Massive Milestone Missed

In 2012 Kristin graduated high school and enrolled at Miami University.  She had business as her declared major, but I could tell her heart was not in it.  When she came home for Thanksgiving that year, she told us that she wanted to transfer to University of Dayton and study pre-dentistry.  It was quite a shock.  She hadn't ever shown much of an interest in science and always seemed to roll her eyes when I watched science shows.  She later admitted she really did like those shows but didn't want me to know.  We suggested she finish out the year at Miami but she didn't want to wait. She wanted to transfer for the next semester.  We told her that she needed to make the phone calls herself to make it happen.  She did and we moved her out of one dorm before Christmas an into another after the New Year.

Her 3 1/2 years at Dayton seemed to be more partying than studying, at least from our perspective.  There were a few phone conversations about how hard some of her classes were, but most of the stories were about her friends.  As she approached her senior year, the dental school application process began.  I helped her edit her personal statement and drove her to several dental school visits and interviews.  She was accepted at University of Michigan, much to my chagrin (I am an Ohio State University alum) and moved to Ann Arbor in June 2016.

Dental school isn't easy and UofM seemed to do everything they could to make it even more so.  Kristin's class had to deal with severely reduced clinic availability because of renovations the university was doing.  The university makes the students manage their own caseload scheduling, unlike other dental schools like OSU that do that part for the students.  During her third year, Kristin was behind on her required number of clinical credits but somehow managed to get caught up.  We helped a little by having her give us exams and cleanings.  Then just as things looked like her last spring in dental school was going to be filled with celebratory events and a last few clinical requirements, COVID-19 struck and closed the clinic.  After several weeks of no information from the university, UofM provided some online work for the students to do to finish out their clinical credits.  An online commencement ceremony was announced.  On May 8, Kristin officially became Dr. Kristin, DDS.

This picture was taken by her roommate.  I am very grateful to G for taking it.  She didn't get to walk across a stage and receive her diploma.  She only had her picture and name scroll across the screen during the online ceremony.  It was very anticlimactic.  We couldn't be there with her.  It feels incomplete.  She was able to celebrate with her friends after 'graduation'.  Fortunately no one called the police on them.  We had planned to attend the ceremony and take her to dinner afterwards.  But our travel plans were canceled and restaurants were closed for dine-in service.  Instead, we ordered her a special dinner from her favorite place in Ann Arbor.  Wasn't the same, but it was the best we could do.

She and Nala came home this past week and will be in and out while she gets things together before she moves to Texas.  She will be joining a practice in Austin mid-June. She is in the process of getting all the paperwork done for her Texas license.  She'll head back to Ann Arbor at the beginning of June to pack up her apartment.  Then she'll be back her to pick up Nala and drive to Austin.

As I was getting her room cleaned up for her visit, Squeaks decided that she liked Kristin's room and claimed it as her own.  Since Nala is now here, Squeaks isn't allowed in the room.  We'll see if she's as fond of it after Nala's scent has permeated the room.

Work from home continues.  Week 9 just ended.  I have settled on a location in my house to work, my dinning room.  I have a window that faces the front of the house and I can see birds and other activity, helping to not feel claustrophobic.    The only issue is the chair I'm using.  It is a kitchen chair which isn't ergonomically correct for computer use.  A new chair has been ordered on Amazon and should arrive in a week or so.

I'm making progress on a number of knitting projects.  The Stonecrop Top is nearing completion

I have about an inch left of the front before I start the decreases for the right shoulder.  After that it gets blocked, sewn and then the sleeve caps knit.  It should be ready to wear sometime in June, just in time for the hot weather.

Birds of the Feather almost went into hibernation.  I had knit section 9 and was in the middle of section 10 when my friend texted me about the trouble she was having with section 8.  While trying to help her, I took a close look at my work and realized I misread the instructions for sections 9 and 10.  All my work on those sections was ripped out and I restarted.  In case you've never done it, ripping out mohair is not fun!  I was so mad at myself I was tempted to throw it aside.   After some days away to calm down, I decided I didn't need another UFO sitting around and plowed along.

Startitis is a chronic condition for me.  It flared up again last weekend and I cast on City Limits.  It looks like it will be a quick knit.  There are 11 color combinations.  I have already completed the first and am a few rows into the second.  It'll be too hot to wear this when I get it done this summer, but it'll be nice to have on hand for the fall.

Not sure if I shared this project or not.  This is a little outfit I made for my niece who was expecting a baby.  The little one, a girl, was born this past week and this ensemble was mailed yesterday to her.  The sweater is Yoked Cardigan by Hannah Fettig and the shoes are Baby Jane Booties.  I knit the sweater out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.  I had enough leftover to make the little booties, which ended up so sweet.  I'm very happy with how it all ended up.

House arrest hasn't been kind to my body.  I've gained a little weight and my size has increased, mostly do to loss of muscle tone.  I'm not walking as much as I used to.  Today is cloudy.  Tomorrow and Monday are predicted to be rainy and stormy.  It's time now to sign off and get a walk in.  Later!

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And So It Continues

Week 7 of the Stay-At-Home order has come to a close.  A couple  days ago the governor announced it is being extended to May 29,  Oh, let me be correct, the Stay-At-Home order is done.  It is now a Stay Safe Stay Home order.  Whatever they want to call it, we are still all stuck at home.  Some businesses are allowed to open their doors a week from Monday, but many are still not.  Those that are not are primarily the small businesses that are suffering the most:  hair and nail salons, gyms, etc.  My husband and I continue to work from home.  His company is permitted to resume work from the office on Monday, but they have decided to wait until the end of the month before phasing back in.  I contract for the state and it is obvious the governor is in no hurry to get the state staff back in the office.  

I actually like working from home.  I think I am more productive.  I'm not interrupted by someone popping by my desk or distracted by random office chatter.  The team I work on has demonstrated that we are more productive working remotely.  I do miss seeing them, though.  If restaurants open before we are permitted to go back in the office, I'm going to suggest we all meet up somewhere for lunch or an afternoon team meeting.

Well, I do occasionally have someone popping by my desk.  But she tends to not stay long.  She'll jump on the table, walk across my keyboard, demand a few scratches and wander away to take a nap in a chair.  She leads a very difficult life.

Last weekend I was able to transplant some succulents I've had growing in the same pot.  They are now separated and being monitored to see that they survived the ordeal.

I'm not too worried about this one.  It grows like a weed.  When it drops one of its leaves onto the soil, it roots and sends up another shoot.

This little guy and his brother were started by seed when Trisha was in kindergarten.  They were among the many cacti in the pot and I think suffered the most from the overcrowding.  Now that they are in their own pots I expect them to grow faster.

This is the one I am most concerned about.  My parents gave me this cactus back in 1987.  It was only about 1 1/2 inches back then.  When I transplanted it I found out that all of its roots are on the one side.  I couldn't get it centered in the pot and I don't have another pot large enough to accommodate it.  I'm also worried that if I move it again it may be traumatized.  I'll leave it go for this year and try to find a wider pot next year.

My Birds of a Feather is coming along.  This picture was taken a few days ago.  I am done with the first part where stitch count increases.  There are 8 sections in the static part.  I'm in the middle of 2 out of the 8.

I've mentioned before how I get easily enticed by knitting I see others do.  A few weeks ago while watching a podcast I saw the City Limits sweater by Tanis Fiber Arts.  I realized that I had enough stash yarn to make one for myself.  After several stash dives, a few consultations with my knitting enabler and one small order to Miss Babs to round out the palette, I came up with this scheme.

Starting from the top, colors 1, 3, 4 and 5 are Miss Babs Tarte fingering.  Color 2 was purchased last year at the Pittsburgh festival and was a special colorway for the event from an idie dyer.  Color 6 is Fiber Optic Footnotes.  After a few rounds of debate with the enabler, it came down either this scheme or one where the blue and green are swapped.  I think I prefer the green next to black so I'm going with that.  This will get cast on once I finish Birds or one of my other WIPs.

While searching for needles for City Limits, I came across a WIP I began two years ago on our trip to Iceland:  Stonecrop Top.  This project got relegated to the UFO bin because the yarn was not making me happy.  It is a chain plied cotton-linen blend.  It has a tendency to unravel, forcing me to cut the yarn and tie where it is good again.  When I saw it in the basket I pulled it out and decided to give it another try.  It is a good knitting project while on teleconference calls.   I now have the back finished and am close to a quarter of the way through the front.  My only fear is that I may not have enough yarn to finish.  I see a serious game of yarn chicken coming my way.

Since being at home, I am getting more knitting time.  I've decided to designate my projects either work knitting or home knitting.  Work knitting are those projects that are primarily stockinette, like Stonecrop or the Discovery poncho.  Home knitting are those that require a bit more of my attention.

At some point later this year, I'll report how many UFOs I finished and how much of my stash was used.  2020 is the 'make do' year.  Sort of.  Only because the fiber festivals have all be cancelled.

Micromanagement

Another week of work from home is over.  This was week 5.  My self-appointed boss constantly checks up on me to make sure I am keeping on task.  The micromanagement is becoming unbearable.  It's like having a toddler.  I can't even go to the bathroom without the boss following me.   I swear she is magical.  If Ed or I open the pantry door, she's right there, materializing out of nowhere.  And she's not above blackmail.  She claims she'll report us to upper management for taking an unscheduled break if we don't give her a treat.  It's horrible.  She's a real catty bitch!

To help with the stress of isolation, I decided to make some comfort food out of leftover Easter ham.  I attempted to reproduce Mom's ham salad.  It was close but not quite right.  Part of the problem I think was the ham.  We ate a spiral sliced ham.  Mom always cooked a whole ham.  My ham salad was a bit sweet, probably from the glaze.  My younger sister also said it probably needed a little onion, which I did not put in.  There will be another attempt.  Maybe not with this ham, but with the next.  I still have plans for split pea soup with the remaining leftover ham.

I am knitting a gauge swatch for a summer sweater and needed to find some empty US 6 needles.  Down in the basement, I came across a couple long hibernating UFOs.  This is Heat Wave that I was knitting out of some alpaca my sister spun for me ages ago. Digging through old posts it looks like I started this in October 2011, right before my dad passed away.  I remember knitting on this while sitting with Mom at the house.  I remember her commenting that it looked like it was going to be pretty.  I'm sorry I never finished it in time for her to see it.  It went into the hibernation bin because the pattern is quite difficult.  Now that I have it out, I'll try to slowly work on it.  Maybe someday I'll get it done.

Last post I promised a picture of the Discovery shawl.  Here is the finished front and the cast on edge of the back.  With the telecommuting I'm doing these days, I knit a little of this during online meetings where I mainly listen.  I can get 3-4 rows done during each of my team's daily scrum.

Probably like other people I am attempting different culinary things.  The other night I found a pie crust that was coming close to its expiration date and some apples.  I attempted some baked apples.  These aren't the prettiest things in the world but they were yummy with some ice cream.

I have been trying a few other culinary adventures.  This morning I made scones and I have a jar of sourdough starting bubbling away on the kitchen counter.  Later this week I'll try sourdough pizza crust.  Ed's not a fan of sourdough bread, but maybe if its pizza crust he won't mind too much.

Knitting Update

I have been doing a good amount of knitting during these times.  It is the only thing keeping me sane.  The isolation is starting to get to me, as well as things I'm seeing and hearing on the news.  I fear that the national response to this is being driven by an agenda to change our society.  And I don't like the direction it is going.  I'll stop here.  I don't to turn this post into a rant.

One of my nieces is having a baby girl in May.  I knit her a sweater and figured I had enough yarn left to make some booties.  The pattern I selected is called Baby Janes.  I divided the yarn in half and made two wee balls.  After finding my size 6 needles, I cast on.  These should be a quick knit but I was tired when I started and put them down.  Also, Squeaks found the other ball and began to play.  After rescuing it from under the couch and rewinding, I tucked it away for the night.

Squeaks seems to have developed a discerning taste in yarn.  Before the incident last night with the little ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, she developed a great affinity for the mohair from my Birds of a Feather shawl.  I'll admit it is very lovely.  To a cat it must smell delicious.

I keep this project in this bag.  I've caught Squeaks several times with her head in the bag.  Not sure if she is just breathing the yarn fumes, which I can't blame her, or plotting how to steal the mohair again.  At any rate, I now keep the bag cinched closed so the little kitty can't run off with my mo.

In the past week I also finished the front panel for my Discovery Knitting poncho.  I believe I bought the kit for this from YarnByrds when Birdie was a Wool Gathering, probably in 2018.  I'll post more about this project next time, including a photo of my progress.