Mall Adventures

Somebody on an online list asked me if I had a good time at the mall.

Did I have a good time at the mall? I rarely have a good time at the mall. I go there when I need something that is best found there, as in LensCrafters, where we go mostly for the convenience. The plan was to go there, and while the glasses were being made, go to the DMV. The best laid plans gang aft agley (or something like that). When I finally got to the mall (I had to turn around half way there as I forgot to bring my new glasses prescription), I found that every staff member at LensCrafters was busy, and their sign in list must have had ten people on it who had not been seen. Okaaaayy, so we change plans.

Instead of waiting in line at LensCrafters, I waited in line at the DMV. I am so glad I brought my crochet projects. One is a "standing" project, a string bag so light I can do it standing up. And I stood for quite a while. I counted my blessings. At least I was not standing in that line with a baby. With no bathroom nearby. I think I caught a whiff of diaper, too. When I got to the front of the line it occurred to me that I hope that the information desk duty is one that is passed around. I would hate to have to face the people that lady was facing EVERY SINGLE DAY I came to work. She was the one who assigned numbers that sorted you by what you wanted done. My case was simple. Grab a clipboard and have a seat. By the time I finished filling out the form, my number came up. The fellow who handled my case and I cracked a little wise at each other, and I took a seat to wait for my photo to be taken and the license printed out. Then, I got to work on my "sitting" project, a bathmat for Matt. And, ya know, the picture wasn't that bad! I may just do this by mail next time. The main reason I didn't do it by mail this time was the horrible photo. I had it taken just as my hair was coming back in the first time.

Back to LensCrafters. I didn't have to wait to be seen, and we handled that pretty fast. Then, I had an hour and a half to kill. At the mall. Feh. I just can not get into the window shopping or mall crawling, or whatever it is that people seem to enjoy at the mall. I had a salad and slice of Cinnamon Cream Cake at "The Corner Bakery." It's a chain, I am pretty sure. The cake was okay, but the slice was too large. I suppose if I had forced myself, I could have finished it, but that behavior has led to my current weight problem, so I left a lot of it. Then, I found a place to sit overlooking the "grand court" or whatever they call it and started work on the bathmat some more. They had a college football game on. I was sort of idly watching it, and saw that one of the teams was wearing red. Oh, can't be Nebraska, they have red helmets on. Oh, hey, that's Penn State's coach. Those are the guys in white. Now, what's his name? He has been the coach there since God was a boy? Dang, I should know this! Ummmm, ummmm . . . Joe Paterno! I was so pleased with myself that I shared this discovery with the poor man sitting at the other end of the bench. Poor guy must have thought I was nuts. I am pretty sure it didn't take him that long to come up with Joe's name.

I found a loo, and then went back to LensCrafters. One day I will park at the right entrance to get there. I even checked the map of the Mall on Friday in hopes of not taking too long of a hike. I screwed it up again. It is on the OTHER side of Lord and Taylor, you moron! Anyway, I got my glasses, and got out of there.

I visited the new yarn shop and bought some yarn, of course. Gotta keep them in business, don't I? Then home.

Just in case you were wondering how my day went.

Ruth Update, October 15, 2007

Dear Friends, Relatives, and Prayer Partners,

It is amazing how little life changes when you find out that you have incurable cancer. I go to work, I go to the grocery store, I sleep in my own bed, and do laundry. I worry about Timmy's school work. I think about what I will crochet next. I even ordered some yarn! As if I didn't have enough stash.

At the same time, I have learned a little about what is really going on, here. According to most expectations, I have several years left, and most of them will be pretty good. One person even promised me that I would see Timmy graduate from high school. He is in seventh grade. She did not, however, promise that I would play with my grandchildren. I hadn't told her about my college freshman son, though. No, Matt, no rush! I am much more concerned about your happiness in this matter than I am concerned about playing with babies. I should have plenty of time to knit and crochet things for those grandchildren, though. There will be a hug in every stitch.

Another point is that there are advancements made in cancer treatment all the time. The drug that can keep me alive indefinitely could be available any time. The drugs that cure cancer could be out there, and we just don't know it!

There are many kinds of miracles. Just look at HIV-AIDS. Those who are lucky enough to have quality health care can live healthy lives for years, as long as they take their medicines. The vast majority of people with HIV, though, will never see those drugs. The same with cancer. I am alive today because I have good health care. People who don't have access to that health care die, and sometimes people don't even know what has killed them. I just heard today that the Indian Health Service often doesn't treat cancer. Some service.

Okay, I will get down off of the soapbox that I am not qualified to stand upon.

I just had my first Aredia today. Assuming that I don't have a bad reaction, my next infusion of it will be on November 12th. I will also get the Faslodex shot at the same time. I am supposed to get lab work done so that it is available on the day that I have the infusions. They need to watch my kidney function with the Aredia.

I plan to attend a support group tomorrow evening.

You haven't seen the last of me!

Please pray for whatever miracle we can get. Please also support medical research however you can.

Get your mammograms. Do your self-exams.

Ruth
http://ruthsmusings.blogspot.com

My brush with Harlotry

When Stephanie Pearl McPhee said she was short, we didn't realize how serious she was:







But, seriously, when knitters go to a Yarn Harlot event, they wear their best stuff. Unfortunately, my best stuff is crocheted:
























Stephanie didn't hold it against me, though, and she signed all four of my books, and even let me hold the travelling sock! We did not plan our wardrobes. Honest.


















There were, of course, other knitters. Here is my buddy Jayme, and she is a production knitter. Or, maybe I should say she is a producing knitter:

















And, just in case you were wondering what to get me for Christmas, I wear a size 12 women's shoe. These are Birkenstocks:

Now, I have to get going. We are going to New York! Gotta throw some stuff in the bags.

The Red Scarf Project

Some of you know that I knit and crochet. Knitters and Crocheters are known as very giving people (okay, so that may be a gross generalization, but work with me here!). Knitters and crocheters are often working on charity projects for those who may be less fortunate and need a little extra warmth.

There is a charity that has caught my attention called The Red Scarf Project. In short, scarves are made and donated the the Orphan Foundation of America, and they are sent to foster children who have "aged out" of foster care and are now in college. There are other ways to support the Orphan Foundation, and you can find them via their home page. If, however, you would like to donate as a knitter or crocheter, you might consider reading about a new fund set up just for us, and told about by Now Norma Knits, another blogger who has taken on this project as her own. I even contributed a simple pattern to her via her comments:

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I have a suggestion for a crochet pattern, and you can see an example on my blog:
http://ruthsmusings.blogspot.com/2007/05/crochet-extravaganza.html


Chain desired length for the scarf.
Row 1: SC in the back ridge of second chain and in each chain back, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: SC in back loop of each sc.
Repeat row 2 to desired width of scarf.
To make as pictured, change colors every two rows of sc. If desired, you may slip stitch in each sc of the last row to make it look like the first stripe, which is a bit wider due to the foundation chain.
I used Caron Simply Soft, holding two strands together and using an "N" hook (I think). It took me two evenings. I incorporated the loose ends from the stripes into the fringe.

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Anyway, Norma has a button where you can contribute to the OFA via PayPal. I am not even going to attempt to post a button on my blog for a loooooooong time, so please go to Norma and use her button!

Thanks.

Ruth

Hello from Nebraska!

Yes, I am in my home state. I am once again chaperoning a group of theater students from my son's school to the International Thespian Society's annual festival at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. A lot of fun is had by all, and lots of shows are seen. These are all high school productions, but good-quality ones. I also get to see my brother, Andy, who lives nearby, and plan to spend some time with him and my cousin Jan on Thursday. In the meantime, I am getting lots of exercise.

The last time I came here, two years ago, I got very sore from walking all over. The theater teacher rented a bicycle for the week, so I thought I would do the same. Now, I am sore in different places. I don't think I have ridden a bike for over 18 years. I used to ride one all the time in Kenya, but haven't done so since then. I also used to have a lambswool bicycle seat cover. Remind me to bring that along next time. I will ask somebody to take pictures of the funny-looking fat old lady on the bike so I can share it with you all.

Next time may be some time from now. Matt has graduated, and is not eligible to participate as a student next year. Timmy has shown some interest in theater, but won't be eligible to come for two more years. I don't think I will spend any of my limited vacation time to chaperon a trip when one of my children is not on it. As it is, I get to take care of the ten girls, making sure they get in by curfew every night, and helping with anything else they may need.

I am getting a bit of crocheting done. I made a string bag for water bottles. It has a very long handle so it can be slung across the chest. If it needs to be smaller, I tie a knot in it. Another thing we need a photo of. I may well be able to plug my data card from my camera directly into this computer. Another technology adventure!

Now, excuse me while a creak out of this chair. I have a play to attend!

A crochet extravaganza

For those of you who have absolutely no interest in crochet, aw heck, read this anyway!


I tend to crochet really practical things. For instance, here we have a bathmat. It is made from


double worsted cotton yarn from Elmore Pisgah It makes a cushy bath mat that is appreciated by the people in our house. And the cats. If you are interested in making the same thing, I used the second pattern found here: Five Textured Dishcloths It is a sturdy stitch, but also ridged. It feels really nice on bare feet.

I can't take any credit for the pattern that showed up in part of the mat, but I thought it was pretty cool. Now, if it were only in pink!
















Here we see a close-up of the bathmat, along with another one, made with the same stitch, only in worsted weight cotton yarn. Also a nice bathmat, but not quite as cushy.












Freya likes both of them, at least when they are laid out on my bed!















I have also found that if you hold two strands of yarn together and use a big hook, you can indeed make a scarf in two evenings. I made this for Matt to wear to school on the day that everybody was wearing Maroon and Orange in honor of the victims at Virginia Tech.



I am really proud of this pattern, since I developed it myself. Both the bags you see here are the same size, but the one with the twelve cans of soda in it has been stretched by the load, and the other one has yet to be used. These are the first bags that I made with the bag in one color and the handles in another. Great in the colors of Matt's school, don't you think?






Now, to get off my duff and try to sell the pattern to a publisher. It might not happen, and you may well find it here! I guess I could sell it on line myself.