A fine day at Pt. Defiance

I've had a few days off from work this week (hooray!) and on one of those lovely days (it's always a lovely day when you don't have to work, right?), cute husband and I decided to head south to Tacoma and go to one of my favorite little zoos at Pt. Defiance. If you've never been there, it's on a point overlooking the Sound and surrounded by miles of forest, trails, park, gardens and a marina.

This zoo is one of my favorites because though it is small, it also has an aquarium with sharks, seahorses and tropical fish, as well as beluga whales, sea otters and polar bears up close and personal! A small zoo with a large proportion of exotic animals that you don't see every day.

Here's a few of the great things we saw on that awesome, sunny day:

Beluga whale flipping over as he swims by...

Frolicking sea otters...

A polar bear, as close as I ever want to get to one without glass between us...

Now here's something you don't see every day---swimming polar bear butt!

A gorgeous Bengal tiger---that camoflauge works so well, I had to look for him for a while...

Oh, and here's an exciting little find that was not in the zoo, but still a pleasant surprise nonetheless...

Yes, it's just a fast-food joint, but it's a fast-food joint from where I grew up! What the heck this one is doing here, two states away from Southern California? I have no idea, but they have great burgers, and we immediately pulled right in for lunch on our way to the zoo! And it even tasted like I remember.

Hey, it's nice to have a little taste of home once in a while, even if it is only a burger. The only one I know of far north of Los Angeles is in Monterey, CA, but I had no idea this one had snuck up way up here! I'm just hoping it is the scout for a later invasion to come!

As for knitting content, I have been doing some knitting over my few days off, but there are ends to be weaved in and no pictures taken yet, so zoo pics and fast-food finds will have to do for today.

I'm also taking this weekend to seriously consider what I want to do about my job. Though I've only been at this job for a couple of months, I fear the nurse boiler room operation is a bit of a soul-sucking flop. I am paid well for what I do, but I am a nurse because I really love to help people, and I am having my doubts about how much help is really being received by what we do there. The longer I am there, the more it seems like it's so much more about pleasing the contracted clients and the bottom line, rather than giving any value to all of their members that we call to try to help with their chronic health concerns.

I could go on and on, but it's a little complicated to explain. Let's just say that the job it not turning out to be exactly about how it was painted to me when I was hired, and it's a little demoralizing. I've never considered leaving a job this soon, but unfortunately, I can already see the writing on the wall about this one, and I'm not liking what I see. Although it's also hard to think about turning around so soon to get back on the job search and interview hassle, along with more training at another new job..Ugh. That thought alone is enough to keep me on the fence far longer than I should be!

If anyone has any words of wisdom for me, please let me know what you think. I know I will not be staying at this job permanently, no matter what. It's just a matter of trying to figure out how long I can stand it before I develop an even worse attitude about the work and run screaming from the building. No matter how much I hate this job, I do want to try and leave on a good basis. It's also about losing a good paycheck that I've already started to enjoy. But I can't help wondering sometimes, at what cost to my heartfelt feelings and goals about what kind of nurse I know I am and want to continue to be...

Life is a difficult dilemma sometimes. I guess I'll just keep knitting until I figure it out, but I think I'm just in that denial phase I go through when I know I have to do something unpleasant and want to live in happy denial for a while before I do it. Besides, I really don't want my health or sanity (lack of) to make the decision for me later!

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend, everyone! I'm going to the beach tomorrow (Yeah!) to watch the waves and smell the salty air and enjoy my weekend before my return to the nurse boiler room...

Happy Magical Wednesday

Wednesday is a good day. Wednesday is the day of my weekly day-off escape from the nurse boiler room operation. It is Wednesday today, and I am happy and free to knit or blog or sit around on my butt and do nothing (but that rarely happens---can't waste a good day!).

However, Wednesday is also the day that I weekly sit and ponder if I really want to return to the nurse boiler room operation for the rest of the week! The jury's still out on that one, but there's still a warehouse full of those gently used Flowbee's to be sold, so I guess I'll keep showing up there for the rest of the week until I figure it out....and keep in mind that I do like to eat and have a roof over my head....and buy yarn.....must remember the yarn...

But for now, Wednesday is still a happy, carefree day of doing whatever I want! And that also makes it sort of magical in my book. But what also helps to make it magical is this...

Got a new book last weekend!

I am a big fan of Cat Bordhi and her wonderful, creative mind and techniques, and this is her new book, hot off the press! I have had hours of knitting fun making moebius scarves and baskets from past books, and used one of her books to learn to knit socks on two circulars---the sock knitting technique I use almost exclusively now.

I have been waiting for this book for a while. I went to a 4-day workshop with Cat in Newport, OR in April of 2006, and the book was due to be out shortly after that, so it's been a long wait!This book is full of sock patterns with the foot shaping achieved in may new ways, both cuff down and toe-up. Not that I've exactly mastered the standard sock architecture so far---I still have not even done a toe-up sock. But I've been intrigued with what this book would hold since that workshop over a year ago, especially since we were given a little teaser of then top-secret patterns from this book and the two more to come after this one!

I haven't actually attempted one of the patterns yet---there is a baby-sized sock pattern for each new technique for learning. But I am getting prepared. I made these this past weekend...

These are my first attempt at making my own stitch markers by the way, so not quite perfect, but completely useable! Why the alphabet letters? Most of the patterns in this new book have you do increases/decreases at particular marker points on the sock to go along with the techniques used to build the sock, necessitating the need to know at which marker to knit a given instruction. (I made two sets because I like to knit two socks at once, being a sufferer of a serious case of Second Sock Syndrome.)

You don't necessarily have to have lettered markers to do the pattern, but since my powers of concentration are less than stellar at times, this definitely will make it easier to keep track of what I'm doing! For those who are lucky enough to still have half a working brain, you can keep track in any way you choose.

Cat mentions in the book that she has designed some lettered stitch markers, called Cat's Magical Markers, that are going to be sold by Skacel, but I haven't seen them anywhere yet. I've been meaning to learn how to make some stitch markers for a while, so this was a good project to get me started. (Besides, I really don't need to spend any more money to purchase what would probably be the thirty-gazillionth stitch marker in my possession...).

Oh, and about that frog pond tale.....

In case you didn't figure it out by looking at my progress bars, this was the true-life lace victim of the story.....sad but true...

The Mermaid Wrap, version 2.0, is no more. I'm beginning to think this was a project that was just not meant to be. I mean, after the irrepairable yarn-tangling debaucle of version 1.0, and having to switch to a variegated color from the desired solid which was no longer available, it may have been doomed from the start. Not to mention, I really wasn't feeling much love for those little colored boxy patterns were appearing due to the way the color changes came up in the yarn. I tried to like it, but I think those little boxes of color interfered with the vertical pattern too much.

I fully intended on finishing the wrap since I had put so much time into it already, but then came that ill-fated meeting with that rotten little frog and his pond, and so it went. I have salvaged the precious Sea Silk this time, and will find another pattern later that will work a little better with the way the yarn colors pool, to try to avoid the little-boxes look. Perhaps something with a lace leaf or flower pattern that has more curved shaping to it.

And no, in case you're thinking it---I did NOT will the wrap away to the corn field because I didn't like the color boxes! The frog just had it in for that wrap from the beginning, so I put the blame squarely on him. heh heh. bad pun.

Hear ye all, a cautionary tale....

All ye good knitters out there, pay mind to this cautionary tale....

Once there was a girl who lived in a small village where there was no labour to be had. So she and her brave husband traveled far and wide together every day down the long road to reach their places of work, and traveled again back to their village each night. The girl had a great love for knotting of colorful, woolen string with wooden sticks, all manner of which she would bring with her in a bag each day, hoping for one moment in the long day's toil that she could enjoy her beloved craft.

After one long day's labour, when the girl arrived to pick up her beloved husband along the path, he was not to be found. She searched and finally found him, still in his place of work, toiling before a glowing square object. He then informed her that alas, his cruel and heartless master bestowed upon him extra labour to complete this day, which must be finished before the next day's sunrise. The girl, not able to return to the village alone for fear of stranding good husband at his place of labour, and being a goodly wife, decided to sit and wait patiently for him to finish his tasks. An easy favour to be done for such a hard-working husband, thought she.

It was then that a spark of happiness lit in the girl's eyes, as she realized that even though she was exhausted from her day's long journey and toil, she could make good fun of the waiting time by pulling out the bag containing her beloved woolen strings and sticks to knot to her heart's content. She even found a spot next to a lovely pond, where she settled in to cozily enjoy her craft long into the dark night, while waiting for good husband.

As one hour wore into another, the girl continued to wait for good husband next to the lovely pond and knot her woolen string happily. Though her eyelids became ever so slightly heavy, she continued on contentedly, striving mightily to maintain the rows of perfect stitches on the lovely, lacey form growing before her. Weariness be damned, she would not lose these rare stolen moments to rest when she could enjoy wooly merriment!

As the girl sat contentedly plying her craft, she happened to notice a frog perched on the other bank of the pond. She greeted him well and paid him no further mind, for he was an ordinary frog and of no consequence to her and her happy activity. The frog then jumped into the pond and swam off to do frogly things, while she continued on with her stolen hour of lace knotting.

It was then that strange happenstance occurred! As the girl carefully counted her meticulously-laid stitches of lace she found a disturbing discovery, indeed!.....Alas! A stitch had gone missing! A single, tiny stitch had wandered off, and she knew not where! Where could one tiny stitch go while she paid such close attention as she knotted?! She searched far and wide for the one tiny stitch to reappear. She searched the pond bank around her, in the bushes there around, and even reluctantly and tediously unknotted several rows of her lace in her search, but to no end! The stitch was not to be found. Anywhere.

As she continued to search frantically, the girl heard a small splash in the pond. She turned just in time to catch sight of the frog as he swam away across the pond. She thought nothing of this at first, as of course, he was only a frog and of no bother to her. "Go on with you into the happy night, good frog," she thought to herself, "I have bigger woes this night and have not time for you and your frolic!"

The girl rubbed her eyes in exhaustion and scratched her head, knowing not where the tiny stitch could have gone. She sat down again on the pond bank to ponder her plight. It was then that a sight not to be believed caught her eye. As she gazed across the pond at the frog as he swam away, she caught site of a tiny, colored object in his mouth! Could it be....?!? As the frog continued to the far side of the pond, the girl realized with great surprise that indeed, the frog held a colorful object in his mouth! Egads! It was her missing stitch!! What nerve had that frog to steal one of her precious stitches away and ruin the perfection of her knotted lace! "He shall not get away with THIS!" she cried.

The girl dropped all she was holding, and set off afoot around the pond bank to capture this robber frog and demand return of her stolen stitch forthright! As she finally reached the other side of the pond in exhaustion, she realized the futility of her chase. For as fast as she could run around the pond bank, the frog could swim swiftly across at twice the speed and out of reach! The bounder of a frog had stolen away with her stitch, and there was not a thing she could do about it!

As the girl trudged defeated back to her side of the pond, she saw another sight most disturbing! There, on the opposite bank of the pond, where she had sat that night happily knotting, she saw the frog leap out of the pond and hop to where she had left her goods.....and her knotted lace object! She made good haste back to her side of the pond, but to her woe, she was not quick enough this night. She arrived just in time to see the robber frog jump back into the pond....holding in his mouth the end of the woolen string attached to her beloved lace object!

The frog swam mightily with the woolen string firmly clenched in his froggy jaws! The girl could only watch forelornly as the frog frolicked mockingly, pulling her beloved knotted lace into the pond, and unraveling it away into the dark night, stitch by stitch, row by row, until it was no more. Oh, the woe! She hung her head as she gathered her wooden sticks, and what was left of her precious bag of colorful strings, and returned to find good husband.

As time wore on past the mid of night, the weary girl and her very-weary husband made their way down the long road back to their village, where they finally settled in for the night. The girl dreamed of her colorful, knotted lace and wished for it's return, but it was not to be. But be not sad for the girl. She was not one to lose a battle with a silly frog and be defeated!

On the next day, she thought fondly and wistfully of her lost lace as she again packed her bag of colorful strings and wooden sticks to take on her long day's journey. Happily, the girl had many strings of bountiful colors and many fine wooden sticks with which to play, if she found a few stolen minutes that day! No frog trickery would ruin her happy craft, thought she! She would gleefully create new and colorful lacy forms, just as soon as she was able! "But I must avoid strange ponds and the trickery of their frogs," she reminded herself as she set off for the day.

The moral of this story, loyal readers, and a cautionary to good knitters everywhere is this-----

NEVER shall ye sit and knit on the banks of an inviting pond late at night and after a long day's labour! For though the moon is luminous on the cool water, and the banks beckon to sit and cool your feet while you go happily to your craft, resist the urge to rest there! And most assuredly take ye heed of the friendly-appearing frog resident of the pond, for the goodly gentleman frog of the day indeed becomes the robber frog of the night! The frog will frolic in the moonlight while your eyes become heavy, and your carefully-made stitches he will steal away into the dark pond! Once there, good knitters, no salvage be for your beloved woolen stitches. The property of the bastardly frog they will become and sink into his pond forever, never to be further gazed upon by you this day or ever more!

The End

Poses, Noses, and something for my Toes-es

It's really hard to blog when you seem to suddenly have no life other than getting ready for work, traveling to and from work, the work itself, and doing all the things you need to get done because you're always at work....sigh.

With the above said, is it stating the obvious that my knitting time has been severely curtailed of late? Not to mention time to blog....or anything to blog about....Yes, I could tantalize you with tales of rush hour on I-405, or titillate you with tidbits about packing my lunch, or anecdotes about the many patients I talk to every day, who act like I'm a telemarketer selling a used Flow-bee when I call them to talk about their health. But no, I am not a cruel woman and I will spare you this.

So, what does that leave a frustrated and time-squeezed knitter to blog about? Yes, that's right---it's time to bring out the dog and pony show.....or, um, in my case, the cats and sock-knit-on-toothpicks show!! I know, you are so excited you can hardly stand it.....so let us begin with some minion-y cuteness, shall we?......

Here's a picture of Toebi and Mochi doing their best imitation of a Calvin Klein ad....

Toebi: I must go, and take your catnip mouse with me...

Mochi: No! Don't leave me!....Well okay, go ahead, but leave the mouse....

Here's another of the toe-cat (Toebi) and the technocat (Mochi) enjoying a moment together on the cat tree...(well, Toebi enjoying....Mochi, not so much. Mostly doing his best to ignore Toebi and not get squeezed off of his prime viewing area...)

(I can't believe my little toe-cat is growing up so fast---he weighs as much as Mochi already!) Lovely large mitts, no?

And finally, here he is in all of his grand minion-y-ness, making a rare blog appearance---mostly because I can seldom get a picture of him that isn't either blurred (he's a little ADHD, you know...) or so black that he looks like a spilled puddle of pudding with eyes in the middle---

Mini!

Not a great picture of the Chief Minion himself---but the best I could get out of 30 pictures of a blurred black blob with a double-exposed head! Even the action-shot setting doesn't work on this one! I keep hoping he'll hold still one day soon---in the light---with his eyes open. Problem is, when he sees the camera come out, he runs up to me to very excitedly see what I'm holding.....

And on the knitting front---

Seems the only projects I've been able to complete lately are the cold cup cozies. I've finished a couple of more of them, because I like them, they are quick and can be worked on one or two rows at a time without messing up anything---perfect to bring along to work for the occasional 5 minutes of knitting I might get to do on my break! No pictures, but cute, colorful and they work great!

A little progress on the Tofutsies socks, which is hard because the only time I can work on them is in broad daylight with the addition of a miner's headlamp and a magnifying glass! (kidding). But damn, this yarn is teeny! Having not gone completely blind yet, here is three pattern repeats done on the cuff....

Yes, this picture is to scale. They are about 3 inches long. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, but let's just say it is taking a LOT of knitting to get some distance on these socks! Also hard to photograph the pattern with the bright raspberry colors and the variegation in the yarn. Here's a little closer view, but not sure it's any easier to see...

I'd love to report some fabulous progress on some of my other WIP's, such as my Mermaid Shawl, but unfortunately, other projects sit unattended and lonely in the knitting basket at home while I'm away most days....

BTW, looking for good suggestions on how to get fired (in a good way, of course, with no repercussions to myself) so I may continue my formerly happy life of actually getting to knit once in a while.

In the meantime, you know where to find me if you need me....at a secret nurse boiler-room operation somewhere near Seattle, trying to sell some used Flowbees, cheap, to some unwitting patients who don't want to talk about their damn health anyway....