Somebunny's been knitting

 

 

KnitnightRuth had some extra white wool she wanted to get rid of. I took it. Super chunky almost roving like. The pattern is Ysolda Teague's Stuffies.

Speaking of knit night. The conversation became a discussion of the weird things men do in preparation for a vacation.

KnitnightGina's main squeeze eschews lists and instead posts stickie notes around the house where there are things he wants to remember. I wonder if he has a stickie note listing all the stickie notes.

More than once Mr. Sophanne (who will from this day forward be known as HusbandBob. I think I will retire the Sophanne moniker now that I know this corner of the Internet is safe.) has to be convinced that he will not need 4 pairs of shoes for a seven day trip. If he were a little man it would be no problem but 8 size 13 boats means a whole extra piece of luggage.

The pièce de résistance however is KnitnightClaires husband. In preparation for a trip to Iceland, Mr. Claire packed a week in advance, very proud of how lightly he packed. And then when he remembered something else he had to take, he'd just ask Claire to add it to her suitcase. Not happy with the 1/2 tube of regular toothpaste AND the two dentist office tubes, he purchased a fourth tube to bring, just in case. (Maybe there's a toothpaste problem in Iceland?) Finally, when Claire peeked into his suitcase she found one pair of jeans, three shirts, and fourteen pairs of socks. Laughed until we cried, we did.

 

Also, I used the words eschew and moniker in this post. I'm pretty impressed with myself.

 

Sublime Serendipity

Yesterday I met Knitnightgina and saw the knitted Andy Warhol Bridge up close and personal.

 

It was a sight to behold.

 

 

 

One main event of the afternoon was yoga on the bridge. Not something you see every day.

 

As we were leaving KKG mentioned that she and husband and mom were going to Hartwood Acres that evening to hear Rickie Lee Jones.

 

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. Rickie Lee Jones has been the soundtrack to my life. I can tell you exactly where I was every time I obsessed over a newly released album. As I told KKG, given the choice between a sweater's worth of cashmere and a chance to see her live, I would go for the latter.

I got to join them. My two live music desires have been fulfilled. I've gotten to hear Mozart's Requiem performed live and I heard Rickie Lee Jones in concert.

It made me very happy.

 

Still love knitting

And I am so happy when I'm able to hook up yarns with no plans and patterns with no yarn and make it happen. These will be Karendipity's Marvelous Mitts. It is a pattern that I purchased seven years ago finally happening. Sometimes I like size 0 needles. What is wrong with me?

 

 

Exercise can make you feel better.

are words that I never believed I would say.  This is a post about my exercise.  It might be boring but I would kind of like to bear witness.

When we were in the Alps village near the Matterhorn, everybody walked.  Some of them had two sticks, some of them had one stick, some of them had no sticks.  You might recall I did both some walking and some tumbling.

On this trip I realized that I could walk up and down hills.  (I used to do it all the time in high school)  The road in front of our house goes down the hill and up the hill.  I never walked it because I thought it would be too hard.  After I walked in Switzerland, I realized (and remembered) that I could do it.  I got a walking stick just in case I needed help carrying my lard ass up the hill.  The dog goes with me.  It's a beautiful road that I sometimes pretend has magical creatures living in the nooks and crannies.

This walk always goes faster than I think it will (it's a mile) and it's just the right amount of cardio coming back up the hill to get that energized feeling that comes with the right kind of exercise.  In most exciting news, today I did it without the aid of the walking stick.

In addition to obesity, another (likely related) body issue that I've been having is back pain.  Much of it loosened up through the massages of the summer.  As soon as school started and I began working at my school computer and desk, I could feel everything tightening again.  Significantly, I was aware of what was happening in my body rather than just noticing it later that night.  I also noticed that using the walking stick caused less than upright healthy back walking (which is why I tried sans stick today)

My favorite massage therapist was forced to leave her position (because the business refused to process insurance claims).  Also $60/week (plus a $20 tip cause that's the way I roll) is a little steep.  I am making arrangements to have massage house calls from her but they certainly won't be as frequent.  I am happy to say that the summer of massages was more than just a decadent indulgence.  It was a learning experience that involved getting reacquainted with my body.

What to do?

I bought a yoga mat.  I started using the yoga app that I purchased not for the mobile device but for the mac laptop.  I'm pretty sure all I'm doing in the most basic series of movements are sun salutations, broken down for the yoga-retarded.  When I am finished, my back feels better.

Two forms of exercise that make me feel better.  One that I can even do in the wintertime.    And I'm just getting the feeling (because my body craves the idea of feeling better) that it's something I'm going to stick with.

This, my friends is monumental...MONUMENTAL!

People post so many inspirational things on facebook.  There's that guy that is walking normally after being told he'd never walk again.  He used yoga to get there.  The video shows his struggles including regularly falling down. It was an amazing video.  I have friends and acquaintances who are committing themselves to healthiness and looking better every day.

I might be trying to join that party.  When Mr. Sophanne was gone, I realized that much of my evening eating was anxiety related.  He doesn't make me anxious but the whole watching tv, always changing the channels, violence on the shows does make me anxious.  I think maybe going to the kitchen is a way to escape that interaction.

Also I think that I may be the introvertiest introvert there ever was.  I do gain my personal energy from within.  Interaction with others is enjoyable to me but leaves me exhausted.  Walk time and yoga time give me a chance to recover.

Mr. Sophanne has said he prefers that to me dumping him and the dog and living the life of a hermit,  so I think we'll be able to work it out.

I didn't write about it but feel like I should let you know that school has started. I am so happy to be at one school all week long.  It makes being head teacher so much more manageable and I can't quit smiling. ( It has only been one week though and 2 actual days with students)

The Bunny

 

Image from http://www.greyhoundinfo.org/?page_id=493

The name of the lure bunny at the greyhound races is Spunky. At the start of every race, the announcer says "Here comes Spunky" so that everyone knows the race is to begin. The following questions/statements happened over the course of an hour as the youngest tried to process what she was seeing.

Is the bunny just getting dragged?

Do the dogs think its a real bunny?

What's the name of the bunny?

Spunky.

 

Where do they start the bunny?

But it's not a real bunny.

It also took some time to realize that number seven in race five is not the same number seven as in race three. It wasn't until the following statement that we realized it was even an issue.

The seven could lose. It's a different dog. It could be a really bad dog.

Grandfather is somewhere in the air between Houston and Seattle delivering kids home. I'm not with him because teachers go back on Monday. Just a little secret between you and me..... I'm feeling kind of lucky.

 

ETA... Again

But then, as you lie on the floor, reading Hans Christian Anderson stories to giggling girls, properly scolding them because they have to get up early and catch a plane, and ignoring the "jackass" videos the boy is watching on his iPad, you get the following email from the daughter-in-law who was once upon a time less than friendly and trusting in your direction...

 

WIN!

 

Day the Last

Sadly the bickering has begun. Two and a half weeks with relatives and away from home have taken their toll. We had one last field trip today.

It started at the fountain in Bridgeport, Ohio where many moons ago, Mr. Sophanne was on city council when they built a fountain and his name is on the plaque.

The next stop was in front of the house where their mama grew up. You may or may not be able to tell that the thirteen was feeling thirteen today. Still, that slips away at bedtime when she won't go to sleep without a story and one of us in the room.

 

 

The last stop was the dog races. Really, each of us should have picked a number and then bet on the three remaining dogs because that's how it turned out. The younger two maintained interest, the older one, not so much

I'm officially a little weary. Grandfather much more so. And tomorrow he flies with them back home (across the entire country) and stays there for a week. I believe that I am grateful to only have to be going back to school!

 

Day Three.

Too bad there's not a squiggly font to show the tiredness of the camp counselors.

Yesterday was a trip to the cousin's house in the Bigburg. He's the one who lives mere blocks away from The Greatest LYS ever. I am now convinced I can get myself there the next time I want a solo field trip.

We finished at cousins too early for the game but too late for anything else so we took a ride on the T.

We went to the other side of town to a small shopping mall that had restrooms and gambling claw games.

 

I'm not sure who to point the finger at for lack of planning. The boy for not realizing he would have to find a way to get those stuffed toys on the plane or us for not realizing that he would go for the biggest toys!

 

After taking the T back, and the prizes to the car, we went into the ball field where things looked a little ominous. Our seats were three rows back under the eaves. When the downpour began, we were high and dry. It's the little things that mean the most.

 

We got some cotton candy when the ice cream was gone.

 

And the only fan more enthusiastic than the Pirate Parrot was the boy.

In the crowd of fans, he became the puppy everyone wanted to play with. He would start a chant and the great group of college-aged kids in front of us would pick it up and run with it. When the game was over and the Pirates had won, he stood on his aisle seat and high-fived everyone leaving the stadium.

 

Today we slept in. Four of us had Chinese food for lunch and one had..... Wait for it..... Subway. Mr. Sophanne is leading an expedition to the movie theater for Smurfs 2 this afternoon while I do laundry and round things up around the house. Tomorrow, to the dog races, where there will be no underaged gambling.

 

 

 

ETA (edited to add)

 

Because you can't wait until the next day when you have the puppy guarding the "baby."

 

Summercation at Grandcamp. Day 2

Mr. Sophanne has relaxed a great deal. I'm so happy. Today he realized that just being here and having us say yes to nearly everything means as much as any planned activity.

This morning oldest and I made some pasta. She was less interested in it when she found out that there was no pasta machine to roll and cut the dough. Everyone ate and go figure, I haven't freaked out about feeding everyone yet. It helps that they have asked if we could eat at Subway every day. By saying yes to that, they will think of us every time they pass one.

Mr. Sophanne took them to the farm,

 

 

 

while I prepared festivities...

 

 

Ice cream, it's what's for dinner.

This was followed by a water balloon fight.

 

Picking ammunition

Which quickly disintegrated into an out and out water battle.

 

And after convincing the boy that he could NOT disrobe and just have a shower with the hose, I am expecting some knitting, a little star watching, and a good nights sleep. Lunch with a cousin, Carnegie Science Center and a sold out Pirate game in the Big City tomorrow.

The best part? Mama of the other three grandkids, after seeing all the fun, has booked an advanced reservation for grandparent camp for next year!

 

Summer Camp

Some kids go to ballet camp. Some kids go to basketball camp. This week these kids are at Grandparents Camp.

 

After blueberry pancakes and a game of Yahtzee, the day began with the youngest (who has never been here) giving us a tour of the grounds. This included the wagon, the shed, the lawnmower, the birdhouses her siblings made years ago, and the back acreage.

 

 

 

 

This was followed by a trip to the local box craft store for birdhouses. A family tradition. Add a little flarp and a Beatle's sing-a-long and the 30 minute drive flies by.

 

 

The birdhouse adventure went freestyle as the oldest began painting our gate, the middle one wanted to mow grass and the youngest kept at her birdhouse.

 

The next bit of entertainment came in the form of the laundry chute. I can remember my fascination with Aunt of Sophanne's laundry chute but hers went from the second floor to the basement as opposed to just being a hole in the floor/ceiling.

 

 

 

 

Then the knitting session commenced.

 

 

 

I declare Day Three of Grandparent Camp a smashing success with pasta making, four wheel rides and a giant birthday party on tomorrow's agenda.

 

 

Pleasant Dreams!

 

Staycation or what we did instead of going to the beach this year.

We retrieved the grandkids from the other set of gp's on Saturday. Four hours to meeting place and another four hours to family in upstate NY. I believe that I can call them my grandchildren now, as one of them wrote we are visiting "our grandparents" in an Instagram photo of us.

 

Little Liza Jane cozied up in the rented minivan

Excitement number one... At first I wanted to get a limo for our Big City Adventure later in the week but found out that it was cheaper to buy them each a mini iPad (16g no 4G) to make the ride home across the great state of Pennsylvania a little easier.

 

Spot the iPad?

They were so happy to discover that I am a secret hoarder of game apps and had 80+ games for the ride home. They can sync with their home computer when they return home.

Let's talk about the ride home, shall we? In spite of the best of intentions, it turned into another one of our famous -let's see what the most ridiculous travel option is and then do it-trips.

Mr. Sophanne was orphaned at an early age. He scratched his way through life without "taking anything from anybuddy" (insert Brooklyn twang). I made arrangements for us to stay with the step daughter of his deceased brother. So she's a niece but not officially but has been his niece since she was 5 years old. We got there after 8 hours of driving, had a cookout, visited with cousins, woke up the next day and drove home that afternoon around 4:00, spending 18 of 48 hours in the car and leaving them with 14 marinated chicken breasts to freeze for another day. Why did we leave so quickly? Not because the kids hated this...

 

The step niece's private swimming pool

But because MrS didn't want to impose or "take anything" from anybody. They are family and have joined us for our summer vacations at the Jersey shore before, but he just could not convince himself of the idea that they were happy to have us there and were as sad to see us leave as we are when they leave. It makes me feel a little sad for him.

 

With mini iPads and a minivan, the trip home was long but painless.

 

These kids are crazy awesome. It was 2:00 am when we got home and the oldest was helping put sheets on the bed. The little one is a Drew Barrymore clone. I'll try to capture that before the week is over. The boy, who once reminded me of Bart Simpson has figured out what power there can be in middle childness and is hilarious!

Mr. Overplan Sophanne is trying so hard to have my laissez-faireishness. The only wisdom I can offer him is to be mindful that he doesn't miss the fun while he's trying to make sure everyone's having a good time.

We don't need to go out to eat, we want the house to smell like breakfast in the morning, we want to have that empty time just to see what can happen next. The time spent is so much more than the things done. All I can do is project that vibe, pick my battles and, as someone from a non-snuggling background, accept the fact that even when a 13 year old is tired and homesick and overwhelmed, a little bedtime snuggling is all that's needed to find peace.

Stay tuned...

 

Phoning it in

Sometimes this blog is so predictable it could write itself.

In the never changing order of summer occurrences, it goes a little something like this:

Crazy Laziness which involved a full season of Orange is the New Black and four seasons of Arrested Development on Netflix.

Reading for fun which involved sending fan mail to Wally Lamb

Experimental Cooking- seriously, flour and egg make noodles!  Who knew?

Cut the grass once- My dr. asked me if I was getting plenty of sunshine.  I said "that one day I did."

Paint the Nails- I'm liking the Cover Girl brand sold at the local grocery store.  Firstly I am not overwhelmed by options and secondly it seems to be lasting longer than most.

Get interested in making music again (which is always ironic given that the strong painted nails are in direct conflict with this step)  This usually happens right before school starts when the house is clean and I can easily get to whatever instruments strike my fancy.

Knit some stuff and forget about it.  I finished a Noro stripey scarf.  I knitted a cute lamb that I"m not sure if I love or not.  I've got another scarf and a sock on the needles.  That sweater really sucked the knitting life out of me and may have led to a more monogamous way of knitting.

For the past 10 years some kind of get away has always been planned, often involving planes, trains and automobiles.  With the Alaskan cruise, this summer was no exception.

What is unusual about this summer is that the adventurous part happened at the beginning and now the Mr. Sophanne's family part is happening at the end.  We greet them on Saturday, Mr. Sophanne flies back to Seattle with them the following Saturday and while he is visiting for a week, I will be back to school.

As is always the case, there is usually a big house cleaning just before school starts (or this year before family arrives) just in time to not have time to enjoy it fully.

The next week should be fun filled with exciting jam packed adventure that I may or may not get posted here.  When we saw the whales, I knew enough to stop taking pictures and soak it in because there was no way that documenting would capture the magical.  That may just happen again.

Next week will also be a nice break in the routine because I can tell I'm also a little weary of this retired husband business.  Everyone here knows how much I adore Mr. Sophanne.  He is perfect in so many ways and always has a smile on his face.

Yesterday I had to fight feelings of screaming at him for chewing, and also sucking air between his teeth for fun.

 I harbored ill will when he started hanging up all of these pictures to freshen up the downstairs area. I mean really, who decided HE gets to decide what gets hung on the walls. (It was a copy of Van Gogh's Sunflowers, seriously self, what's your freakin' problem?)

So I guess really, the problem isn't with him, it's with the irrational crazy person that occasionally pops in my head.  A change in routine where we have to work together to keep three kids happy and then work apart while he's away is probably just the penance I need after such a confession.

How the big guy rolls

Mr. Sophanne stopped working in February.  Early disability retirement (a knee) was granted and it seems that this is the way it will be.  As it turns out, if he earns more than $1/4x (one fourth of his retirement) in any given month, he loses all benefits for that month. 

He's been talking about what he might do since February.  It really can't involve extended standing, walking etc.  He does have an undergraduate degree in mathematics education and a masters in computer science (albeit the 1995 version of computer science which is somewhat dated.)

In pure Mr. Sophanne fashion, he stopped in at the local private college (Waynesburg University) and visited the math department offering his services, looking for a salary of $1/4x or possibly tuition credits.  Two days later, the chair calls and says "we need someone to teach college algebra for 1/4x."

That's just how it rolls for him.  It will be quite a different experience from the railroad.  3 days a week, an hour a day in the morning.  This morning he woke up and said

"Do I really want to do this?  What if there's something I want to do that day?"  to which I replied,

"WTF????  Youve been talking about this since February and it has fallen in your lap.  I think you can work around 3 hours a week plus a few office hours!"  to which he replied

"What if I don't have anything to wear?"

"We'll figure it out." 

He's taught college level courses before (CS5 and CS15 as well as statistics).  It's just been a while.  He starts every class with "Hello, my name is Mr. Sophanne and I have a speech impediment.  I was born in Brooklyn."  I am certain when asked by friends how it's going, he will start every conversation with the same anecdote.  It makes me laugh and I love that I know him so well.

I'm also excited about the idea of him having to interact with people.  Firstly, they will love him.  Secondly, he will come closer to realizing why I need a nap every afternoon.

What makes me laugh is the following.

He is a mathematician.  He understands statistics up and down.  He knows that the dealer (or slot machine as it were) always wins in the long run, but the most exciting thing for him about a little extra income on the side (accrued by teaching mathematics) is that it will fuel his Tuesday Knit Night casino nights!  That's how he rolls and he cracks me up

We Are Grownups

The porch, the chairs, the table, the wagon, the dog, the blanket, the breeze.

 

 

 

The car cover used as a patio furniture cover.

 

All in a day's work.

 

Two sure signs that summer has settled into my brain

 

1. There is nail polish on my fingers. At some point every summer I believe that I can maintain decent looking nail polish. In fact, I convince myself that applying it and waiting for it to dry is the ultimate act of mindfulness and meditation. I even thought that as I whipped it on this afternoon.

2. I voluntarily cut the grass without Mr. Sophanne even mentioning that it needs to be cut. I have enough pause for thought to notice that it's long and that cutting it would be pleasant exercise.

It's been an odd summer. The cruise was great fun but the logistics of travel and talking to all of those people every day sucks all of the stored energy out of this introvert.

The two weeks after the cruise I found myself recovering from a mighty concussion after slamming my head into the Dairy Queen parking lot while chasing after the dog. Recovery time might have been less had it not been such a severe bounce. After I got up I immediately said "good thing I didn't get a concussion" and believed that for the first week. All the while suffering from sleepiness, dizziness, headaches and naseau. After a full seven days I realized that those symptoms suggested otherwise and I spent several days in non-stimulated isolation (except for those two staff development days) and then went for a CT scan when things didn't straighten up after about 10 days. No one has called to say there's a leak in my brain and the symptoms have stopped so I think it's all good. I think maybe what I should have said when I got up was, "glad I didn't crack my head open."

 

So anyway after all that excitement, things have finally settled down. My lower chakras are waking and reaching for the ground, I've declared this summer the "summer of massage" and have had two per week for the past two weeks. Who knew that hump that felt like a giant tumor on my back was actually a big pile of tension and anxiety. I can now poke at it for the blubber that it is rather than using it to crack nuts.

I had two goals for the summer, look for teaching videos on the YouTube and walk the dog daily. I've ignored the first and by the time I was ready for the second, there were heat advisories telling me to stay inside. We're now at two days in a row which makes me happy.

All has not been lost. I did finish the red and black color affection that I started in June. I also finished the dragon that I intend to perch on the shoulder of said wrap (using an i-cord to wrap around it and keep it on-we'll see, we'll just see.) Its blocking at knitnighttara's house. Pictures forthcoming.

I am not ready to jump into "bigger on the inside" or Jared Flood's Rock Island Shawl. I think the Alaskan serial killer sweater took all concentration out of me. So I'm making a Noro stripe scarf and looking at some hat patterns.

 

I did manage to make this video on the site GoAnimate. It cracks me up but I think it will probably be a little too pointed to share with the teachers at school. Particularly the ones who sound like the second half.

Summer is settling. All is well

 

This is... Addendum

Why I think my massage therapist must be a great mom....

• When the littlest one asks to have a Popsicle, she immediately answers "yes" and then thinks how much time will this buy me....
• When the older one complained of being bored this summer she answered, Bored! How can you be bored? I made a whole other person so you would have someone to play with!

Let's play "this is"

This is...

 

the porch that Mr. Sophanne has been working on for two weeks, power washing and painting. Yes, it looks fabulous. Yes, it was a whole lotta work. However, I'm not sure how much time has to pass before I can quit saying so every 20 minutes. Please, if you have any inclination to comment, don't bother commenting on what follows, just write that porch looks great...it must have been a lot of work! Because maybe instead of time passing, what he really needs is that said x number of times.

These are...

 

Two of the six chairs we assembled yesterday evening as part of a newly purchased on-sale patio set. Also purchased that day was a standard car cover that Mr. Sophanne proposes to use at a giant patio furniture cover. He was a little disappointed to discover that it wasn't weather resistant. Never a dull moment.

This is...

 

A finished Color Affection done in Madeline Tosh. While I did do the Yarn Harlot's suggested yo modification to loosen the short row edging of the third section, I wish I had been more mindful of how tight the yarn carries were going up. (Think Brooklyn Tweed Noro scarf.) It's hard to know if blocking will help.

This is...

 

A bag of unassembled miniature dragon parts done with leftover yarn from color affection.. The plan is to attach the dragon to the left shoulder, and have some sort of i-cord claspy thing to wrap around him to keep the garment on. We'll see, we'll just see. Mostly I think it would be great fun to spend the day with a dragon on my shoulder.

This is...

 

My newly tidied yarn corner. Who knew a corner could collect so much stuff that had to be removed to the yarn room which will be attended to on another day.

This is..

A lovely textured scarf that I'm working on until...

 

This yarn (named and dyed whovian blue none other than the fabulous Stitchjones) comes and I can start working on this...

 

The pattern is called Bigger on the Inside by Kate Atherley's and the photo belongs to Amy Singer and if either of them would like me to remove it, I will gladly do so.

This is...

Th end of this post!