Finally...

I finally have the chance to post! Yippee! Anyway, it's been six days, can you believe it? I now have 4 WIP's; the never ending hubby sweater (of course), socks for my oldest SIL, a simple lace triangle prayer shawl for my long-suffering MIL, and the unfinished crochet market bag. My dad was laughing at me yesterday for having so many unfinished projects going. I couldn't help but understand the irony yet I was still searching for another sock pattern! The latest additions to my stash are four skeins of Cascade 220 The Heathers in a lovely camel color (slated for some felted moccasin slippers for Dad) and one hank of lusciously soft creamy alpaca (to be combined with a 2 oz hank of gray I already had - use TBD). I've given myself a bit of a break in knitting over the last couple of days. I developed a tender wrist from knitting so much. It's much better now so I've been working on this prayer shawl for my MIL. She's been through so much with my FIL that I wanted to make her something she could take with her whenever she gets that dreaded call in the middle of the night. It's a super simple Lion Brand pattern and it's also my first shawl. I had all this extra Patons Divine in Orangina to use...admittedly it is VERY brightly colored. But I think the shawl will turn out beautifully. I have enough of the Divine to make extra pattern repeats if necessary to make the shawl wrap lovingly around her. After the shawl is done I think I'll whip up a pair of worsted weight socks for my oldest SIL for her birthday, saving the Trekking socks as a Christmas gift. In the meantime, I'm still plugging away at the body of the hubby sweater. Since I don't have to count rows or stitches with it, it's great to have in the car to while away the time.

Camel colored Cascade 220 The Heathers

SIL's Trekking Socks

An update on my FIL. He is back in the nursing home after over a week in the hospital. The official diagnosis is he has ulcerated disks in his upper spine and some kind of infection in the same area. The combined effect was the excrutiating pain that radiated all over his head, neck and shoulders. The medications they were giving him were making him very sick. He was hallucinating, delierious, nauseaus, and generally out of it. They weaned him off everything and within a day he was better. Even the pain was bearable. So much so they sent him home. Of course it didn't take. Monday night, dialysis night, he ended up in the hospital again with a violent reaction to the antibiotics they administered while in dialysis. Vomiting and dry heaves. They released him at 3am Tues morning (why is it they insist on ridiculous times for letting sick people go home?) and my MIL managed to get 4 hours of needed sleep. She says she is doing fine...we know the truth. Anyway, FIL is back home and seems to be healing up ok. We're going to try to see him tomorrow. I need to be in Gorham to drop off a baby shower gift anyway so we may as well skip into Portland while we are out. I know hubby would feel better if he could see his dad out of a hospital bed!

We hit the Rochester Fair Thursday night! What fun! This is where I picked up that creamy hank of alpaca to add to my collection. Kudos to Arthur the Alpaca of Cynjim Alpacas in NH for parting with his lovely fleece. It is a 4 oz 2 ply sport weight hank and I can't wait to make something yummy with it! Anyway, Grampa, wild man and I had a great time walking through all the animal barns and seeing the cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, alpacas, llamas, minis, chicken, ducks, geese, and donkeys! Wild man especially loved the baby goats and the sheep. We were offered the chance to pet a bantam hen. I obliged, wild man shied away at the last second. After the animal barns we went to the exotic zoo to see giraffe, zebra, kangaroos, monkeys and other assorted animals. I have to say, it's no great life for the giraffe (or other exotics) to be penned up like that. Magnificent as they were, I'm sure they would be happier in Africa where they belong. Sad to say, fairs are becoming increasingly more commercialized and less of an agricultural event. Too many hawkers, carnys, lights, noise and chaos. I'm more old fashioned when it comes to fairs. I want to see the animals and the exhibits and the local talent. Not so much the traveling vendors. In any case, the exhibition hall there was huge and filled with wonderfully crafted items, including a 930 lb prize winning pumpkin! They have the competition food barn, quilt & knit barn, wood working and other crafts all under the same huge complex. I just love the atmosphere! Wild man ate too much yucky food, topped off with ice cream so he was a treat to try to put to bed that night - NOT.

Oh, my youngest SIL's knee is getting a little better. She had to wear her air cast all week and has an appointment with her specialist on Monday to assess the situation. She is going to have to have the surgery done on her ACL and probably again on both miniscus. They just need to see how badly she reinjured herself and then schedule the surgery. She's not amused by the Tom Brady jokes she's been getting!

One last commentary before I dive back into the shawl. New TV shows out: Fringe - LOVE LOVE LOVE this one. It's a modern day X-Files. Knight Rider - it will be lucky to finish out the season. Great special effects, poor story line and converting KITT from a Mustang into a Ford truck??? Not such a great move. Bones, House, Smallville, and Eureka are great as always. Can't wait for CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Moonlight and Numbers! (Yup, we HUGE tv fans in this household!)

Ciao, happy knitting and have a wonderful weekend!