Healthcare, knitting and books

Healthcare:

I didn't think that I would be getting particularily political about anything really ever in my life but what President Obama is asking Congress to do right now is something that is near and dear to my heart. He is asking Congress to come up with an affordable, useable and universal healthcare system for all the citizens of this country of ours. He is also asking them to look at the Medicare and Medicaid systems and make them a more affordable program for our government. I just finished catching up on my favorite blogs and QueerJoe had this as his post this Monday. I will just link it here because I can't really say the same thing any more clearly or eloquently as he does. I work for Group Health Cooperative as a POS (point of service) claims processor so I am well aware of the costs of healthcare and just how outrageous they really are. I also now how much it costs to provide that care as GHC is not only and insurer but also a healthcare provider. The for-profit companies are in a more precarious position than GHC is but not by much. While we are a non-profit company, we are facing a budget gap this year due to the economy and resulting lay-offs across the state. I strongly suggest that everyone who cares about your own health and that of your family make a point of getting in touch with your congress-men or -women and urging them to become a part of the solution and not just another speed bump in the road.

Knitting:

My knitting is not getting very far very fast. I got some lovely Mini Mochi sock yarn for my birthday and I have started a pair of circle socks with them. I think this was a match made in heaven as the pattern does wonderful things for showcasing the color changes and softness of this yarn. I heartily recommend this pattern for any handpainted yarn that has long color stretches. Having not tried this with short color stretches, I can't say what it would look like but as I am quickly falling in love with the pattern there is likely to be a second pair in the making this year.

My Sayuri is coming along nicely. I have finished one front and have moved on to the right side. It is almost the same length as the left and therefor almost ready to be joined in the round to complete the body. I am so looking forward to wearing this sweater this fall. It is just heaven to knit with the alpaca yarn but feels wonderful against the skin.

I am working on a Marigold vest as well and it is almost ready to join in the round for the body as well. I have just a couple more rows before the v-neck is where I want it to end. This is a really quick knit and I think that it will be a very versatile sweater once completed.

I have adapted my pleated riding jacket to be knit as one piece for the body. I have cast on most of the 400 some odd stitches needed but haven't really gotten any further than that.

Books:

I have started reading again as I used to and have since finished a book or two. I picked up and read the Friday Night Knitting Club. I had heard alot about this book and so I thought I would give it a try. The author, Kate Jacobs has a wonderful style about her writing and the book is both funny and heartbreaking. Definitely an easy read and good story. I look forward to reading Knit Two when I get a chance. I finished something else but as I am not near my bookcase I don't rightly recall what it was. I am reading Cast in Silence by Michelle Sagara though. As always her Elantra series is funny, well-written and enthralling. I heartily recommend her books for anyone who likes a good fantasy novel every now and then.

I hope everyone is well and keeping cool in the record heat that has hit Washington this last few weeks. I hate to say but I can't wait for the rain and cooler weather of the fall in Seattle.

Time goes by so damn quickly...

So it has been too long since my last post and not much has really happened since last time.

My birthday was yesterday and I am 29 for the 4th time but overall there really isn't much that is really special about this birthday compared to last year. The gift list was a little more expensive this year and got sent to the in-laws so I got something from each side. I always say that I will get myself something but this year I did. I actually have a couple of things planned. One of them is a gym membership with a personal trainer.

When I quit smoking a couple of years ago, I literally packed on the pounds just about as fast as I could. This is not something that I am particularly proud of but they now need to come off. Walking is not exciting enough for me to be motivated enough to actually do. So the gym will be getting my money and I will be going at least three times a week to start.

On the book front, I finished Curse of Dawn. I found it as interesting and engaging as the previous three. Not much I can say that wouldn't give it away but definitely good.

I am currently reading Darkness Calls which I find out is really the second in a series I haven't even read book one in yet. Usually I hate starting in the middle of a series but this is written well enough that I don't feel as though I have missed a great deal for not reading the first one. Needless to say, book one is on the shopping list for this month though.

On the knitting front, I have finished anything yet but am making good progress on both the Lavender vest and the m-i-l's mitts. I might have some FO pictures in the next post.

That is it for now...

I've been a busy bee

So. I has been a couple of weeks since my last post but I have been busy as of late.

On the book front:

I got a stack of new books that I am slowly reading. I read quite a bit every day but it seems that as of late, I just haven't been able to interest myself in reading. I haven't quite figured out why that is but there is a stack of books that is getting larger instead of smaller that is waiting to be read. I purposely waited until at least four new books had been released that I wanted before I ventured to the local Barnes & Noble. I have to date only managed to read three of those four books and there are four others that are waiting from previous trips to be read and another two due to be released shortly.

Since my last post I finished Skin Trade, the new Anita Blake novel. It was very good with quite a bit less sex than the previous ones have been. I am not sure that I really like the ending to it though. It may be that I need to re-read it but since S has pretty much the same opinion as me about the ending, I don't think it is just us who are having issues. I haven't checked the LKH forums yet to see what other fans are saying though. Perhaps it is just us. *shrugs* who knows or really cares at this point. I was just happy for another book in the series.

I have also been reading Richelle Mead's Succubus series. I am currently working on Succubus Heat and am thoroughly enjoying it. It is a little slower because I happened to have read the previous two books out of order and now am having to remember two books back instead of one. This is a good series for those who enjoy the paranormal side of things but find that the sex in some of the other series out there a little much.

I feel like there is a third book that I finished but I can't think of it right now. I will check my finished stack and update you if I have finished a third or not.


On the knitting front:

I have finished two pairs of socks. The Masonic Lodge socks for my dad were finished on the 20th (his birthday) and then presented them to him on Father's Day. He was deeply touched that I knit him a pair of socks and that I took the time to put some thought into the pattern and color of yarn chosen. He liked them a lot. I can see them getting a good deal of use.

I finished my Traveling Hearts & Love Knots in the first week of June but haven't gotten a picture up of them yet. Here is a pic of them finished and being "modeled" by my youngest boy Hades.

He makes just as good a background model as his older brother does.

I am supposed to be test knitting some yarn for Abstract Fibers but the skein and I are having some serious arguments about what it is supposed to be. I have tried three separate patterns and not one of them has worked with this yarn. Here is a pic of the yarn. It is the Madras colorway.

I started on of the MIL's christmas gifts this week. I am loving the yarn and the pattern.

On the feline front:

Shadow's sutures are out after 20 days and I took him of the antibiotics at 21 days due to diarrhea. When I had the sutures removed he still had an open wound but it was basically a skin wound and is healing just fine on its own. We are keeping it clean and medicated to help prevent infection but he is able to now head outside should he choose and is no longer confined to one room if no one is home. Overall the house is quite a bit more pleasant without someone in quarantine.

I think that about covers it for now. I will try to post again this week with more book titles and pictures.

Quiet Days and more vet bills

It has been quiet and yet very full days here at our house. The three younger children have been ever so interested in Shadow (my 15 year old cat) as he had surgery for an abscessed bite wound Thursday before last. This last Thursday, he managed to pop about half of his sutures and so back to the vet he went for a whole new set of sutures, more antibiotics and a longer period where he is quarantined in the house and in a separate room when S and I can't be awake or at home to watch him. Needless to say he is not altogether pleased with the situation but we are all managing.

Also my maternal grandmother has been very ill and on hospice care at her nursing home. We knew there wasn't much time left so we have all been mentally and physically preparing for news of her death and travelling to the funeral. Since I thought my mother could use a pick-me-up, I took her yarn shopping and out to lunch on Saturday with S. When she met us at the coffee shop she told me the bad news of grandma's passing and the even worse news that Aunt E has scheduled the funeral to be on Wednesday when not one of the her sisters or her brother can realistically attend. Needless to say my mother and I deeply hurt by this and wish there is some success in changing her mind about this. Although I am not holding my breath I am praying for a miracle.

The cat situation being what it is, I haven't been able to get outside and soak up some of that sun. Instead I have been in the house busily knitting away on outstanding socks. Here are some pics of what I finished and what I am working on.

These are the Absinthe socks I am first testing on myself so that I can figure out the alterations I will need to make so they fit S's feet.

Here is the first completed sock for Dad. The pattern is called Masonic Lodge and I thought they were just too appropriate. He wanted the yarn to be all one color so granite it was...

There is one other sock but I don't have current photos yet for it. Since I plan to finish the pair this week, you will get photos when they are done.

Hope your week is better than mine!

A Few Notes

Last night before I went to sleep, I made a couple of notes about what I wanted to mention/do/talk about in this blog before I forgot. One is to do simple reviews of the books I have recently finished. This occured to me after finishing one book that has taken me too long to read for this particular author. She is one of my favorites but I found that I actually had to slow down and read this book. So here is my first review:

The Hidden City: House Wars by Michelle West

This book is in the same world as the Sun Sword series and the Hunter's duology but starts to give the background for Jewel aTerafin (who is Jewel Markess) in this book. Jewel is one of my favorite background characters and it really starts to come together some of the bits and pieces of her that you find in the Sun Sword series. I give it two thumbs up and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One of the other things I wanted to do was to rant about something that has been bothering me for a bit. I am usually a hermit. My partner managed to get me out to join a group of ladies who meet in the West Seattle area at a local coffee house on Thursday evenings. I went and had a good time and continued to attend. After a couple of months I started noticing some social distancing by some of the other ladies. Then a couple of weeks ago I was approached by the nominal leader of the group asking that I moderate my conversation style a bit because some of the group were uncomfortable with it. Now a little background is needed... I was raised to say what I was thinking in the most succint and clear manner as possible and that short of use curse words anything pretty much went. There were times when this was not appropriate and I learned to do polite conversation at school, work, Masonic events and at family events with more than just the immediate family attending. I firmly believe that I should not have to moderate my conversation when I am out with friends outside my work enviroment. Perhaps that is just me but the way in which this was handled was poorly done and as a result, I no longer see those ladies at all. I decided that going back to being a hermit was better than having to deal with more social distancing and akwardness that would come from me having to use "work etiquette" with my friends.

I feel much better having laid that out. Now I know that there will be some that say that there are things that are not appropriate to discuss regardless of the group or time but not for me and my family. Sorry.

That is all for today.

A new beginning

So....

I am new to the blogging world but I have had the need for somewhere to talk to just let some steam off, boast about my projects or just be a little on the silly/crazy side.

A normal day for me totally depends on the day of the week but always includes knitting and my four cats.

On the cat end of things, we are currently in medical quarantine with the eldest as he had a bite wound that refused to give up the ghost, became infected and required surgery. He is in solitary confinement for at least 11 days. Needless to say, he is not pleased and he makes it known to all of us quite loudly.

On the knitting side: I am working on four different pairs of socks (one being a stealth project); a slumber cap for a co-worker; a spring/summer twin set in alpaca for me and a colorwork hat for my partner. I also have a fall/winter sweater for me; a FLS for me and a baby set for a co-workers expected arrival waiting in the wings.

That is a good start for today. I can't say how often I will post but it should be pretty regularly.