Photo Album


Alpster and daughter Steph


"...Jambalaya, crawfish pie, filet gumbo!" Robeth and Alpster


RadarContact, our New York City guide




RedneckDave, Toyo and Krista



Too wet to ride...Wingit, Scott, Brobubba, Robeth, DicePilot



Friday night supper, first seating



Alpster and ClosetChef (but the clothes don't mind)



RedneckDave and AdmiralPat

Ground Zero
A message written on the construction wall.

This is Engine and Ladder Company 10, directly across from the former World Trade Center complex. A new memorial to NYC firefighters was unveiled near here on June 10th.





Here are pictures of the construction site. It is hard to imagine how this must have appeared before September 11, 2001.
Rich and I had Ross take a picture of us standing in front of the construction fence. Ross declined to have us do the same for him. He was right. It seems invasive and disrespectful, so I will not post it here.

New York City!
On Sunday, most of the Cats-Caders packed up and headed home. Ross and Joyce planned to leave Monday for a ride up the east coast, and Rich and I didn't have to be back at work until Thursday.
One of the group, 'RadarContact,' is an air-traffic controller who lives near NYC. He offered to borrow a car and take Ross and Joyce into the city for the day, and they invited us to ride along.
Radar drove us to Tarrytown, NY, where we caught a train to Grand Central Station. While we were waiting on the platform, a young lady came up to me and commented on my Crocs. She was from California, in the area for a volleyball tournament, and had noticed that everyone at the tourney was wearing Crocs -- then she found out they were sponsoring the event! She borrowed her friend's Crocs flip-flops to see how she liked them, and headed for the city.
Ross is quite amused by my yellow shoes, and couldn't resist the opportunity to take this picture.
The train traveled beside the Hudson River and right down through the city. We saw Yankee Stadium, Harlem, and many other famous places along the way. When the train pulled into Grand Central Station, we bought day-passes for the subway and headed out to see the city. We were nearly overwhelmed: so many things and people to see. We hardly knew where to look next. Radar was an excellent guide. We had very little time, and he made sure we saw as much as possible.

I loved this little church standing in the shadow of a modern skyscraper. The city is a marvelous study of the contrast between old and new, and this is a perfect illustration.

This is a view of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry.

Here are Rich and Radar in Times Square. We walked down Wall Street and Fifth Avenue and saw Saks and Tiffany's, Rockefeller Plaza and the lions at the New York Public Library. We bought hot dogs from a street vendor. We rode in a taxi and...

in a carriage through Central Park. Our cab driver was an Irishman who mumbled comments over his shoulder about the sights we passed. I had a hard time understanding him, but his information seemed mostly to be related to various movies and television programs that had been filmed in the park.

We saw the Empire State Building, but we were running out of time so this was as close as we got. Shortly after we took this picture we headed back to Grand Central to take the train back to Tarrytown.

It was a wonderful trip, and I'm so grateful to RadarContact. Without him and the generous loan of a car from our Cats-Cade hosts, we never would have made the trip.

Next post: Ground Zero.

More from our trip to Cats-Cade
Saturday it never stopped raining, but it was still a wonderful day. Of course, there was knitting. I don't know why I look like I was crying. Maybe because I'd realized that there was no way this pair of socks was going to get finished before we headed for home. They're still not done, but there's only a little of the foot to do, then the toes.

Saturday there were all sorts of things going on. The organizers of Cats-Cade had lots of clinics, installation sessions, and rides planned. Some of those things got done, but mostly the wet weather kept us inside the pavilion. It was kind of nice, as we all had a chance to get to know each other and visit.

This is Jim, from Ohio. He and his wife, Judy, ride a magenta trike. Their signature says, "Judy drives. Jim reads, knits, and sometimes *&%##". I first met Jim & Judy last September at Wings Over The Smokies, and was very disappointed to find out that he DOESN'T knit at all... Here he has presented me with yarn, needles, and a demand to teach him how, LOL. Judy knits scarves, and I was able to teach her the knitted cast-on, but I don't think I was able to teach Jim to knit. Maybe at the next rally...
These bargain hunters are '5Ross', 'Mainecoast', and Rich. A member of our group has a seventeen-year-old daughter who just had a double lung transplant. Group members brought along spare parts and such from their bikes, and we held a rummage sale, with all the proceeds donated to help with her medical expenses. Hal Greenlee, the owner of Honda Direct Line and the sponsor of our online forum, donated many items, including a very special chrome motorcycle wheel and dozens and dozens of riding jackets and pants. A good chunk of cash was raised to help Brobubba and his family. Shown below is some of the riding gear Hal donated. Rich and I each bought new jackets, and I got a really nice pair of riding pants.

This is 'Brobubba'. He's the father of the girl with the wonderful new lungs. She was not yet well enough to make the trip to New York, so Bro bought a Cats-Cade shirt and asked us all to sign it for her. He said she was very excited to get it and see all the names of people who know and care about her.

Here are "Hedo" "CJS" "Alpster" and "Soloquest". Hedo is the unofficially official photographer of Cats-Cade, and many of the pictures I'm using in my blog were taken by him. CJS is one of the organizers of the event. Alpster and his daughter, Steph, cooked gumbo and jambalaya for everyone...YUM! Soloquest was our entertainment for the evening. He's a very talented singer/guitarist. The GL1800 Riders' forum also has a chat room. This is, more or less, the regular group of chatters who hang out there. In the front row are "Snoppy" (pronounced Snoopy. No, it's not misspelled, there's a reason for it), "Royal" "Sassy" and "DicePilot". In the second row are Jake, "MaineCoast", "Alpster" (he doesn't hang out in the chat room, but he made such good jambalaya we wanted him in the pic), and "Robeth". Brobubba and I are in the back row. These are my yellow Crocs, a source of endless amusement and more than a little ridicule at Cats-Cade. They, of course, match the BigYellowBike! Most. Comfortable. Shoes. Ever.

Next post: The Big Apple!

Cats-Cade 2006
Edited 6/29/06: I got a message last evening from Sassy (of the Skittles coment below) that the park you see here is now completely underwater. There is widespread flooding in this and the surrounding area. People have lost their homes and even their lives. Pray for them in this difficult time.
As promised, pictures and notes from our recent trip to New York.
We belong to an online group of folks who ride motorcycles, mostly Honda Gold Wings. There's a link in the sidebar to GL1800 Riders .com----->
Last year Bulldog and Meesh, a couple from Woodbourne, New York, decided to host a little get-together for people on their way to Americade in Lake George, NY. About sixty bikes with a little over 100 riders showed up for a weekend of camping, good food, and great fellowship in the Catskill Mountains. We didn't go but wished we had and we decided to make the trip this year.

We started out on Wednesday, May 31st, with new rain gear in the saddlebags and our little camper on the back. I had a pair of socks to work on and knitted away until it got too windy on the Ohio flatlands. We were having some trouble with our camper, which made us a little nervous. Rich had replaced the brakes just before we left home and they kept seizing up, so we had to periodically stop to bleed them before continuing.

It was hot, hot, hot on the Indiana Toll Road and Ohio Turnpike until we reached the Cleveland area. From there we had much cooler temps as we followed a line of rain squalls. Less than seven miles from our first night's destination we hit rain, but not enough to warrant putting on our rainsuits. We spent the night with our friend Peggy in the Youngstown, Ohio, area. Peg had made her world-class spaghetti sauce, and we had a wonderful supper with her family and friends.

Thursday morning we struck out again after breakfast with Peggy and family. We had a seven-hour day ahead so stayed on the interstates once more instead of riding the backroads we prefer. We hit rain east of Wilkes-Barre, PA, and that was pretty much the last time we were completely dry for several days.

We reached Woodbourne early Thursday evening, called for directions to the Firemen's Park,and bled the camper brakes again. Ranger Polecat directed us to our campsite. We set up our camper and after meeting some of our online friends headed for Liberty for some supper. We stopped in at the Liberty Days' Inn, where we found the non-camping contingent, then grabbed some burgers and headed back out to the park.

We had rain most of Friday. Joyce and I worked in the regstration booth, collecting camping and registration fees and handing out Cats-Cade hats, shirts, and name tags. It was fun to finally meet the people we've been talking to online and put names and faces together. In the evening we gathered at the fire station, where the campers met up with the motel-ers for a dinner ride.

There were at least this many more bikes in front of us. Ours is the yellow bike on the right in this photo. That's "Buster Crabbe" on the red bike in front and "Sassy" on our right. Sassy made the comment that we looked like "someone spilled a bag of Skittles!" The car you see a couple of bikes back nearly caused a tragedy. The driver pulled out directly in front of Buster then pulled off, came out again in front of us, pulled off, and pulled out one more time in front of another rider before getting out of the way! After that we had a lovely ride through some beautiful country.

Woodbourne was once known for its summer tourist trade. There were many camps where city folk could send their children or come as a family to escape the city heat and pollution. With the advent of cheaper airfare, people became more willing to travel greater distances and began heading to the Hamptons and similar areas. We saw several wonderful old camps now sadly falling into disrepair, many with their names painted in Hebrew on their gates. Someone told us that a large part of the movie "Dirty Dancing" was filmed in the Woodbourne area. I don't know if that's true, but it would have been a perfect setting for it!

Here we are at dinner with some of our friends: Rich is in the yellow shirt, then me, then "Dicepilot" "Robeth", Ross and Joyce, and a very nice fellow from Asheville, NC, whose name I can't remember. Robeth lives in the little town in North Carolina where Rich and I lived when we were newlyweds and he was in the Marine Corps, Dice is from Alabama, and Ross & Joyce are Hoosiers.

After a lovely supper we headed back to the campground, where we sat around the campfire talking and laughing until late in the evening.

I'll post more later but until then, here are some links to pictures from Cats-Cade '06:

Ross's pictures
Ronbien's pictures
Alpster's pictures
Hedo's pictures

Be sure to check out the Cats-Cade Web site, too.

Updates and pictures from our trip are coming soon. It's been a busy week at work. Until then, Here's another sneak peek from the Friendly Socks book that's due out this month.
This pattern is called "Do the Math" and is a recipe for making socks in any size for any feet, using any yarn. Don't let the name scare you -- I'm the most math-phobic person I know, and if I can do it, anyone can!

Goin' Camping!
This may be my last post for a few days. We're leaving next Wednesday on the BigYellowBike for a trip to New York state. We'll be meeting up there with a bunch of other GoldWing riders to do a little riding and camping.

We'll be gone for about a week, and will stop and visit friends on the way there and back. I am eager to get on the road! We're looking forward to seeing some familiar folk and meeting lots of new friends.

My sister will be here to take care of the dog and cats and to see that all is well on the home front. I have a lot of sorting and packing to do before we leave, beginning with choosing my knitting for the trip. I want to finish a pair of socks I'm working on (Online Supersocke) before we reach our destination. I hope it's not too windy to knit on the back of the bike!

If you're out and about and see the BigYellowBike pulling a camper with a teal-blue cover, that will most likely be us. Honk and wave! I'll see you when we get back.

If you've been reading here since the beginning, you've seen this picture, ca. 1983, of our son and me. In honor of Mother's Day I'm re-running it. Happy day to all who are (or have had) mothers.

It's a....
Little Thor(ina)'s parents had their ultrasound Monday. They are not ones who appreciate surprises (there's NEVER anything under their Christmas tree, because neither of them can stand to wait), and really, really wanted to find out if it's a boy or a girl. They were very hopeful that the baby would cooperate and show them.
The baby is doing beautifully: very active, has all the requisite limbs and digits, and is just the size for this time in the pregnancy.
I knitted two tiny socks, one pink and one blue. I gave them the appropriate color when we got the news... Guess what ? I still have this one:








In other knitting news, I've finished a test sock for The Book, made progress on the moebius, and started (twice) a tiny Aran sweater for the baby.
I bought some lovely Cascade 200 at the LYS the other day in dark red, navy, and tan for heavy, striped winter socks, as well as a skein of Meilenweitt self-patterning sock yarn in the same colors. I don't know...those colors just seemed to call my name!

Reading for the Soul...
A post at the Yarn Harlot's blog led me to Lene. Go there. Read. Refresh your soul. Knit something beautiful. Lene will be leaving the blogging community for a journey, and won't return until May, but she's left us archives to read. I shall be reading them.
I've made a button in my sidebar. It's the one with the funny little dog and the unreadable title: "Dances with Wool."

Friendly Socks: New Book Sneak Preview!
Well, the word is out. I have joined with a group of other sock knitters and we will be publishing a book of patterns to be called Friendly Socks. You can learn more about it by going HERE or by clicking on the Sirius Knitting Publications button to the right. Scroll down to Laura's Sunday, April 2, entry.

You may recognize some of the names involved: Laura Andersson, Debra Barker, Debra Chinn, Bonnie Franz, Susan Lawrence, Judy Rice, Nancy Wild, and Becky Yoder (that's me). We're all fairly active members of various online knitting groups, and all have published sock patterns.
Friendly Socks will have a variety of sock patterns, tips, tricks and techniques to encourage the beginning sock knitter and challenge the experienced one.

The sock shown is called "City Hearts" and has a panel of hearts accented by tiny beads running up each side of the leg. This is one of my designs that will be in the book. Other previews to come: check back later! Three years ago, when I first learned to knit socks, I would not have dreamed that I would be publishing my own patterns one day.

In other news, my Haley's Roses pattern is done at last. You can click on the link or hit the "BusyBee Designs" button in the sidebar to buy the pattern or to learn about my great-niece Haley and the terrible disease that ended her life. All the proceeds from the sale of the pattern will be donated to Lunch for Life, an organization that raises money for neuroblastoma research. You'll find links at the BusyBee Designs blog.

That's all for now, folks. Have a great day!

First Progress...
I finished the first four rounds of my moebius last evening, and it wasn't bad at all. I found that I have difficulty counting (no surprise to those who know me), but other than that it went pretty well.
Now I have to put it on a back burner for a few days while I test a sock pattern for a friend. Watch this space for further updates!

Am I Crazy???
Well, maybe! If I wasn't already, I'm sure to be by the time I finish this.
I went to open knitting night at Ewe-Nique Knits in Goshen, Indiana last evening and decided I needed this. I've been wanting to try a moebius scarf. I remember showing my Cub Scouts how a moebius loop works many years ago, and it fascinated me as much then as it does now.
I can't remember what I was looking for in the pattern binders when I was distracted by the Fiber Trends Moebius Shawl pattern. I'd already picked up the ball of Trekking yarn. Next thing I knew I was looking for a needle. They didn't have a 40" size 7 in stock, so I took a chance that the 32" size will work.
I sat down at the table and began casting on...387 stitches later, I read the next step. I needed another needle! I had one at home, so decided to work on my socks-in-progress, and take the next step in the comfort of my own living room.
Yep, three hundred eighty-seven stitches. In fingering-weight yarn. Following a lace pattern. Fit me for the white coat now!

Baby Steps...
I finished these wee sockies last night while watching "American Idol." The tiny ball of yarn is all that was left from one skein of Opal Prisma after knitting a pair for myself and a pair for Thor(ina). I might have been able to squeeze out one more stripe, but I like the proportions of these, plus I didn't want to have to frog because I'd run out of yarn.

Thanks, Marguerite and Sarah for your comments on the last post about my Sunny Socks!

Some Early-Spring Sunshine
...and a sunny pair of socks, too.
I finshed these a week or so ago, but haven't had a chance to post a picture. They're a little looser than I'd like (my fault for adding too much ease to the pattern), but I love them.
The yarn is Opal Prisma and the pattern is unpublished. I knit the socks on size 0 or 1 needles, can't remember which.
I'm using the leftover yarn to knit a pair of socks for little Thor(ina). They're nearly finished and I should have a pic up soon.

We had a lovely weekend: dinner with friends Friday evening, made a road trip Saturday to visit a friend who'd had surgery (he's doing just fine, thanks), had a visit from my Canadian brother and his girlfriend Saturday night, and played in a euchre tournament Sunday. I've included a Wikipedia link for those of you who have never heard of the game. It's a staple in this part of the world, but Rich and I had to teach a lot of non-midwesterners how to play when we were newlyweds living in North Carolina.
Going off to finish my baby sockies now.

A Quick Edit...
Thor(ina)'s parents were here tonight for supper, and I'm supposed to tell you Nici had a sonogram not an ultrasound.
Lambrequins are, indeed, the padded, fabric-covered boxes that attach to the frame at the top of windows. They are different from cornices because lambrequins have padded, fabric-covered 'legs' that extend downward from the box.

That's all, folks!

A Little Knitted Sunshine
I've been knitting...really! Here's proof. A great remedy for gray March days in Michigan, and the perfect BigYellowBike yellow. I'm nearly through the gusset decreases.
The yarn is Opal Prisma and the pattern is an unpublished one, with a few adaptations to fit me. Sorry I can't share it, but I'll let you know when it goes public.
I've been working on another pair, too, the green ones in the not-so-great picture on an earlier post. Gotta start baby-knitting soon!



I received some pictures from Nancy Wild, who's testing the Haley's Roses pattern for me. She chose a beautiful dark blue and cream for her test, and they're just lovely! I need to make a few changes to the pattern, and then it will be ready to go.

First Week at Work
No pictures today. My first week on the new job is almost over. It's been great, but tiring. Monday I learned a little bit about my actual job, but the last three days I've been working in the sewing room, packing orders. The idea is that it will make me more familiar with our products, but what I've really gained is a whole new respect for the people who produce them.

These folks are hard workers, and the work they turn out is amazing. They clock in at 6:00 am, and leave at 2:30 pm, some stay until 4:00 pm and work Saturdays to catch up. I can't imagine spending eight or nine hours a day sitting at a sewing machine or operating a cutter or staple gun, but they do it with relatively little bitching and moaning. I folded and packed hundreds, maybe even thousands, of bedspreads, curtains, and pillows since Tuesday morning, and very few needed any fixing. I lost a couple of pounds, and gained more than a few aches and pains. Whatever they're paying these folks, it's probably not enough! Next time you buy new curtains for your home, take a good look at the craftsmanship and spare a thought and a good wish for the people who made them for you.

Tomorrow: 'lambrequins'...I think they're the padded, fabric-covered thingies that go at the top of the windows. I'll let you know when I find out.

A Picture of Our Grandbaby!
Nici had her first ulstrasound today. Thor(ina) isn't big enough yet to see if (s)he's a boy or girl, but they saw ten fingers and ten toes (all in the appropriate places) and everything is right on track. The baby is very active and has a strong heartbeat. (S)he danced and waved at Mom and Dad.
This is so cool! I wish we'd had an ultrasound when I was pregnant for Nick, but in those days the technology was very new and they only did that if they suspected a problem.
Edited 3/29/06: Sonogram photo removed

I went to open knitting night at Ewe-Nique Knits in Goshen, Indiana, tonight. About a dozen women were there, at all levels of knitting skill. It was a lovely evening!

Their grand opening is later this week. Stop in and check them out if you're in the area. The store is owned by a very nice group of ladies who are trying hard to build it into a first-rate yarn shop. Be sure to check out the floor in the restroom!

We went to Ohio to visit our friend Peggy over the weekend. I finished a sock and got a lot done on another that I finished this evening. Peg and I learned silk ribbon embroidery while we were there. I have visions of beautiful baby things dancing in my head...little dresses with ribbon-embroidered embellishments, and tiny matching baby shoes...just what I need: another hobby!

Benefits of sleeplessness...
...so I'm performing my normal stupidhumantrick of waking up every two hours during the night and I decide (sigh) I might as well get up and do a little 'net surfing until I'm sleepy enough to go back to Zzzzz-land.

I was running through my list of Yahoo! groups to see if there were any new posts and found that the March issue of the Opal Chatters' Newsletter is up (see sidebar for a button linked to info on joining). I've been Blogspotted! Every month three bloggers from the group are chosen to be spotlighted (spotlit??) in the newsletter and each receives an Opal yarn prize from Soxie. I can hardly wait to see what she sends me. Thanks, Dearie!

I bet I'll have some visits from fellow Opal addicts, so will post THIS link to my archives. Scroll down to October 4th to see my very silly "Ode to Opal" and a picture illustrating my shameful addiction. Hello, OpalChatters!

So, why the odd sleep habits? Stress, I guess. In the past ten months, I have had four-count-'em-four different jobs, and will begin yet another new job this coming Monday. I have changed jobs more in that time than I had in the previous EIGHTEEN years, and this from a person who hates-despises-avoids changes at all cost doesn't really care for change much. At the same time there have been some family problems causing me great sadness and frustration, as well, I suppose, as the continuing goofiness of the "M" that happens to all women around my age. Ah, well, all will be better with time.

In the good-news file, Baby Thor(ina) is growing apace. DearDaughter-In-Law Nici has been experiencing the tiny flutters that signal the baby's movement and is feeling less tired these days. I did some Grandma-shopping this week, hitting the winter clearance sales in the KMart baby department. I loves me them little baby duds. Cute little shirts, sweet little pants, adorable little snowsuits!

Back to bed for a couple more hours.

Comments...
Thanks, y'all, for the good wishes on the new job! I'm very excited and more than a little nervous.

Nancyj said: We love stopping in Shipshewana...Shipshe is a great town to shop! This is the second time I've worked there. The first time was in the late 80s-mid 90s. I managed a cluster of shops on the north side of the feed mill, called Quiltmakers/Shaker Legacy/Depot St. Shop. Later they added a Christmas store, too. Shaker Legacy was my favorite. We sold beautiful custom-built Shaker-style reproduction furniture that was built in an Amish woodshop north of Shipshe, and my husband built some here in his woodshop, too. Lovely, lovely stuff, in cherry, oak, and maple. Sad to say, those shops are long gone now. I can still weave traditional Shaker chair seats, though, if you ever need it done!

Jayne said... I love your cat (a siamese was my first ever cat and I am so tempted to get another one -...It's an odd thing about that cat. There are no Siamese on the place, and never has been one anywhere near, as best we can tell. We live in the house that was my grandparents until they both died in the 70s. There was a barn cat here named Cherryl Kitty (named by Grandma after my sister, who rescued the cat and brought her out to the farm in the mid-70s) when we moved to the farm in '79. She had a couple of litters every year, and a few litters had kittens with Siamese markings in yellow, grey, or tan. We've never kept one long enough for it to breed, but the markings keep showing up in Cherryl Kitty's descendants! It's funny how we never get a pretty gray/brown/white tiger like Cherryl Kitty any more, but we keep getting these.
The kittens with these markings are usually born a sort of dirty-white color, and the markings begin to show when they're a week or two old. As they get older, the colors get darker. Hershey is the first one we've kept this long -- people always want the 'siamese-y-looking' ones, so we end up giving them away. When Hershey was born I laid claim to her and wouldn't let anyone take her.
Time to go clean something or knit something...hmm...I wonder what will win out???

I have news!

I have a new job! I love my job in the store, but have no benefits: no health insurance, no paid holidays, no paid vacation, no lunch breaks (yes, I said no lunch breaks -- weird, huh!). The store is beautiful, the owner is very nice, but I need to have insurance, at the very least. Rich currently carries me on his job's insurance, but what if something happened to him?

So I applied for a job with Artisan Interiors in Middlebury, Indiana, and I got it! The pay is better, and I have all the aforementioned benefits. I'll be starting March 6th. I'll be doing order entry and customer service. I'm very excited, and more than a little nervous.

We had visitors... friends from the GL1800 Riders' Forum came up on Saturday and we did tourist stuff. They brought their son and daughter-in-law along, and our kids joined us, too. We did some shopping in Middlebury -- two words: Knudsen's Caramels! -- had lunch at Das Dutchman Essenhaus, then went to Shipshewana to see some of the shops there.

We stopped in at the shop in the Davis Mercantile where I work and the 'kids' tried out our life-size resin pig statues:

Nick & Nici and Jeff & Tammy with pigs...cute!

We had a great time, made some plans for camping and riding together, and shared a lot of laughs. You really do "meet the nicest people on a Honda!"

There is knitting: I have a couple pair of socks on the needles, and am re-knitting another for a pattern picture. I've started a baby blanket for little Thor(ina) and bought yarn for a little snowsuit-like-thingie, too. Yes, I fell off the no-stash wagon, but it was on sale!

Just checking in...
No knitting pictures to show, so here's one of Dash and Hershey napping. This was taken last summer, and Hershey has gotten much darker since then. Well, I guess it's kind of a knitting picture, too. That mess in the background was my first exploration into the Haley's Roses pattern.
Gosh, I guess it's been about a week since my last post. Sorry to worry you, Chelle! All is just fine here. The smoking cessation is coming along nicely. Rich says he's down to maybe 4 or 5 a day, and I haven't had one since Saturday. The meds they have him on for the acid-reflux thing are working well.
I didn't sign up for Olympic knitting, but have been knitting while watching the games (off and on...Rich does still control the remote, LOL). I did some swatching for grandbaby-knitting, and have been working on a new pair of socks in Opal Prisma yellow.
The most wonderful baby bootees book came for me this week, via inter-library loan (thanks, Decatur library!). 50 Baby Bootees to Knit is by Zoe Mellor and the patterns are adorable. And speaking of booties/bootees, one of the shops in the suite where I work is now carrying these. They're Robeez baby shoes and booties, and are they ever cute (but pretty expensive). Little Thor(ina) might get a pair, though!

ER...our very own reality show!
When Rich came home from work last evening, he said he didn't feel good. I asked him what was wrong, and he shrugged. When pressed, he said, "My chest hurts."
Well, you can imagine, that brought things to a standstill. It seems his chest had been hurting for several days, and he just hadn't mentioned it to me.
Long story short, we headed for the hospital. Rich insisted he felt well enough to drive! He spent the night there in the Chest Pain Observation Unit, and had a stress test this morning. The good news is that he has acid reflux disorder, NOT heart problems. The REALLY good news is that his heart is in wonderful shape: the ER doctor said Rich should take the images they got during the stress test to our insurance company and demand a discounted rate because he has absolutely no sign of heart disease.
The bad news is that his chest X-ray shows the beginnings of emphysema. We will both be quitting smoking...

The good thing about hospitals is you can knit there for very long periods of time while you wait.
These Jaywalkers are finished. I kitchenered the toes in the ER while waiting to see if they were going to keep Rich overnight.

The generic make-it-up-as-I-go socks in the really lousy picture are begun. I started them this morning while waiting for Rich to finish his stress test. The yarn is vintage Lady Gault from Kroy. It's very, very, very fine, almost laceweight. It's nice and soft, though, and a lovely color of green...I believe I have had carpet this color of green in every house I've ever lived in!

Haley's Roses (new cuff)
Here's the new version, finished, and a closeup of the cuff. I love the stitch definition of the Lang Jawoll. The roses actually look a little like roses!
I think Jawoll is my new favorite sock yarn.

Jaywalkers Progress
I found my knitting bag at work today. There is a little progress on my Jaywalkers:

I've completed the gusset decreases, so I shouldn't have any trouble finishing them in the next week or so.

Haley's NEW Roses
OK, here's version 2, with narrow bands of pink on the cuff to set off the rose panel. Better? I think so. This one is in Lang Jawoll. Beauty!

Was going to post a progress photo of my Jaywalkers, but I can't find them! I think I either left the bag at work, or carried it to a restaurant over the weekend and left it there. This is what happens when you have too many projects going on at one time. It's a good thing I only had one child...

So my niece posted at her blog that her son (6 years old, I think) decided to move out. Read about it here. It reminded me of a story my husband's aunt told me many years ago.
Said aunt has three children about my age, each more wonderful than the last. One of them, let's call him 'Will', came to the decision when he was about five years old that he had had enough! and it was time for him to move on. 'Will' packed a bag, with his mother's help. He took no food, but he included a stocking cap, in case it got cold (it was summer!). He packed no underwear, because he didn't know where he would be staying, and he "...didn't want to have to change his underwear in front of people". 'Will's' mother helped him fold his clothes neatly, closed the suitcase carefully, told him to be careful and write (when he learned how!) kissed him good-bye, and sent him out the door (it was a different time then, and little kids could walk down country roads carrying small suitcases without ending up on a milk bottle). Of course, as he left, his mother said, "It's too bad you're leaving before supper -- we're having your favorite tonight!"
'Will' made it about half-a-mile down the road before he reconsidered. When he returned to the house, he informed his mother that it would be a shame to waste all that food, and he guessed he could still run away tomorrow. She agreed.

He never did, though!

Nici Knits!

The kids came over for supper tonight, and Nici started a blanket for Baby Thor (or Thorina). She's doing a great job, and I'm so proud of her!
I taught her to knit several years ago and she knit a blanket for her impending baby brother. She hasn't knit anything since then, but it came right back to her as soon as she picked up the needles tonight.

Asleep on the Bike
From the comments:
CountryVariety said...
WOW - that is awesome - you can knit and SLEEP on the bike ! okay now I am worried that you'll fall off - see now you made me worry too much....
and
e's knitting and spinning blog said...
Sleeping Becky!?! Please I just am having nightmares of you sliding right off the back!

Aww shucks, you guys, thanks for worrying about me! Falling asleep on the back of the GoldWing is actually quite a common thing. Here's a thread from the GL1800 Riders' Forum where it's discussed: http://www.gl1800riders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24633&highlight=asleep.
The topic comes up pretty regularly during the riding season. As I mentioned in the thread, Rich always says it's not fair for me to sleep on the back of the bike because I won't let HIM sleep on the front!
Honestly, I don't sleep hard on the bike. I usually just doze (sometimes I snore!), so any unusual movement will wake me. The seat is wide and comfortable, the backrest wraps around me and comes up quite high, there are adjustable foot pegs so I can put my feet up a bit, and I have armrests. It's relatively secure.

In knitting news:
I'm working on the re-do of Haley's Roses. Just turned the heel and picked up the gusset stitches. I like the narrow stripes on the cuffs much better. I have to make the change in the pattern, then will send it off to a test-knitter and should have it ready for sale by mid-February. I'll show you a picture later.

Oh, an advertisement for anyone close enough to make it: the annual Pajama Sale is next Saturday morning at the Davis Mercantile in Shipshewana (if you're close enough to make it you already know about Shipshewana, LOL). There will be special deals from 6 am to 7 am for everyone who comes shopping in P.J.s! I've seen lots of 20% off and 30% off sale ads for the event posted all over the building. I don't know what our store will offer yet, but I've heard rumors and it sounds good!

Knitting on the BigYellowBike (BYB)
The moderator of one of my online knitting groups asked to see pictures of me knitting on the bike. I've tried, but I can't knit and hold the camera at the same time, LOL! I'll have to have one of our riding friends take one for me some time.
Here are a couple of pictures I took on our trip to North Carolina last fall for Wings Over the Smokies (WOTS). I knit three hats for the South Bend domestic assault shelter while on the road.
This was hat number one. The picture was taken on State Road 9 just a little south of LaGrange, Indiana, on the first day of the trip. The odd, ropy thing coming up from the center of the picture is my yarn. Knitting on the BYB is most challenging because I have to pull out just a small amount of yarn at a time. Oddly, the wind currents on the bike cause the yarn to blow forward instead of back! If I pull out too much, it blows up around Rich's face...not a good thing.


This was hat number two. Here we're in Kentucky on the third day of the trip. That's our friend Bash and his wife on the beautiful yellow bike ahead of us. We got to know them through the GoldWing Riders' Forum. Rich and I met up with them at their home in southern Ohio, and travelled the rest of the way to WOTS with them. What a nice couple! He'd hoped to have a large number of BYBs travel to the rally together, but we couldn't get anyone else's route to match up with ours.

The hardest thing about knitting on the bike is yarn vomit...you know, when you pull out more yarn and the entire center of the ball comes out. When that happens, I have Rich lean forward a bit and tuck the extra between his back and the backrest, and re-wind it.

I only do mindless knitting on the bike so I can still enjoy the scenery. I've knit several pair of socks and a few hats while on the road. If I'm not knitting, I'm usually sleeping...sorry, no pictures of that, either!

Something's up!
There's news: our son called the other night, and when I answered the phone he said, "Hi, Grandma!"
He and his wife are going to be presenting us with our first grandchild somewhere around September 22nd! There's a little counter thingy at the bottom of this page where you can keep track of the days until little "Thor" (Nick's choice of prenatal names) arrives.
We appreciate all good thoughts and prayers for an easy pregnancy and a healthy, happy baby.

Time to get out the baby knitting books...