E is for Egg

A chicken egg found with a double shell, bought from the local grocery store. I had never seen such a thing.

A blue bird egg found on the beach at the lake:

Eggs: they fascinate me!
~~~~
My back is feeling a bit better today and progress is progress. It is actually much better than on Sunday and Monday but has a way to go to be considered GOOD.
Now, my bloglines is showing 348 new items. Glory. You people have lots to say, doncha?

Doctor, doctor! Give me the news!

I cannot thank you enough for your support. You are the best! But I already knew that!
I really don't think I can email all of you who commented and left advise and postitive wishes so please accept my eternal thanks!
I had my doctor's appointment this morning and it's as I suspected. Lower back muscle strain: which can take anywhere from 4-10 days to feel better, provided I take care of myself. A balance of rest and walking, absolutely no strain, which I'm happy to report includes laundry, vacuuming, dishes and cleaning in general. Poor me! :) She gave me a prescription to help overcome the pain, which I am in need of for now.
I'll be on my heating pad! Am I missing anything out there in blogworld?

Just great!

You know, it's funny! The body has a way of dealing with things. I hardly feel the headache now. You know, with all the agonzizing lower back pain that mysteriously showed up yesterday. If I were moving a refrigerator, I'd understand a back this bad. But there was no big dramtic incident. Not a one. Tell my back that!
Sitting causes extreme pain so I hope you'll excuse a little blog break. I'll be here, just in short (very short) doses!
Don't worry, though. You can find me by the trail of items I'm leaving behind me. I seem to be dropping everything my hands touch. I can't bend to pick them up, yanno! I figure it's a like a breadcrumb trail. Sort of like leaving the light on!
Now..where's that advil?

My world is very small lately

And it pretty much looks like this. Some knitting, but not much and a microwave heat pack for the blinding headaches. Headaches that I can't quite figure out. I narrowed it down to swollen gland related or it could be a muscular thing specifically TMJ related. Either way, it sucks and hurts.
The knitting? New yarn for Mrs. Beeton. All of a sudden these wristwarmers are calling my name. Why fight it? What's missing from this photo is the conwy socks. I work on those a bit every day. And the Lost DVD's. I'm all about those lately. We are up to disc 5 and it occurs to me that we must be nearing the end of Season 1 which makes me a bit sad. These DVD's have been our date night fun as of late.
Then of course there is this growing pile!

The fast growing pile of mail coorespondence from colleges that I classify as "Please, please, pick me! PICK ME!" Almost daily we receive letters from the 3 possible college choices.
So, that's whats going on around here?
Yeah. Not much.

Are you a fun guy?

Bethany told me this joke last night and I thought about posting it here, you know, to the knitting blog? And then I read Norma's joke and knew that somehow today was Joke Day. When the jester of the world conspires to share jokes, who are we to resist?

This Mushroom walks into a bar.
The bartender says, "Hey! What are you doing in here?"
The Mushroom answers, "I'm a fungi!"

~Joke courtesy of the BHS Biology department
It made me chuckle! And who can't use a little laugh?

I knit because I can

New sock? Why, yes! Thank you! To be specific, this is the start of a conwy sock from Knitting on the Road. The yarn? I'm glad you asked. It is Socks that Rock! (can I get a rim shot with that please?) In the Marbles colorway. I have not lost my marbles. And I have the yarn to prove it! This yummy sock moment was brought to you (or more accurately: to ME) by the lovely, generous Cara. She sent the Socks that Rock yarn. Leaving me wondering..Did Cara actually buy every single STR colorway known to modern man? I think she did!
Cara = sock yarn goddess, eh? Thank you, Miss Cara! I am putting it to good use!
Have I ever mentioned how I love this pattern? Kudos to you if you remember how many socks I've made into Conwys.
cough:2:cough
It is a pattern that I could knit over and over and over again. Do you have one like that?
Flower Power~

Tap, Tap..Anyone there?

I had quite the start today. I came home from work today and tried to check my blog and it was GONE. My heart skipped a beat as I pressed REFRESH. Gone. None. No Sandysknitting. My breathing got a bit shallow. I needed to put my head between my knees. Do we own a paper bag I can breathe into?
Here I was, moving smoothly through my day not knowing the horrible truth that was happening. My blog was gone.
The Horrors!
This was all due to a renewing of the sandysknitting domain, by the way. I went with the cheaper company. You know, you get what you pay for. What I hadn't figured was the 5 day wait did not include weekends. D'oh! My mistake!
The blog is back now. My heartrate has just settled down and there is no more hyperventilating. I think I'll be fine.
But. I do wonder if there is a new RSS feed because bloglines now tells me that I have NO subscribers. Hmm. Was it something I said?
:)
~~
This weekend was Andy's birthday. As a family, we surprised him with a Birthday Day. We took the T into Boston, made our way to Fenway Park and took the tour then out to eat. Here's some peeks into our wonderful day!


Fenway is undergoing construction, adding more seats to the small park! See the Green Monster? On the left?

This is one of my favorite pictures from the day. I know. I'm such a geek!

A fun time was had by all! But, boy! Was it cold!
Too bad there was no picture of the time I fell over a sign in the sidewalk saying, no doubt, "Caution" while taking this picture:

No picture, either of the fall I took on the subway car. That was a blast. Not TOO embarassing either!
But I did remember to look up!

Sincerely yours,
Grace

Wearing 'O the Green

Well, I'm not Irish, but I'll play one on my blog. Actually I am part Irish. My wedding ring finger, that is. Which of course makes all the people I love most in the world Irish so, I'm Irish! With the last name I have, is there any doubt?
I look forward every year to making our corned beef and cabbage dinner. It is the celebrations like this that make my heart all warm and fuzzy. You know, me cooking, the family gathered around the table enjoying the meal? Can life get any better?
~In all fairness, it's probably best to have some full blog disclosure here. We don't eat around the table anymore unless company is here. So, I guess saying The family gathered around the tv enjoying the meal. That is more truthful. Less romantically attractive of course. But I'm nothing if not truthful!
When the kids were small, I used to color a pitcher of milk with green food coloring. Nobody would think that was so fun anymore so perhaps Andy and I will indulge in a green beer or two.
I started out this day wondering about St. Patrick's day. I know that it traditionally was a day to honor a person named Patrick. He apparently is credited for bringing Christianity to Ireland. And if he is really responsible for banishing the snakes from Ireland, I only wish he could have lived here in Massachusetts for a bit.
But how did it turn into the drunken celebration that it is today? There is an Irish bar around the corner from me that I swear is no bigger than my living room (I DO have a big living room). When I drive by there on St.Patrick's Day the crowd is standing shoulder to shoulder slugging down the brews while people are lined up down the street and around the corner waiting for a spot to open up. This is drunken celebration at it's finest, I suppose. Me? I'll settle for my spot on the couch, corned beef and cabbage meal in hand and Lost on the DVD player. Lost is our new thing. We are trying to catch up to the 2nd season!
So, Cheers to you!

Spey Valley Socks

Finished: One pair of Spey Valley socks from Knitting on the Road by *my sock and mitten guru Nancy Bush! (* I had written the word INFAMOUS here, but I do believe that it has more of a negative meaning than I meant, so it is now replaced! )

Yarn: Trekking XXL, color 105, autumn
Pattern: Spey Valley
Needle size: US1
See the lateral braids above and below the cuff design? These are said to represent the rings around a barrel of Scottish whiskey. I don't know about whiskey, but I love the vikkel braid!

It's not wrong to love toes, is it?

Because this is my favorite toe knitting. Decreases are done all around the sock instead of concentrated at the sides!
My favorite part of the socks? The little green heel on the left sock in the first picture above. I think it's so cute!
This pair of socks marks the first of next year's Christmas gifts that I will put away. Not bad. It's not even November yet!
Don't worry, my sock needles were not empty for long!

The World According to Garp, by John Irving

I have been continuing along on my John Irving reading, the latest being The World According to Garp. This book did not disappoint. As is common with books that I love, I am quite sad that it came to an end. Finishing a book that I enjoy so much leaves me feeling a bit lost for a while. John Irving's books always stay with me. For quite a while. I don't know many authors that can do that.
Garp is a book that appears to be about sex and violence. Of Anxiety and relationships. But perhaps in the end it is really about human frailty and about love. The basic need of a man or a woman to love and be loved.
It was wonderful. John Irving's writing inspires me to think, to read more and to want to write. I wish I could write as he does.
I'd love to meet Mr. Irving someday and have coffee. It would be fascinating!
Care to discuss Garp with me?
My next book?
The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-Time, thanks to Kim (who has a great new look to her blog and bloglines is ignoring her, go see!)

D is for Derek! (falling hopelessly behind in the ABC Along!)

D is for Derek, 19 years old, a sophmore in College.
Animal lover, great sense of humor, wonderful laugh, warm, caring, computer wiz, loves to sleep late, stays up later than most people I have ever known: Ever!
My Derek. I'm proud to share genes with him!

Take a deep breath! It's Friday!

A glorious day with spring in the air! I will enjoy it while it lasts. And it's supposed to last through the weekend!

This was one of the favorite Christmas gifts this year! I got it for Andy and at this time I'm wondering about my intentions. Well, he DOES like it too!

A few of my favorite things!

My new favorites, I thought I'd share!
~It is like my hands belong to another person since I started using Olay Quench Rapid Repair Hand lotion. I started using this lotion about 3 weeks ago. I did not consciously notice that the cracks in my fingers (painful and plentiful, believe me!) were gone until they came back. They came back because I did not use the lotion for 3 days because I lost it! Okay. I "lost" it in the cushions of the couch. But lost is lost, right? All of a sudden I had cracks again and I realized the miracle that had happened here. No cracks = happy sandy.
~Okay, so cracks happen. Then what? I found New Skin Liquid Bandage. Okay, I gotta tell you that it stings like a son of a gun when you apply it but after it dries, the cut is sealed and is not bothered by the air. OR movement,which if you have dry skin cracks you know that a simple movement can split the skin more. Ick, I know. You must reapply this on a couple times a day but the pain is managed and the cut heals quicker.
~Yogurt Burst Cheerios, strawberry please! They are yum. I can't help myself. Which is preferable to the girl scout cookies that are calling my name. Beastly girl scouts! Why do they have to be so cute? How about some Cheerioke? You can pick your singer and record the song! Ha! I won't do it. I'll spare the world from hearing the awful thing called singing. I've got lots of strengths. Keeping a tune is not one of them!
~And a hat. Specifically a hat called Amber. I think this might be a great hubby hat in some manly type colors! I'm dreaming. But alas, I do not have any Lamb's Pride yarn in the house. What shall I do??
How about you? Any new favorites lately?

The 3 little mittens

Honestly. The light around here is lasting longer, sure, but not quite long enough for wonderous picture taking.
Finished:
3 fingerless mittens.

The first 2 are from the NormaHelenTheresaFreedom Yarn (see March 2nd entry if you don't know what I'm talking about here~), the pattern, Wendy's fingerless mittens.
One more made from Malabrigo. One is all Bethany wanted for one cold mouse hand. One? Fine.

She has proclaimed herself as having baby hands. Now, I don't think they are quite baby hands, but they are petite. Perfect hands, if you ask me, which a 17 year old rarely, if ever, does.
The interesting thing is that I used the same pattern for both. Same number of cast on stitches. See the yarns?

Malabrigo on top, handspun on bottom. Looks to me like they are basically the same? Maybe the Malabrigo is a tad thicker?
This is the interesting thing:

See how much smaller the malabrigo mitten is? (It's in the middle. The cream of the oreo so to speak!) Which makes this a story with a happy ending because they fit Bethany perfect. Well, they fit like they were made for her! Which is a good thing, is it not?

Backyard Fieldtrip

Or: Where I live!
I live in Beverly, Massachusetts. I am lucky to have the Atlantic Ocean 3 blocks from my home. The ocean affects our weather year round. And this time of year, perhaps is not the day to have a tour of the yard. Summer might be better for this. The prevailing color around here is...well..it's not a color. It's ick. Grey.
Backyard:
There is virtually NO backyard to my home.

Try having a cookout in a yard that is a foot wide! The stones are our home's foundation, the property line is the wall.
Let's go in a circle around the house and you'll see that I don't have much yard at all.

Although this picture is shady, again, the property line is the small wall to the left.

Front yard. We park our car outside that fence.

Yard on other side of home. On the right near the fence is my pathetic attempt at an herb garden. Weed garden is more like it. I just love the thought of an herb garden where I can snip herbs for dinner. Hasn't happened yet. Perhaps this year, eh? In the summer, this is my favorite view because there are huge Rose of Sharon trees growing there and a lilac. I love flowering trees! Hmm..let me rifle around a bit and see if I still have a rose of sharon picture from last summer.
Yup. Here it is:

Complete with bee.
Winter in New England is tricky. Sometimes you really have to look to see the beauty. Everyone sees the beauty in a freshly fallen snow or ice covered stream, it takes some special looking to see the beauty of the pratically snow less yard. But it's there. It's there in the shadow of the winter light playing in the branches. Those branches rubbing against each other giving a sound that is comforting in the night. The view of the leafless trees against the blue winter sky is stunning. The pine trees keeping their green, making us appreciate them even more. The icicles that form.

The winter hydrangea against the house. And there is also the wonderful sky above my head!

You didn't think I'd forget that, did you?
The beauty is there. It's just colored differently.
This great idea was brought to you by Becky of Knitting Interrupted. She has a list of backyards if you'd like to take a tour!
Thanks for stopping by!

My hand, it is warm

One handwarmer done, a part of my Project Spectrum projects! The pattern is here. Thanks, Wendy for sharing it! I love it! The yarn! The pattern! The warm hand~what's not to love?
See the blue sky? Please know that it is hard to take a picture of your own hand held up to the sky. Go ahead. Try it! The arm is just not long enough!
Tonight I'll tackle the second one. Bethany pronounced it TOO ITCHY. So, these will be mine, perfect for cold hand syndrome when on the computer. Does that happen to you? My hands get Freezing while computering!
Here's a secret: I think I'll knit Bethany a pair of these out of the malabrigo yarn! Yum! Shhh! Don't tell. That would be mean!
And I've been knitting on these:

Slow and steady. To remind you, these are the Nordic Mittens from the Winter 2004 IK, brown sheep nature sport yarn. I'm kind of in love with these. Big infatuation!
And now a story about a chubby orange cat~
This past week, a chubby orange cat showed up around our house, as apparently happens around here occasionally. This is not the same orange cat as last year. Go figure. This cat looked somewhat like Morris the cat. This cat stood at the door, looking as if it wanted to come in, it meowed loudly on the porch, fell asleep on the front steps, cried pitifully at night, all the while the wind is howling and the temperature is dropping into unheard of cold around here this winter. After hearing the cries in the nighttime, I left a bowl of food out when I went to work. I could not stand it anymore. He would not wither away and starve on my porch. I even thought about putting a blanket out. When I came home from work that day, the food was gone, every last morsel and the cat has not been seen in 3 days. Now, here is my thought. I think it's all a cat game. Obviously the fact that I am a softie has gone out in the kitty newsletter, read by cats near and far. They have taken it upon themselves, a challenge really, to see how long it will take for me to feel bad, lose a night's sleep and feed them. I bet they all took bets on how long it took. This Morris-ey cat went back to the super secret cat hideout and announced that whoever has 2 days wins the pool!
Are they mocking me?
Really?

Fig says:~Actually, it's because I'm a chick magnet!
Tomorrow?
Wanna tour some knitblog neighborhoods? I will be participating in the Knitblogging Backyarn Field trip, even though I technically do not have a back yard. Join me?

It's all Jan's fault, really!

Jan. She encouraged me to join. Thanks, Jan. I feel an excitement growing about Project Spectrum. I have in the past been a miserable excuse for a knitalonger. I do have highter expectations for myself this time. (Yes, it's fair to note at this time that I am a more miserable excuse for a knitalong host, but that can be discussed at a later time! One complaint at a time!)
March is Pink/Red month. Do you know that I have not one drop of red in my stash? Okay, perhaps a half a drop combined with another color but no red. Interesting. No red in my wardrobe either. With the exception of the snowman sweatshirt Andy and Bethany got me for Christmas (which I hardley ever wear!) Do you think I have something against red? Is there a red prejudice hiding within?
With that in mind, here is my first up yarn:

Pink. This yarn means a lot to me. This yarn is handspun by Norma. Hand dyed by Helen. From the idea of Theresa. From the most favorite picture I've ever taken, sunset on the lake in Freedom, NH.

So, I guess this is my Normahelentheresafreedom yarn.
What am I making? In due time, my friend. In time.