I've made definite progress on the Berry Freeze. I'm now working on removing some of that progress since I finally measured my mom. She's petite and I'm tinking back about an inch. Tinking rather than frogging due to the pattern.

Erin and I have been to Michael's a couple of times to get her some kitchen cotton. She enjoys casting on and knitting away. She's done a couple of washcloths and is working on a second no-larger-than-a-handtowel blanket for her kitten. Of course, Smack is only 2.5 weeks old so the size works well. She's a beauty and has been doing well with the bottle feeding.

I showed Erin the kitty beds over at the inspirational Wendy's. I think it's going to inspire her to try a project beyond garter stitch. I've offered to help with the DPN portion until she's comfortable with it. But I foresee companionable trips to the LYS in the future.

I'm also starting my holiday list. It's so long! I'm going to need to figure out if we're gifting all the siblings or just the ones we draw in the exchange. Hats, scarves, socks, washclothes with handmade soap (not by me!). I'm going to need to put together a shopping list.

I just love the thought of all that lovely yarn.

Better living through pharmaceuticals

All I learned is that I've strained the sciata-blah-blah ligaments in my back. The turning and twisting movements I make in every day life (have you ever tried to get in or out of a 3-door Honda Civic without doing so?) isn't helping. But the very nice PA prescribed some lovely 800mg capsules of Motrin and I'm feeling better already. I can actually stand up without fear of falling down from the pain.

And I've brought my knitting to work.

Can it get any better? Probably. But we'll see how the day works out.

Pain all around me

So I managed a couple week's ago to strain my back and have been popping Advil like m&m's. But I've definitely done something more since today I'm unable to stand without immediate pain to the right side of my lower back. I have to cling to the nearest tall object in order to remain standing until it subsides. Sitting is uncomfortable, lying down a little better but overall I am just in a world of hurt.

I didn't even bother bringing my knitting with me to work.

It made sense at the time, but now that I have an appt to get this checked out, I don't have anything for the waiting room! I'm just hoping that I can drive myself to the appt and then home without incident. And did I mention we have only manual transmissions?

On an up note, I've started the Vanilla Freeze. Having nightmares about not having enough yarn, but since Mom is petite I don't think I'll need to knit the length in the pattern. And with the yarn I'm using, it's not a vanilla, more of a soft berry smoothie.

The kids had a bit of a rough patch this weekend. They found out their mom & stepdad are moving to Portland. Since they currently live with her, and neither one is keen to move to Portland, they were more than a bit emotional. When the dust finally settled Saturday night, each had made a decision on where they would be living. Sean will remain in Independence with his grandmother for his last two years of high school. He's done so well this last year going from Ds to As and Bs that no one wants to mess with that improvement. Gwen will keep him on the straight and narrow and will be a good influence on him. Not to mention he'll be going to church with her on a regular basis now.

Erin has decided to come live with us in Vancouver. It will be fun adding her to our daily lives. She'll be a freshman in high school in just a few weeks so it will be a doubly important transition for her. New school and new house. Well, maybe not the house since she's here every other weekend and most vacations. But with her presence we've added another bookworm to the house, she'll be watching sports with us AND she's a knitter. Who could ask for anything more?

Yarn love

We got back late last night from Ellensburg. My niece thoroughly enjoyed knowing she and her doll had matching sweaters. Granted, it was 90-something degrees so pictures of the two in their sweaters would have been cruel, but I did manage to remember to get the FO photo this time. I just need to figure out how to post it.

I was working out my gauges for my two current WIPs and the 3-year-old wanted to see my yarn. She fell in love with the green Brown Sheep wool I had and has demanded a short sleeve sweater with buttons. Since the yarn was already promised to another project, we went to the only LYS in Ellensburg, Yellow House Knitting & Spinning. My sister wasn't even aware of it, not that she should be since she is a scrapbooker, not a knitter. But Miss Katherine found a bright green Cascade 220 she loved. There were only 2 skeins and she hugged the green to her like it was her baby doll. So one green sweater coming up.

I also bought two skeins in a grey/cream colorway for socks for DH. He's been wanting some and prefers subtlety in his socks. That's OK; I have bright green socks planned as a gift for someone else and they'll make up for the plainness of his.

We also stopped at Half-Price books on the way home. DH found a couple of sci-fi while I got a Nevada Barr and two knitting books (Debbie Bliss All-season cotton and a kids knitwear book). Not a bad weekend at all.