Yarnivorous

G'day all! Just a real quick one. Nutmeg, also known as Her Imperial Overlord, is the scourge of small wriggly things everywhere. Huntman spiders are one of her favourite toys, but even better are skinks . (Tassie link but our skinks look quite similar and umm the last line? *blush* I do my best to stop Nutmeg hunting the poor little beasts.) So this morning, I get out of bed. As usual my first duty is to Feed the Cats - after all, one of them has been examining me quite close up for some time, wondering if she'll have to eat me. (Nutmeg gets to sleep on the bed at night.) Luckily this morning, I somehow managed to beat the cats to the food bowl. Luckily? Cos out from under it shoots a skink. Here's me on hands and knees trying to get it into my hands, my nice warm hands, come here little skink before the cats notice. Please little skink! Please, you want to live and I am your best option! Cheshire twigs something is up and starts scouting for small wriggly thing...

G'day all! I am frantically knitting Nathan's discovery socks. Frantic is the word. I have 20 hours to finish two toe-up socks, one of which is not at the heel, one is on the leg but I need to reknit the heel. Thank you to those scouring Stitches for things for me. You are very sweet :-) Sluggy weekend - chemo is knocking me around a bit but that is to be expected. As long as it knocks the cancer around more, I am happy! Or at least content enough. Or willing to put up with having very little spare energy and being a bit burpy. I have pics of Blood Orange but am yet to edit them. Will probably have to wait for another day whilst I finish this pair of socks, well hopefully. It is teensy! Such a little thing, but the lady who knitted it looks like a little thing as well, which may explain why she can get it around her neck more than 1.25 times. Not that I knitted Blood Orange for me. It is not my colours. We've been moving stuff into the attic. Actually, Nathan ha...

G'day all! I'm still here, I survived my second round of chemo! Well so far. Feeling rather sluggish and tired, doesn't help that it is warm. I'm not sure that I should drive up to the PiL's and go to Urban Burger for tea. If I was driven up there, fine, I'm fit for that but I feel sluggy. Had a lovely day with MM - we chatted and chatted and blathered away happily. Dexamethasone (a steroid and one of my anti-nausea drugs) makes me fairly high and I blather away. I just can't put a sock in it. Now I am home and Nathan is off someplace else, I am blathering away online. Blah blah blah. I haven't yet got good shots of Blood Orange - it is going to be a beast to photograph cos of the intense colours in it. Digital cameras are quite bad at dealing with intense colours (particularly reds, purples, some blues and turquoises) because their detector arrays are not capable of detecting those colours - the colours fall outside the camera's gamut. I ha...

G'day all! I have nearly finished my Blood Orange again. This will be the third go at the last 8 rows. Argh, kill me now - it is plain stocking stitch but I've tried to be clever and it hasn't worked.... But assuming I don't run out of yarn, it will be cast off before I go to bed tonight. I have to get a good night's sleep cos tomorrow is my chemo date with MM. Whoops, forgot to post. Blood Orange is done! I have about 3m of yarn left. OK, I need to block it yet cos umm it is WEENY! Like it doesn't even make it around my neck once! But it is a cute sorta capelet thing. And the yarn is gorgeous (of course it is, I spun it myself and one of my favourite dyers provided the top). Pics later when it is light and I have blocked it and have some time to get shots. Of the scarflette. I'll be getting plenty of other shots tomorrow. Yikes! anon!

G'day all! Finished my Aeolian yesterday morning and blocked it: (discovered my poor old sheet was unable to keep up with Nathan's hogging of said sheet and it has parted company with itself... very sad! Old, soft and comfy it was but ah well. Lots of rags instead!) Then today we went up to BAAG Where I got a few modelled shots. Hooray! Aeolian is done! Row 43 of the edging was not so bad cos I did not insist on doing it all in one go. Instead I picked it up and put it down several times during the day. The cast off took a while cos I started doing it with two strands of yarn (I had plenty left over!), then with the dark end of the ball of yarn (looked wrong) then with the lighter end that blended (looked much better). Taking the shawl with me was very handy because I could drape it over my hat/neck to keep the sun off (I had sunscreen on but the nape of my neck has not seen sunshine in years). My hair is getting pretty darned thin now - it always was fine but plenty of ...

G'day all! I have Aeolian beaten into submission. I hope I do not speak too soon 8-) But 30 minutes or so ago I finished the Monster Row from Hell. Yes, row 43 of the edging involves beading roughly every third stitch, including a lot of decrease stitches. For every k2tog, you have to slip the first stitch, bead the second, slip the first stitch back again (carefully to make sure it sits correctly on the needle) then k2tog. There's a few k2tog. And just as many SSKs but they are easier to bead cos the stitch to be beaded is right there. Now I have three rows to go, with the bind off. And um the blocking. That will be a challenge! Hooray for me! Today the cats had to go to the vet for their annual service. That was amusing - poor things got shoved into their carriers (after I knocked a redback off the side of one of the carriers and then got paranoid that I'd somehow been bitten), put on the wheely thing (like removalists or delivery people use to carry stuff) and whe...

G'day all! I'm still plugging away at Aeolian and Blood Orange. OMG, they are starting to get tough, simply due to the number of stitches. Citron/Blood Orange is basically stocking stitch (stockinette). Every few rows, it doubles in stitch count then a few rows later halves the number of stitches on the needles. Lots of good plain knitting for when my brain is fried! Aeolian. Oh lordie, this one is getting to me now! It is taking an hour to do a row and back. Two rows and I've had enough. I only have 3 major pattern rows to go, but when I took this pic yesterday, I wasn't far into the edging. I thought the nupps (said noops, I hope nupp is a transliteration of the Estonian, otherwise I'll go sick at Americans who say doo for due (dew) - no wonder we can't say noop cos we see nup, as in nup, wasn't me!) would drive me insane but they are much more fun than beads! You can see one of my ginormous nupps in the top left of the pic above. I've tried th...

G'day all! I got a lovely parcel in the mail yesterday. In it was some Blue Moon Fiber Arts Bambu in Diva (can't link to it, both the yarn and the colourway appear to be discontinued but I may be blind....) and a lovely beret in some Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort (weathered green - another colourway not listed on the website) (Most accurate colour shot) Isn't the beret lovely? (Front shot doesn't show you much, does it?) It is much too warm for today - its 32C/90F but it will come in handy for my poor presumably-by-then-hairless noggin when the weather starts cooling down :-) Thank you, Alison ! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness :-) (I need to get pics of my Olympics projects done, eh? I have made some significant progress since the last pics but well I got distracted by stair making and more importantly, spinning some more laceweight yarn for a new project to replace the Aeolian, which was meant to be gifted but umm I am greedy and want it for myself...

G'day all! My (Rav)Olympic reports have disappeared! AKA I forgot to take pictures, two days in a row. Ooops. It's been a choice of cook and eat tea or take pictures. Given I've got an appetite and a half currently, I'm happy to cook and eat. Well the knitting is continuing apace. I am past the transition chart of Aeolian and into what the 11th or 13th row of the edging. The fun part is will I have enough yarn? Also, I made the classic mistake of putting a lifeline through the stitchmarkers, and I've made these stitchmarkers well enough that I had to break the life line to release them. I just stuck some beading elastic through the hole of the knitpicks interchangeables and knitted across, forgetting to take the stitchmarkers out for that row. 8-D But I am in good company - Mrspao also has done it and I am sure that pretty much everyone has done it at some point.... I am onto the third section of my Blood Orange (citron) shawlette/scarfy thing. My hair hasn...

G'day all! I am having real difficulty working out a good title for this post. Today I cut my hair off. As I set the scissors (the new Good scissors, with the spring action not the usual lever affair) to my hair, I felt a little nervous. I've never had hair shorter than jaw length, well apart from when I was a baldie baby. But I cut it, cos I'd prefer to have the hair and be able to use it rather than have it clog the shower drain (which it may well do anyway). Then I got DH to tidy it up a bit. From the front, it looks like I've got my hair pulled back, well similar to that. The cut is not going to win any awards by any stretch of the imagination. I'm surprised by how dark my hair is - the underside away from the sun is quite a dark blonde. Still blonde though - the light catches it as blonde. More a caramel colour not bright straw like I am used to. It feels very odd not to have long hair. My scalp feels weird. When I tip my head back, no hair sorta bunche...

G'day all! It has been a day packed with action here at the Modest Manor. This is your 8pm update published at 10pm. Yep, we are up to date here! DH has been hammering himself, pretty much literally, trying to get the measurements for the built in cupboards with stairs on them correct. We know what they should be and how big everything should be but our house is not square and working out the corrections is hard! There's been some melt downs along the way too. Last night, I finished the sock. Yesirree, it doesn't have much of a leg but that is because I didn't want to sacrifice any more yarn to it. The sock is a good fit, very good, as one would expect from a sock custom fitted to my foot, and the shortness isn't a problem either. But the colours? This one may be frogged and the yarn reclaimed for other projects.... On the knitting front, I cast on Citron not just once but twice! I needed a fairly brainless pattern to help offset the brains required for the...

G'day all! I am into my (Rav)Olympic projects now. Here's the World's Ugliest Sock - my personal footprint sock. I've been using scraps to knit it with. I love the emerald green and the heathered burgundy colours but not together! And the heel itself is knitted in some leftover hand-dye that I did ages ago. This is the foot blank. At the time I took the pic, it had no leg hole. See the white lines? They are where I had to pick up the stitches and put them back on the needles, then the pink bit is the centre stitch that was snipped so that I could make a leg hole! I've practically finished it now - only another round or two before I cast it off. It is a "footie" type sock now cos I can't be bothered finding some more Patonyle scraps to give it an actual cuff. I figure it will either be frogged or will be a lonely little sock always wanting a mate. Maybe I'll use some Lorna's Laces leftovers to make it a mate. Heck, it only took me sinc...

G'day again all! Having a slow day today. Yesterday was a Big Day Out (and I did most of the driving), and last night, well it seems that I shouldn't eat food that is spicy, nor should I eat chocolate later in the day! So I am now allowed to cast on for the Winter Olympics. Indeed I could've cast on nearly four hours ago (if I have my timelines correct) but nah. We've got a little time yet and I am busy knitting up squares for an afghan for the family of a friend who is no longer. What are my plans? Well I want to make a Citron out of this handspun (only I will run out of yarn before it is finished). I will call it blood orange though Dh thinks it should be called pink grapefruit. I hate grapefruit though. And a small Aeolian out of this handspun (again, probably don't have enough yarn but I may just replace the nepps with beads just to get me to the end ok) and make a personal footprint sock for DH out of this yarn (and maybe a pair of socks) and make a per...

G'day all! Yesterday was the last of the tests I have to have for the study I am in. It was down in Frankston, aka Franger (a franger is also a condom, and is pronounced frangga, like singer - remember Australians do not say sum-merr, we say summa). Franger is not kindly looked upon by much of Melbourne. For many years it was a place of cheap housing at the end of a looooong train line. The local council is putting a bit of money into it and has banned alcohol in open air places and is looking to ban smoking in open air shopping areas. Next they will be banning the favoured clothes of the native inhabitants (bogans): flannie shirts (often with a singlet or a heavy metal band tshirt underneath), stovepipe jeans, moccasins, (usually for the male of the species) and inappropriately sized midriff tops/tshirts with leggings with thongs (flip flops) or moccas for the "ladies." Anyway, I digress. We borrowed a friend's car for the day and trundled down there in record t...

G'day all! Still trucking along here. So far so good. Currently the chemo side effect is a bit of indigestion, though that could just be me gutsing my food. It is humid (not by tropical standards, I admit) and not very hot but plenty warm enough for me at the moment. It is making it very unpleasant to do stuff around the house. Move a box, sit down and sweat for half an hour. I would say rinse, repeat, but I seem to lose interest in moving stuff or even investigating box contents pretty darned fast! (Cheshire making himself at home on the bed. Normally this is Nutmeg's place. Note the cats are on a diet...) We had some friends over on Sunday. They helped out around the place. They fixed up the walls in the study and washed them and started on the painting. They did more cleaning up around the kitchen. One of the walls in the loungeroom is now washed and awaiting ideas for colour. Two chaps got into the mess under the lemon tree and sorted it out somewhat, and wen...

G'day all! I'm still here, still alive, survived the first day of chemo. Now it is the day after and what am I noticing? Not having taken a Zyrtec (hayfever and itching) and a certain dragging feeling. I feel ok but sorta vaguely tired. (I just carried in some shopping and I feel like sitting down for the nonce.) And facial flushing, apparently a side effect of dexamethasone. I have taken three different anti-nausea drugs this morning and have another in reserve. I'm not feeling too bad that way - I feel a bit off but if I am doing other stuff, it is easily ignored. To date. Whilst I'm on the drugs anyway. My stomach is telling me it is lunchtime (quite likely as it is 1:30pm) so a spot of lunch is in order. Having to drink at least two litres of fluid a day is a bit of a drag but that is what peppermint tea and juice and water and jelly and soup is for. They say eat a healthy diet but it seems that if you are having nausea issues or sore mouth issues (not ther...

G'day all! I am quivering in my boots. Today is C-day. In about an hour I'll be at the hospital all "ready" to be hooked up to a drip which will deliver my first dose of FEC. (I'm about as ready as a raw fish but then again, I'll never be ready.) It is wet here today. Wet wet wet. We put the couch outside cos we were sanding and oiling the living room floor. Alas, it is sodden and I have nowhere to sit except the bed, the piano stool or two manky old kitchen chairs, one of which scratches me. Best be off, brush toothy pegs, etc. anon!

G'day all! I am totally zonked. That is Australian for exhausted. So far this week, it's been Too Friggin' Hot. Sunday night, Nutmeg couldn't settle and kept me awake half the night (wash wash, jingle jingle goes her collar's bell, wash, jingle...argh! Rock rock goes the chair she was sitting on. Rock, jingle wash!). Monday night was hot. Tuesday night was hot. Wednesday night is promising to be hot. On Monday, they started digging up the curb on the other side of the road, work starts at 7am and they moved the equipment into place at 6:45am. They aren't allowed to do any work before 7am but apparently they can move their massive road (and curb) munching machine into place and also the big dump trucks (or lorries as we used to call them) can drive up and down and unload bobcats and stuff. I much prefer the men who just wheel down barrows full of concrete. Anyway, when one gets to sleep at midnight and the cat plays up and then at sunrise the workers s...

G'day all! I haven't even started chemo yet and already I am b*ggered. We moved into our place on Sunday night. DH has been madly ripping up more carpet with the help of his father and sanding floors. I've now helped with oiling one of them (orange and tung oils, nowhere near as lethal smelling as tung mixed with petrochemicals). We've been washing walls and ceilings and painting them. The bedroom is mostly done (enough that we are sleeping in it) but we need to do the second coat of paint on one wall and above the pelmet and also rearrange the furniture when we haven't got half the study in the room with us. The place looks like a bombsite but at least two rooms are mostly done. There's a fault in the lighting wiring that DH has not had time to track down. So far he's found shorts or evidence of arcing in three different lights. (The shorts are not the sort you put on, btw, just to be clear.) He has to get into the roof to see if there is a problem ...