Field Report - This and That
So . . . um . . . I started this post on September 24th. This is how my life goes lately :-D
The Book Project Update
I managed to update my list of books read so far this year, and I'm pretty happy to say that not only have I surpassed my goal of 12 books, I'venearly more than tripled it! Yay me! I set a low goal for myself for this project because I wanted a chance of succeeding. And I have. I did start with many of the physical books that were on my "to-read" shelves, but headed on to my Kindle app relatively early on.
One series that I have really liked (and that I mentioned in the previous post) is a Swedish one, called the Sandhamn Murders, by Viveca Sten. It's been made into a show on telly in Sweden and I'm crossing my fingers that PBS will pick it up here. Amazon Prime has it, but they want you buy another service to actually watch the episodes. Uh, yeah - no. Not happening. The 8th book is coming in October, and there will be a 9th sometime next year. Yes, I bought the Kindle versions already . . .
One book I read recently that I didn't really care for was Stars in His Eyes, which said it was a novel, but read as a biography of a well-known Los Angeles restaurateur who was a contemporary of James Deann, Marilyn Monroe, etc. Don't waste your time.
Ijust recently finished a very sexy book - the first in a series set in a dystopian future. It's the Marriage Raffle series, by Stasia Black. If you don't like to read anything that has sex in it. A lot of reverse harem, explicit sex, then skip this series. But if you need to escape for awhile to where the men are always hot and always ready, then this might be your cup of tea. Think of it as a "bodice ripper"set in a bleak future. Based on the first one, I decided to read the rest. Don't bother. I read 2, 3, and 4, and then started 5 but - in keeping with my plan of letting something go that did not grab me after three chapters - I jumped to the end.
I have been working through Panache Desai's book Discovering your Soul Signature. It's a daily read at morning/noon/night. Some days I haven't gotten it done at those times, but I am sort of keeping up. This is good, because the last time I attempted to read it, it just didn't speak to me. I decided to give it another shot and am liking it better this time. Time will tell if I make it all the way through. I think what I'm really liking is that I can see that all the soul work I have done throughout my life has served me well. :-)
The Kidney Stone Medical Study
The second arm of the medical study was scheduled for me on Friday September 13th. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the medication not arriving, and although they thought I was probably going to have the placebo this time anyway, the arm was cancelled.
Even more unfortunately, no one told me it was cancelled until September 12th, the day I was supposed to go to the Lab. That means that I drove downtown in some of the worst traffic I have ever experienced, and paid $25 bucks to park. I got an email that morning from the study administrator saying she was so sorry they had to cancel, and I was like, WHAT?! Apparently someone was supposed to have called me the previous day. Someone didn't. I was not pleased, and the traffic home was just as bad as it had been coming downtown. I took an alternate route, but man. I was a seriously crabby camper. But since I had that Friday off for the study, I went ahead and took it and really enjoyed it. I got so many things done!
The second arm of the study will now be this Friday. I'm looking forward to it.
Other Kidney Stuff
I have to do a 24-hour urine collection for the study, but I also have to do one before I see Dr. Coe again next month, so I'm going to go ahead and take care of that this weekend. It will also entail a Monday morning trip to a lab to have bloodwork done, but I will be able to do that on my way in to work.
Some Knitting
I've managed to knit a few things in the previous months. Well, I finished the Fanged shawl, but I haven't blocked it yet. It's been waiting around since August . . .
I picked up my Banstead Pullover after months (more than a year???) of sitting around. I'm currently on the sleeves and hope to pick the body back up this weekend and knit the yoke. Wish me luck. I'm playing yarn chicken and really hoping that I have enough yarn to finish . . . The yarn is Berroco Remix, which I love.
I also finished a hat for the KAL that's going in my group on Ravelry. The pattern is Night Sky Hat. I had to make some mods for it to fit my melon head, but they were successful! The color is brighter than this photo
I lengthened the garter stitch band to 3" and in each stockinette section I went from 10 rows to 13. Also, I knit this on 3's and 5's rather than the 2's and 4's the pattern called for. The yarn is Three Irish Girls' Glenhaven Cashmerino Sock in the Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night colorway.
On my head, it's not quite this bright, but you can at least see that I got the drape and the fit with my mods:
And here it is on me on Monday. Fall is here in Chicagoland. I'm wearing a fleecy in this shot, but today I broke out my winter coat. My sweetheart, J, says I look good in this photo. :-)
I also attempted to learn the ribber on my circular sock machine . . .
It did not go well. Thankfully, I have a good sense of humor.
:-D
I sort of know what I did wrong (the ribber is too low, for one thing), but I've set up some virtual private lesson time with Jamie Mayfield for early November so I can really learn how to use it. I'm dying to make some ribbed socks and start blasting through my 29-year supply of sock yarn.
And if you happen to need any CSM supplies, Jamie is your girl! Her new website is up and running.
This and That . . .
This is my favorite time of year, and as I contemplate the future - which I seem to do with some regularity lately - I think a lot about this time of year. I've mentioned many times before the old "school-year" calendar and how this time of year really feels like the new year to me. Although J is Jewish, he is culturally Jewish rather than practicing. I have spent some time learning about the major Jewish holidays in an effort to expand my knowledge, but also to be able to honor and share them with J should he wish to do so. Most recently I learned about, Rosh Hashanah. There is a great website called JewBelong, which is pretty hilarious, but also pretty interesting and helpful for a person who is not Jewish. The questions in this Personal Roadmap were very meaningful for me, particularly at this time of year. J and I shared answers to some of them with each other. It was good. And interesting.
My bestie, T, bought a house! So exciting! I've seen the photos and it's very cute and pretty much perfect for her.
I am still caught up in old music. I've sort of moved on from Todd Rundgren, but now I'm stuck in a Bee Gees time warp, and since two of the Brothers Gibb are no longer with us, there won't be any more of their music, so I'm listening to their old stuff. I like them alot. Always have.
Enjoy . . .
The Book Project Update
I managed to update my list of books read so far this year, and I'm pretty happy to say that not only have I surpassed my goal of 12 books, I've
One series that I have really liked (and that I mentioned in the previous post) is a Swedish one, called the Sandhamn Murders, by Viveca Sten. It's been made into a show on telly in Sweden and I'm crossing my fingers that PBS will pick it up here. Amazon Prime has it, but they want you buy another service to actually watch the episodes. Uh, yeah - no. Not happening. The 8th book is coming in October, and there will be a 9th sometime next year. Yes, I bought the Kindle versions already . . .
One book I read recently that I didn't really care for was Stars in His Eyes, which said it was a novel, but read as a biography of a well-known Los Angeles restaurateur who was a contemporary of James Deann, Marilyn Monroe, etc. Don't waste your time.
I
I have been working through Panache Desai's book Discovering your Soul Signature. It's a daily read at morning/noon/night. Some days I haven't gotten it done at those times, but I am sort of keeping up. This is good, because the last time I attempted to read it, it just didn't speak to me. I decided to give it another shot and am liking it better this time. Time will tell if I make it all the way through. I think what I'm really liking is that I can see that all the soul work I have done throughout my life has served me well. :-)
The Kidney Stone Medical Study
The second arm of the medical study was scheduled for me on Friday September 13th. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the medication not arriving, and although they thought I was probably going to have the placebo this time anyway, the arm was cancelled.
Even more unfortunately, no one told me it was cancelled until September 12th, the day I was supposed to go to the Lab. That means that I drove downtown in some of the worst traffic I have ever experienced, and paid $25 bucks to park. I got an email that morning from the study administrator saying she was so sorry they had to cancel, and I was like, WHAT?! Apparently someone was supposed to have called me the previous day. Someone didn't. I was not pleased, and the traffic home was just as bad as it had been coming downtown. I took an alternate route, but man. I was a seriously crabby camper. But since I had that Friday off for the study, I went ahead and took it and really enjoyed it. I got so many things done!
The second arm of the study will now be this Friday. I'm looking forward to it.
Other Kidney Stuff
I have to do a 24-hour urine collection for the study, but I also have to do one before I see Dr. Coe again next month, so I'm going to go ahead and take care of that this weekend. It will also entail a Monday morning trip to a lab to have bloodwork done, but I will be able to do that on my way in to work.
Some Knitting
I've managed to knit a few things in the previous months. Well, I finished the Fanged shawl, but I haven't blocked it yet. It's been waiting around since August . . .
I picked up my Banstead Pullover after months (more than a year???) of sitting around. I'm currently on the sleeves and hope to pick the body back up this weekend and knit the yoke. Wish me luck. I'm playing yarn chicken and really hoping that I have enough yarn to finish . . . The yarn is Berroco Remix, which I love.
I also finished a hat for the KAL that's going in my group on Ravelry. The pattern is Night Sky Hat. I had to make some mods for it to fit my melon head, but they were successful! The color is brighter than this photo
I lengthened the garter stitch band to 3" and in each stockinette section I went from 10 rows to 13. Also, I knit this on 3's and 5's rather than the 2's and 4's the pattern called for. The yarn is Three Irish Girls' Glenhaven Cashmerino Sock in the Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night colorway.
On my head, it's not quite this bright, but you can at least see that I got the drape and the fit with my mods:
And here it is on me on Monday. Fall is here in Chicagoland. I'm wearing a fleecy in this shot, but today I broke out my winter coat. My sweetheart, J, says I look good in this photo. :-)
I also attempted to learn the ribber on my circular sock machine . . .
It did not go well. Thankfully, I have a good sense of humor.
:-D
I sort of know what I did wrong (the ribber is too low, for one thing), but I've set up some virtual private lesson time with Jamie Mayfield for early November so I can really learn how to use it. I'm dying to make some ribbed socks and start blasting through my 29-year supply of sock yarn.
And if you happen to need any CSM supplies, Jamie is your girl! Her new website is up and running.
This and That . . .
This is my favorite time of year, and as I contemplate the future - which I seem to do with some regularity lately - I think a lot about this time of year. I've mentioned many times before the old "school-year" calendar and how this time of year really feels like the new year to me. Although J is Jewish, he is culturally Jewish rather than practicing. I have spent some time learning about the major Jewish holidays in an effort to expand my knowledge, but also to be able to honor and share them with J should he wish to do so. Most recently I learned about, Rosh Hashanah. There is a great website called JewBelong, which is pretty hilarious, but also pretty interesting and helpful for a person who is not Jewish. The questions in this Personal Roadmap were very meaningful for me, particularly at this time of year. J and I shared answers to some of them with each other. It was good. And interesting.
My bestie, T, bought a house! So exciting! I've seen the photos and it's very cute and pretty much perfect for her.
I am still caught up in old music. I've sort of moved on from Todd Rundgren, but now I'm stuck in a Bee Gees time warp, and since two of the Brothers Gibb are no longer with us, there won't be any more of their music, so I'm listening to their old stuff. I like them alot. Always have.
Enjoy . . .
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