Wow

I lost track of how long it's been since I posted here. Wow, a lot has happened since then!

I got a Kindle for Christmas, and I'm crazy about it.

I had surgery in March and was off work for six weeks. I'm doing much better now and really glad to have that over with. My aunt died right before my surgery (my mom's sister), so that made the time a lot more difficult.

My husband and I went on vacation to Ohio last month.

Does it mean I'm that dull, that I can summarize over a year of my life so quickly?

I promise to do better about keeping up with my blogging!

Home Again

We got home Friday evening from our New York trip. My work sent me there for an IBM cloud computing conference. The conference was good, and it was interesting meeting IBM engineers and seeing some of the products they have in the pipeline.

As for New York, we didn't have time to see too much of it, but we did enjoy ourselves. The best food we had was at Epstein's Kosher Deli. That was wonderful, and very reasonably priced.

All in all, we're wonderfully happy to be back home. Neither of us are city people, so a couple of days is usually plenty of city time for us. I'm enjoying writing on my back porch this morning, sipping my coffee. I bet that not too many people in New York are enjoying a morning like mine!

Got it!

Finally. I finished my master's in Computer Science.

This has taken longer than I expected, what with the move and life getting in the way. I'm more relieved than anything that it's over. Is that sad, or just realistic?

I didn't go walk for commencement. I wasn't interested in doing that, and the college is a little too far away to make the trip easily.

My boss has already tossed around the idea of my going back for a doctorate. I told him I'd think about it, but I don't have any desire to do that. I'm so happy that my life is my own again, without any school commitments, that I don't know how I'd be tempted to give that up.

Yep, I'm seriously enjoying the evening. We'll go to some celebrations this weekend. Here's to all the other grads this May. Congratulations, and thank goodness it's over!

A picture a day

I've been fiddling around with posting from my blackberry today. Why? My goal is to post a picture every day to the blog, and having an easy way to do that should help me keep up with it.

Besides, I'm still completely thrilled with my blackberry, so this is just another cool thing to do with it.

I hope everyone had a great holiday. We've been relaxing and spending a lot of time just hanging out and being lazy.

Miscellany

Wow, where to begin.

We found out a little over a month ago that my mom needed surgery. What we thought were gall bladder problems turned out to be a tumor. Of course, I've spent a lot of time worrying. Her surgery was last week, and she did terrific. I'm exhausted, but happy that it's over for her.

I'm also up against a December deadline to (finally!!) finish my grad degree in computer science. Yep, it's been a while, I've change instructors, changed plans, etc., but it looks like it's going to happen. I have a lot of work to do in the next six weeks though.

Now, to add to my list of things to handle, I think I'm getting sick. My fever is 99.3 tonight, my throat is sore and I have a headache. Wonderful!

I'm trying to get caught up on twitter, stumbleupon, facebook, etc. tonight. I may not be as active onlne for the next month or so, but I won't be totally off either. Wish me luck!

Be glad there are no pictures

First off, I have to share something a little gross (okay, a lot gross). We have some outside cats. They're strays, and we put out food for a few of them every day.

So, I go out yesterday evening on the porch and see cat poo on the porch, or at least that's what I think it is. I grab the broom to sweep it off, and yuck! It's a mouse, but not just any mouse.... It's a headless mouse! I've heard that cats will bring "gifts" to you like that. Wow, thanks.

One of them appears to be in the family way.... One had kittens last year and only one of the four survived. If this one is pregnant this year, I hope they do better.

This week is really busy. We're scheduled for a conference/training next week, so I have a LOT of work to make sure I've finished before I'm off work for those days. Of course, I'm not OFF work, I'm just doing OTHER work instead.

We finally upgraded phones, and I got the Blackberry 8330. I'm super happy with it, even if it means I'll be checking my work email all day next week even in training! If you're in the market for a pda/phone combo that's not too expensive, this is definitely one to check out.

On a very happy note, my lilac bushes are starting to bud! I love the smell of lilacs, and we're lucky to have a bush right by the front windows. There's nothing like raising the window and having the house smell like lilacs. I promise pictures when it blooms.

Sorry for the rambling, hodge-podge post, but it's my bedtime.

Knit, knit, knit

I have one more sleeve to sew in to the perfect sweater. I did it with a rolled hem, but I'm re-thinking that. I think I may add an inch or so of ribbing to give the bottom a bit more shape.

Sorry there are no pics. I've been struggling to get back to feeling like myself. I've been working mostly on the sweater, and I cast on for a cute beanie that's in the winter Interweave Crochet magazine. If you're a Dr. Who fan, it's a lot like the rose colored one Martha Jones wore in this week's episode.

I've been so looking forward to Kool-Aid dyeing, and I just haven't felt up to it. That should give you an idea how rotten I've felt. I've still got my Kool-Aid packs and sock yarn waiting. Hopefully this weekend...

Not much progress on the bird's nest shawl. I haven't felt particularly inspired. Maybe that's a sign or something?

I promise pics soon and a better update.

Back at it

I'm back and finally feeling better. I got my yarn and started the bird's nest shawl, but I haven't made it more than a few rows. I've got the socks still going, and the perfect sweater ready to assemble. I'm thinking that's a job for this weekend.

I've had this itch to start organize my stash. I've got yarn stuffed everywhere, needles, etc., and it's tough to keep track of what I have. I'm thinking I need to make better use of Ravelry.

By the way, if you're a Ravelry member, I'm jkay. Look me up.

I'll post some pics of my work this weekend.

On the Mend

Wow, I've been really sick. I've had the worst case of the flu since I was a little kid. To give you an idea... I didn't even feel like knitting. Now, that's sick.

I'm still not feeling well, but I'm better than I was. I'll get some posts up soon.

Progress...

I finished the knitting on the Perfect Sweater. I just need to sew it up, which is a bit of a daunting task. I've just worked two 11-hour days, so there hasn't been any time for the sweater since the weekend. I'll post pics as soon as it's finished.

I'm working on my husband's socks. That's working out well, and I may not have to unravel them as I thought I might. They seem a little big, but I think they'll be fine once I get a couple of inches done. When I get them up to the ankle join, I'll start posting tutorial pics again.

I'm off to bed...exhausted.

Yarn Goodies in the Mail

I got my yarn. I ordered some for dyeing, which I talked about earlier. If I get to work on that this weekend, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. Unfortunately, I have to work a little this weekend, so that may keep me from dyeing (bleh).

If it turns out that I'm any good at it, I may offer a few skeins for sale. I'll post pics here of the results, and you all can let me know what you think of my first dyeing.

I also ordered enough laceweight to do two shawls. I'm going to do the Birds Nest shawl from Folk Shawls, which I mentioned a couple posts ago. The shawl is very pretty, and I think it's something doable for a first lace project. So far my lace has extended to dishcloths and a few swatches, so this should be fun.

I finished the back on the Perfect Sweater, and I'm almost up to the V-neck on the front. Anyone want to take any bets on whether I'll get to wear it this year?

Maybe I'm too ambitious?

Good news: I've made more progress on the Perfect Sweater.

Bad news: I'm still stuck in stockinette hell. I knit, knit, knit and still, I've got lots more stockinette to go.

Good news: My husband's socks I'm doing for my tutorial look great.

Bad news: They're a little too big. I measured like I always do, and for some reason, they're still too big. I'm not sure, but I think frogging is in their future.

Good news: I picked up a cool pattern book on crocheted rugs today. We have an old house, so they'd look great. I even have some yarn I'd like to try for them.

Bad news: If I'm having trouble finishing a sweater, how in the world will I finish a rug? My knitting time is limited usually, so that's a big undertaking. I might get one finished by next spring.

I'm also planning on starting a shawl as soon as I order some yarn for one. I'm holding off though till I finish that sweater. Anyone want to bet on whether I get to wear it before it gets warm weather?

Dang, It's Cold!

I think we've officially hit about 5 below freeze your butt off here. It is cold!

I've put off doing the sock tutorial in favor of working on a sweater I've had on the needles for about two months. It would be nice if I finished it before spring....

I've started the socks, and I have some pics, so I should be able to get the first part of the tutorial up soon. I've been lazy the last few days, hence the lack of blog posts.

Be back soon with pics and details, just as soon as we thaw out.

First Post

I've been thinking of setting up a knitting blog for a while, so here it is. If you're a Ravelry member, I'm jkay there. Look me up!

So far, I've done socks, mittens, scarves, hats, and sweaters. One of my goals is to start designing for big and tall men -- it's almost impossible to find patterns for big guys. I'll get busy posting some pics (and updating my ravelry info!!)