ProseKnitic – of Words und Wolle

Perhaps I am getting old? Or developing Altzheimers? Or just plain not paying as much attention to my surrounds as I should.

The car keys and house keys? Why, doesn’t every one manage to misplace them more than once? Admittedly, spending more than a week not knowing where one passport and my ID card had vanished was a bit disconcerting. Turning up in my suitcase pocket when packing for the next trip, the memory of tucking them in when leaving UK customs flashed bright and clear in my head. And we will not talk about getting all the way to Folkstone only to find that my wallet had not made the trip with me.

So why is it now, when I am in a hurry to get on the road that my wallet seems to have taken a walk? Checking in all the usual suspect locations, nothing. Not in the living room nor the front hall. Not in the mess of my bedroom or yesterday’s backpack.

I have tried to be consistent since my return from München (all what four days?) and return it to the same place every time. Front pocket of the backpack.

Disgusted I heave it off the bed to search among the bedclothes. The penny drops. The backpack was too heavy to be empty. Three pockets, front two nothing significant. The laptop pocket? Heavy black wallet in the bottom.

Somedays – I am not sure if I am winning or losing.

upper back almost complete

under the arm with the decreases on one side and increases on the right

back

and front

Pagode complete

Just a quick knitting update that I forgot yesterday

First – there is Fafner (no Umlauts on this computer)

Fafner Front

No, the blank front on the left is not a mistake – that is where I will appliqué the dragon.

and the back

and the cables (well they are mirrored so sort of…)

detail

Then there is Faery Ring

body + second sleeve started

and finally Pagode where I am on the home stretch.

on the final burgundy

I spent a quiet day while accomplishing a bit on several knitting projects.Four ridges to go on the body of Pagode, the second sleeve on Faery Ring now only lacking the cap.

It feels funny, somehow to be sitting here right before sundown rather than heading to shul. To have my computer set to play Kol Nidre from YouTube rather than be sitting ready to start my fast and thinking about the day to come.

Searching earlier today, I am not sure why it surprised me to find dozens of clips on the internet. One can chose by style (Sephardic, Ashenazik, modern, Hassidic) by background (Cantor standing there or various buildings and objects in the background)) choir or single singer, organ and other accompanying instruments or not.  Current or taken from years ago.

I grew up with a very traditional melody; but the Moroccan Melody is beautiful and makes the point quite well

May your fast be mild, your thoughts enlightening and your spirit be clearer at the end.

I have had a quiet afternoon. Sitting in the airport, I found an unused for hours gate and plugged in the computer. Even more importantly, I managed to get onto the Internet for only the second time since I left London.

My planned meeting with one of my colleagues fell through when he became ill. Instead I wandered slowly out to the airport, looking at the scenery from the S-Bahn, the non-excitement of Feldmöching, and parents trying to get young off spring off escalators and through gates.

My plane leaves for home in an hour, I am past the armhole division on Fäfner, and Stalking the Vampire by Mike Resnick is really quite funny.

I will release the missing days as soon as I get the pictures from this week uploaded (airports, sweater, Medical Museum, Oktobert Fest, more airports).

Oktober Fest is about more than Beer. It is about families, Trachten wear, rides, shooting galleries, bottle pitches, roller coasters, spook rides, roast chicken, potato salad, wurst.

and oh, of course, beer.

The Bundeswehr Medical Museum has been moved from its corner location in the tower building to a former large warehouse behind the Troop Kitchen (ok, Dining Facility) on Ernst-von-Bergman Casern.

It records German military medicine from the 18th century to the present, including information on the DDR (yes, the former East Germany). The four branches (Medical, Dental, Vets, Pharmacy) are all represented.

It is pretty obvious, looking at my room this morning, that my offspring come by their messy tendencies naturally.

You would think my small back pack and suitcase had exploded. In less than 48 hours, I can’t find anything.

With the best of intentions on arrival I had carefully stowed the contents of my suitcase in the schrank drawers. My knitting placed on the table, meds in the bathroom and computer on the desk.

“there” I though, “I am all set.”

Which is why, of course, tonight I found myself out in the Biergarten, social get-together without my wallet or cash.

I had happily started Fafner and knit along on the plane and last evening.

still here

Then I looked carefully. Two hours later, I am still at 18 cm. The only difference is that I removed the extra cable from the left front.

Yep, after almost signing about the dragon to myself (and not doing the extra increases on the left front) I calmly had knit in a cable. Only about 10 cm to rip out and reknit, carefully row by row but still. I will smooth it out a bit more when I am farther up the body.

Just off Neuherberger Straße in Northern Munich is a cluster of buildings looking suspiciously like US Military stairwell housing.  Set in rows perpendicular to the main street, as you get more distant from the street the rows seem to curve away.  A number of duplex’s line up along the edge of the area while Roosevelt Street bisects  the southern half of the development.

Not surprising, this area was acquired for soldier housing  after WWII. Once built it contained soldiers, NCOs, Officers, and their families till 1968.

As responsibility for Southern Bayern changed over the years, the US moved out and names, some of the names, have been changed. Warner Casern, used by the US was renamed Ernst von Bergmann Kasern, a fitting name for a medical military academy. You remember learning about him, the man who is the acknowdledged founder of proper asepsis and instrument sterilzation in the operatory theater?

Most obvious is the main building on the grounds, especially when viewed from the air. Originally (started in 1933) built for the SS,  only one arm of the Swastika was complete by the end of the war.  (the 24th ID site has an excellent picture of the main building).

All of this lead me to this site.  List of barracks in Munich and all the US military units which had been stationed here.

One thing is puzzling. While the Kasernes all seem to have returned to German names, the American names remain in the former housing areas.

I wonder what the people who now live there think.

Standing quietly at the fence looking down at the small stream exiting the lake, I had little to say. The birds were not quiet; I could hear children and dogs in the distance.

I was by myself. The Mole out for a walk, Ms Soprano in the US, the other three in Germany.

It has been both an excellent and an extremely lonely, challenging year. Walking between two worlds, I do no quite fit in either.  With family scattered, I have built a support system.  I know that I have made life long friends, but it doesn’t quite make up for having my time with DH be by phone rather than in person for weeks at a time.

The future is unsettled: each of the next two springs will see an offspring graduate and move on to higher education. I retire in 2011 after more than 30 year of Army life.

I want to throw doubts and worries along with regrets into the water and have them carried far away.

אֱלוּלI

The twelfth month of the Jewish Calender. A time to finish the year, prepare for Rosh Hashanah. It is a time to look back and ask forgiveness from anyone who one might have offended or hurt. Cleaning the slate or balancing what is owed, depending on your point of view.

It is also customary to also forgive those who have hurt or offended you.

I am a firm believer in being responsible for my actions. Now, I can’t think of anything significant anyone has done to hurt or offend me. That might be because I have a thick skin, a short memory or just have a solid circle of family and friends.

I wish I could say the same about my behavior toward others. Lacking tact would be a polite way of describing me on many occasions. Blunt and rude are two other terms which I think might just be a bit more accurate (and have been said, flung, or otherwise howled accusingly by various offspring). Loving someone does not make you blind to faults and challenges, but I need to work on sensitivity and wording thing such that they make sense, rather than missing the mark and causing pain.

As Rosh Hashanah begins in just a few hours at sundown, I ask forgiveness of all whom I have hurt or offended.

Or v’shalom,

-Holly

Brage ribbing

I didn’t have much time to knit today and only managed a few rows on Brage’s ribbing which is slow going anyway considering it is worsted weight yarn on 3.00 needles being knit through the back loop in one direction because I like the way it looks.

Not the way it photographs, with flash it is bleached out. Without it is too dark. Here I am being energy conscious and using those wonderful energy efficient lightbulbs that leave me feeling like I am working in a dimly lit cave.

It is also why you still have not see decent photos of Faery Ring’s sleeves. The only way I can photo the process of setting in and knitting a sleeve into a shaped armhole is with natural light. Said daylight seems to be disappearing on me at the rate of 3-4 minutes a day.

Enough on that whine, everyone north of the equator is dealing with the same issue, only the speed of the day shortening is different. Just about as much fun to listen to as my morning spent in briefings which were full of abbreviations and issues about which (even after being here for 20 months) I was totally clueless.

I am off to be up early; taking my cough on sick call. After coughing so hard that I almost fell off the treadmill tonight, I am willing to acknowledge that enough is enough. All I can do is hope that the x-ray equipment is functioning.

Or is it Woking/Guildford Slackers?

In either case, it is a fun bunch who meet on Wednesday evenings for knitting, food, chat, beer, and of course, cider. The Guildford meet-up location is The Drummond. Traditional pub food was augmented by a couple of vegetarian offerings (I won’t try the lentil/spinach burger again – booooooring). Weeks alternate location between the two towns.

Other than the fact that the energy level made me feel old (heck, I think everyone but one in the group this evening is younger than my Eldest), a great time was had by all. Work stories, good humor and a lot of trading knitting help abounded.

Managed several more ridges on Pagode -

working my way back up the stripe pattern

The back has been joined completely to the front and you can see the shaping that has been accomplished by the use of short-rows.

short rows for shaping under the arm

The only challenge that is getting me a bit worried is that I started this section of dark grey with 15 gm. I now have 8 gm left with four ridges to go. It is going to be close, really close.

Meanwhile – I started Long Spoon Lane by Anne Perry in audio. I like her writing style and the reader is the same from her WWI series. He is excellent, clear pronounciation (important for us non-UK people) and good pacing.

I need daylight, good daylight in which to take pictures. Instead, what I watched out the window was rain the whole grey day.

It matched me hacking out my lungs. Again. This is getting really irritating as once more I have tender ribs. If I am still like this on Friday morning, I might even go in on sick call.

The solution for today was to call a friend and invite her to bring over soup for dinner (I provided the veggies and salad) and sit, knit, and chat.

Brage

No pattern – just the picture stolen from the Eau Claire exhibit of Knitting along the Viking Trail

basis for plan

with yarn wound

1/10 - 100gm/200m

and the ribbing started 2×2 on 3mm needles

a start

and yes, I am aware that I am knitting back and forth. Think cardigan, not jumper (pullover)

Pagode

like origami

when folded properly you can see that I finished the sleeve increases and am ready to head into the stripes – aka 12 ridges down and 48 to go.

progress

Audio

There is a new, not improved interface for iTunes 9. I am not thrilled, for one thing they wiped out all the things I had on hold in the shopping cart. Ok, so I should not be using the shopping cart for a wish list, but isn’t that my choice.

Any who, I need to move on to a new listen. I tried out one of the Deathstalker serials, but prefer books read, not performed (multiple cast with sound effects).

Probably back to Good Omens (Pratchett, Gaiman).

I am tired, it is late. I am not setting an alarm.

I am stealing a wonderful knitting abbreviation from Ruth, the Scrabblequeen. She doesn’t claim coining of the term, but I am more than willing to let her hold part of the blame.

OTN – standing for “on the needles”

It is a neutral term, not positive like WIP (work in progress) or pejorative as is UFO – (Unfinished Object).  Rather, it provides a simple statement that this project has been started and is not yet completed.

I found the abbreviation in one of the on-line compendiums, but not in the rest. That one uses a definition that is the same as WIP (current project) which I don’t find correct.

I think there just might be a small sense of commitment. After all, you cared enough to start, to see what it might become; to handle the yarn, try out the stitches and color/s, to decide if you want to invest the time and energy. Sometimes it takes a while to make that determination. But you are allowed to change your mind, let it marinate for months or years until exactly the right time. It doesn’t matter which choice you make, just that you make one. At least at the point of which you really need those needles for another project.

Pyramide

And so, I went back to a project that had been waiting for me to progress on this sleeve,

first sleeve - 10 am

for the Faery Ring KAL project

first sleeve complete

and ready to bind in.

sleeve ready

The cuff for the second has been started. I can’t get any further till I free up the needle tips currently providing the magic loop for the first sleeve.  I might just knit the hood next.

Another couple of ridges on Pagode. The downside of this section is that each row is five stitches longer than the previous, each ridge 10 stitches longer.

knitting the back onto the front

The good thing is that once I get through the next 8-9 ridges all the stitches will be picked up and I can dump the whole thing in my lap rather than having to leave it lying flat on the floor.

Tomorrow – I am going to start the bottom ribbing on Brage. Once I am past the ribbing I am going to have to actually do a bit of planning to have the sides come out the same size since the 34 stitch cable is on one side only. And then there is the small issue of steeks vs one piece back and forth knitting.

Audio

Also completed – Mike Resnick’s Starship: Pirate which has both humor and good technical handling. The reader is excellent which really adds to the story
Black Hills by Nora Roberts. Hate to say that the story did not suffer terribly from me skipping about six hours out of the second half of the book. I got bored with all the subplots which just seemed to repeat and slow everything down.

In spite of not getting started as early as I planned (isn’t being on line and cruising around Ravelry good for burning up lots of time?), I managed the following:

Pyramide

sides sewn together

followed by

neck edging started

which meant that sweater, hanger, camera and I headed outside.

Finished - front

Finished - the back

(slight detour involving teenage son, a meal, and a ride to the train station so that he could catch the 1614 instead of a later train back to school).

moving on to the

Textured Sleeveless Vest

I managed to figure out an alternative way of constructing the next and binding off the shoulders together that did not involve more than two rows of frogging.

shoulders bound off

Since it looked like it was going to take longer to knit the collar than the armholes – I went there next, increasing needle sizes about every inch plus increasing a few stitches in the back of the collar.

start of collar

This particular color has never photo’d well, and it is worse at night.
Finally, I used a much smaller needle for the armhole ribbing and was done.

Finished

Being as how it was only 2100, I moved on to

Faery Ring

and finally got past the cuff on the first sleeve

progress on first sleeve

If I can finish the first sleeve tomorrow, then I will let myself start Brage on the 15th.

I am off to update my Ravelry Project page since I finally have progress to show and only two (Pagode and Faery Ring) left as WIP.

I had been to Reading and back to join a knit meet up (lunch at Wagamamas and a wander through John Lewis), with a chance to see this wonderful reproduction of the Bayeux Tapestry made in 1885 by 35 Victoria embroiderers. That they were ladies goes without saying).  Ok, for those who are not history buffs – 1066 and the Norman Invasion? Battle of Hastings? William the Conqueror?

UFOs

Confirming my conclusion that I loved the pattern but did not like the colors (have already picked out new) – Stillwater

30 cm or so

became this

two nice balls of Kauni

Pyramide

Arriving back home – I was here

12 cm to go

and ended here

lacking only the finishing

I always underestimate the amount of time it takes me to knit miles and miles of garter on 3.00 mm needles.

Sleeveless KAL

ready to start shoulder and neck shaping

Since I got to here without bothering to read the directions, I need to rip back 5 cm or modify the neck a bit. Well, duh, modification it is. Armhole as written was a bit shallow for my taste.

Audio

There are those times where I stop listening to audio books part way through. Sometimes it is boredom, sometimes I am just not in the mood and others? Perhaps it is a mismatch of reader and material that is too annoying. The following three fell into none of those categories – I had just misplaced CDs or files.

Decided to finish listening to several partly heard books since I am in a finish things up mood. Retrieval Artist – Kristine Kathryn Rusch which is the novella that started her series. Second Sight and Sizzle and Burn (Jayne Ann Krentzs Arcane Society Series written under Amanda Quick for the historical novels)

Moving on – Starship: Pirate – Mike Resnick, the second book in his Wilson Cole Series has now only an hour to play. After that, I think I am up for a bit of non-fiction before moving back to Mercedes Lackey’s Phoenix books (which just seemed to drag on and on in the middle).

It has been eight years since that horrible day in 2001 when two planes went into the Twin Towers in NY, a third into the Pentagon, and the fourth was taken down in Pennsylvania by the passengers at the expense of their lives before it could reach its destination.

That single time affected just about everyone born at the time. Not just those of the United States, but all those other countries from South Africa to Australia to Russia that had citizens working in the Towers and the rest of the world which watched the painful video replay over and over on the news for days and weeks after.

It shifted the face of the wars we had been fighting from those of government against government for political and economic reasons to non-government, asymmetrical battles for concepts that most of us will never comprehend. From the Geneva Convention Laws of War to completely uncontrolled conflict with one side being proud to murder civilians while giving up their own lives in the process.

A good friend’s brother was on the 96th floor of one building that day, in town for a single day meeting. An investor from Australia was able to call his family to say good-bye before the building in which he was standing collapsed. The majority of fireman from one of the close station houses died while rescuing as many as possible. Policemen, childcare workers, visitors – none of them mattered to the bombers.

In the immediate aftermath as well as the months and years of the following clean up operations, the outpouring of support for family and friends of those involved has been tremendous. Yet, it can not undo the damage that was done, the wars that were started, the civil rights that have been abridged in the name of making the US citizenry safe.

No matter where in the world you are as you read this go watch Exhibit 13 by Blue Man Group and spend a moment of Silence for those that were killed and the innocence that we, the whole world, lost that day. Not since Hiroshima and Nagasaki has such violence been perpetrated on an unsuspecting civilian population.  Obviously, the human race has evolved in the last half century and not for the better.

A moment of Silence for all the civilians and services members who have lost their lives, been killed or wounded since that day in service of their country or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t see an end anytime soon to conflict, war, or the willingness of many to die as they attempt to impose their will on others. Our children are inheriting a vastly different world than the one into which I was born.  May they be better stewards than their parents generation and the next generation even more responsible.

- Holly

And the work of the righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Nation shall not life up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.

from the Prayer Book for Jewish Personnel in the Armed Forces of the United States – 1984 JWB.

10 Sept 2009, Wednesday

In 1978, 31 years ago, the 10th of Sept fell on a hot Sept Sunday. Our friend Charlie was staying with us, being a general good guy and helping insure that the house was fit for a wedding reception that afternoon. The previous evening had seen a house full for dinner (with help from my Aunt Ruth).

At 1300, George and I walked together into the Beit Am at Mt Zion by Rabbi Leigh Lerner (who is now in Montreal – go figure) and walked out married 15 minutes later (we signed all the paperwork ahead of time). Arriving late for the ceremony meant that there were more than a few people who missed the whole thing.

We headed back to our house for an extremely simple reception.

1978 was a much different time. Each member of a couple keeping their own name was a rather new legal ability. (Fill in the bottom of the marriage certificate with “Groom’s name after marriage” and “Wife’s name after marriage”).

We had just purchased a house, I had finished an FP residency and was just starting out in private practice (The Victoria Clinic, named for the street). George was working for legal services. There were three couples who I viewed as our closest friends. The two couples who were not married at the time did so within the next couple of years; all three couples are still intact these 30+ years later inspite of children, job challenges and the normal aging process.

In the last 31 years, we have lived in more than a few houses and, collectively, five countries (US, Germany, Kuwait, Switzerland, UK). Our eldest is married, the next is studying in the US, our son is studying hard for his A levels this coming spring and the youngest is facing her last two years in preperation for her Abituer exams in spring 2011.

We have made it thus far, inspite the challenges of job separations along with the stresses of daily living. It once again is a year when we will not be together on either of our birthday’s or our anniversary. We email often, we talk daily.

Now, if we could agree on where we want to live when we retire (grin) …….

-Holly
Camberley, Surrey

I went ahead and frogged the second sleeve of Pyramide.

hours worth of knitting, gone

leaving only the first pattern repeat, I picked up all the stitches and am working my way back down the sleeve.

forever to go

This time I will check regularly to make sure that the sleeves match.  I know that I will be much happier with the result, even if it was painful to undo all that work.  The good thing is that I am decreasing on both ends of everyother ridge, so each pair of ridges is just that little bit shorter.

Moving on – I took a spinning break

shetland singles

testing some commercial Shetland roving that I got in the UK Swap.

I still haven’t come up with a name for her although I really did decide that this Louet is a she, rather than a he. Calling her the brand name of “Victoria” just seems a bit much, but selecting a name from the Victorian Era might just do it.

Finally, I made a bit more progress on the textured sleeveless pullover. Working past the split in the neck, I am now in the not fun position of having three balls of yarn dangling so that both fronts and the back are proceeding at an even pace.

sleevelss pullover, neck split

Since I managed a bit more after the picture, I have only a couple of cm to go before starting the shoulder shaping.

Obviously, my goal by the end of this coming weekend is to have completed three outstanding WIPs (pullover, Pyramide, Pagode) if not a fourth – the Faery Ring so that I can start Brage (Lavold Sweater) on the 15th.

Two/three are safely back at school and I survived a second night in a row at the gym.

Perhaps this is picture will make things clearer?

from the back

You can now more easily see the back of the sweater (horizontal stripes). Also visible are the backsides of the fronts. All I did was place the sleeve stitches which have been on hold on separate needles.

To finish, all I need to do is knit back and forth across the width of the back, knitting into the sleeve stitches which are on hold (and the bottom of the sleeves) at each end to match the decreases.

The good news is that I have only 60 ridges to go. The more challenging news is that I have no clue where I put the slightly darker grey that I used in the first set of stripes.   Oh yes, and the ridges at the end of the sleeves for cuffs prior to sewing the shoulder seam, can’t forget them.

I like the sweater, it is working out exactly on gauge. The problem of course is that I am not that big and may well swim in it. At 130cm around, that is not surprising. I do have several friends on whom this would fit perfectly and be elegant.

In my colors. Right.

Anyway, I might just do it again, but make some massive adjustments in the width and perhaps lengthen it a bit. Now that I have gotten this far, it is not that difficult a knit, just hours of mindless garter. Great for cruises or long car trips (unless I happen to be the driver….)

Audio

I’ve read all the novels that came home with me from the library last week and back to audio books. One of the Jayne Krentz Arcane Society novels entertained me on my drive back from taking The Mole to school in Kent while Way to Glory – #4 in the Lt Leary series by David Drake made my first trip back to the gym almost tolerable.

Think of this sweater as origami. To be folded and finished.  This morning I finished the inner maroon, added the black line, then knit the inner grey and navy striped section.

completing the fronts

Which means if I fold it and lay it out with the fronts up – you can see that the fronts are both complete.

step 1

Since I am knitting this as one piece, this means that I needed to finish off the second half of the back which is being accomplished by knitting back and forth – and knitting into the sides as I go.

step 2

completing the upper half of the grey before knitting the blue and grey across the back. One small line of black and I will be ready to tackle the upper back which will take a bit more concentration to join it properly to the bottom of the sleeve fronts on both sides as I go. Nothing like a lot of shaping to keep you awake…..  And no, this is not how Hanne Falkenberg wrote the directions. She did the standard: knit three pieces and sew them together.

The only sewing I have planned is the top of the sleeves.

Airport runs. That was what today was all about.

Ms Maus had an outbound flight at 0950 meaning she and I drove to Heathrow at 0730 and dropped her off at Terminal 1. Then I drove home.

Dr Beverly had an outbound flight at 1500, so she needed to be dropped off sometime between 1330-1400 as Scotland for the purposes of BMI is a domestic flight.

Did I mention that Mr Mole was inbound around 1700?

There was absolutely no way I was driving back home and returning to Heathrow (about 30 miles each way) a third time.

I went to Egham.

Plinth

and wandered around. There is a small museum there; really a collection of stuff all run by volunteers.

Poster on Tudor in area

which has an occasional bit and bob from early on, a large number of photos of the town from the early 1900s on and a discussion of Dr Holloway -

Royal Holloway College

who, with his fortune made off patent medicines, established a rather fine women’s college. Go figure.

Other than that, Egham is probably noted for being near the M25 and Runneymeade.

After picking the young man up at Terminal 1 (no, not Terminal 4 or other confusions, Terminal 1), we went home.

Just a quick note.

Tonight was the farewell dinner for the [British] Army Medical Director General, otherwise referred to as DGAMS. This is the equivalent post of the US Army Surgeon General (not to be confused with the US Surgeon General who is appointed to the Publish Health Service. You know them, NIH? FDA? CDC? the Corps that also supports the Coast Guard and the Federal Prisons with their spare officers?)

Anyway, the affair began at 1930 and ended just a few minutes ago.

There were 80 some people there, all dressed up in their finest Military Mess Kit. The speeches were excellent, short and pithy.

I am wiped.

Obviously, there was no time for knitting today.

Sleeves

You see it, don’t you?

The sleeves just don’t match. Oh, the patterns line up perfectly, but the size is not right. I am going to frog the second sleeve and knit it again instead of fixing it by seaming.

Now, I thought I had the decreases down properly, but obviously it just was not happening.

So what did I do this evening? Knit?

Nah. I played a couple of stupid computer games, did laundry, dishes, and contemplated cleaning up a bit more of the house for inbound company.

I also sat here looking at this wonderful pile of books + that I picked up at RAF Croughton Library.

• Fire and Ice by JA Jance
• Smash Cut - Sandra Brown
• Dreamfever – Karen Marie Moning
• Gone Tomorrow - Lee Child
• Lavender Morning – Jude Deveraux
• The Perfect Poison – Amanda Quick
• The Third Circle - Amanda Quick

Oh, yes. And Season 4 of the New Doctor Who. I have no clue as to whether or not I am going to like this particular assistant. What I saw of her in The Runaway Bride seemed to combine some of the worst traits of both Rose and her mother……  Did the ability to write the perfect side kick end with Rex Stout?

Bites the dust was what I was intending. I have only 22 ridges to go on the second sleeve. Problem is that, for whatever reason, the decreases on this one are not matching the first. I have a choice – frog – or sew the sleeve smaller when I put it together.

The second was my original intention, but it wouldn’t feel as comfortable so a frogging I will go, back to almost the first pattern set on the sleeve. Blech!

Housekeeping instead. Ms Soprano’s pix doesn’t embiggen (I stole it from her avatar which is 32×32). If you want to see a variety of pictures, then trip over to her blog (which I just discovered this morning. Parents are always the last to know…..  And she actually does have a black hat, although she is currently wearing it without a hat band).

I spent a short time (actually several hours off and on) and managed to update WordPress and rescued part of the sidebar. The rest is down at the bottom. Not where I would want it out of choice, but at this point I am amazed to have anything at all.

Once I get the bread crumbs and Flickr under control I think I will just leave things alone for a while.

In the midst of all of this I finally beat my new UK military account into submission, helped a couple of people, got hooked into two official events this week and added two more journeys to Heathrow to the todo list.

Video

Finally got to Season 3 of the new Dr Who. All I can say is the new side kick is a real relief after the Blond (Rose) and traffic jams extend into infinity.