Well, my mother apparantly thought about the scene she created after church and she apologized to me! In fact, she visited yesterday with some witch hazel for my face. The acne is finally drying up. Yesterday in Shop Wrong I saw a customer looking at the supplements and I wanted to scream, "STAY AWAY FROM THE DHEA!" I should put a Warning sign on the shelf!
I am so tired. Could have slept all day. All I managed to do so far is wash a few dirty dishes! Hopefully, the kids can nosh on all that leftover lasagna I made yesterday. Can't get into trouble when I saunter into work today cause I was off all weekend--so I shouldn't hear all the usual BS the second I put my bags down. But who knows?
I fell AGAIN yesterday. Bob repaired my old lady shopping cart, but it broke on the way home and I somehow fell forward and landed on top of it. A wheel rolled off and I couldn't find it in the dark. This time the cart is going in the garbage. Didn't get hurt, save for another scratch on my knee but my back sure aches today!
Now I better hit the shower!

Thank you, Marcia Hauser! You saved my life!
Well, maybe not exactly--but not a total exaggeration, either.I spent most of last night fuming over that incident at church--that is, when I wasn't playing telephone tag with my sister. She finally fessed up and admitted Ralph said all those things about us! Not only that, but he joked to everyone that our house was a mess, too. Bob grabbed the phone from me and told Lisa he wants to confront Ralph, face to face, at our home. Never mind the messy house accusations; Bob is more concerned about the invisable plants we have growing in the basement!
Then my mother called at midnight. She was singing a whole 'nother tune. Apparantly she thought I approached Ralph after church. It was only after she spoke to Lisa that she found out the truth. Why did my stupid sister insist on me greeting Ralph, anyhow? I just wanted to get away from what I KNEW would be a free-for-all, and instead, Lisa made me acknowlege Ralph!
So things ended well with my mother, and Bob even spoke to her on the phone. I plopped into bed without even attempting to do anything requiring thinking, including cutting out coupons.But I did manage to cast on the hem for Marica Hauser's Cape Dress. I'm using that red Mini Dina from Janet. The yarn that almost created a problem between me and my favorite sellers, because it took so long to arrive--I almost cancelled my payment with Paypal. When it DID arrive, the package was beat up but the yarn perfect. However, due to the slippery quality of the yarn, it has been a challenge to knit with because it keeps falling off the cone!
I completed the whole back of the dress in under 2 hours this morning. It is so nice! I love the flare at the bottom, and making the cape should be fun! Marcia should re-name it "The 2 Hour Dress", as I'm sure a prolific MK'er can whip up the whole thing in 2 hours. Making this really helped preserve my sanity. Talk about instant gratification! Now I hope to get the front started; the crochet cast on takes time but I really enjoy doing it.
Thanks, Marcia!

It's not even safe for me to go to church any more!
Right now, I am so upset I feel like puking. Or running far, far away. Not from my immediate family ,but after this week, I need a leave of absense from the human race.
Work was a bitch ever since last Sunday, when that patient claimed someone robbed her when she was at dinner. That accusation never amounted to anything, thank the Lord. But my co-worker, who really is a terrific nurse, was accused of ignoring a family's complaint--they claim he just walked away and did nothing when he was told his patient had shit under his fingernails.Then, all the CNAs were  cited for speaking French Creole in front of the famlies At least I was not involved in that mess!
But then on Thursday, my mother stopped by with news she could only deliever in person. Apparantly, my sister told my mother that her (Lisa's) "companion" Ralph saw marijuana plants at our house! Can you imagine? Bob was FURIOUS! But--and this is a big but--is my mother making all this up? After her meltdown today after church, I tend to doubt if anything she told us is true.
After Mass, I walked out with my mother. Lisa met us on the way out. I had jogged there, and my mother had planned to take me home, as usual, I walk pretty fast and I was already halfway up the stairs when Lisa called out to me that Ralph was there and wanted to say hello. I guess he was waiting outside the chapel. Anyhow, I turned and waved to him, and my mother had a FIT!! She started screaming , "I'm gonna tell Bob that you said hello to Ralph after all the things he accused you of!" Then she ranted about having two stupid daughters, etc, etc. "I'm gonna tell your father what you did!"
HUH??
If she was one of my patients, I would have seized upon some Ativan--or better yet, some IM Haldol and put her in a padded room! But this was my mother, and all I could do was storm off while she fumed and howled. I wonder if the fire department was alerted to all the smoke billowing from her van as she drove off.
I just tried calling my sister but could only leave a message on her cell phone. Then Robbie and I went to pick up pizza and Loosa returned the call when we were out.
I PURPOSLEY walked on ahead of them after church so I WOULDN'T be involved in the bullshit! So what happens? My mother sucks me into it like a human Electrolux!
I was so upset, I fell again on my way home and tore my pants and skinned my knee. My ribs ache too!
So now I guess I'll have to find another church--or another religion!
I think I need to go pet some nice soft yarn!

Here is the lace pattern for the flounce on Diane Piwko's poncho. It appeared in the May/June issue of MKS and this damn technique has eluded me all these years!
Pull 68 needles into WP. Push every 5th and 6th needle back to NWP.4 needles in work, 2 out of work.
WY cast on. Change to MY. K 2 R. COR.Set to Hold posistion.
Now here is where I get stuck:
* Work in groups of 3 needles at a time. Pull all but right 2 groups to HP. K 4 rows. **Push 3rd group from right into WP. K 1 row. COL. Pull far left group to HP. K 3 rows. Repeat from **, moving across bed so one group on the left is inc every time a group on the right is complete AND AT THE SAME TIME every 3 groups of needles inc the number of rows knit by 2 (i.e, K 5 rows, K 7 rows, K 9 rows.)
COR after last K 9 rows.
Turn point: K 1 row. COL. Bring up R group of needles to HP Only 1 group in work. K 4 rows.
Left to Right Row:
Push 2nd group of needles from left into WP. K 10 R. ***COL. Push next group on R into WP. K 1 row. COR. Pull far left group out to HP. K 9 rows. Repeat from ***, moving across bed so 1 group is inc on the right every time a group on the left is complete AND AT THE SAME TIME every 3 groups decs the number knit by 2 (K7, K5, K3)
Cancel Hold and K 4 rows over all needles.
This makes 1 pattern repeat.
Now the diagram shows the needle bed divided into groups. 4 groups of 3 sets of needles. (with 2 out of work between every 4 needles.) Over the right set, I'm suppossed to knit 3 rows, over the 2nd from right, K 5 rows, over 3rd from R, knit 7 rows. K 9 over remaining set. I think I am confusing "groups" with "sets"
The total pattern consists of 28 pattern repeats
Diane's diagram shows the needle bed divided into sets; each set is 12 working needles (4 in WP, 2 NWP. 4 WP, 2 NWP, 4 WP) When I start knitting, I end up knitting over the same set at the far right--so I am not bringing any needles on the left into WP! I just keep pulling in, pulling out--and not making any progress. I'm told to knit 3 rows over the first far right set, then 5 rows over the second set from the right, 7 rows over the next set, 9 rows over the last set. IT JUST WON'T WORK!

I still can't believe that blue-eyed fuzzy kid is gone!
All night I expected him to come leaping into the living room like he did Friday night, tossing his stuffed toy, shaking it like a puppy..it is so strange without the pitter-patter of his claws clicking against the floor! I made chicken tonight and there was no fluffy head resting on my lap as I ate. I keep forgetting that I don't have to ensure the toilet is flushed and clean water available for Rocky, and there is no dog food kernals scattered over the kitchen floor.
Bob broke down tonight and was crying when he was talking to Patty. For all that bullshit tough-guy facade, Bob is really a softie when it comes to critters. He said Rocky was fine this morning when he administered the ear drops. Funny, isn't it, how everything can change so suddenly.
What bothers me most is that I know damn well Rocky suffered during his final hours. Maybe he wasn't in pain per se, but he was sure scared, and it helped that I was able to pet him and talk to him throughout the ordeal.I've gone through this with many animals, but most seemed to go peacefully. Not Rocky. Even with the pre-euthanisia sedative, he lingered for what seemed like several minutes after the final injection. Clyde, our big Old English Sheepdog, was gone in an instant. Scotty, too.I guess Rocky had a strong heart for an old guy.
The good news is, I finished my Lacy Cocoon jacket. Well--I'm not really sure, but I think I prefer it the way it is, with NO sleeves--but who knows what I'll decide tomorrow. It fits perfectly, and I just love that open lace effect. At first I thought my color choices were a bit too bright, but now I'm totally satisfied with the fuschia, lime green, and turquoise. It is the only bright thing about this lousy day!

It's been a long time,  but here I am, with my big opinionated mouth and still surrounded by tangles of yarns and threads in my craft room. I broke my arm, my hard drive conked out, and all I could do was crochet! I really didn't expect it would take so long to have the hard drive replaced, but the technician said he was trying to save my documents. I tend to believe he was just super busy and back-logged with other repairs, but that's ok--save for my Yahoo groups, I really didn't miss my p.c. And I didn't lose a whole lot of stuff, either! Nothing that can't be replaced, anyhow. I don't even recall all the patterns and downloads I had stored that are gone, but if I don't miss them, they couldn't have been that important!
I am still on "light duty" at work, which means no pushing or pulling. The cast was removed after a week due to the nature of my fracture; the radial bone head was busted and the ortho MD said if I don't start using the arm, I'll never be able to extend it again.Well, I have found that crochet is the best therapy of all! I am right dominent and broke my left arm, so I can hook away with my left arm bent against my body while my right fingers do all the work. I just finished that One-Button Bolero from Moda Dea. I made it in Daddy-O goldish-brown and found a big shell button that compliments it nicely. It was a free pattern leaflet and I nearly chucked it in the beginning cause I found mistakes in the beginning. I never used a pattern by Lisa Gentry before and hope all her designs are not written like that. If I was a beginner, I'd have trashed the whole project.
Why is it that those seemingly mundane "ch 2" spaces are such a huge problem in many new crochet patterns? Is it just me, or is it a new trend to leave out important bits of a pattern that can really make it or break it, especially for a beginner. I am almost done with Angela Best's Short and Sweet Bolero--one of the best designs I've come across since Josi Hannon's Spiderweb skirt! Oh, what a crochet adventure this is--each row is a different sequence, and I found that Rows 5 and 9 are my favorites! Yes, those elusive ch 2's were missing from my book (I purchased the first edition of S&B Happy Hooker) but after a few hundred cups of coffee I was able to figure it out without a whole lot of hair loss. Angela is a super lady for sharing and designing such an innovative, clever pattern! Now I want to use her relief stitch for curtains, shawls, etc, etc! I just love those BP and FP stitches!
Gotta work today but maybe it will be a slow holiday weekend and I can finish that jacket. I am using TLS Cotton Plus and that has been a joy to work with. Forget the Microspun I had started with--it just split too badly and drove me crazier than I am. The Cotton Plus is so soft and hold its shape because of the acrylic. In my opinion, it is an under-rated yarn that deserves more attention!
Now it's time to get ready to get ready for work!

Ok, I realize I'll get plenty of flack for posting this. Maybe I deserve it. But since this is the one place where I can spout off like the hot-headed bitch that my kids claim I am, then I am going to do so anyhow.
What is making me so opinionated? It's the latest issue of Hooked on Crochet, of all things! Yes, the June 2006 magazine. Probably the last one I'll ever purchase.After perusing it last night (I picked it up at A.C Moore and wish I had spent the $3.99 on yarn instead) all I could ask was, Where is Lily? Or Kim Guzman, or Josi-Hannon Madera? ANYONE with some decency and class! Just look at stupid thing on page 10! That's what prompted me to write this entry. See? Is that where the future of crochet is headed?
A COOKIE CUTTER DRESS!
C'mon, get real! My question is--WHY??? Why would anyone want to make a dress for a cookie cutter? And where are you gonna display it? I'm sure that talent could have been channelled to a more useful, and practical project. I do not know the designer but it is apparant that she is, indeed, quite acomplished at her craft and could fare better with something more useful.
It also seems that nothing in the magazine is origional. All the designs appear to be variations of patterns already created and published elsewhere. Am I just a bitch? Probably.I just feel very strongly about my favorite past-time--crochet--and I really want to see only good, innovative patterns that encourage others to say, "I want to make that!" At least for me, the "oohhs" and "aaahhs" are only emitted when I look at patterns written in other languages.
It's time for Americans to make a stand for some classy crochet!
Do you hear me, ladies? I sure hope Josi or Lily aren't making dresses for cookie cutters!

Some things never change. The sun rises and water is wet. And my parents continue to believe that I am a manipulative liar--just as they viewed me when I was 7 and my sister accussed me of pushing her and knocking her tooth out. I didn't do it, (although I probably wanted to!) but my parents didn't belive me. Later. when I faced some problems at the barn where I boarded my horse, my father sided with the others, stating that I was emotionally unbalanced and probably DID stab my horse in the neck with a crucifix! (I cannot fathom how I could manage to do that without drawing blood or leaving a mark on Missy's body!)
Well, it happened again tonight. I met my mom in church and asked her if she wouldn't mind taking me to Shop Rite so I could pick up some bread and Easter candy for the kids. I did casually mention that I could walk home, but didn't really think she's allow me to do that! She obliged, but the second I got inside the store I realized I should have just walked there alone. The place was a zoo! I couldn't find the grape juice I wanted and the candy isle was swarming with other last-minute shoppers like me. I grabbed some of Patty's favorite hazelnut truffles, but couldn't find anything special for Robbie. It used to be so easy when I could just get him Mathchbox cars! Well, I did find a couple of big hollow chocolate bunnies, but when I got to the register I didn't think they were worth 8 bucks a piece, so I put them back. But..here's where the problem began--I almost got accussed of passing a counterfiet $50.00 bill! ait would have been funny if the cashier was joking, but she wasn't! She held the bill up to the light as they always do with larger currency, and called for the front-end manager to check it. After speaking in low tones that I couldn't hear, they both took off to the courtsey desk with my money! Can you imagine?? There was a long line behind me and everyone was giggling nervously, because no one (including me!) didn't know what to think!
I don't know what the initial problem was, but after what seemed like hours, they finally accepted the bill. PHEW!
I knew my mother would be upset, so I tried to explain to her what happened and she scoffed, "Oh come on, they ALWAYS do that when you pay with a big bill!" She didn't believe me! Later, when I called her at home, she told me that my father doesn't want her using the car any more if this is what I did to her. WHAT I DID TO HER!!
I am too tired to defend myself. There really is no need to re-hash and revert to old behaviors, and I simply cannot afford to allow my parents to affect me the way they used to. I watched an interesting show with Bob and that helped. (A real neat documentry on Animal Planet about the Yeti.)
It was a pretty good day nevertheless. Got a little writing done and dyed those eggs with Patty, then picked up a belated birthday present for my mom before church. Bob also got some azaleas, tulips, and Easter Lillies and  3 rose bushes. He really did a nice job in the front; I told him he should work as a landscaper! We had pizza for supper but I didn't eat a darn thing all day--just not hungry but really thirsty and hope nothing is cookin' inside me again. I had Tommy out and may give him a bath tomorrow. His hair is way too long and I think he's too hot.
I also got my crochet pillow sewed together but I need to get more stuffing for it. I love it! And I'm breezing right along with my Seaside Top--this time it's perfect with Bernart Carina100% sportsweight cotton in Hydrandea. I have 0 balls that I got from an Ebay vendor a few years ago, and had forgotten all about it until I rummaged through my stash! The pattern calls for 900 yards; I have 9 balls with 110 yards on each, so I will just make it.
I also found that misplaced pattern for the Passap top by Suz Nelson, so I got 30 rows done of that. too. Same yarn as the pants I made, almost the same turquoise as my Seaside top, too!
All I want to do tomorrow is take it slow and easy. Patty and I are getting along better. Maybe we'll play with that Pasta Express and try fettuccini, if the ingredients are pleasing to her. Oh--and my Easter bread! Yes, I gotta make that too--with hard-cooked eggs in the center, just like my grandma used to make. And if I'm real lucky, I'll catch a glimpse of the Easter Bunny on our front lawn!

Ever have a vision. only to experience sheer disgust when it doesn't gel as you had hoped? Well, that's what happened as I began crocheting that Oat Couture pattern, Seaside Blouse. I was gung-ho on that silk thread I got from mypollywogs.com. I used two ends and figured it would work up to be a sportweight, BUT---I neglected to do a gauge swatch! That is one lesson I will never learn, no matter how fraustrated I may be at the time! It's like going through labor--one tends to forget the pain and suffering. At least, I do, because this isn't the first time I've made this blunder. Yeah, the yarn is great and the color exactly what I wanted, but it just didn't work out. I took it to work tonight after completing three rows of the foundation at home. It looked fine when I was sitting in the living room, watching MTV Spring Break with Patty. Maybe I was smitten by the hot guys those parents were picking for their daughter's dates, because when I looked at it closer at Bristol, it was a mess! Loopy, irregular stitches where the vent was suppossed to begin, and a real pain in the You-Know What to crochet with! So I frogged the whole thing! I even seperated both ends of the silk thread and re-wound them back onto the cone.That's how obsessive I got! Good thing my "problem" patient had expired yesterday when I was off, and I had no treatments, because I spent a good part of the evening in that med room with all that super-skinny thread!
Tomorrow will be better. I have already foung a good substitute--that lavender Mandarin Soft cotton I purchased from a lady in the knittingforsale group. It is a bit thicker than I'd like, but that's ok, because I really don't want to plan a top on what I need to wear under it. That silk was just too "open" even if I could have coaxed it into the correct gauge.
I am also hoping to take some pics tomorrow of all my latest creations--IF I can find where I put them all! Am I psychotic or what???

This is So embarrassaing, but maybe I'll learn a lesson and not try to knit on the machine when my kids are around!
I slept too late yesterday because I had taken Benadryl for the hives I got Monday night after Bob picked me up at work, There must have been something in the air but I still can't figure out what caused the rash. (I did go jogging last night and nothing happened, but I was doing immunics the whole time!)
So I sit down at the Passap after calling Van Saun Zoo to see if they'd like our 11-foot albino Burmese python. I left a message on the zoo manager's answering machine. Then I spent an hour trying to renew my nursing lisense but couldn't get through to them, either. (My lisense expires in May so I have a little time, but I prefer not to have to do it online)
It was shortly before 3 when I began knitting. The kids arrived home soon after. I was trying to finish the second half of my Poodle pants. I knitted the entire leg and was up to the crotch shaping when Patty came barging in asking if she could use sesame oil to make stir-fry broccoli. I told her she could
Minute later, my eyes started burning and I began to cough. She must have used 1/2 cup hot sesame oil to DEEP fry the veggies and that stuff is HOT!! The whole house reeked and I had to open the windows!
So, I go back to the shaping, and was merrily doing my increases, then started the decreases. Then I realized I was making an identical piece as the first one, without reversing the shaping! I had TWO right legs!
So, I started all over. It wasn't that difficult, but I was so mad at myself for not paying attention!
When I re-wound the yarn, it tangled in the middle so I cut it off and put it aside. I wanted to hurry and start that left leg so I could go for a jog/walk outside before it got dark. Guess what? Halfway through, I ran out of yarn because I neglected to wind off enough! I wasn't paying attention again, and when the empty carriage passed over the last knitted row, the whole thing fell on the floor at my feet!
Yes, I started again--a THIRD time! Bob came by as I was threading the carriage and heard the immunics talk show I was listening to on the computer, and he said, "I don't even want to know what the hell you are listening to!" But I listened to 2 Cure Shows and learned some very valuable stuff that seemed to help me through my fraustration, and eveything I heard made sense.
I went jogging at 8 p.m, came home at 8:45, and Bob was gone. When he returned from HIS walk, he yelled at me because I passed him by and didn't see him! He scolded me because he thinks I should be more aware of my surroundings. Actually, I thought it was kinda funny that I never saw my own husband pass me on the street! Who could miss that grumpy old man with a cane?
Yes, I finally completed that left leg at damn near 1 a.m last night (morning) Then I had to listen to Bob's lecture all over again, but he ended up ticking me when I teased him about his cane and grey beard. One thing led to another and I didn't go to sleep until 4 a.m. And I never did make contact with the State Board of Nursing!