"I don't know what happened."

That's all the technician could say. Someone was supposed to let me know that my appointment for today had been cancelled. Oh well, I had to get up anyway to feed the cat. It seems that the cardiologist decided that the scan I had on Tuesday was usable. The resident, who looked at it on Tuesday, must have been unsure. Maybe he was the one who was supposed to call. So for now all I have to do is wait for my primary care physician to call me with the evaluation and plan of treatment.

I have finished the Sursa shawl (aka the Anonymous shawl) but I'm thinking it's not really ready for prime time. The ruffle still doesn't look the way I envision it. I need to let it rest for a while and see if I can find a heavier cotton yarn, one that is more like the weight of the yarn I used in the shawl. So that's it on that for a while.

Since I spent most of yesterday knitting and binding off the shawl I don't have anything else to report. Guess I'll spend some time on the Clapotis and the latest zigzag scarf. Or maybe the lace.

You gotta have heart!

It really irritates me when things don't work the way they're supposed to. Perforations that don't; pop tops that don't; ATMs that won't let you make a deposit. All those daily things that just don't perform the way we've been led to believe they will.

Some of you know that I've been having a series of medical exams. Seems my heart doesn't work quite right either. I have to admit that this more than an irritant. In fact it might even be a major concern. But there's some other problems that are causing delays. Seems my innards aren't exactly where they're expected to be. Last week when I had an ultra-sound the technician couldn't find my gall bladder. I had to assure her twice that I hadn't had it removed. Finally, a more experienced person found it. Just not quite where it was expected to be.

I took a treadmill test a few weeks ago and my heart rate escalated much more rapidly than it was expected to. So I was scheduled for a nuclear exam. That's already enough to scare me. But I went and had it done yesterday. But some of my other innards are in the way. Not where there're normally found. So the scans are not usable. I have to go back tomorrow and get a different isotope injected and then have another scan. I'm hoping this one will do it.

So what does all this have to do with the photo at top? I'm making a sample lace scarf using one of the stitch patterns from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, Barbara Walker's first book of stitch patterns. Her patterns work. I've used a lot of them and have never found an error. I've never heard of anyone who has.

I'm planning to use a lot of old Rowan Seabreeze, a discontinued cotton yarn, to make lace samples. I like the kind of rustic look the cotton gives the lace. I'm hoping some of my students will see these and be encouraged to try lace. It's really pretty easy when you get right down to it.

Theme and variation

It's been a pretty non-productive week knitting-wise. I've fiddled around with lots of different projects and ideas but I haven't finished anything. Some almosts but nothing totally done.

It interesting to me how certain themes show up on the blogs I read. Sometimes it's that a lot of people are making the same thing. Or a lot of people are getting into spinning. Today I found a lot of knit blogs I read are all about cleaning up UFOs and getting projects finished or ripped. Including me.

I don't have any idea how many projects I have in the works. I know that some of them are years old. My aran sweater, for example. A pair of socks from 2003. Multiple scarves. And yet I start new ones.

So, once in a while I get the urge to finish some stuff. Like the raglan I'm making for the shop. I did get a lot done on it yesterday in between trips to the laundry room and naps with the cat. I won't get much done on it today though since I'm at A Stitch in Time all day and then I'm going out to dinner with Mendy and Judy and then to Friday Night Knitting Fever at Lammia's. The cat will have to nap alone. Anyway, I wonder if I'll be able to stick with this project until it's done. And then should I work on the Clapotis and finish that or maybe those socks.

Last night we went to El Cholo for a thank you dinner. Alison, the shop owner, took all us out to say thank you for keeping the shop running while she was focusing on the marketplace at the Showcase House. That's over now and all the unsold merchandise is back in the store. We're also gearing up for the mid-year sale. That starts next Friday. Anyway, the dinner was nice and it was fun to see everyone together, especially the ladies who have been staffing the booth at Showcase.

Since Monday is a holiday and the shop is closed I'll be having a whole week off. I won't be back there until next Friday. Maybe I'll have time to finish something.

Getting started

This is not the start of the Cotton Fleece top. It's the top down raglan I've been putting off for several weeks. When I was trying to find something in my knitting bag I found the few rows I had done and decided I'd better get back to it.

The color is a bit washed out. I'm using Malabrigo worsted in Lettuce. Have you used this stuff? It's wonderful. Soft. Easy to knit. Not scratchy at all. I was using some Clover bamboo circulars because that was all I had with me when I started. Have I mentioned lately how much I dislike these needles? So I've switched to some very old Boye that have a much better point and they don't have that annoying little bump where the cable joins the needle. The one that makes it really difficult to move the stitches onto the needle. It's going much better.

I have forty rows done and am almost done with the increases. I still have to decide how I'm going to treat the sleeves and the body. I keep thinking a lace pattern but then it's wool so that might be incongruous. I started thinking I'd do a ribbing and finish it off with a small ruffle. I might still do that since ruffles seem to be popular right now. It's a shop sample so I don't have to make it last forever.

Oh man! It's way too early!

Another day of not much knitting to report. Just a little Dulaan last night with a fine bunch of friends. And Mendy made a Hummingbird cake. We don't know why it's called that. It was filled with banana, pineapple, pecans and I don't know what else and had a cream cheese frosting that alone was worth the calories. Anyway, I finished another hat and worked on the 2X2 ribbing hat that is taking way too long.

So I'm up even earlier than usual. I have an ultra-sound to take this morning and I have to go a long way to get to where the test is scheduled. Under normal traffic conditions it should take about twenty minutes to get where I need to be but I'm going during the morning rush traffic so I'm allowing about an hour. Being late for anything is just not an option for me. I'll take a book along just in case.

I was a little concerned that I might over sleep. But Patrick wanted to eat even earlier than usual so I've been up since four. And I can't have any coffee or anything else so I'm feeling weird. I wonder if there are Starbucks in Baldwin Park and if so where are they.

Once I get home I'm so taking a nap and then maybe start actually planning that new Cotton Fleece top I was thinking about yesterday. Or knit some more on the Clapotis.

What to write?

There's just not much new around here. I'm still plodding along on the Clapotis. I thought I was about ready to start the decrease end but I don't think it's long enough yet. I'm using a thinner yarn than the pattern recommends so I'm not surprised. It's just taking a long time.

The Anonymous Shawl is still waiting for it's ruffle. So far I've tried three different colors. None of them really work. Fortunately I have plenty of other colors to try. Next up is a light lavender/blue. Not today though. I need a break.

It's not a good thing when I get stalled like this. That's a sure sign I'm getting ready to start something else. I swatched some Cotton Fleece last night. The dark lime green I got at the swap meet at the beginning of May. I only have seven hanks so my choices are limited. I think Lisa may be getting a new short sleeve top with a lace insert, or something like that.

A Stitch in Time, where I work, is having a sale next month. All knitting yarns and needlepoint canvases are on sale. The yarn is 30% off with selected yarns being 50% off. In order to get the 50% off price you have to buy everything we have in that color. The cards announcing the sale have already been sent out so that means we won't be very busy for the next few days.

Get thee to a knit shop!

If I try real hard I can think of four or five yarn shops around Los Angeles County that I have never been to. That is, of the ones I know about. I wonder how many there are that I don't know about. I went to one on Saturday that I'd never heard of.

The Knitter's Studio in West Los Angeles is a small but well stocked shop. They have a nice selection of mostly upscale yarns like Koigu, Lorna's Laces and Alchemy. (I had to get some souvenir yarn so I got a couple of hanks of LL worsted in the color Mother Lode.)The yarns are arranged by color rather than weight or brand. I know a lot of people don't like that but I find it very pleasing. And you can tell right away if there's enough in the colorway you've selected instead of having to dig through a whole shelf or bin like in some shops that I won't mention.

The biggest problem with going over there is parking. It's practically non-existent or it requires a specific permit. And there are parking meters, even on the residential streets. We were lucky and found a place after only three circuits around the block. There are some jerks over there though.

What else have you got to do?

Before I retired I thought I'd be able to sit at home and knit all day. I wouldn't have to get up early either and I could stay up as late as I wanted. It was going to be so nice to just do whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to.

It's not like that. Not complaining, mind you, just talking about how busy I can be. I get up early. That's the cat's fault. I don't stay up much past eleven. I do need at least six hours of sleep if I'm going to function. The first couple of hours of the day I read blogs and write emails, feed and brush the cat, and stuff like that. Then it's out for the morning walk, home for breakfast and brushing the cat some more.

I might have some time to knit for a while or visit my stash for a while. Then it's time to have some lunch and a nap. Maybe some more knitting in the afternoon. Or else I'm off to check out some yarn shops. Or maybe I need to go to Trader Joe's.

Then, depending on what day it is, I'm off to knit with friends at Unraveled and then on to either my Dulaan knitting group or my Thursday night knitting group. And if it's Monday or Friday I'm at A Stitch in Time teaching. If I'm home in the evening I might get some more knitting in, between trips to the kitchen to feed the cat. He won't eat if I don't walk him to his bowl. And then we have to play String for a while.

Anyway, I don't get very much done even though I'm busy all the time. The cat is sleeping right now so I have a few minutes to write this post. And then I have to get ready for work. I'm going out tomorrow during the day and my daughter is coming over in the evening. Sunday looks pretty open right now. Maybe I can re-do the ruffle on the shawl then.

New yarn because you know you want to know

What a way to spend a day! We spent an hour or so at the big close out sale. I was pretty reserved in my purchases. I stumbled on the bag of Classic Elite Lush. A great color and an even greater price. A bag of five for only $12.50 US. That's the usual price for one skein. Probably the best deal of the day.

A bag of ten. Jaeger Matchmaker Merino. This one I picked up after I'd already checked out. But the color and the price made it irresistable. I hope vests are here for a while. There's not enough to do any really fancy stitches but I can manage a bit of texture here and there.

A bag of GGH Bali in assorted colors. I got it mostly for the raspberry color. I think I'm going to use that as the ruffle on the Anonymous Shawl More about that in a minute.

Seven skeins of Lana Grossa Pashmina. More than enough for a shawl for next winter. I got four skeins of this a few weeks ago in an orange color. On sale then but not as much of a sale as now.

A bag of Cascade Luna. I got this one thinking the color would work with the Anonymous shawl. I've already added the ruffle, except for the binding off, but I'm going to take it out. It looked fine in the store with the sample ball I took to check against. Worked up though it's just too intense and leaps out way more than I want. Another six hours of knitting down the drain. But I think the raspberry Bali will be much better.

After we had exhausted the possibilities and our cash we went to Joseph's for lunch. Crazy over the top decor. Tent like swags of cloth draped low over the booths. Gold and crystal chandeliers, heavily textured stucco work that looked like a bad movie set version of stone. Elaborate cornices and columns. And these sad, skimpy tables that might have been cafeteria rejects. The food was good though. I had a gyro pita. I could have eaten another one. I shared H's sampler plate instead.

I don't know how true this is but it was presented as a fact. There are going to be even deeper discounts before the shop goes out of business next month.

First you say you will and then you won't and then you say you do and then you don't

You may recall that I was thinking about going to Black Sheep Knittery today. However. late yesterday I talked it over with my knitting muse and it was decided that we didn't really need to go since we don't either one need any more yarn. Of course, it was easier for her to decide that since she'd already been the day before and culled the cream of the yarn crop. So we weren't going.

I got home from Dulaan knitting about 10:30 and there was a message on my machine to call her. So I did. It appears we're going after all. Not because either one of us needs more yarn. But someone else needs an outing and she wanted to go to BSK. So, for the moment anyway, we're back on. Sometimes you just can't make a sensible decision and have it stick. We're not going until after noon so there's still time for another change.

Not much exciting happening on the knitting scene. I finished a hat and am about half way through another one for the Dulaan project. I worked a few rows on the Clapotis. (I'm more than half way through.) There's still the ruffle to redo on the Anonymous Shawl. I have a hankering to work on some socks, new ones. Not ones I've already started. Maybe I will and maybe I won't.

Who could resist?

Given the high prices for gasoline ($3.559/gal for regular last Saturday) and the rising cost of postage I'm finding it more and more difficult to engage in my yarn shopping hobby. But then along comes this 75% off sale at Black Sheep Knittery. I hear they've put out some more Koigu and Noro and all kinds of other temptations. Must resist. Must resist. Maybe tomorrow I'll just go take a peek.

Speaking of Koigu. Yesterday I overheard one of the ladies I work with talking on the telephone.

"What kind of yarn?"
"Sounds like those new needles we have." (She meant Chai Goo.)
"Could you spell it?"
"No. We don't have that."

I was yelling Koigu across the shop but the customer had already hung up. I can't believe I had to explain Koigu. You call yourself a knitter and you don't know what Koigu is? I did my best to describe it but I guess I'm going to have to take some in to show her. I exaggerate, of course. I have a feeling though that she's not going to get it.

H and her blog

My friend H (of L&H fame) has a blog. I recommend it. At first, like a week ago, when she started to blog it was going to be a secret so I couldn't even mention it in front of anyone. Now she's decided that it would be okay if other people knew about it. Her Mother's Day post is a winner. It's nice to know that H isn't as cynical as she likes to pretend. Please go and say hello.

Added later

I got myself into a panic over the weekend. I was reading blogs as I am wont to do, even on weekends. Suddenly I realized that Ryan was trying to tell me something. Not only is the deadline to ship rapidly approaching but I also haven't done as many adult sized hats as I had intended. I'm not kidding. I really felt panic set in. I dropped every project I had planned to work on and immediately began a hat. So far so good. Now if only I can find the rest of the mohair I'm using as a carry along. (Note to self: do not put things away. You'll never remember where you put them.) So, since I haven't found the rest of the mohair I'm working on a different hat.

I have some Maratona that has been kicking around for several years. Not enough for a garment but plenty for hats. After I got rid of the skeins that the moths had tasted I cast on for a ribbed had. Relatively small needles though. Not sure what I was thinking if I planned on making a bunch of hats in just a few weeks. I'll start something else tonight and use the Maratona for filler when I'm just waiting around for something to happen.

I should have taken it with me last night when I went to dinner at Robert's. But I thought he might think it was rude for me to knit while we visited. Not that it would have mattered. His other guests were much ruder than I would have been. Let me just say, I won't be going back if those same people are also invited. It's a long story.

I'm making progress. Slowly. Someone should have warned me of how monotonous it is to knit the Clapotis. I'm not saying it's a bad pattern. It's actually quite well thought out. It's just than once you hit the middle stretch it gets pretty repetitive. And if you're like me and count stitches every row, pretty soon you've put yourself into a trance. Or more likely you've realized that a nap is the most important thing you want to do right now. But I'm getting there.

Originally I had planned to make this a very long shawl. I have lots of yarn. I don't think I'm going to do that now. It'll be just fine if I make it to the pattern dimensions.

We had the largest turnout for Dulaan knitting that we've had in weeks. I finished this hat earlier in the day but I forgot to take it for show and tell. In fact, I forgot all the hats I've been accumulating. That, in spite of the fact that I had put them right by the front door so I wouldn't forget. All too common anymore.

To the rescue

After much emailing back and forth it was decided that the best thing we could do was to go rescue some of the yarn at Black Sheep Knittery. The fire had been largely controlled and only a couple of routes were still blocked. We couldn't take our usual route over Forest Lawn Drive so we went out to Cahuenga and over to the 101 freeway. Only a slightly longer trip.

I got two hanks of Schaeffer Anne. I already have six or seven hanks of this yarn but have never tried to knit it. But the colors are irresistable. You can still smell the vinegar. For a change, the colors in the photo are pretty close to the actual yarn.

And these three hanks of Koigu we found hovering in a bin that was way below eye level. I don't know that this is one of their most brilliant colorways but Koigu at half price is not to be passed up. Again, the photo is pretty close to the real thing. Maybe a bit brighter than the yarn.

I don't expect that any of the firefighters that were there fighting the huge Griffith Park fire actually read my blog. But if there are any, or if you know any of them, please let them know how much we appreciate their efforts and success in containing that fire in as short a time as they did. And to the guy who may have started the whole thing, why do you think they have all those No Smoking signs?

The long hot summer begins

The heavy smoke that we were getting yesterday afternoon seems to have dissipated. There's still a trace of it in the air. And so far today the winds have died down so that should help with the firefighting effort in Griffith Park. The wind was so strong over the weekend that it blew my pot of amaryllis over. When I went out on the balcony yesterday it was lying top down on the deck. All the stems of flowers were crushed as well as most of the leaves. It was about done with the blooming season so maybe there's no permanent damage. I've uprighted it and given it a good watering and today is a bit cooler. That should help.

We were planning a trip to Black Sheep Knittery today but have decided to postpone until Saturday. Access to that part of Hollywood is very near to the site of the fire and there have been lots of highway and street closures so it makes going somwhat risky. Mostly because we'd probably get caught in some terrific traffic jams.

We wanted to go because the 50% off sale has been extended once again. This time until Memorial Day. The last time I was there a couple of weeks ago there was still plenty of inventory except for Koigu. And the Addi bamboo circulars I wanted. I hear that more stuff has been brought out. Debbie Bliss and GGH. And there was lots of Manos when I was there.

I went over to Monrovia yesterday to get a haircut. (From my regular barber. Not the one who did such a terrible job a few weeks ago.) The shop is just across the street from Unraveled so I went there afterwards a spent a couple of hours knitting with L&H. Spent most of the evening working of the Clapotis and have started doing some of the dropped stitch rows. No photo yet.

What next?

Anyone recognize this? I might be the last knitter in the world to make this. And I'm almost finished with the increases and will soon be letting some stitches run. You guessed it. I'm finally making the Clapotis scarf. I was going to make it as a shawl but I think this yarn will behave better as a scarf, and I won't have to add a whole bunch of more increases.

I'm using some yarn from stash, Lano Grossa Elastico Print, that I got at Unwind shortly after they opened a couple of years ago. It's easy to knit and and there's plenty of yardage, 150m/50g. And I have nine skeins. I wonder why I don't have ten. Must be they didn't have that many.

I rather enjoyed sticking to one project and seeing it through from start to finish. Let's see if I can extend that feeling to another long, repetitive pattern.

No MSWF for me

I have a fantasy that someday I'll be able to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I'm reading lots of blogs from people who actually went this year. Sounds like it would have been lots of fun.

Since I couldn't go this year I sort of created my own. I already mentioned going to the new yarn shop on Saturday. That was exciting. Lots of new Kureyon waiting to be put away. Yesterday though was completely unexpected.

Lisa came over early so we could go to the swap meet. We haven't been in a couple of years. The day was going to get hot so we went early, just as soon as we'd had our coffee. I almost never find anything there that I would bother to carry home. This time though there was one vendor who had YARN! Not a lot of it but enough to stop me. I got seven skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and two hanks of Manos del Uruguay for a total of $28US. So that was my seredipitous fiber event. There was more but I didn't take my check book with me or enough cash.

After the swap meet we celebrated Cinco de Mayo, a day late, by going to brunch at Acapulco. Obligatory margaritas and champagne.

After considering some of the color options for the ruffle on the Anonymous Shawl, Lisa decided on the bright pink, although she did think it was pretty bright. I did a couple of rows after she left. I think it's too much. Kind of takes over. So I'm taking it out and doing some more research in the stash. There's gotta be something.

New yarn shop

Well it's sorta new. Entirely new to me. Hissy Knits in Glendale. Well, sorta in Glendale. It's on the east side, very close to Eagle Rock.

I think the owner was going for funky. Near miss. So far I think they only have yarns from KFI. But they have that in depth. I've never seen so much Noro in one place. They have less now that they did when I got there. Of course L&H helped a lot too.

They're also having a sale but I think it ends today. On the other hand, they almost always have a sale going on.

And they're moving to a new location at the end of the month.

Choices

Well, H did not approve my original choice for the ruffle on the Anonymous shawl. Thought it was too pink or something. So I'm considering this Tahki Cotton Classic Orange. Seems a little bright to me but I saw a more muted orange when I was at Unraveled yesterday. So I may get that even though I'm trying to work from stash.

Or I might use this more marigold color. That's some Gedifra St. Tropez that I've had for several years. It's actually more orange than it appears in the photo. It's also pretty bright but I like the texture of the yarn more than the Tahki for this shawl. And it's from stash.


Of course I might go in an entirely different direction and try something cooler like the Cascade Sierra in a bluish lavender. I still need to find the perfect color. I'm looking to see if I have any bright purple.

Self-indulgence

Yesterday I ordered one of these. It costs a lot but it's so worth it. We have one at A Stitch in Time and it is such improvement over the old winder that, well, there's just no comparison. I don't know how long it will take to get but I hope it's soon. It looks like, from their web page, that they're managed to improve their turnaround time so maybe sometime this month.

It's not that I need a new ball winder. The one that Lisa gave me maybe twenty years ago still works pretty well. And I don't always have to wind the yarn I buy. But I don't have many interests other than my knitting and this new toy will be a delight to use. Besides, I'll be the envy of my friends. I'm sure they'll all be waiting to see who will inherit this when I'm gone.

When I changed my blog format a few things changed that I haven't taken the time to fix. I used to use YACCS for my comments but now I use the one that Blogger provides. With the old system I almost always got an email address so I could respond to the comment. With Blogger that doesn't happen. Unless the commenter is also a Blogger user. So when I get comments from people that don't use Blogger I can't always reply directly. So I guess I'm going to do what I've seen others do. Reply in my blog.

Beth left a comment yesterday, asking if I had any ideas for a shawl for her daughter's upcoming wedding. Something simple and light weight. There are a number of shawls at knitty that would work. I think the Clapotis would be good if it's not too heavy. I think the bias would help the shawl stay on. If you want something simpler why not use one of the Scribble scarves from the Mason-Dixon book. They're easy to work and to adapt. Some lace mohair and silky ribbon in a color that matches her dress. I think one of the most important things would be to make sure the shawl is easy to wear. Anyway, those are my first thoughts on a wedding shawl.

The Showcase House tour was lovely. We got to spend some time with M who dids a bedroom and bath for the house. He also knit one of the Mason-Dixon log cabin blankets for the bed. It was a little shy of being done but it looked great and no one could tell that it wasn't finished.

Running late

I'm running later than usual today. My cat Patrick slept in this morning so we didn't get up until after 5:30. I really appreciated that extra hour since I was late getting home and even later than usual getting to bed.

Most of the time when I go to one of my knitting nights I'm home by eleven. I was about half an hour later yesterday and still wanted to check my email and messages. Of course, I got side tracked looking around and following links.

And again this morning I dawdled a lot before getting my day started. But I finally got out and did a couple of hours worth of errands. Then home to look for some more shawl patterns. And now it's almost time to leave again to go to the showcase house tour.

That stack of hats is what I currently have ready to take to Mendy's to put in the Dulaan box. Only a few of them are current. Most of them I stumbled upon when I was cleaning my stash room last week. I had to wash them first and they didn't dry sufficiently for me to take them last night. I should have a couple more by this time next week. Unless I start some more shawls.

Anonymous

Some progress on the current shawl. It's loosely based on this shawl from Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton's Noro Collection, Book Number Two, the Sursa Shawl. I say it's loosely based because I only used the pattern to get some idea of how the shaping was done. I'm using a totally different yarn, On Line Linie 95, Summer-Mistral, that I've had in stash for a couple of years. That's the body yarn. The ruffle will be the Cotton Classic which I've also had for several years.

I'm not always one to give my projects a name although I sometimes do. This one I'm calling the Anonymous Shawl. It's a tribute to Anonymous who left a comment on my blog yesterday. Who is Anonymous? I'll pretend I don't know but I'm sure anyone with the right techie skills could trace the comment. In one of those curious twists of fate I had been thinking of writing something about H (of L&H fame) but was waiting to talk to L before I did so. I've contacted L and she said it would be okay so long as I was discreet.

So, who is H?

If you hang out in yarn shops anywhere within a fifty mile radius of the San Gabriel Valley there's a high probability that you will have seen L&H at some point. The mother and daughter team spend hours and hours checking out all the yarn shops and usually beating me to the newest and latest yarns. H is the daughter.

H can knit. She can knit no matter what happens. She's had some really serious health issues since last fall. She's had every kind of medical test that's out there. None of us are satisfied that the source of her ailment has been correctly diagnosed. Most of the medications that have been prescribed have either not helped or have caused other problems, sometimes both. While she's feeling somewhat better she still has unbearable days. Throughout all this H has been knitting. Knitting like Mme Defarge, with a determination and focus. Or perhaps like EZ, with hope and confidence. But knitting. Mostly shawls and scarves of outrageous color combos and fibers. I love her style.

A lot of school has been missed. H is a brilliant student and deserves much better treatment from the self-absorbed school administration than she's getting. Every child deserves special attention, not this do-it-by-the-numbers shirking of responsibility that is being meted out. I have no hair left to pull out but I would if I could. And still she knits.

H just makes me laugh. I enjoy sitting with her and teasing. She's my source for trendy fashion news. I don't know how she does it but she always knows what every celebrity was wearing on any given day, and probably what they were doing. And she's really smart.

As Anonymous said, H is going through some modifications to her dental structure. We're learning lots about the state of dental technology and artistic repositioning. Have you seen those transparent braces? They're new to me. They sure make your teeth look white, eerily white. I think the first day H went through a whole tube of gum-numbing ointment. Did you know that you can get your teeth shaved? I guess that's better than removing teeth to make room. H was really knitting hard and fast!

H is also the chairperson, and so far as I know, the only member of PACINOS*. I have to see if I have some socks to donate. I'll be seeing L&H later today. Before I go to my Dulaan knitting.

Thanks, Anonymous, for the suggestion. Hope you're having a good day. Don't let the tutors make you crazy. How was the geometry exam yesterday?

*Partially African Child in Need of Socks. Sometimes she just slays me.