My marathon experience

Ken and I had planned to take a bus trip to D.C. last Sunday to see the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef at the Smithsonian. He insisted I go without him. What a guy.

Off I went with a busload of friends, knitting all the way.

Pure joy.

In order to actually get to the Museum of Natural History, we found it necessary to participate in the St. Patrick's Day marathon. OK. In all truth, we were told the only way to cross Constitution Avenue was to actually join the runners and exit the race on the other side of the street. Can you say "Why did the knitters cross the road?" We did a little victory dance after we made it to the other side. One more thing I can cross off my bucket list, I guess.

Since I'm writing this on St. Patty's Day, I am saving the actual coral reef info for later. I believe I have never had so much fun while in our nation's capitol.

They even had their St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday, in beautiful weather, just for us!

I discovered I'm a sucker for team mascots, even though I always believed myself to be a one-mascot woman, that being the Philly Phanatic. Harsh truth, but there you have it. The Washington Nationals had four mascots in attendance, and they were awesome. A beautiful day and a beautiful parade.

Deja vu all over again

Ken's home from the hospital after his second surgery in less than 4 months. Truth be told, if he hadn't had the first surgery for an aneurysm in the celiac artery, he wouldn't have been concerned about the pains in his abdomen on Feb. 23rd. He wouldn't have contacted his surgeon, and he wouldn't have had the CAT scan and blood work that necessitated surgery for a blockage the very next day. The blockage was due to scar tissue from the first surgery but, along with removing that, his surgeon removed a carcinoid tumor , his appendix, and some amount of intestine. Testing revealed the tumor to be malignant. It had spread to 3 lymph nodes out of the 17 the surgeon removed. Prognosis is good and this type of cancer does not respond to chemo, so he will need CAT scans and blood work every few months to rule out any further tumors.

Wow.

I came home from my hospital vigil with more back pain and the old sciatic nerve kicking up, but luckily am able to get in for a therapeutic massage to deal with it later today. And relief.

Springtime :)

I love the colors in this yarn. Reminds me of violets, grape hyacinths, maybe even a crocus or two. Purchased 2 balls of it intending to make mittens, even came with a very nice pattern. Somehow, I never cast on for those mittens and now spring is in the air. Et voila! The Storm Cloud Shawlette popped up on Ravelry this morning.

It was fate.

There's no place like home :)

I have a closet in my bedroom that I call my sewing closet because it contains all things pertaining to sewing, which I do very little of these days. Knitting is more fun.

Well, spring cleaning got to me yesterday and I took a stab at the closet, especially the tippy top shelf that I have used as a treasure chest since 1986 for anything memorable/special pertaining to my children.

A little history here: My daughter Jennifer's Aunt Flo gifted her with a very large Raggedy Ann doll the day Jen was born. It came with a special tradition of photographing Jennifer with Raggedy Ann each year on her birthday. I really wanted to continue the tradition (wouldn't it be a hoot to have Jen in her wedding dress with R.A.?) but the practice waned around 7th grade.

Back to the cleaning extravaganza: I uncovered such memories and treasures. Eventually, duty called, dinner had to be cooked and all was forgotten, mid-cleaning. I left everything on a table in my bedroom for another day, along with some pillows, one a very large"husband pillow with arms".

Here's what I saw when I crawled into bed and glanced across the room last night. The wicked witch of the west perhaps????

Going cold tortoise

How could you not love a face like this? Better yet: two faces like this.

It's so very cold and windy outside, but our tortoises enjoyed a comfortable ride to their vet visit in their mulch-lined plastic boxes, accompanied by hot water filled bottles to cozy up their journey.

I went along on the adventure to lend a hand carrying the guys into the vet's office. In truth, I really was curious to see what a tortoise checkup entailed. It was pretty quick, actually looked like just a cursory glance. One can only wonder what the vet was looking for. Anyway, the guys passed with flying colors and entertained the staff and other pet owners. Now they're back home again, awaiting travel instructions. One day soon, they'll take a one hour journey south to the Plumpton Park Zoo in Cecil County, MD , their new home. I'm hoping we'll pass a yarn store along the way, but I digress.

What fun!

Crochet a coral reef??? Sounded intriguing when the idea was shared at a Thursday knit night a few months ago. The idea to be a part of creating a Hyberbolic Crochet Coral Reef caught on in a flash and all the intrepid knitters of LYS dug out scrap yarns of all colors and crochet hooks and off we went, creating wonderful and quite realistic-looking "coral". A field trip to the Smithsonian in D.C. is in the works for warmer weather. The coral reef will be on display in the Sant Ocean Hall through April 24th.

Blast from the past....

Remember 2010? I had such a busy, fun day on New Year's Eve that visions of completing my abc-along sat on the shelf.

So here, in all its glorious lateness, is my attempt at crossing the finish line.

U is for the many UFOs in my knitting collection. It's not unusual for me to get the urge to undertake another project, all the while ignoring any urges to complete at least one of those UFOs.....

V is for Villages, both real and commercial. There's Kitchen Kettle Village in the

village of Intercourse, PA where I can be found almost every Thursday evening, happily spending time with my knitting buddies at the Lancaster Yarn Shop. Visitors have a variety of activities and shopping choices at Kitchen Kettle Village. As for me, I invariably end up spending valuable time at LYS.

W is for Wendy Ellis, the wonderful owner of LYS, who I am willing to say, has the patience of a saint and a knowledge of yarn and fiber, second to none...a knowledge she is always willing to share with others :) Even the tiniest of folks.

Y is for YARN!!!!!!! Enuf said.

Z is for Zeller's Zoo...my home and the residence of various snakes, birds, rescue doggies, fish, turtles, and, the zaniest of the bunch, two tortoises. The tortoises are about 65 lbs. each and will be leaving us in the next week for their new home at a local veterinary facility. I am beyond thrilled. And the zookeeper? That'd be the turkey at the top of this blog, my darling husband Ken.

Happy New Year to all!