Great American Aran Afghan

I've long admired this collection of cabled squares made into an afghan, and in January, using gift credit from my darling MIL, I decided to purchase the book of patterns and get cracking! My goal is to make about one square per month, which means it will take nearly 2 years to complete the blanket.

I'm using Knit Picks Bare, superwash merino. It's great yarn, feels good and squishy, and I think it will wear well. I apologize in advance for the color quality of these pics. I'm not my husband!


Each square was designed by someone different, and each one is unique.



Some are knit from one end to the other.










Some knit from the outside edge to the center. I found this technique to be really fun!







One square I've done has a center panel knit one end to the other and then you pick up stitches all around the edge as you knit the border on - very cool.


All in all, it is shaping up to be an interesting project. I like the variety of patterns, and I'm enjoying being able to knit one square at a time and move on to other things in between.

I'm currently on my 5th square, which is right on schedule, really, since we're almost to May. I might even finish this blanky earlier than expected, but I'm not going to push it. The process is enjoyable this way!

List #18 ROAD TRIP MUST-HAVES

I love road trips! We are just getting started on actual planning for our next family road trip, so this list is exciting to think about! Here are my must-haves for a road trip:drinks (water for me, soda for the guys)

• snacks - something sweet, something salty, fruit, veggies, combos, cheese for protein
  
• maps and guide books (no Garmin for me, thanks, although I will admit that we used our laptop and wifi last year to find hotels on the road)
• paper and pencils - we make lists on the road, so paper and pen/pencils are a must . . . also, Simon can't be w/o drawing supplies at all times. If you'd like to see some of the lists we kept on our last big road trip, check out THE BLOG.
  
• small pillow and shawl/blankie for car - at some point we acquired a purple heart-shaped pillow that now travels with us. Because it is so bright and unusual, it is much less likely that we'll forget it at a hotel!
• books on CD - we have to have a selection so we can find something that all of us will enjoy. We always take our entire collection of Harry Potter books on CD with us as fail-safes if none of the other stuff we take is appealing enough, or if we're just feeling cranky. Jim Dale reading to us makes us all happier.
• slip-on shoes - I'm usually the passenger as Mike like driving better than riding, so I get very comfy on my side of the car.
• laptop for overnighters
• knitting! You didn't think I'd have a list w/o knitting, did you? Honestly? I usually spend quite a bit of time planning what knitting projects to take on a trip. I have to have some options - one thing that is mindless, one thing that takes more brain power, some kind of project(s) I can finish quickly to satisfy my ADD knitting nature. Also, if possible, I like to have a project I can start right before or as we're leaving and finish before we get home so that the project itself can be a memento of sorts.
• camera (s) - remember when we used to have to pack film?
• small flashlight for each person (nice to have at night)
• batteries for camera, flashlights, any other electronics
• phones and chargers that work in the car
• clothes that can be worn in layers
• $$$$$$$$$
  

I'm certain I'm forgetting things. We always do. That's why we always take money!

List #8 WHAT'S IN MY BAG

What is in my bag?!? I carry around a wide variety of little things each day, and I am known to change bags based on what I need. Sometimes I carry bags within bags to help myself stay organized. This week, I have just one bag, and I'm using it because I have a nifty new knitting project inside it that will require a lot of nearly-mindless knitting (good for knitting in public, or KIP times) so I've moved all my essentials to that bag.


I was a little concerned about just dumping out the bag, but since I've only been carrying this one a few days, I figured it was fairly safe that I wouldn't lose stuff.

I kind of like the randomness of the jumble, but it's hard to see what's there, so I spread it all out so that I could examine each thing and list it here.


From top left:

• list of meds I'm currently taken (I had a Dr. appt Friday, and it turned out I didn't need it, but still, it's good to keep it handy.)
  
• Tupperware thingy with my morning meds that I was supposed to take yesterday and forgot
  
• packet of cables and stuff that is needed for the interchangeable knitting needles I'm using, although now that I'm set up and knitting I don't really need them.
  
• work badge
• pens
• minty gum
• pink crochet hook for picking up dropped stitches (saving my butt)
  
• box where I keep darning needles, stitch markers, little scissors (notions)
• knitting project, yarn neatly in a baggie
• paper sleeve from yarn I'm using - miracle of miracles I haven't lost/thrown it away yet!
  
• keys
  
• cell phone - it's a good phone, but not as nice as my son's - poor me - lol
• wallet
• driver's license - why this is out of my wallet, I'm not quite sure, although things like this explain why I have lost my license in the past
• one Hershey's Dark Chocolate truffle
• leftover yarn from the skein that I hope I don't need because it kept breaking when my friend, Jan, was winding it up for me at the yarn shop. Then she switched the whole thing over to a lighter swift and the bigger ball was wound w/o breaks
  
• a receipt from the yarn - also rather miraculous as I don't often save those, either, and I bought this yarn in April, 09

So, I cleaned my bag since it was all dumped out anyway, and this is the result:

• morning meds are taken for the day and the tupperware thing is back in the bathroom where I keep all my other meds
• paper yarn sleeve is tucked into the baggie with the yarn I'm using
• leftover yarn and packet of cables and stuff are put back into my "needles and stuff" bin so I can find them later
• yarn pattern is found in the bag (it hadn't fallen out with the dump) to confirm that I do still have it
• driver's license and list of current meds are both safely tucked away inside wallet
• yarn receipt is thrown away

There you go! Another list, a quick bag-clean-up, and I didn't even eat the chocolate (yet).

It's Beginning to Knit Alot Like Christmas . . .

Here's some pictures of the piles I have. This first is the pile of knitting that is done or almost done . . . minus a few items. I won't call out anything or anyone specific, but you can see that there are several lovely yarns and some interesting stitch patterns! Hehehe! It's so much fun to be making things for people. I feel like I'm my own little Santa's Workshop!




Next are some of the in-process things I've got going. Let's see, just for Xmas I have . . . umm . . . 4 things on the needles at the moment. I have yarn for several more items. If my quick calculation yesterday afternoon was correct, I have about 7-10 more things, total, to finish before gifting this holiday season. It'll certainly keep me busy, eh?



Favorite yarn so far: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (the color I have isn't shown)- it's so soft and springy, I almost forget it is wool!
Favorite stitch pattern: will always either be plain stockinette in the round or cables
Favorite project: I don't know yet! More on this later!
Lesson I'm learning: sometimes the perfect gift for someone you love is just going to be boring knitting, but it will produce something so beautiful and refined that you simply must keep it simple.

I met another crocheter today, and he's an Entymologist. We were talking about crocheting little quick toy things like my neurons, and I got to wondering if I could free-hand some crocheted bugs. I think I might have to try it soon, but I should not let it distract me from Xmas knitting - what a conundrum!

Casting On

Christmas Knitting is filling almost all of my spare time these days, and my plan for today includes going through all of my finished projects (FOs) and works in progress (WIPs) to compare them to my recipient list and determine what I still need to do and prioritize. This morning, however, I woke up thinking about cast-ons. Last night I asked Si to try on a knitted cap I made a few months ago. He loves the cap but the cast-on (CO) edge is tight, and I agree. This is a problem I've been having and I know it must be the methods I use for casting on, but needed to research.

I put "stretchy cast on" into my google search box this morning and it took me to my oft-visited and recommended learning site, knitting-help.com. I love this site because it gives you quick little videos of whatever stitch or technique you need to learn, and you can sit and watch that little vid over and over and over in the privacy of your own home without having to admit to a human teacher that you didn't get it the first 4 times they showed you. I re-learned how to knit on this site and I go back whenever I have issues like today.

Lo and behold, there is a whole page of cast-on techniques, and I was able to go through them all at my leisure (although I feel the breath of time on my neck, telling me I must not dawdle) to figure out what I should try. I think the problem is that I've been using the Knitted CO instead of the Long-tail CO, which is stretchier. Those of you who knit - do you know of any other good stretchy COs?

But then I scrolled down and saw the vid for the Provisional CO. I have been sort of doing my own thing for this (a knitted CO with waste yarn), and picking up the live stitches has been a pain in the patootie. After watching the great vid (several times) I am ready to do the honest-to-goodness real-deal Provisional CO - go me! Too bad I didn't know about this last week when I started those lacy fingerless mitts where I did my own version. I spent about an hour picking up those stitches, and it could have been as simple as just knitting off the darn cable! Sigh.

You'd think a life-long librarian would know the importance of doing research before starting a project. Maybe next time?

Speaking of next time, I'll try to take some pics of my projects today . . . but be warned! You will not see any Xmas spoilers! There will be no names given and no complete projects shown, only teasers!

Friday Off

I love having every other Friday off! With public service, we have some odd hours compared to the "typical" 9-5 workers. We work evenings and some weekends, and it's different from week to week. After 23 years of this schedule, it seems quite normal to me. I work every other Saturday. The weeks that I am working Saturday, I generally have Friday off. I've come to cherish these Fridays.

Sometimes I use Fridays to get important things done. I will schedule Dr. Appointments and medical tests on Fridays if they allow them. Some Dr.s (surgeons, in particular) don't have office hours on Fridays, but for them I try to schedule appointments in the mornings on the days when I'm working late (and consequently going in late).

Sometimes I use Fridays to catch up on housework things: shopping, cleaning, dishes, cooking, laundry, but to be honest, my husband does more than his fair share of all of that, so I rarely have to spend an entire day doing that alone.

Sometimes I spend the day meeting up with friends and lunching.

Sometimes I go to the yarn shop. Today was one of those days! The Knitter's Mercantile is my favorite LYS, and there is a group of women to often meet there on Friday mornings. Everyone is welcome and there have been some huge crowd from time to time! Today there were just a few of us. (I heard they're meeting every other week at another shop - how could they!?!?!?)

I had a lovely morning at the Merc. I made some good progress on one of my Xmas gifts (shh!) and I met a few new friends. One lady was doing her first project with the magic loop method (a cool way to knit in the round). After Jan (the shop owner) showed her the basics, Maureen sat down next to me and I was able to coach her as she got it going. As we talked, we finally realized that we go to the same church - LOL. Small world, eh? She is starting to get knitters together to make hats, gloves and scarves for kids in South Linden (where I used to work) for the winter months. I'm so there!

I'm glad I was able to make a new friend and get a new outlet for charity knitting. I love knitting gifts, and knitting for charity is just as good or better. What could be better than knitting for kids in our own town who need it? I bet some of those kids have even used my library. Pretty cool. If you're on Ravelry, the name of the group is Handknits for Harambee.

Christmas Knitting

How am I going to find the time to do all of the Christmas Knitting that I want to do? Ack! I've got about 5 projects on the needles right now, but I've got oodles and oodles of people I'd like to knit for. Problem is, I also have a full-time job AND I need to sleep sometimes!

Let's face it, some people are going to have store-bought things this year. That's just all there is to it. I hate it, but dems da facts. Sigh.

There, I've said it.

But maybe I can take time off to do more knitting . . . . .

Knitting Update

I've been busy with knitting and even some crocheting (gasp! That's me crocheting on the left!) lately, although my pace has slowed down a bit from years past. Being Fall, I am well into Christmas Prep. This is always a tricky time because I tend to be overly ambitious and want to knit more things than I have time for. I mean, a hand-made gift is always so much nicer than a store-bought one, don't you think?


But seriously, with a full-time job and other various things going on (injured shoulder, etc) knitting has been harder to accomplish!

These three felted bags were my donations to the Levy Fundraiser. The large pussywillow bag is the one that was in the art show.



This is a close-up of the little Noro basket-bag. I do like how it turned out, and adding the little beads makes it really special. I call it the Noro bag because it took one skein of Noro yarn . . . I forget with kind. I knit the bag when I was on heavy pain meds after my leg broke.




This is a large wool bag. I knit it with 2 strands together, sort of intending it to be a market bag of sorts. It felted beautifully. I still have some of that wool left, and may make some other felted item from it, but I don't know what.

Pimp my walker!

Yea, I'm that bored. I pimped my walker a little - with hand-knitted doodads, of course!

First I used some extra yarn to put a little color on one of the front bars.




Then I used some other extra yarn to make hand grip covers. I think it's felting as I use it. I do have some good callouses on my palms, now, but it still helps pad things.






Then I decided I needed a pocket for my phone. I made this with leftover fingering yarn. I should also be able to keep using this after I'm done with the walker, which is nice. I think 2 small buttons on the front part will allow me to close the flap, then I can use the cord to hang it around my neck of attach it to a belt or something.



Then I crocheted a holder for my water bottle. I'm going to make more of these in cotton. This one was just from the closest yarn at hand.

I can tie this to my walker, but it is actually easier to just grab the little ring and carry it separately.

A friend of mine thinks I can make bucks by making these things and selling them to Retirement Home gift shops. I doubt I'll have time for such things once I'm back to work, but it's something to keep in mind for the future. Also, if you are ever laid up and have to use a walker, let me know and I'll help you pimp it out!

This last pic is just to show you Rosie, playing with her plastic fork. It's one of her favorite toys. She tosses it around, plays, jumps after it, etc. A few weeks ago, she set it down at my feet. I tossed it a few feet away, and she went and fetched it! She deposited it at my feet again 3 more times! What a good little kitty!

Busy Weekend!

After my Dr. appointment Friday, we went to the zoo with my parents, as I mentioned before. Here are a few of my favorite shots from what DH (the professional) took. I'm glad he got the Markhor because I couldn't see him well from my chair, even when I tried standing a bit.








I didn't bother to go up the boardwalk to the Lion enclosure, either. Boy, is my hubby good, or what?!?!?






These next shots are from yesterday. DH, Si and I went to Highbanks Metropark for a short visit to the nature center there. It is always fun to sit at the window and watch to see who shows up at the feeders. I loved the pics DH got of them all, but these are my 2 faves. There were about 4 little Red-bellied woodpeckers going back and forth between the feeders and the trees.

This Blue Jay had a nice little snack, too!








After a little while, I went out to the deck for some nature time with knitting. :-)

Great Friday!

I had my check-up with the surgeon today. Mike took the day off to take me (and to play!)

Medical Update:
The surgeon says that my leg is healing really well. He got really excited to see that my right knee is stiffening up enough to seem like the exterior ligaments are healing, which is EXCELLENT news! I might even get away with only needing a brace and not needing the whole knee replacement thing! The interior ligaments will never heal on their own . . . but maybe that will be ok?

I'll go back again in 3 weeks, and we'll see how the brace goes. They'll be fitting me with that then, I guess. We will also, at that point, re-evaluate . . .and that re-evaluation will happen over and over again.

I still can't bear weight, but I am allowed to touch my foot to the floor a little for balance, etc. Also, my home-care PT is done, and I'm going to have to set up PT at a facility. I'm going to attack that problem tomorrow or Monday. There are lots of facilities around Columbus, but almost all of them seem to be far away.

Still don't know when I'll get back to work, but I am hoping we'll be able to set a date or at least make a plan in 3 weeks. At this point, my return date is "on the books" as June 1, but I am feeling now like we might be able to bump that up and get me back sooner. Time will tell!

Another great thing - he gave me a prescription for a Handicapped placard for the car. yay!

The Playing Part of Today:

• After the Dr. we went right to the DMV and got me my placard. There is a nice DMV office at Kenny Center, and the line went really quickly.
  
• We checked out Akai Hana, and without getting too close we saw that it was closed. We were a little bummed, but we ducked into the bakery 2 doors down and got some lovely Asian yummers. After snarfing down a delicious red bean paste-filled donut (totally decadent!), we rolled by Akai Hana again, and it was now open! Duh! We were just 10 minutes early! Ha!
• So - after having donuts - we had a delicious sushi lunch! Great place to eat, and I'm so glad we tried it out. We'll definitely go back!
• After lunch, Mike went to the fabulous spice shop, Penzeys, and I went to The Yarn Shop. It was my first visit to the shop, and it was a nice place. It's larger and more maneuverable than The Merc, and they seem to have a larger selection of less expensive yarns there, which is nice. I still have a very strong loyalty to The Merc, though, and it's closer to me, too. I did pick up a few skeins, though. :-)

Knitting Update:
This is a little sweater for a kid. I love the little eyelet motif on the back. You can see here that I'm doing both sleeves at one time - saves on note-taking, and ensures that they will be the same length!









Simon Update:
Here he is, packed and ready for the weekend with the Scouts. He had to come back after he and his dad had left the house, because he'd neglected to put on his new hiking boots and was still wearing his tennis shoes. Sigh.

Passing Time

Medical update: I'm healing well. It's slow. The incision looks good, as you can see here. Still bored. It's funny - when you're forced to sit around and not do active things, all those things you usually enjoy because it means you don't have to move (tv, knitting, reading) get boring very quickly.




I've been working puzzles. Here is my favorite old puzzle from my childhood - the map of Ohio. Cool, huh?







Here is the Pennsylvania puzzle. Also very cool . . . but it's not Ohio.







And . . . Simon, a HUGE fan of Firefly, and especially Wash, was gifted this fabulous hand-made Wash Sweater from our friend, Don, who charted the pattern by hand from the show. Don doesn't like the striations in color and the fit of the sleeves, so it is now Simon's.

But get this - Don is actually THE person who charted the cable pattern that EVERYone in the world will use for the Wash sweater. He's a genius!








It fits him well right now - if he develops bigger biceps it will need to be altered, but it has plenty of length to last him a few years, I'm sure. Thanks, Don! Simon is THRILLED, AND EVEN WORE IT TO BED!

This is so very generous of Don! Thank you so much!!

Don, Gerry and David came over tonight - it was so nice to sit, chat and knit. Yay!

Phinally Photos!

First, the lovely daffodils that I got a few weeks ago . . . just starting to bloom . . . and then blooming!











I've been wanting to show how Samwise insists on being on my lap, even when my lap is already mostly filled with my laptop. He finds room, no matter what. I use random stuffed animals to prop up the laptop, but also to keep Sam off my bum leg.





Knitting! Here's what I have close at hand: another little blanket bunny buddy - they're fun, and cute. How old of a child do you think would tolerate/like one of these?






This is a little baby sweater - Baby Bolero, from the book One Skein - that I cast on just yesterday! I'm near completion on it, but I think I'll probably cast off tomorrow.

To tink or not to tink . . .

Settling down in my recliner for the evening, I picked up the easy scarf I've been working on. It's nearly mindless knitting, which is why I wanted to work on it. As I was knitting along, however, I realized I'd made a mistake every 4 rows for the past . . .hmm . . . well, many rows. I had about 10 more stitches than I should have. Now, I could have tinked back and fixed it to make it perfect (it's not like I don't have the time right now) . . but I didn't. . .

Maybe it's the pain meds, or maybe it's the odd sleep patterns of convalescence, but I'm feeling philosophical about knitting. Why don't I care about making it perfect? This led me to think . . .

Why do I knit? Why has it become so large a part of my life? Why do mistakes drive me crazy in some things, and in other projects I let them be?

Well, first of all, why do I knit?
I love:

• creating (same reason I love to bake)
  
• being part of something beautiful
• the feel of the fibers in my hand
• being artistic, but ending up with something practical (usually)
• making one-of-a-kind gifts for people I love
• donating hand-made things to good causes

But sometimes, I also just appreciate:

• keeping my hands busy (it helps keep me from being distracted by other things)
  
• doing something quiet that helps me think
• having a project that helps me not feel obligated to maintain eye-contact with whoever I'm with
• having an excuse to get together with knitting friends
• feeling cool because I'm making cool stuff

So back to my point - should I tink this or not? Here is what I consider when faced with this decision:

• Is this project for me, for an unknown person, or a gift for someone specific?
• If it's for someone else, who, what kind of person are they (perfectionism-wise)?
• Is this a project where every stitch counts (pun intended) or not?
• How important is it that I follow the pattern to make it look decent?

Often, if I'm going to be gifting the item, I'm more likely to tink. If it's just for me, I can deal with these little "design features" without a guilt conscience. If the project is one where the mistake will be GLARING (lace, cables, something that will show every imperfection), I'll probably tink. Of course, if it were a project like that, I'd notice the problem LONG before having to tink back 40 rows . . . usually.

Confession time:
I did not tink today. The scarf I'm making is an extreme modification of a loose design that will not show the mistake as horrible or disabling (in terms of wear-ability), and frankly, I doubt most people seeing it would even notice. I will keep on with my nearly-mindless knitting, engage my mind enough to compensate for the error, and complete my scarf.

And, heck, aren't you glad I finally found something to post about other than my damn leg?

What's on the needles . . . and what's off!

I'm working on several things at the moment, and I'm about to start another! LOL I have a short attention sp . . . . oooh, look! Something shiny!

Anyway, I thought it was high time I gave you all a gander of the yarny goodness that has been keeping my fingers happy . . .

First the done ones . . . these are slippers I made out of 2 strands of Lamb's Pride Worsted Weight on #10 needles. I love them, and I think I'll make more! They're probably from the same pattern my Grandma used when we were kids. I love nostalgia, and I love warm feet! I think I'm using slightly better quality yarn, though, because I recall the ones she made making the bottoms of my feet feel like the skin was peeling off or something.


This is a black and grey chemo hat for a guy I went to college with. He's a cool musician, now, so I figure the colorway would be perfect. This is from Panda Silk (silk, bamboo mix) and it's delightfully soft. I think silk yarn is perfect for chemo caps . . . especially since my pal, Julie, told me so. I really wish my friends would stop getting the big C, but I'm glad that I can do this small thing for them.


These are neck scarves. It's an absolutely perfect pattern for luxurious yarn - easy to do w/o a lot of thinking, uses about one skein (more for me because I'm an ample Woman, and like ample scarves).





This is silk/wool blend and I fell in love with the first one so deeply that I had to make another. I might go back to the Merc againand buy yet another color someday soon. Just see if I don't! I wore the pinky one today with a navy blue dress. Looked great!




Now for the UFOs (unfinished objects):
This is a lovely lacey sampler scarf I'm making with leftovers from the shawl I made Mom for Xmas. It's alpaca/silk blend, very fine lace-weight yarn. I found the pattern in a book and actually BOUGHT the book . . . more of a pamphlet, really. Usually I just get books from The L.




This pic shows the blanket I started crocheting last . . . umm . . . Spring, maybe? I still haven't gotten very far on it, but I wanted to show you that I really AM still working on it now and then. It's out of really horrid acrylic yarn, but that's what the donation places prefer with blankets, so acrylic they'll get! I learned to crochet after seeing a friend whip up an entire baby blanket in about 2 hours. How does she DO that??? Trust me, this is no 2-hour blanket!

These are the toes of the socks I'm making. The yarn is lovely merino, tightly spun and very smooth. It's purples and greens, and it's really nice. I knit on these when I don't have anything else mindless to work on. I'm doing 2 at a time, toe-up with the Evil Sock Genius' pattern, on 2 circs, size 1. And yes, I know what you're thinking - that is a freakin thin needle!

I also still have a sweater on the needles that will eventually be fore my long-suffering DH. Poor thing might need to wait a while because I STILL don't really feel like tackling it again. I've frogged (ripped out) the sweater I made for myself a year or two ago. It never fit right, I never wore it, but I still love the yarn. I'm finally blocking the kinks out of that yarn so I can make myself another sweater with it.

I think that's my complete knitting update.
Over and out.

It's System-wide Post on your Blog Day!

I mean . . . it's a SNOW DAY! WOOHOO!


(Si put a can of Coke into the snow pile to get cold, and marked the spot with an arrow . . . while shoveling)

We are home for the day, so like all my colleagues who blog (CWB), I'm going to post! One of my twitterbuds linked me to this great blog, and I just had to laugh - and it got me thinking that maybe my loyal readership would be interested in hearing about our day here!


First, I woke up at around 4 am. Yes, you read that right! Very early, I know, but Samwise (see his pic to the left) decided that either I should get up, or he should lay on my face, kneading my cheek, drooling into my ear and purring. Lovely. I love you, too, Luxury Cat.

Of course, if you know me you'll know that once I'm awake enough to be snarky, I'm awake. Darn you, over-active brain cells!

Neilson just called me! In the middle of posting - seriously! They wanted to know what I know and think about movies currently in the theaters. HA! He actually started laughing when he was talking/asking about Hannah Montana, the Movie - how great is that?
OK - back to my regular post . . . where was I?

Oh, so this morning, I got up and went right online on my laptop, snuggling on the couch. The cats were annoyed because they don't like the computer in my lap when one of them could be getting warm there! Tough!

For 2 hours I kept checking the closings site, seeing if we were listed. No dice. Then I see a TWEET from a coworker, and voila! SNOW DAY!




Here is a list of all the stuff we've done today so far:

1. laid around on the couch
2. taken a nap (just me)
3. drawn pictures of soldiers (just Si)
4. gone to work (poor DH!)
5. not gone to work or school (Si and I)
6. made homemade brownies - dark choco with choco chips (Si and I) - totally yummers!
7. panicked at not having ground meat for chili (me)
8. made chili with chicken instead (again, just me)
9. talked to the Nielsen dude (me), saying yes, I'll probably see that, and no, I definitely won't see that
   
10. shoveled the driveway (Si)
11. dug through the closet for a pair of gloves for Si (me)
12. knit! (me)
13. goofed around with blogs and crap online (me)
14. watched Iron Man (my first time - it really is as good as Si has been saying!)
15. snuggled with cats (Si and I)

Yea, we've had a very productive day!

Come back later for a knitting update. I just realized I've updated ravelry, but not here. Also, I'm reading a great Ready to Read related book, but I'll tell you about that when I'm done!