Posting on the fly

This afternoon I'm leaving for camp next week. B and the boys are coming too, so it should be a great week.

Before I go, here's has happened this week.

I finished M's socks, which will forever be known as the broken wrist socks. They are different sizes, but if he wears them on the correct feet, they fit fine. Apparently his feet are different sizes too.
This is the teeny tiny plant that my secret pal sent me. Isn't it cute?

I also knit a lace facecloth, but I didn't take any pictures of it as it's a gift for someone. I knit it from leftovers of my T-twist tee so it will be a very soft face cloth. Of course, it's lace, so how useful is it? It is very pretty, so who cares?

I haven't gotten to ride my bicycle as much as I wanted as I spent the last two weeks (mostly) as a single parent. I managed to ride 33 miles the first week (not bad) and then this week I rode down to the river and back for 28.6 miles. I am at least getting some reasonable amounts of exercise.

Well, I'll be gone for a week, so don't expect any new posts until after July 1.

See you then.

It's Monday, Really?

Look what my secret pal sent me:
A postcard from Holland (and the box said Netherlands!) with sheep on the front and a nice note on the back.

Handmade stitch markers (much fancier than what I usually use)

A couple of swatches of fabric--which I love the color. I wonder what they could be for?





Lovely Lana Grossa sock yarn in a cotton/wool blend. Perfect for summer socks, and great colors. M wanted this yarn, but I'm keeping it for me!

She also sent me a really nifty plant that lives in a teeny tiny clear box. I watered it and it's sitting on the windowsill of the kitchen window. I tried to get pictures of it, but they didn't quite come out. I'll try again later. It's neat to have a plant that I can take any place I go. All my other ones are a bit large for that.




Earlier, I took pictures of all of these things outside in the actual sunshine. Somehow, all of them were erased, so I had to re-take them inside as we are now having thunderstorms rolling through periodically. While I was taking the pictures, I found this four leaf clover.

Maybe I'll have some good luck for awhile!





Just in case you didn't know how much M loves the color green, here's some proof:


Yes, the cast is that bright green. He loves the color. It probably won't stay that color for long!

I'd better go and put together tomorrow's final exam. I'm almost finished with class.

What I'm knitting

Since cycling has been pretty sparse for the last week and won't be better for at least two more weeks, I have been knitting a lot more.

I have three projects that are currently active projects. (There are two others, but one is a worsted weight wool sweater that it's just too darn hot to knit, and the other is an intarsia baby blanket, that I absolutely hate knitting. )

On Wednesday, I wanted to start an easy, no thinking but not too boring project, so I grabbed the yarn for M's socks and started making plain old stockinette socks. Because it is self-striping yarn, it's not boring, because you can easily see progress. It's good I started these socks when I did, as both of the boys have decided that any medical issue means a new pair of socks. I guess I have good timing!



I have made some progress on the kilt hose. Not a lot, as they do require some thinking (which is a bit beyond me at the moment) but some. I'm still waiting on a few measurements, but they look like pretty nice socks to me. They do look a bit weird right now because the cuff is knitted, then the sock is turned inside out and the leg is knitted in the other direction.



Finally, the third project is a shawl that I made up the pattern. It's diagonal lace rib on huge size 15 needles. It's a gift for someone else. I have no idea if she reads this blog or not, but since I said she, that doesn't really narrow this down at all, does it? None of these projects is really hard, exactly, but there is some thinking involved.


Tomorrow afternoon M goes to the orthopedist and will have his cast put on his wrist. I hope that he will have a choice of colors that he likes.

Wish us luck.

Better day

Micah is doing a little better. He still hurts, but does all right when he is taking ibuprofen and not letting dogs or brothers touch him. He is getting bored, so he wanted to knit. That didn't work well at all, so I thought I'd teach him how to crochet. Never mind that I have never crocheted, I needed to do something for the poor kid. Between the two of us, we learned how to crochet (chain stitch anyway!)

He is going to see the orthopedist on Monday where we will find out for sure what kind of break, how long he will be in a cast and so on. It's going to be an interesting weekend. I'm trying to keep him inside, because it's already 88 degrees and we are trying to keep him clean and dry until then.

I'll take pictures of my knitting later on. Right now, I'll give you a partial view of my loverly flower bed. Even though both flower beds had the same seed mix in them, and are on the front of the house, they look very different. This one is a riot of color and is in gorgeous bloom. The other side is thin still, but I've added some plants, so we shall see how it goes for later this summer.

Oh, NOOOOOOO!

Because our lives have been so uneventful lately (cough, cough), we had some new excitement.

M has broken his wrist. Technically, he has broken at least his radius (a probable greenstick fracture) and a possible torus fracture of his ulna. We'll know more when we see the orthopedist.

Poor M. Poor babysitter. Poor L, who is going to have to give up some of his attention. Poor me, because now I have to keep an active 8 year old busy who can only use one arm. If anyone has any ideas, leave a comment, please!

When the cast goes on and I know more, I'll let you all know.

This wasn't the post I was going to write tonight. I had planned on writing about all the knitting projects I am working on. Last night, I started a pair of socks for M. Now I know why I felt I needed to start. Oh well. I'm just going to go with the flow.

Gardens and stuff

Well, the garden is coming up and mostly growing well. We have corn coming up, and squash, and a few of the flowers I've planted for bouquets. Last year we had so many flowers that I was able to keep our house and the church secretary fully equipped. I hope that we can do that this year, too.

Today I filled out the soccer forms for the boys. L wants to play next year, and I'm a little nervous about that. He's so much smaller than most of the kids. He's fast, and he's learning some skills, but he doesn't have the same stamina. So I volunteered to be a coach (gulp). I thought it would be a good way to make sure that L can be pulled out if he needs to be. M is going into U 10 this year and so he will be playing kids from other counties. In another two years, he will be in middle school. I can't believe that he's almost 9.

B is still gone, but he seems to be having a good time at GC. He has been seeing quite a few people that he knows.

Last week was crazy, as we had to get the boy from G & G's house, and go to a Reds Game. I'm afraid that my being a Royals fan in the stadium has completely ruined their winning streak. Before Friday, they had won 8 in a row, and now they've lost 6. To all the Reds fans out there: I'm really sorry. I had no idea that if I went to a game, I'd mess up their mojo! But, be heartened: the Reds are playing the Royals next week. I'm sure they can beat the poor old boys in blue.

I did manage to get in some cycling last week and even this week. It's not like the distance or time I put in before, but at least it's a start. (And a huge stress reliever!) If someone can watch the boys for a bit over the weekend, I'm going to go out on the Dolce (poor thing has been stuck in the garage for the last two weeks) and get in a good ride.

So, last week's stats: 48.04 miles at an average of 14.8 miles per hour (not bad for commuting miles). I was on the bike for 3 hours and 15 minutes. I managed to ride at least 4 days. This week (so far--I had to miss riding on Monday, as I needed to go to the bank), I have ridden two days for a total of 22.11 miles at an average of 14.7 mph. It's been windier this week and there has been road construction. I have been riding s-l-o-w-l-y through that. At least I'm not sitting in a car watching it overheat. I'm still moving.

I need to commit to a century soon. One of the centuries I was looking at isn't exactly a century--it is a two day 100 mile ride. Maybe I'll do one for the Indianopolis zoo, instead. I am definitely going to sign up for the ride to Shaker Village, which isn't a century, but I need a break from everyone here.

I'm not feeling overwhelmed any more. We've started the time without Daddy, and it's been okay. Patti (imagine a heart dotting the i) still barks at air though. The boys are enjoying the sitters and the newest one actually told me to call her anytime. : ) Finding good sitters is always something that makes me happy. I've only been making food that the boys like (we've had bean and cheese burritos, barbecued chicken, quesadillas and pizza so far--tomorrow looks like meatloaf) so there hasn't been any meal stress either. I even paid our bills and still have some money left (but not much, oh fates!). We finished the 3rd book in the Overlander Series and decided to go and buy the fourth. Yep--we're still reading books about giant cockroaches, bats and rats. It's good to have boys.

I'll try to post pics of the garden. Tomorrow we will need to weed and water, and if I can remember the camera, there will be pictures!

Feeling overwhelmed

I am feeling completely overwhelmed and in over my head. This summer (a time that's supposed to be lazy) has been busier than the school year. I am already tired, and just feeling even worse when I think about what I have to do in the next few weeks.

Part of the issue is that I'm teaching summer school. It's a six week course, and we meet another 6 times (four times next week, then MT the week after). That's not so bad, but the problem is that B is going to be leaving on Sunday for Columbus, OH and won't be coming back until the 21. I've been madly trying to find child care as most of our babysitters are going to be gone during this time. I have found child care--thank goodness. To add to the fun, Pattie is coming. She's fun, and it will be fine, but it's just one more thing. If I had known about all of this, I would not have taught this summer.

This evening, we are going to No. KY to pick up M and see the Reds game. Tomorrow, we must rush back, as B is the MC for the deacon ordination and I have to get all of the laundry done so he can pack for Columbus.

At least the vegetable garden is now planted. It looks pretty good, and we should see some germination soon.

Even though I only was able to ride four days this week, I still rode for almost 50 miles. The one thing I'm going to miss about teaching is the 11 miles a day that I have been able to do. Sigh.

Happy news: M spent this week at soccer camp at NKU. It was for boys 8-14 and they were not separated by age. One of the activities was a mini World Cup. M and his teammate (2 on 2 ball) were Slovakia. They played very well, and to M's surprise, won. As in first.

He's 8.





*edited later to add: or maybe they were Slovenia. I just can't remember.

Busy, busy, but not much news

We are busily going about our activities. Some how, summer has been busier than the "regular" part of the year. I'm teaching (8 class meetings left), B is getting ready for General Convention, M is at soccer camp, and L is being himself (lucky us). It's incredibly crazy.

I have found child care for 4 of the seven days I am going to need it. I have leads for the other three days. The doughnut spare dog will also be here.

B is cramming to be prepared for General Convention. There is a lot going on and he may have to vote. He is away an awful lot. He was gone for a week in May, and now will be gone for a week and a half in June. Luckily, both of us are working at Mini Camp, so he won't be leaving us for that.

M is at soccer camp at NKU. He is having a wonderful time because he is also getting to be alone with G&G. L sees them more than M, as they live close to Children's and we often spend the night before any appointments. L is ticked that he's not there too, but M deserves to be the spoiled grandchild.

L is busy. He is going to plant purple carrots with me today in the garden. We have a few things left to plant and then it's time to weed, water, weed, water, and so on. Hopefully we will have veggies soon.

Maybe I'll have pictures for you later.

Cycling is going well. It's amazing how many miles you can go when you do short little trips daily. Last week I managed to ride 82 miles. This week and the next three won't be as good, but oh well.