Good Things Come To She Who Waits

Let's review what's going on here in Happy-ville, k?

Knitless days: 5

Hand: much better, thanks for asking!

Household chores: It's not Martha Stewart's house, but the dust bunnies have headed for the hills.

Eyebrows: Did a little shaping - may need professional help, but I haven't plucked them all off yet.

Flossing: uh, not so much as I said before, but working on it.

Hair: Need a dye job before Montreal.

Yarn: It's starting to talk to me. I think the Opal Sock yarn cursed at me in German yesterday.

Mental status: sanity waning.

In the "Good Things" category:
Last night thanks to one of Andrew's bandmates, I was able to get in to the Feist concert. Thanks DAVE! I'll be knitting that article you expressed interest in as soon as I'm back in the game.

Anyway, Feist tacked another date onto her visit to Halifax and played an All-ages show last night (read: early show that had me home and in bed by midnight).

It was a great show and the crowd was very appreciative. She's a powerhouse. I was standing next to Andrew's bandmate, Jason (hey MacIsaac! It was great seeing you and you're lovely wife last night.). We noted when she dropped something and said "oops" that even her Oops had a melody.

For those of you who are wondering, Feist is a member of Broken Social Scene.

At the end of the show, I got a chance to say hi to another of my favorite musicians. I told him that I would have enjoyed the show more if I had paid him to let me sit on his shoulders. Geez. It was crowded in there! And it was hot. You know it's a good concert when someone passes out. And someone did - right next to me. ROCK ON!

I'm So Excited! I Finished Something!

I was feeling kinda down tonight after work.

I had made an appointment to go see a physiotherapist next week about my hand and the reality of the situation was weighing on me. After working late to make sure I had everything prepared for some training on the weekend, I came home to an empty house. Andrew is working tonight.

My UFOs were and still are sitting on the table where I left them the night I realized that the Fair Isle hat was the reason it hurts to scratch my back. All that yarn and all those needles were just sitting there in their plastic bags with their patterns hanging out like a collective group of tongues stuck out at me, taunting me for hurting myself on yet another project.

I heated up some supper (spaghetti, lovingly prepared by Andrew last night while the doctor was destroying my hope of surviving January with my sanity intact) and then sat on the couch to watch a movie while I "dined" (oh, the fun of Friday nights). After I ate, I couldn't help but notice that I felt empty inside. At first i thought it was the fact that I was watching a shoddily made movie, but then I realized, I wasn't knitting. That's when empty feeling got bigger.

So, against the advice of oh, so many health experts, I pulled out a project... and I'm happy to say, that I finished it.

It certainly didn't take me as long as some other projects. While I will admit that I did work on it a little bit last night, I really dug in tonight and finished it off.

I don't have a photo of my project, but here's a photo from the designers website.

My Finished Object looks almost the same, except it's empty.

Pattern details: Well, I didn't really have a pattern so much as a teaspoon and a hankerin' to see the bottom of the pint. I didn't swatch, nor did I care if I got gauge. I just dug right in there and worked away at it. Ok, I do admit to being a spoon flipper if that helps you to imagine the process.

Materials used: Ben and Jerry's Fossil Fuel - Sweet Cream Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookie Pieces, Fudge Dinosaurs and a Fudge Swirl

Thoughts on the process: I would definitely do this again. Although it is making my jeans a little snug, I am contented with the result of this project. Burp.

SEND HELP!

Things I'm Planning To Do Since Being Told I Should Take A Break From Knitting

I went to the doctor this afternoon. He thinks I have some tendonitis. Nothing that a little break and some ibuprofen can't fix. I sat in his office and told him that if he had said I should stop knitting permanently that he could find me on the bridge.

So, I've been compiling a list of things to do during my hiatus from yarn.

1. Wash the dishes after each meal.
2. Make real suppers for a week (more veggies, less PB)
3. Paint my fingernails.
4. Paint my toenails.
5. Read lots of books.
6. Read lots of blogs.
7. Take more bubble baths.
8. Tidy the basement
9. Um... type less (sorry)
10. Dust the entire house (wow, it's been while)
11. Vaccuum thoroughly.
12. Mop the floors.
13. Really clean those baseboards.
14. Look longingly at each and every ball of yarn in my stash.
15. Look at seed catalogues and plan my garden.
16. Iron my undies, (I've never done this before, but I'm sure there must be a benefit).
17. Floss every day, before and after each meal.
18. Obsess over my roots.
19. Pluck my eyebrows - well, mow, really, they need some work... Hey, I wonder what I'd look like without eyebrows.
20. Try on my wedding dress.
21. Realize that I don't fit in my wedding dress anymore and eat all that Ben & Jerry's in the freezer.
22. Count and categorize all of my moles (this should take some time - I'm pretty moley).
23. Wonder where that twitch came from under my eye...

This is only the third day without yarn... I'm pretty sure that Andrew will come home Saturday to find me weeping on the couch wearing an ill fitting wedding gown, surrounded by an empty ice cream container, tweezers, a mirror, various manicure tools, household cleaners, and an empty box of chocolates.

thoughts while typing with my left hand

(with apologies to my family)

thought #1.

if this is how my hand is going to react to fair isle, then i don't think i'll be knitting fair isle ever again.

thought #2.

leaned on my hand. ouch.

thought #3.

i may have to take up illicit drug use if i am no longer able to knit... or i'll have to go into therapy. and we all know that won't be cheap.

thought #4.

last night was, quite possibly the saddest time i've ever had at SnB. i hope i didn't seem too pathetic - i'll depress the others.

thought#5.

darned hat.

thought #6.

why are keyboards so big?

thought #7.

i bet my uncle, who lost an arm in an accident many years ago would think i'm a real wimp right about now.

thought #8

i wonder if the doctor will put me off work for a few days??? typing is not all that conducive to healing my hand. it's just too bad i can still answer the phone.

thought #9

sigh.

thought #10

better go take some more ibuprofen.

Injury in the final stages of play...

We zoom in on the news desk where a fully lipsticked news anchor is just finishing up the top stories.

"...and that's what we call a storm. And now a word from our knitting reporter on the street, Emma Svetter. Emma?"

Emma Svetter: "Thank you, Bob. Uh, nice lipstick. I'm here at Uncommon Grounds, a popular cafe and scene of a weekly gathering of knitters, the 'Stitch and Bitch' group, unofficially known as Knitting Out Loud. Knitters from all over Halifax and Dartmouth gather here to talk knit, drink coffee, share patterns, give and take advice and discuss the holiday knitting season. You heard me right, Bob. The Holiday Knitting Season.

You may not be aware, but the holiday knitting season, or HKS is upon us all. Knitters all over the world are experiencing IT, the panic of finishing a multitude of projects before the holidays. They are knitting on buses, during lunch breaks, and into the wee hours of the night. All this knitting is hard on their patience, their household chores and on their hands. No one knows it better than Steph, a knitter and knit-blogger from Nova Scotia. Good day, Steph."

Steph: Hi!

Emma Svetter: Steph, tell us a little about yourself; you've been knitting for how long now?

Steph: Well, I learned to knit as a child and made the occasional Barbie scarf. I didn't knit for quite a few years, then I attempted a project in my university years. It was a complete disaster. I abandoned that but the pull was just too strong and I came back to it again in the summer of 2003. I've been knitting ever since.

Emma: So this is your third year of knitting holiday gifts.

Steph: Yes, it is. Wow I hadn't really thought about it until now.

Emma: Wonderful. Now Steph, we were talking earlier and you were telling me about the pain you started to feel on Sunday. Could you explain it to our audience at home?

Steph: Well, I was working on a project for my Dad. (Hi dad!) I was almost to the halfway point when I started feeling twinges in my right forearm. I decided to work through the pain, you know, like any athlete would.

Emma: Uh huh.

Steph: ...and by the time I reached the halfway point, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to continue. The coach came out with the stretcher. They carried me and my project off the field. I could tell that the fans were disappointed. I... I... I just don't want to let them down, you know? *welling up with tears* They've just been so supportive of me... *accepting tissue from Emma* ...and my knitting...

Emma: Now, now. *pauses for Steph to gather herself* The fans, I'm sure, are rooting for your recovery. Tell me, what is the treatment plan? Are the coaches hoping to fast-track your recovery?

Steph: *red-eyed, but able to go on* The coaches have been great. They've reassured me that they'll be happy no matter what I am able to accomplish. I spent yesterday icing my arm and avoiding the computer keyboard at work.

Emma: I guess your projects are taking a back seat to your recovery.

Steph: They will be until I'm feeling up to snuff. There is a Stitch and Bitch gathering in Dartmouth tonight. I'm hoping to get there. I've got several projects with me on different sized needles. I'm just going to start slowly and work my way up to the lace knitting.

Emma: Well, best of luck with your recovery then. I hope you're able to get back in the game before the HKS is over.

Steph: Thanks Emma.

Emma: This is Emma Svetter for Steph's Imaginary New Knitting Station, SINKS, bidding you all a good night.

*cue catchy theme*

Ahhhhhhh ???

I had my very first massage tonight. Every time I turn my head to the right, I get a sharp pain in my back. It's been going on since Monday, so I decided that it was time for some sort of intervention. So I called The Interlude Spa partly because it is nice but mostly because it is just down the hill from my house.

I had my first ever professional massage tonight. Wow. I told her about my neck / back issues and she worked me over like bread dough. I think I'll probably be sore tomorrow, but I'll survive. My neck feels better, I think.

because I'm a dumbass, though, I didn't get a note from my doctor telling me to go for a massage, so I don't know if my insurance will cover it. Duh.

You want to know what I think caused the neck pain????

Knitting.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's my first knitting related injury if you don't count the "almost poked out my g.d. eye" incident of 2004 - when I gestured with a knitting needle, it hit the sun visor in the car, flipped through the air and poked me on my cheek, just below my eye. Andrew wanted me to stop knitting in the car after that. I prefer to live dangerously. I even knit while I'm sitting at stop lights... and I'm driving!!!

Going to bed now.

I'm going to bed now. I feel like a limp noodle. Take that as you like it.

I Think I'm Falling Apart...

I've had a crick in my neck since Sunday... and yesterday I developed some sort of lower back pain that went away after I heard an ominous crack. And then, this morning, it was back.

Andrew is back from the ECMAs. It was just as we expected: his band did not win their category. The guy who won has been much more visible on the Canadian scene - I guess that touring England, France and Germany did nothing for Andrew's band's ECMA profile. I was a bit disappointed, but realistically, we had predicted who would win the category when the nominations came out in December.

The point of him going up there was not for an acceptance speech, it was to schmooze with the musicians and industry types. He made lots of business contacts, saw some people he hadn't seen in years and heard some great bands. I really want to drop the names of the people he talked to but I won't, 'cause it's just the stupid small-town girl coming out in me.

Okay, just one: He was outside the hotel in the morning and Shelagh Rogers was out there. He was talking with someone that she knows, so she joined the conversation and he told her that his wife is a big fan of hers. Did he tell her that he's in a band? nooooooooooo... will the wife be sending Ms. Rogers an email about his band? yesssssssssssssss.

Anyhoo... on the knitting front - I pulled out my stash on the weekend. While I don't have nearly as much as most other knitters, I do have a fair amount of yarn kicking around here for someone who hasn't been knitting very long. The funny (?) thing is that I don't really have enough of any one yarn to make something substantial, like, oh, I dunno, a sweater? Ok, I do have the Rowan Cotton Tape to make Carla. But it's been sitting there since I bought it on sale last fall. Blah.

I seem to have developed some sort of malaise about my knitting lately. Just when I got to the point where I would add straps to the French Market Bag, I abandoned it to do a multi-directional diagonal scarfey thing with some Cherry Tree Hill silk stuff. And now, I'm thinking "Geez, I really want to make mittens to wear with my shining star hat when I'm in Toronto next week." Argh. Ok, I'll finish the French Market Bag tonight, then I'll see if I can pull off the mittens before the weekend.

Gah. I'm in this crazy state of mind lately. It's like I'm on a hyper-active roller coaster. I can't be serious about anything. And I don't just mean commitment-wise. I've been cracking jokes that I don't think anyone gets but me. I get like this when I'm nervous. Andrew is making me nervous with this business venture. Somebody, take my husband, please!