Diversions

I came across this meme on Sandi's blog and I needed a diversion so I decided to do it.

Here are the rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Your Name: Rochelle

1. Athlete: Ralf Schumacher

2. 4 letter word: Rich

3. Street name: Risebrough

4. Color: Red

5. Gifts/presents: Ring

6. Vehicles: Renault

7. Tropical Locations: Rio de Jeneiro

8. College Majors: Research Scientist

9. Dairy Products: Roquefort Cheese

10. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Ruler

11. Boy Name: Roberto

12. Girl Name: Rebekah

13. Movie Titles: Revenge of the Jedi

14. Alcohol: Red Wine

15. Occupations: Receptionist

16. Flowers: Rose

17. Celebrities: Robert Redford

18. Magazines: Redbook

19. CANADIAN Cities: Red Deer

20. Pro Sports Team: Raiders

This Isn't Easy

This is a completely non-knitting post so feel free to skip it.

Joseph had an incident in school yesterday and I am at a complete loss as to how to deal with the ever growing problem. He is being bullied at school. I've spoken to his teacher and principle about the incident yesterday but my heart is breaking for Joseph. In a quick nutshell here is what happened yesterday.

Boy #1 tells Joseph "Wanna see something?"
Joseph "Sure."
Boy #1 "Lift up your leg."

Joseph lifts his leg and boy #1 grabs it. Boy #2 comes along and kicks Joseph in the other leg and crash goes Joseph to the concrete. He is very lucky that he wasn't seriously hurt. I went with him to school this morning to talk to the principle. His teacher arrived later and we discussed it with his teacher. Joseph was so distraught over everything that happened yesterday he was crying and hyperventilating and complaining of chest pains. His teacher finally suggested to Joseph he go to the doctor to check things out. We did that this afternoon and thank God everything is fine. His teacher is VERY good at dealing with the children in these situations and he isn't the type that will let things slide. He will stop teaching if he finds something out because he says that safety is the most important thing and if a child doesn't feel safe in school he can't learn.

Joseph is an extremely intelligent child. He is big like his mom. It started when I went to work full time when he went into grade 1 and he has gotten bigger over the years. I believe that is the cause of the bullying in school. I am not justifying it, I am simply saying I think that's where it's coming from. One of the boys that were involved in this incident yesterday tried extorting money out of Joseph last semester. He basically told Joseph he would leave him alone if he gave him $5. To my utter disbelief, when I found out about this incident, Joseph gave him the $5. When the kid came back for more money Joseph said no and then the principle found out about it as well as the teacher. I am not quite sure what the consequences of his actions were because I didn't find out about any of this until I went to Joseph's school for parent teacher interviews in November.

Here are a lot of my worries. Things will only get worse when Joseph goes off the high school. Kids are the cruelest creatures on earth. I am worried about the bullying he will have to endure. I want him to learn to stand up for himself. If he doesn't learn that who knows what might happen to him once he hits high school. I don't want him getting into drugs because he is afraid. He can't go through life being afraid and I am not quite sure how to help him.

I spoke to the doctor about it this afternoon. She is going to refer him to this doctor's office. We tried this doctor a few years ago but maybe with me losing weight and eating healthier he will be ready to do the same himself. If nothing else, I want him to see someone he can talk to that will listen to what he is going through and help him realize what a wonderful person he is. I talk to him and try to encourage him. He is not yelled at or put down at home. Quite the contrary. But so much of how children turn out can have a lot to do with their friends and experiences in school. I don't want him being miserable his entire life. I've tried getting him into Tai Kwan Do and he didn't want any part of it. When he was in grade 1 I tried putting him in gymnastics and he was too uncoordinated for it and he was miserable. He goes swimming but that's not enough. I am going to try and ask him if he wants to do boxing so he can at least learn to defend himself but I'm not sure if he will go for it.

As a parent you want what's best for your child. Now if I could only figure out how to get there I'd be a much happier camper.

Dressed And Almost Ready To Go

I have the blanket blocking on Joseph's bed. Now I have to hope it will dry by the time he has to go to bed tonight. I pinned it out dry and then sprayed using a spray bottle. I really like the finished result but that's nothing new with this blanket. I hope Usher and Deena will feel the same way. You know how some babies have blankets that they hold on to and never let go and it ends up being their blankie, I hope the little one will look upon this blanket that way.

I cast on for the second blanket and I am halfway through the floral border. I wanted to try and get the first star pattern done today but that's not going to happen. I've haven't gotten any knitting done today so hopefully I'll get that far by the end of our SnB night on Tuesday.

Henny was planning on going to the hospital to see DIL, son and baby today. For those that don't know, I am in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Henny Usher and 3 more of my children are in New York City, Brooklyn to be exact. I'm hoping Henny will manage to get some pictures taken when she is at the hospital so she can email them to me. Usher said he took tons of pics but who knows when he will get around to emailing them to me. I hear he has blonde hair. Usher was blonde when he was born. I can't wait to see a picture so someone better send me one soon. Patience never was a strong suit of mine.

UPDATE

Paul took a better picture of the blanket so I decided to add it. I spoke to Henny. She forgot her camera so I will have to wait until Usher sends me pics. He took tons so I hope he'll get around to sending it soon.

Talk About Timing

When I said I didn't believe I managed to finish the blanket on time I didn't realize just how close it was. Usher called me around 8:00 PM to let me know I have a new grandson. He was born at 7:16 PM and weighs 6 pounds 15 ounces. I don't have a length yet. They are still doing the newborn baby routine at the hospital. Once I have pictures I'll post with all the rest of the details. Now I can't wait until Monday to block the blanket. I have to mail it out on Monday. I am thinking of steam blocking instead of wet blocking. It will be much faster this way.

First FO For 2007

I was so close to finishing this blanket last night, I decided not to do the Friday night spinners and just knit instead. I just finished casting off and tucking in the cast on and cast off tails. I used russian join to join the new balls of yarn so I don't have any of those ends to tuck in. I still have to block it but I am considering it an FO anyway. I won't get to block it until Monday morning so I'll post one last picture once the blanket is dry. I've also come to a decision about this blanket the next time I make it in DK weight yarn. I think I am going to forget about the floral borders all around the blanket and just do it with the nine sections and a garter stitch border. The blanket is a little big this way. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I am going to cast on for the next blanket later tonight but right now my hands need a knitting break. Here are the final numbers for this blanket. I cast on January 10th and cast off January 27th. I used 10.5 balls of the Hobby yarn on size 4mm needles. I'll post final measurements once the blanket is blocked. I am surprised I finished this before the baby was born. I didn't think I was going to make it. I'm glad I did.

Confession

I have been giving some serious thought to the blanket I want to make for grandchild due in May. I wanted to spin enough yarn for the blanket but I don't think I will be able to do that. I am not pleased with the consistency of my spinning yet to trust it to something as important as a blanket for a grandchild to be. So I needed something from my stash to use. For this blanket I don't know if the baby will be a boy or a girl so I need a neutral colour. I couldn't find anything in the stash I was able to get to. Therefore, I would have to buy something for the next blanket. So, today I bought 3 balls of this yarn but I am not sure if I will need more or not. The pattern calls for 1500 meters and I have 1380 meters. There is a possibility that I will have enough but I have to knit it up to know for sure. The problem is the yarn is discontinued and what the yarn shop has is all there is and she won't be getting more in. What I think I am going to do is ask her to put one ball aside for me and try and knit this as quickly as possible. I should know after I finish the first ball if I will have enough or not. I didn't really break my rules because I didn't find anything in my stash and the blanket must be finished by May which is still in the KFYS time frame. I just wish I had found something. I think when I was gathering my stash I wasn't thinking babies and I don't usually get pastel shades. Most of my stash is blues and purples.

Show Me Your Desktop

Knitting4Shirley mentioned that Kat is asking that people post pictures of their desktop. So here is the picture on my desktop. It's my son, Joseph, when they went on an outing last spring. When the kids came back they played in the playground for a bit and Paul snapped this shot.



On the knitting front, I am making progress on the blanket. I am more than halfway through the second star section and I should, hopefully, get the blanket done this weekend. I spoke to my DIL and she said the doctor gave her the OK to go back to work so all is fine. Her due date is 19 days away so no matter what the baby will be full term.

I am trying to decide what I will knit after I finish this blanket. I hesitate to pick up and start the second one right away because I am worried about boredom but I joined the Knitoff and I don't want to have to worry about knitting the blanket while the knitoff is going on. So I'll probably cast on for the second blanket once this one is done and hope for the best.

Sidetracked Again

It's not like I didn't knit on the blanket at all over the weekend. I did manage to get the castle finished and I just started the second set of star blocks. What I didn't do is knit on this as much as I thought I was going to. Why you might ask? That's easy - spinning! When I bought the spindle on Saturday I had to play with it. That made me want to play with the other ones as well. You don't want them to feel left out do you? Besides, I told myself, the blanket is getting to big to take over to my in-laws. With the weight of the blanket on my lap I get too hot. At home I have a fan when that happens and I just turn it on. When we go to my in-laws to do laundry there is no fan to combat the problem. So yesterday I brought 3 spindles instead of the blanket. I brought 2 Forrester spindles and my Bossie. I spun the fibre I had on each of them and by then it was time to pack up and go home.

When I got home I pulled out the wheel. I can explain that too. Chris at Joybilee Farms had given me a tip to put some velcro on the flyer for when you stop spinning. I bought the sticky kind and after a while it kept coming off. So I took it off and cleaned the flyer from the goop and tried to go on without it. I gave up and read the instructions on the self sticking velcro and put another one on the flyer. The instructions say let it sit for 24 hours. I had to test it out didn't I? Once I started spinning I couldn't stop until I finished spinning and plying the Fleece Artist Merino Sliver I got at Gemini Fibres a few weeks ago. The skeins are balanced but I still think parts of it are under plied. I have to give them a bath tonight and then once the first blanket is done I am going to knit these up into something. I am not quite sure what yet but it will be something wonderful.

100th Post - Amazing

It's hard to believe this is going my 100th post. When I first started blogging in July I wasn't even sure if I was going to keep up with it. I just wanted to give it a try. It sure has become another one of my many addictions.

Speaking of addictions, I went up to Gemini Fibres today. I can't believe I actually did the drive. You have to understand that I am probably one of the most chicken drivers on the face of the planet and when it snows I don't drive unless I have to. The thing is when I left my apartment this morning the sun was shining and the roads were clear. I had no idea the roads were snow covered north of the city. When I got to Major McKenzie on the 404 I got stuck behind a convoy of plowers. I am still surprised I didn't just get off the 404 and go home. It just shows you how much I wanted to stuff from Gemini. I lasted on the slow moving 404 until Stouffville Rd. and then got off the 404 and took Woodbine the rest of the way. I am still amazed the drive took me an hour. I thought I was going to be very late. These are the goodies I came home with.

This is the Spinner's Control Card. I guess the name says it all. There are yarn gauge rulers that are similar. Here is what the card looks like:


You just match your single to one of the lines and there is a card that comes with it that will tell you how to figure out how to make your singles inorder to get the yarn you want. It's cool.

I already managed to get the Ashford Book of Spinning. This book is out of print as far as my understanding goes. Cheryl had it in stock so I asked her to put one aside for me. I have no idea if she still has it or not. Now I have to finish reading the first book by Ann Field and then get started on this one.

I also got some more Fleece Artist Merino Sliver in a blues colourway to go along with the stuff I got last time I was there. I am going to ply one single from this stuff with the singles from the stuff I bought last time I went up to Gemini and see how it goes. With 200 grams in total it should be enough for me to make a shawl or a scarf at the very least.

Finally I came home with this. When I think about buying this spindle I keep thinking about the commercial we have here in Canada for Visa win what you buy contest where the woman comes home and there are a ton of shoes walking behind her and when she gets home and her husband looks at her and the shoes following her she says "They just followed me home." That's what I have to say about this spindle.


I was eyeing this spindle when I went up to Gemini with Maggie a few weeks ago. That's when I said I couldn't remember how to spindle spin and I just couldn't get the thing to work properly so I left it. When I went to Maggie and I tried using her spindle I had the same problem and that's when I realized I needed to get back into spindle spinning lest I lose the touch. I brought some fibre with me to test it out and I LOVE THIS SPINDLE!!!! I say the same thing about a lot of my spindles but this one is fantastic as well. It weighs 20.59 grams and it spins like a top.
I am so glad an order didn't come in for it and Cheryl still had it in the store.


Here you can see some of the spinning I did when I got home. I can't spin this fine on the wheel. If I try the yarn just breaks on me. It spins better than the green and pink painted Forrester spindle I have. Now I have to resist using it the rest of the day and get back to knitting on the blanket.

On the weight loss front, I went to see Dr. Poon today and I lost 4 pounds over the last 2 months. That's not good at all but it's better than gaining 4 pounds. He told me to go back to phase one. I'm not too thrilled about that but I will. He said that on his program you shouldn't have a plateau so I must be doing something wrong and not realizing what the heck it is I am doing. I am going to keep a food diary. I go back in a month and we'll see how it goes. I am pretty proud of myself in any event because I went back to the doctor today. In the past I would have cancelled the appointment because I didn't lose enough weight and that might have started a spiral I don't want to go on.

Trying New Things

I had to go back to work after I picked Joseph up from school. Paul was helping one of the guys at work set up and transfer stuff from his old laptop to his new laptop. He didn't finish everything on Sunday so he had to come back after work today to finish the rest of it. Since I had a little time before Paul would get to the office I came home to try crock pot dyeing. Kimberly brought some yarn she didn't want anymore so I got 2 balls of grey Sock It To Me sock yarn. I decided to dye it using grape Kool Aid. Since it would take a few hours at work I figured the stuff would be ready by the time I got home. Sure enough I was right. I used 8 packets of Kool Aid with 8 cups of water and 2 cups of vinegar. I set the crock pot on low and left. I came home 2 and a half hours later and the water is clear. I am waiting for it to cool so I can let it soak in a warm bath. More pictures to follow once the yarn is dry.

UPDATE

Here's the final result. I can't seem to get the picture to show the true colour. The real colour is a little deeper than what is coming out in the picture but it's close enough. I really like the way it turned out and dyeing in the crock pot is even easier for me than dyeing in the microwave. I can dye more in crock pot because the pot is bigger then anything I can put in the microwave.

The next thing I want to do is try to dye some roving. I have a lot of undyed stuff but I am a little hesitant because I am worried about felting when I do the dyeing. When I finally get up enough courage to actually dye some roving I will either use the crock pot or get a big pan I can use in the oven. I have an Echo roasting pan I don't really use anymore and I was going to give it away but I might just use it to oven dye. Now I just have to figure out if you can use it or not.

Halfway There

It's amazing to me how much knitting you can get done when you set your mind to it. I know I have to get this blanket done as quickly as possible and I have been knitting like crazy. I am more than halfway through the second set of pattern blocks. What you see is a castle that is over 60% done. I believe I am now past the halfway point on this. Since I have made such great progress I think I am going to take a knitting break tomorrow night and see if I can get some spinning done. There are some things I have been wanting to try to see if it helps me get more twist in my singles.

Speaking of singles, I had plied some SAF singles I had. I had one bobbin that had more on it than the other and when one bobbin was empty I figured I would just join the fibre to the bobbin that had yarn on it and continue spinning. Well when I tried that I couldn't find the darn end to join the fibre too. Old eyes are the pits. I brought the bobbin with me to our SnB tonight and Kimberly managed to find the end for me so I am now ready to join on the fibre and begin spinning again. I also finished spinning one bobbin of the Fleece Artist Merino Sliver I bought from Gemini Fibres. Now I just have to decide if I want to spin the SAF or the Merino.

Sande emailed me a great tip if I ever have the problem of finding the end of my singles again. She said to try using a strip of scotch tape bit by bit from the top of the bobbin to the bottom to see if the tape would catch the end. If that doesn't work she suggested gently using a toothbrush going in the opposit direction from the way it was wound onto the bobbin. I hope I don't have the problem again but I know these tips will help keep me from going nuts like I did this time.

Yet Another Quiz

Someone on the Knitlist posted this quiz and I can't seem to resist these things so here are my results:

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so softhearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from your head to your toes.
Take this quiz!








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A Star Is Born

The picture might not be very clear but it's clear enough to see that the first set of blocks is now done. I've already started the second set of blocks where the castle is in the center of the blanket. My goal is to get the castle done by Friday. That will all depend on how much knitting time I get this week. Our SnB is Tuesday so that will help in my endeavours. If I don't get that section done by Friday I'll have no problems getting it done by the end of the weekend. I figure the blanket should be finished by the end of January.

According to the weather reports we have quite a bit of snow coming our way. There is a winter storm warning in effect for the area. I know, I have no right to complain after the mild winter we've had so far. Not to mention the lack of snow. I am glad for all the people that rely on the cold and snow for the livelyhood but I can't stand the stuff. I don't mind the cold. Heck, I wouldn't even mind the snow if I didn't have to walk or drive in it. Yes, I have snow tires on the car. I still hate driving in it. You'd think I'd be used to it by now but I'm not.

What's The Point??

I took some Cold FX and that stuff really works. I'm not any worse then I was on Friday and I might even be a little better. So I decided to take advantage of the situation and go to Romni afterall. When Maggie, Kimberly and I went to Romni during Boxing week I didn't see any bobbins for the Ashford Joy so I called there this week to find out if they had any in stock. I was assured that they had TONS of bobbins. Why the heck did I even bother to check? I get there and sure enough they have TONS of bobbins but they don't look like the bobbins I got with Joy. So up I go with a bag of bobbins to double check and as I suspected the TONS of bobbins they have are for the Lendrum NOT the Joy. The gentleman ended up selling me the 3 bobbins that came with one of the Joy wheels they had in stock. He opened a box he was going to use for display so he let me buy the bobbins. I still don't get it. If you tell someone something shouldn't you be sure you know what the heck you're talking about?

Of course I didn't get out of Romni without buying roving. I bought some BAL. Don't ask me what that stands for because I don't have a clue. I am guessing it is some sort of Leicester but I don't know. I got it in the cream colour so I could spin and dye. I also bought a bottle of Soak in their holiday scent. The bottle is a little smaller than the regular scented bottles they have so the cost was a little less as well.

On the blanket knitting front, I managed to get some good work done today. I am at the halfway point of the first star block sections. I should be able to finish that section by tomorrow. I'll post pictures of my progress tomorrow night, if I have a chance.

I spoke to Usher yesterday and Deena had some tests done and so far so good. The fluid level seems to be better. She will have to go to the hospital tomorrow for more tests but she offically begins the 9th month on Monday so I am not too too worried. Of course I always worry a little bit but after having had 7 children myself and the last 2 were early I am not as worried as I could be.

I did some spinning yesterday. I am not sure what the heck I need to do to get more twist into my singles but that's what I need to do. I'm trying to spin lace to fingering weight and when the yarn breaks I am still having a hell of a time trying to restart again. The yarn keeps breaking and that means there isn't enough twist. The Joy doesn't come with a fast flyer and I wish it did. It is my understanding they have no plans for one either but maybe they will eventually change their mind about that? One can only hope.

No Spinning Just Knitting

I haven't touched Joy since Tuesday morning. I haven't had huge amounts of time to knit either, but I have managed to get some knitting done. This is the progress I've made on the blanket. If I can get the first star pattern section done this weekend I'll be happy.

Speaking of not spinning, I've decided to join the Friday Night Spinners. I figure this way I'll at least manage to spin one night a week until I finish all the mandatory knitting. Once the two baby blankets are done I'll have more time to spin.

I want to go to Romni tomorrow to get more bobbins for Joy but now I feel like I might be coming down with a cold so I'll have to see how I feel in the morning. If I do manage to go I will get in some knitting time riding the subway there and back. What I am going to try to NOT do is buy roving. I already have a small stash and I don't really need more right now.

I've also decided on one amendment to my Knit From Your Stash rules. The amendment is for the TTC Knit-A-Long. If I do decide to join in May that event is exempt from the rules.

No new weight loss to report either. I've read blogs from some peple who have started losing weight in the new year and I think that's wonderful. I wish everyone on the same journey as I am best wishes for great success.

Unexpected Turns

Well I just spoke to my son Usher and it looks like there is a very good chance the little one will arrive earlier than scheduled. It might even be in the next week or so. I think they are just waiting for the 36 weeks to give the baby's lungs a chance to develop before they induce labour. That gives me something new to worry about. The knitting will help the worrying so that's good. Maybe I'll get the knitting done faster that way. I still don't think the blanket can be knit that fast and I already told Usher that but only time will tell.

Is It Really Only 9 Days 17+ Hours???

I wonder if it is because of the Knit From Your Stash 2007 or what but everything looks so tempting. Not only that it feels like it's been forever since I bought yarn and since I bought yarn on Dec. 31st so it's only been 9+ days. Maybe the feeling will change because I had a card from the post office at my door today so I have to go there to pick up my Knit Picks order.

I've started working on the first Sweet Dreams Baby Blanket I have to finish. The baby is due February 15th so I have until then to finish it. I should be alright if the spinning doesn't get in the way too much. I was going to use some Bambi yarn (I think that's what it's called) in an off white colour that I have in my stash. I took it out and now I can't find it. I gave up looking for it. Once I stop looking it will show up. I think I might have taken it to my MIL on Sunday because otherwise I can't see how something I just had in my hands could just disappear into thin air. What did it do? Grow feet and walk away? It's just not possible even with me being so disorganized. This is the yarn I decided to use instead. (yup, the little one is supposed to be a boy so if it isn't I am in trouble) I have 24 balls of the stuff and that will definitely be enough. I don't think it will need more than 12 tops. It will make a bigger blanket because it is closer to DK weight than fingering but that's fine. Now I just have to get busy and KNIT. I think I am going to take the wheel and put it in the carrying case so I don't see it and I'm not tempted. Wish me luck.

I Remember!!

Last night I decided there was no way I could have forgotten how to spindle spin. It should be like riding a bike - once you learn you never forget right? So I pulled out my Orchard Forrester spindle and gave it a whorl. It took a little while but I am back to spinning on the spindle.

And speaking of spindle spinning, I received my order from Quantum Spindles on Friday. I ordered a spindle for myself and when Wendy read on the Spindlers group that Joseph had expressed an interest in learning to spin she included a spindle for Joseph as a gift.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed when I open the box and looked at the spindles because they didn't have notches. I emailed Wendy and she gave me some suggestions and told me to try the spindles without the notch and if I still had a problem I should contact her. I must admit that I am in love with these spindles.

This is the spindle that was sent for Joseph and the above spindle is the one I ordered. They spin like tops and I don't have to worry about the yarn coming off the hook when I spin it up my leg. I've had spindles with notches that I had to double wrap around the hook because the yarn kept coming out. These spindles are amazing. Now I just have to get Joseph to give it a try. I want to order a light weight one now not more than 25 grams and I want more Bossie's. Why oh why can't I be rich so I can just get whatever I want? I can still dream though can't I?

Northern Adventures

Today I went up to Gemini Fibres. I was supposed to meet Maggie there but for some reason I can't seem to get to Gemini without a bit of an adventure. This is the third time I've gone up to Mt. Albert and it's the second time I've had an interesting journey along the way. The only time I got there without any problems is the first time I went when I went for the spinning class. The drive was smooth today but I guess it was too fast. I didn't remember the trip up the 404 going so quickly the first time. So I thought I needed to drive along Woodbine Ave. for a while before I would hit Mt. Albert road. Next thing I knew I saw a sign for Keswick. That's too far north. Thankfully, I've been to Maggie's place twice before so I ended up finding my way to Maggie's and we went to Gemini together.

The second time I went up to Gemini I went along Highway 48 and went way too far because I was looking for a sign for Mt. Albert Road. I had no idea they don't have that sign on Highway 48 but the sign says York Side Rd. or something like that. The good news is that now that I've gotten lost twice going there I shouldn't have any problems going there again because I know my way from both ends now.

Ok, so here some of what I bought.

This is Fleece Artist Merino Sliver in a purpley colourway.

This is Fleece Artist Merino Sliver in a blue colourways. It is similar to the blue I bought when I took my spinning class.

This is a Fleece Artist Merino and Silk blend. It is soft like butter. I just hope I can spin with it. I have some knitting I MUST get done so I am going to have to cut way down on the spinning for now.

Maggie and I split a 100 gram bag of silk hankies but I think I am going to have to wait a little while before I give that one a try.

I also bought another treadling hook. I forgot the one that comes with the Joy at home one day when I brought the wheel over to my in-laws. I got another one so I can just keep it in the carrying bag and then I'll have it with me in case I forget to put the Joy one back in it's proper place.

The last thing I got is the Katie-A-Go-Go. I want to give it a try but I don't have anything that needs plying right now.

And this is the yarn I plied while Maggie got lunch ready. I have to do more so I have enough for a baby blanket. I think I'm almost there. I might just start to knit with it and when I run out I can spin more. I haven't decided yet. First I have to knit another blanket with some yarn I have in my stash.

You know what's really sick? I've been spinning on the wheel since December 20th and the way I draft on the wheel is totally different to the way I draft on the spindle. I think I've forgotten how to spindle spin!!! Since I really can't allow that to happen I must spindle spin more so I don't lose the touch.

Last but by no means least, I had to take Joseph back to the orthodontist yesterday. One of the wires split and it was poking him in his cheek. All is fixed now. The tooth that was out of place has moved quite a bit. You can really see the difference now. It is almost back in place so I am feeling a little better about everything now. Joseph's mouth is still pretty sore. According to Paul he had to eat very soft food today because the chewing and biting was causing too much pain. I am hoping things will improve by tomorrow.

Guilt!! It's Horrible!!

Right about now I feel like I am the worst mother on the face of the planet. Why you might ask? Somewhere between December 20th and 22nd, Joseph told me the bracket on one of his teeth had come off. I was planning on calling the orthodontist but I forgot. A few days ago Paul looked at Joseph's mouth and couldn't believe his eyes. If you look at this picture closely enough you will see one tooth is behind the others. This shift took place in under 2 weeks!!!! The teeth that had brackets were trying to push the tooth without the bracket out of the way and it is now behind the other teeth. We went to the orthodontist today and after great pains they finally managed to get another bracket on the tooth and they put new wire on the bottom teeth. Joseph was in so much pain after all this he was crying in the car on the way home from the dentist. The good news is he is feeling much better now. The bad news is that tooth is still extremely sensitive. We have to go back in 6 weeks to see how much progress has been made in that tooth getting back to the proper position. Can you imagine it took less than 2 weeks to get this way and if we're lucky it will be back to where it should be in 6 weeks????? There has to be something wrong with this picture. It's just not right!! I understand the reasoning behind it but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

This is a very important lesson I learned and I pass this lesson on to anyone who has children with braces or if you have braces yourself. Don't wait!!! Run to the dentist if the brackets ever come off of the tooth.

I don't have anything new to report on the weight loss front but I have been really struggling lately because I've been feeling peckish at night. I haven't been doing anything to satisfy the feelings but it's a pain in the butt. I find myself walking in the kitchen looking around for something I can eat. I haven't eaten anything I'm not supposed to but I suppose my biggest fear is that I will. I wonder if my not having lost any weight recently and the bouncing up and down 4 or 5 pounds is part of the problem. Maybe if I admit this to everyone then it will help me stay on track.

Before and Now

Nov. 20, 2005

Jan. 2, 2007

I hate taking pictures so this will have to do for now.

Getting Healthier

I was asked to blog about my weight loss. I must admit I've been hesitating for months to post about it. Let me give you a little background information. I've been on the chunkier side ever since puberty. That's a LONG time. I've done the diet yo yo stuff more times then I want to count. I've given birth to 7 children and I guess I use that as an excuse. I gained too much weight when I had my first and I had 6 children in 8 years. Whenever I tried to get back on track and go to Weight Watchers or some other place I would get pregnant again. Funny enough when I went to Jenny Craig here in Canada the same thing happened to me 10 years after I had what I thought was my last. Joseph was born 12 years ago.

7 years ago I decided to give it another try. I lost 150 pounds in about a year. The program was basically you ate a meal replacement bar for breakfast and lunch and had a regular dinner. I stayed away from carbohydrates. In December 2000 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy and reconstruction (abdominal tram flap) at the same time I had the mastectomy. I was very very lucky. All I did was lose a boob. I didn't have to go through chemo or radiation because the cancer was found in a mammogram and it was early, stage 0. When I was in the hospital all they fed you are carbs. I'm not going to use that as an excuse anymore. I just know that for 5 years after my mastectomy I just couldn't control the carbs anymore. I don't know what the heck it was. I put back a large amount of weight. I didn't gain it all back but I will say I gained most of it back. I was so disgusted with myself for the weight gain I didn't want to meet people that knew me when I had lost the weight. I was so ashamed that I had put it back. I'm still ashamed of that and I guess that's why I didn't post about the weight loss before. Not to mention the rude people that would actually say something. I remember one woman that actually told my husband he should keep me from eating and how could I possibly have gained so much weight. I was mortified.

Lately I've been at a plateau, I guess, for the last 6 weeks only losing about 7 pounds in that time. I have been bouncing up and down between 85 and 90 pounds total weight loss for this entire time. It's been a bit frustrating but I am still sticking to program so I know it will start to come off again sooner or later. If I've learned anything with all this I have learned that I can't go near carbs. For me carbs are a drug. I am a carbohydrate addict and if I eat the stuff it will send me on a binge I won't be able to recover from. I also know I must lose the weight or it will cost me my life. That's why I went to Dr. Poon. I must admit his program has been easier for me to follow than I thought and it's something I know I can stick to for the rest of my life. I don't want bread, cookies, cake, pasta, etc. even though you are supposed to slowly add them back into your life. I don't miss it. I didn't have any over Christmas except I did allow myself the smallest taste of my MIL's fruit cake. Paul brought some home with him and I wasn't tempted by that either. It sat in the house for 2 days before he ate it and I just let it sit there.

As I said, I am very proud of the accomplishments I have made so far. I haven't been able to exercise due to pains in my feet and an inner ear issue I have that decides to pop it's ugly head every now and then. I need to get the exercise in if I want to reach goal. I will reach goal and even though I didn't hit the 100 pound mark, and I didn't hit the weight I wanted to get to before the end of the year. I WILL DO THIS!!!!

We're having our SnB tonight and if I remember the camera I might ask someone to take a picture. I hate taking pics of myself but I'll do it so you can see the difference so far. I'll try and post more about it but if I don't and you want to correspond you can always email me. The link to email me is on my sidebar towards the bottom of the page. Posting this isn't easy so all I ask is, be kind please.

Last Minute Yarn Buying

I was so good. I went to Lettuce Knit twice. One day they had 30% off on all yarn and I just bought roving, no yarn. The next day I didn't buy yarn either. I went to Romni Wools the same day and I didn't buy yarn, not even sock yarn. Yesterday I couldn't resist. Both my married sons' wives are expecting. One is due in Februray and one in May. I've decided to try and spin the yarn for one but I don't know if I can spin for both so I decided to get the yarn for it. Yesterday I ordered some merino undyed lace and fingering weight yarn from KnitPicks. When I told Henny about the Knit From Your Stash 2007 and I was going to try and do it she just laughed at me. I'm going to try and show her that I can resist buying yarn for 9 months. It's not going to be easy but I've accomplished more difficult things this past year. I can do this too.

Speaking of accomplishments. In March 2006 a very good friend of mine lost his father. When I went to visit him to offer my condolences he told me he was going to see this doctor about trying to lose weight. I asked him for the name of the doctor. I went to see Dr. Poon on April 20, 2006. As of Dec. 31, 2006 I've lost a total of 90 pounds. I was hoping for 100 by the end of the year but that didn't happen. Even though I am slightly disappointed I am so very happy with the successes I have had to date. I am looking forward to reaching my goal in 2007. Once I get a chance to get a newer picture taken I'll post an updated picture.

Best Wishes