Nups to you, SuzyQ!

I grew up hearing the expression “Nuts to you, SuzyQ!”. Nups are the little mini-bobbles on the Swallowtail shawl, in which I am joyfully embroiled. I sprung for an Addi Lace needle and absolutely love how it performs. I like knitting lace. Not to the point of not wanting to knit anything else, but remember what they used to say in the TV commercials on Saturday mornings? An important part of this complete [knitting experience].

I finished the 14th repeat of the second bud lace motif last night and began the first border pattern. I’ve done a lot of tinking to fix minor mistakes or dropped stitches. This is the first time that I’ve used a “lifeline” on a project. Thankfully, I haven’t had to rip all the way back to it, but it was close.

I finally got to the point where I just hunkered down and counted the stitches after every row. It slowed me down somewhat, but it prevented weeping in the long run. Now that I’m working on a more solid portion of the design, it’s easier to see if I’ve messed something up in the pattern.

Had my consultation with the podiatrist on Tuesday. On Monday the 6th I’m having minor surgery to remove both toenails. The podiatrist agreed that it would be less painful to have a dancing partner step on a nail-less toe than on one that is ingrown [left foot] or fungal [right foot].

He also told me about two home remedies that may increase my general well-being, with no side effects. I’ll have to see if they interact with my regular medications, but I am hopeful.

Brother Karitas sent me this link recently: “Typography”

He also emailed me yesterday because he lives about 200 miles north of me, and the excitement in Dallas made the news. A plant that filled canisters with compressed gases, such as oxygen and acetylene, blew up accidentally. They evacuated everybody in a half-mile radius of the plant [my office is 1.3 miles away, but the attorneys with southern windows got a good view of it all] and shut down the three major freeways near downtown all day.

The heat was so intense that firemen were unable to start battling the blaze for a good two hours after it began. Two men who were in the building when it happened are in the hospital, severely burned but expected to live. Another man injured his back while escaping. Nobody was killed. Seven or more cars in or near that parking lot got flambéd. There was a column of flame as high as the top of Reunion Arena.

I had to take the scenic route down I-45 toward Houston, then west on I-20 to Grand Prairie and up Carrier Parkway to 303 and westward toward home. Normally I get on I-30 and barrel west until I reach my exit. Normally it takes roughly 45 minutes to get home, though on Federal-holiday mornings it can take as little as 25 minutes, and during an ice storm it's more like an hour and 15 minutes. Last night it was just a hair over an hour and a half. But folks were really “driving friendly”, letting people in, and being uncharacteristically patient.

Secondborn called me a little before 6:00am and said that it looked as if today would be the day. Sure enough, at 8:11 BittyBit got a brother. And I have been over the moon all day! She has better pictures than I took and will email them to me; my battery is about dead.



Meet the newest little nut on the family tree, BittyBubba until I think of something better to call him, 8 lbs 14 oz, 21 inches long with a 14 inch head. Oye! Mama, baby, sister, and proud papa all doing fine.