Getting to know me.....

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I would have to admit I do tend to avoid Red Heart, but I’ve nothing against good ol’ Sugar & Cream. My only beef with better yarn is the price. That is why I love KnitPicks.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I do not spin, but I want to learn how. I do not crochet.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

Lavender, smoke, and strong perfumes.

4. How long have you been knitting?

2 years.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Sure do. See the sidebar.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I love citrus and white flowers (jasmine, orange blossoms, etc).

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Unfortunately for my behind, yes. My favorites are Dove milk chocolate, and Pear Jelly Belly Jelly Beans. Oh, and Ice Cream. I love ice cream.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I sew and quilt, when I have time. Which, unfortunately, is not very often, lately.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like just about anything. I like a little of everything from classical to classic rock; from rap to retro.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love pink, red, and just about any shade of blue.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have 2 cats, 2 dogs, 1 parakeet, 1 8-year old boy, and 1 34-year old boy.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

Life dreams…… To work in a field I love, with enough money to be comfortable, enough time to pursue my interests, and a shift that allows me to be a soccer mom.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I like plain old cotton and cotton blends. I live in Miami. Not much use for heavy wools here. However, I do buy a fair share of woolies for gifts, and such. I do love Lorna’s Laces colorways, so I buy it in hopes of moving someplace cold someday.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Scratchy anything. I am very sensitive to wool-itch. Even as little at 10% wool in a sweater will have me pulling and tugging at a neckband all day. However, I do not have that reaction to alpaca, cashmere and superwash wools.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Lace and dishcloths. Combined, even better. I am also quite fond of cables.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I have made a bunch of hats, dishcloths, and scarves. I am pretty much an instant gratification knitter. If it takes too long, is very boring (ie, stockinette forever), or gets hot on my lap, I will lose interest. This is why I tend to buy yarn 2 balls at a time.

17. What are you knitting right now?

I have one dishcloth and a sock on the needles. However, school does not permit me a moment to knit right now. So, I knit a lot on breaks.

18. What do you think about ponchos?

I don’t wear them. I have too much breastage for them. I also think that trend is played out.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Circulars, mostly.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Addi turbos. Love them.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

I want to be. But heels scare me. I think I need to see a heel turned to be comfortable with it. Reading those instructions, all I can think is, “Well how does it attach?”

22. How did you learn to knit?

I taught myself. I am left handed, and knit continentally backward.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

A year. A cashmere silk DK feather and fan scarf. It is 10” long. It will probably be frogged, since I have no idea what row I am on anymore.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

I love Spongebob, Hello Kitty, and I am particularly enamored of most marine mammals.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas. I am totally enamored of winter in general. I think it’s because we don’t have any here.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

I am trying to get away from collecting things, as I currently have too much clutter.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

None. However, I always buy IK and VK.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?

See the Amazon Wishlist. It will reveal all.

My Heart Started Aching. My Body Started Shaking……

The group presentation c’est finis!! Oh man. I am so not a public speaker. I hyperventilate. I get dry mouth. I get sweaty palms. I get tunnel vision. I should have received an “A” just for being up there.

The good things about being the first group:

1. It’s over. We don’t have to think about anymore for the rest of the semester.
2. Being first, we get a little break from the teacher.
3. We set the standard for all the other groups. They all have to be better than us. And we rocked!

The bad:

We wound up doing what should have been our secondary diagnosis as our primary diagnosis. Nevertheless, the diagnosis she wanted was there, so we still did well.

So I guess, other than my mild panic attack, all in all, it went well.

Now, we get a break this weekend. No clinicals. However, I do get to review drug dosage calculations for a test next weekend.

A new yarn store opened in my neighborhood, meaning I don’t have to drive 40+ miles to go yarning. I can drive just 5 miles. And they are open on SUNDAY and MONDAY! That alone must be a miracle!

The prices are standard retail. They have a good variety. A little of everything. Still a whole lot of novelty stuff, but enough nice basic yarns to appease the traditionalists.

I came a away with 4 skeins of Lorna’s Laces sock yarn for $28.00. Not too bad, and very pretty. See:


I will overcome my fear of heels. I swear!

In other fascinating news, it snowed in Miami today. Well, ice fell from the sky, anyway. Very large, marble/water chestnut sized ice. That hurts a lot when it hits you on the head. (No, really, it does)



Per the weather channel:
THIS STORM HAS A HISTORY OF PRODUCING DESTRUCTIVE WINDS AND LARGE DAMAGING HAIL. SEEK SHELTER NOW INSIDE A STURDY STRUCTURE AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!

Yup! Damaged me right in the head. I was riding across campus in the golf cart when the skies opened up and shat upon me.

Miami is just chock full of fun weather. Example:


That is Downtown Miami. See that black building in the middle with the antenna on the top. That was where my son’s daycare facility was located. Fun! And hurricane season starts in 5 days.

I am so looking forward to this weekend/next week. Why? Well, there is the long weekend, possibly a trip to The Rapids (water park fun!), a very short week next week (off Monday, Thursday and Friday), Wannado City fun with the boy child on Thursday, and “Madagascar” movie fun with the boy child on Friday. I haven’t had a nice date with my son in ages. This should be fun!

Here's hoping you all have a great weekend, too.

W. :)

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away.....

Guess what I did this weekend! The Family went to see Star Wars III. This was definitely the best of the prequels. And not because of the main characters, for sure. It was all about the droids. My favorite character is this guy:



He is the best character in all 6 films. Who's your favorite?

The rest of the weekend was school. Either thinking about school, being at school, or working on something for school. Good news, my part of the evil project is complete. I just need to transfer my notes to index cards.

This weekend we made our first visit to our clinical site. I candy-striped at this hospital, on the very same floor, oh, about a million years ago. It was a little surreal for me, because while they have remodeled the floor probably about 20 times since 1984, there are some things that are built in that have not been changed. Look over there, it's the dumbwaiter that goes to the pharmacy, and over there is the laundry chute that leads to the biggest laundry room I have ever seen! The nurse's station is still 80% the same. Weird, weird.

Look, they finally released the cover photo for this:



I so need a hat with a bird on the top! I can't wait for this book to come out.

To all my sweet commenters, I am sorry I have not replied to any of the comments left. That is because I get a stupid no-reply@blogger address. Grrrr...

So, I am breaking blog-protocol, and doing it this way.

Christie had inquired about a fabric that I had posted about...go here and be enamored of fun fabrics.
http://www.ladybuttonfabrics.com/

Thank you to Joan in Reno, who told me what my ugly bug is.

Thank you Jen for your empathy. Hopefully it will all be worth it, right?

Jessica, sure you can come to the island. Someone will have to fly the plane. :)

And thank you to all the others.

W. :)

Meme, pick me!

Zoinked from QuirkyChick!

1. IF YOU COULD BUILD A SECOND HOUSE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
Well, I kind of would like to get rid of the current house/location... but, I digress.

Scotland. Specifically, there is this little island off the coast of Scotland that has nothing on it except a flock of sheep, a landing strip, and a lighthouse. That is where I want to go.

2. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?
Currently, my student nurse uniform. It represents the journey that will take me to my new career.

3. THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT?
Actually, the Spice Girls first album. However, I just got it Monday.

4. WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
6:30 AM M-F, 5:00 AM Saturday, and I get to sleep in on Sunday. I wake up at 7:30 AM.

5. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE KITCHEN APPLIANCE?
The fridge. I have to have cold things to drink at all times.

6. IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Bass or drums. I am all about rhythm, Baby.

7. FAVORITE COLOR?
Usually, pink and red. However, I am currenly in my blue period.

8. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV?
No giant vehicles for me, thanks. I am a little car kind of girl. Though, I am not into sports cars, either. I want a Hybrid. I think the biggest I would go is a Jeep Wrangler.

9. DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE AFTERLIFE?
No, I believe in reincarnation.

10. FAVORITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. (I can't wait to see this as a movie.)

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
October 31-January 1.

12. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
That's easy. Teleportation. Then I would never have to deal with traffic.

13. IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT?
A sort of tribal dolphin on my left ankle.

14. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
Not at all. I used to be able to juggle with one hand, but I somehow lost the ability.

15. THE PERSON/PEOPLE FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO?
My father. I've never met my birth father.

16. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE DAY?
The day my son was born.

17. WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR?
Oh, goodness. What isn't in the trunk of my car? Let's see. A case of Diet Coke, school books, emergency kit, umbrella, nursing equipment, t-shirts, and a budvase. I am sure there is more in there, I just can't think of what else at the moment.

18. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SUSHI OR HAMBURGER?
Gimme a good dragon roll, anyday!

19. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER?
Sunflowers. They make me happy.

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEAL?
Siam River Thai. Dragon rolls and Veggie Pad Thai. Yummmmm.....

I am recovered...

and back at ye olde grindstone. Working from home was fun the first two days, but I really don't have the discipline to do that full time. I spent Friday taking naps and watching daytime television, with intermittent study breaks. Tho' I did finish all my assigned tasks.

Now I feel back to my old self again. And better yet, I can breathe and hear.

School is going to seriously kick my behind this semester. I have a stack of books that, seriously, stands to my mid-thigh. While only 2 of the texts are "required," all the rest are reference books. See:



Isn't that sick?

My study group has a presentation to do in a week and a half. Take 3 relatively hermit-like people, that happen to live 80 miles distance from one another, and have them agree to do a group project. Oh, and then make them have to stand in front of the class and actually speak. Eeks.

However, I love the teacher. She is so real, and makes the class very interesting and interactive. If there is one thing I really can't stand, it is paying for a class where all the instructor does is read from the text book or from the slides verbatim. I mean, I can do that.

Enough school talk for today...I think my house is being invaded by aliens. See...


Every morning I find one of these hideous creatures on my front porch. Fortunately, they have all been dead (I think the hunter gets them), but they are always there. They look like some sort of spider-cricket-mutant thing. And they seriously give me the heebies. Here is one attacking my son...



Fortunately, he was able to use his karate mojo and escaped.

W. :)

The diagnosis is in....

and it is exactly what I expected. I am messed up in the head.

More to be exact, I have a middle ear infection, sinusitis and conjuctivitis. This means I have so much snot in my head, that it has overflowed into my ears and eyes. YUM!!!!

Now, $150.00 later (with insurance people) I get to take horsepills (really, can't they make 1000 mg pills a little smaller?) and eyedrops for the next 10 days. Yippee!
I will just be happy if I can feel better already.

In the meantime, I get to work from home. (I may like this a lot.) I'll go in before and after everyone else gets in, so as to not spread my cooties all around, pick up and drop off work.

Tonight is back to school night. Now to be totally immersed in all things musculoskeletal.

W. :)

It Was A Long Weekend.....

In my teeny tiny house we have one bathroom. This weekend, since my son was away, we decided to redo it. See below for in progress picture:



This fun excursion required 6 trips to Home Depot and Lowe's. Also, I would have to actually drive to the nearest pharmacy if I had to, you know, ....go. I don't do gas stations.

Friday night was filled with much laughter and grown-up time. I had dinner with my friend Kim, and we spent hours talking. Fun, fun!

Mother's Day consisted of much driving, visiting, and chores. yippee. No rest for the weary.

Got sick, again. I swear, I think we may have a toxic mold problem here in my office. I usually never get sick, except once a year when the mango trees go into bloom. Well, I have been here 6 months, and I have been sick with respiratory stuff three times. It is really getting tiresome. Currently, my head feels much like a lead weight, and my ears have that fun underwater sound going on. My poor husband is so frustrated with having to repeat himself over and over again.

Anyone who is in the medical field knows that scrubs tend to be either sickly sweet (Hello Kitty, flowers, etc.) or really boring. Would it be wrong to have scrubs made in this fabric?



Kim says that it would be perfect if I was working in a brothel as on site health care. I say, "Hey, hookers need health care, too."

W. :)

Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit....

There's a frog loose in my house, again. This time the victim is the pink suede. Grrr.... What happened? Well it goes something like this. (wavy effect into flashback)

As I posted before, I learned how to knit righty to go with my lefty. Well, if you don't REMEMBER YOU ARE KNITTING IN GARTER STITCH and don't PURL THE NEXT ROW INSTEAD OF KNITTING IT, guess what happens. You totally screw it up, and, as regularly happens for me, I tried to fix the problem, and totally made a mess. (end flashback)

So, now I am left with a flower shaped dishcloth and the infernal sock that I am terrified of doing the heel. I will cast on for the sweater, again. It's just that 169 stitches in wool in 90+ degree weather does not really appeal to me at the moment. So, I think I will stick to small, light, cottony things until November. Or maybe the lace shawl I have been wanting to do, and now that I have the "Folk Shawls" book, should do. Plus with Med/Surg starting in a week, I know whatever knitting I get to do will be minimal at best.

Other fun discoveries, when I knit lefty I knit Continental, and when I knit righty, I knit English. I am just all sorts of confused. Oh, and I think I may possibly be the slowest knitter in the world. :P

My son is a regular Karate Kid. He has added three stripes on his yellow belt in as many weeks. Next week he gets to test for his orange belt. Pride, pride, pride.

Tonight he goes to visit Grandma for the weekend. That means major house cleaning/repair, a date night with the hubby, and a visit to Elegant Stitches for my Mother's Day Gift. :)

'Til next time....

W. :)

Look what I have...

Passion flowers on my passiflora vine. I have had the vine for a year and a half. I got it to attract butterflies to my yard (Zebra longwings, Gulf Fritillaries, and Julias) and to provide food for their caterpillars. However, this is the first time it has produced flowers. Does this flower totally not look like something from outer space?

Here is the whole vine, with the EVIL CAT for scale.



Christmas (AKA Evil Cat) is 5 years old, and is queen of the household. She fears nothing, is nice to no one except my son, and beats up the dogs on a regular basis.

Here is another picture of her. It perfectly displays her general disposition, which is "You touch me and I will claw your eyes out, and pee on your yarn."



This on the other hand is Shadow the Hunter. No mouse, lizard or bug is safe from this little guy.



His name is Shadow because he follows me everywhere. Rotten to the core, that one is. Also beats up the dogs.

At the request of a reader, I have joined Bloglines.

W. :)

Guess what my boy said to me today.....

"I still wish I knew how to knit." Wait right there, sonny, while I get the practice needles and Sugar & Cream.



And, since my son is a righty, I also learned to knit the regular way. So, now I am bi-directional. :) After knitting a few rows on extremely slippery aluminum needles, I found the kids needles I bought last year to try to teach him the first time he expressed interest in knitting. After getting him re-started, he did three rows and was back to the Gameboy. I love that he says that he is doing magic when he pulls the new stitch through the loop.

Also, cool, Mr. Macho (that would be the husband) did not freak out about it like he did when David took a Sailor Moon doll as his friend a few years back. Ugh!

You know what is extremely fun and addictive? Making these!


How do you like my oh so stylish stitch-marker container. Tangerine Sours. Yum.

While we were away, I got all sorts of pretty beads. I started making these in the truck on the way home.

SeaWorld was so much fun. We went to every attraction, and had a great time. I think my favorite part was feeding the sea lions. There was one that every time she saw a fish, he would bark and hold her mouth open, like a baby bird. We kept throwing her fish, but along with this begging, she would keep her eyes closed. The white herons wound up stealing most of the fish from her.

There will be pictures to follow once I get the film developed.

Once back to the hotel, we basically turned into sloths. We watched "Back to the Future," we had dinner delivered, and then the men-folk took a dip in the pool while I knit and watched a program about the Bermuda Triangle. Did you know that all anomalies that occur in this region may be caused by under-sea methane pockets? Sea-farts. Whoda thunk it?

I have some finished objects to show. I am in dishcloth heaven. These really are near-instant gratification. The pink one was completed in a day.



This one still needs its ends woven.



These three are going to be a gift.

This is where I spend my days.



There is about another 9 inches of desk to my right. That's it. Definitely not enough space. On my desk is a snowglobe from Old Navy with my son's picture, a green VW beetle stress squeezy, the very UNlucky bamboo that is in serious decline, and the ever present Coke product. Also present, the stapler mechanism from the EVIL COPIER FROM HELL. I have worked at the University for 6 months (as of today, yay me!), and have placed 9 (no kidding) service calls on this piece o' crap. Two in the past 24 hours, alone. Grrrr....

One week of break left. Tick, tick, tick.....