand and killed it.  I’ll re-write it later.  For now, here’s more stuff about me…

76.  I like the smell of bleach.

77.  I have horrible penmanship.

78.  I had food poisoning once that was so bad, Hubby was convinced I had E. coli.

79.  I once spent a few days on a resort island off the coast of
Malaysia, in the middle of the South China Sea.

80.  I look good in orange.

81.  I once cut a hole in a t-shirt my parents bought me in Mexico b/c I thought it was too masculine; I had wanted one of the classic embroidered blouses instead, but Nana wouldn’t let me have one.

82.  I once dated a guy, not knowing until a few months after we broke up that I looked JUST LIKE his younger sister.  Eeeeeeeeuuuuuuwwwwww!!!!!

83.  I have a terrible sense of direction.  (Drove Hubby crazy in Italy, “Oh, NOW I know where we are!)

84.  Shrill, squeaky noises make me want to punch somebody.

85.  In middle school, I tried to pick a fight with a much taller girl.  She just looked down at me and laughed.

86.  I was “secretly engaged” at 17, but broke it off at18.

87.  When I was in late elementary school, I had a football poster on my closet door of Bob Griese.  (This later gave way to Rolling Stone covers.)

88.  As a preteen, I had a crush on Hawkeye Pierce.

89.  My bedroom walls are painted the same color as the outside of my house.