Whew!

Last week was ugly! Sorry no post....but I was pretty grumpy so it is just as well!

Hmm, where to start?

Rakkasah: Overwhelming, wonderful, exhausting. All that and more! I belive it was about an 8 hour trip down. Rained all the way home, that sorta stank.

I got to see big names in bellydance, like Suzanna DelVechhio, Fat Chance BellyDance, Jim Boz. Dancers from Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Australia. Probably 100 vendors of shiny things..woo hoo!

Knitti Me: I am so pleased I finally got to meet a fellow knitblogger in real life! Marie drove more than 1.5 hours to spend part of the day with me! She brought me gifts! She made me a beautiful beaded bracelet with matching stitch marker, black hematite type beads (? Is that right marie?) with silver and crystal accents and a kitty charm. She also brought me wonderful bath salts that smell like almonds...which I am saving for the first bath in my new house. :)

Marie was funny, and charming, and a great sport. It was indeed like meeting an old friend. Thank you Marie! I hope we can manage a visit when you hit Portland next! By the way, I did get your email, I am just waaaaaaay behind. :)

The Diet: I am at 12 days. I think I have lost about 10-12 pounds, but I was getting sort of obsessive about the scales so I decided to only weigh at my Tuesday nutrition class. First week I lost 7.5 pounds! Some days are harder than others, but I can say for the first time in my life, I have not cheated on this once! I haven't even licked a spoon or put anything in my mouth that is not on the program. This is pretty darn huge for me!

Last week was difficult for a variety of reasons, not the least of which I am changing antidepressants. I have been taking Paxil for 9 years....and felt a need for something different. The Paxil has kept me from going into a deep, deep depression, but it has also kept me from having a whole lot of emotions at all. So, the doc is trying me out on Prozac. Last week I took both full strength, now I am cutting my Paxil while I continue the Prozac over a three week period. Last week was ugly. I doubt I need to say more. :)

Knitting: Working on the second Lagoon sock, which I mightily fugged up, but I do not care. The socks are for me, I am the only one who will know. I continue to work on the F&F scarf and the "Thermal" scarf for Dulaan.

In preparation for moving, I packed all my knitting books. Every one. I will keep out sock yarn and my sock book along with the two scarves and everything else is getting packed....Woo hoo!

so, that is a short and sweet version of me. Doing much, much better this week....and yes, I do realize it is only Monday, but I have a positive attitude, dude!

Pardon The Interruption In Service...

Please excuse my absence this week...dealing with father's illness, a teenager crisis - why do 16-year-old girls think they know it all?, The Diet (which is going well, but a struggle sometimes - you know, like when the 16 yo lies about where she is and alcohol is involved...), and having to work more hours than I like have all added up to bring a slight delay in discussing

• Meeting Knitti-Me in person!!!
• Rakkasah and all its glitter...and amusement
• Knitting...(knitting? Like I have time! Argh!)
• The Diet (okay, okay, 8 pounds off in 9 days!! woo hoo!)
• Anything else.

Your regularly (or not-so) scheduled blog entry will be forthcoming, I promise.

The Beat Goes On....

I don't know that I have much to post about...but I'll try anyway.

Knitting: Very little knitting has been done here in Saharaland....A bit on the second Lagoon sock and a bit on the mohair feather and fan scarf. I am working more hours which translates into more money, but less energy and free time.

Weight loss program: I am fasting this a.m. for a blood draw at 8 a.m. I will have an EKG later today or tomorrow. Less than one week to go before The Program. I am alternating between excitement and abject fear of failure.

Finally getting well...it has been almost 2 weeks since I came down with the flu or whatever it was. I am still tired a lot, but finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Bellydance: Those who are going to Rakkasah are pretty excited...I guess I could compare it thusly, Rakkasah is to belly dancers as Rhinebeck is to knitters. Plus, I get to meet fellow knit blogger Marie of Knitti-me - That is a huge treat! Other than Rakkasah, I'm working on choreography for a troupe routine and starting to finally work on a routine for myself to perform the end of April at Saqra's Showcase in the Portland area next month. I haven't danced a solo in a long time....I'm a little nervous to tell the truth.

I have a package waiting for me...pretty sure it's my Over The Rainbow sock yarn I got as a birthday present for me! Wheeee.

If It Can Go Wrong....It Will

The last week has been ugly. Over and over again, if something could go wrong.... it did. In a big way. It's as if the last good thing that happened to me, seeing the house I am going to rent and having the landlords tell me it was mine...has caused some kind of cosmic downpour of shit.

I keep getting up every day, thinking "gee today has GOT to be better..." and then, it isn't.

What's with that?

I tell ya...I need something else to happen.

Knitting: Cast on second Lagoon sock...knit a bit on the Feather and Fan mohair scarf...ordered some fun rainbow sock yarn. That's about it for knitting fun.

Aren't you glad you stopped by so I could brighten your day?

So tell me, where did I go wrong??

Who wants to tell me what I did wrong?? I finished my Columbine sock...got out the clearest kitchener instructions I could find at home (Knitter's Book Of Patterns) and dutifully followed the instructions oh so carefully to graft.

It looks like a seam...you know, like the **inside** of a seam is supposed to look like. If I turn the sock inside out, it is a lovely graft....but on the outside it looks like a seam??

Am I a dimwhit? I last kitchenered (is that a real word?) about a year ago and while it wasn't perfect, it didn't look like a seam on the wrong side.

Am i taking it out? no. I have no idea how to do it without losing the stitches and it isn't worth it to me. The sock is for me...I just hope to make the mate with the seam on the inside!

Truthfully, I am sort of disappointed. I really like the sock...perhaps trying to do this at almost 10 pm after being sick for a week wasn't my best choice...... argh.

Think I'm Gonna Make It After All....

Anyone else with fond memories of The Mary Tyler Moore Show? Rhoda?

Sigh...I so wanted to **be** them... Now I am quite pleased I'm not, thank you very much. But they were **it**, you know?

Then, there was "Flo" ..... "kiss my grits!"

Welcome Back Kotter...Good Times....

I think my bout with the flu left me nostalgic, aye?

Knitting: Started decreases for the toe...minor annoyance at my own bumbling. Getting the stitches rearranged on the two needles did not go smoothly. There are no clues as to **how** you do this...assumption is made that the reader will know. Now, lest you think I am a complete simpleton...well, I'm not. You'll just have to trust me on that. It got accomplished. It just wasn't pretty. Perhaps the fact I've been ill, off work for four days, trapped in the house with ill children affected me.

Perhaps? ha.. Anyway, it's going along well now.

Longing to order yarn. However, I am also longing to move my butt outta this trailer park as well. Then again, it is my birthday next week. I could get myself a present, don't you think? I think some Over The Rainbow could be in order...

The Diet begins in 13 days....Went for the physical, discussion of health issues (strong immediate family history of diabetes, stroke, and heart disease). Found that despite my weight, I am still relatively healthy. This is a very good thing for the obvious reasons, but it also means I will not be "high risk" in the program. That equals about $120 a month savings on the medical supervision part. This makes me verrrrrrrrrry happy indeed.

I have had folks say "gee, Lisa...better eat what you want now!!" but you know, I haven't had the heart for it. All I can think is, "gee yeah, so I can put a few more nails in my coffin..." Smacks of the alcoholic going for one last binge the night before going into treatment. Not, to my thinking, the best of methods in the search for success.

The house has gone to complete hell since I've been sick. Not, mind you, that it wasn't a disaster before hand. Yay...so glad I'm feeling better...

Your link for the day goes here, to the most wonderful socks I've seen, quite possibly ever.

People Are Weird

I have been watching with great interest stash pics and de-stashing efforts around the web. I even got some great loot myself...Norma sent me some awesome baby yarn in eggplant, lime green and some multi baby cotton...all for $30! In fact, I feel sorta guilty 'bout it cause the shipping was over $10...

The one thing I have noticed happening a lot more than I would have guessed is offers of what I consider less-than-fair trade. I have read posts reading not far from "hey, I have 37 balls of acrylic yarn...wanna trade for that awesome Rowan?" or "I have some kind of wool without labels that was in my Aunt Marianne's estate sale...wanna trade for that awesome Colinette you've got??"

C'mon ladies....you are embarrassing me.

By the way, I'm home sick as a dawg...so if I sound a bit cranky...I am.

The Over The Rainbow Lagoon Socks in the Columbine pattern from Socks Soar progresses well...turned the heel and finished the gussets. Working on the foot. Cat Bordi writes in a style that makes me feel like I am doing the simplest and BEST knitting of my life. I plan on purchasing (after I get into the new house and have $ again...) her other "Magical Knitting" books....sight unseen. Yup...that good, to me anyway.

Lastly, I have been horridly lacking in linking, updating my list of who I read on the side etc. I'm sorry, life has just been busy. I will link to one blog I read every single day....because she always makes me think about my knitting. This is a good thing. I leave you with a link to Cassie, of Too Much Wool.