Knit & Play with Fire

Holiday Weekend

Like I said, I have been working out quite a bit lately. Mostly, my friend Patty and I have been walking 4 to 5 miles at a time. I am getting back into running but she isn't a runner. I will be running tomorrow night with another friend. But here are some pictures from my favorite place to walk and run - the C&O Towpath.

I actually am even considering buying a trail bike so that I can ride the towpath. And that is saying quite a bit from some one who has wrecked a few.

But I love the water and playing in the Potomac so if this summer turns out to be pretty warm, I will be down at the river a fair bit.

Still Among the Living

Rather than bore you with where I have disappeared to, I will instead show you some pictures. I have been. I have been pretty busy lately with working out and fire service stuff. Okay, mostly I have been working out quite a bit and going quite a bit.

Last week I went to DC on a tour with my mother to visit the Taiwanese embassy. Okay, they can not be officially recognized as an embassy but they function as one. They are officially know as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO). We also had a chance to have tea at the former ambassador's house. The food at the tea was a mix of Western and Asian. Me, being me, I strictly ate the Asian food. Everyone else took a tiny bit and ate the Western food. I love my Asian food.

We also hit the World War II memorial. This is the first time that I have been there in daylight. That place is wonderful. Of course, I really like the duckies best.

I broke it off with the guy I was dating simply because we weren't clicking. And since than, I have made a whole new bunch of friends on MySpace and we have been going out a few times during the week and on the weekends. We are now known as "the gang". And yes, the group is all female and we have quite a bit of fun together. One of my new friends works out with me and we have really clicked. For someone who normally is a bit of a loner because I tend to be some one who would rather hang out with the guys, being part of a female group is totally different. I will hopefully have some pictures to share after Saturday. We are all going out together to hear The Reagan Years which is an 80s cover band.

And it is too hot here to knit anything other than socks. It wouldn't be too bad if my a/c was working like it should but it is giving me fits. It will be repaired here on Monday.

Tea Stash Flash

First of all, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I have just been busy. And now for a non-knitting and non-fire related post. I am taking part in the Knitters Tea Swap and here is the post that I posted flashing some of my tea stash.

Okay, I finally had the chance to take some photos of my tea stash and a a few teacups. I did include in the photos my very first tea pot.

The teapot is part of a set that I still have all of the pieces. And that in and of itself is amazing!! I received this tea set when I was four years old and living in Naples, Italy. And, no, I will not say how long ago it was that I lived in Naples. What makes the fact that I still have all of the pieces to this tea set is that I was a military brat and moved every 3 years all over the world.

The tea cup with the yellow roses on it is an antique cup that I picked up several years ago at an antique mall. I can tell you that is was made in Japan and it probably dates back to the 1950's.

The other tea cup was a gift from a friend in England. I used to be a big time quilter and I took part in a series of swaps and I had the opportunity to become friends with a wonderful person in England. She sent me this Royal Doulton tea cup and saucer. The pattern is Old Country Roses.

The cup tucked in the back is actually a coffee cup but I use it as a tea mug. It is from Krispy Creme Doughnuts. Can you tell that I am a Southern girl? Give me my Krispy Cremes and no one will get hurt. And no one comes between me and a hot Krispy Kreme.

Some of the teas in the photo are Empress of China (loose) from Teavana, Honest Teas Hirst Nation peppermint and Earl Gray, Celestial Seasonings Mango Darjeeling, some Tazo Iced Passion tea, and a tin of Russian Caravan tea. The Russian Caravan is why there is a lemon in the one teacup. A very thin slice of lemon brings out the flavors in the Russian Caravan tea.

Photos to Fall Into

Sorry for not posting. I really do have to do something about this addiction I have to MySpace.

And I am letting my knees heal from my practical on Sunday. No matter what I do, my knees always hurt after crawling around concrete buildings. Plus they end up bruised. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

But to entertain you, I am posting some photos that I took on Friday evening while I was down in Southern Maryland. I went with a friend to deliver some teenagers to a church retreat camp. The name of the camp is West River and it is a part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church. That place is so beautiful that the photos do not do it justice. We arrived just before sunset Friday evening. And neither of us wanted to leave but we had to since my friend has to work the next day and I had things that had to be done. But all of you get to experience the views through these photos.

And did you notice that there was not a single sheep or llama or alpaca in any of the photos? But with views like this who needs them? I will gladly go back there but I will take my sock knitting with me and sit on the porch and just knit.

Sheep & Wool

Okay, just so everyone knows. I will not be at Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. I have class both Saturday and Sunday. I have a practical on Sunday for my truck ops class. Saturday will be spent doing drills between my 2 fire companies.

Saturday morning, my primary fire company has our apparatus check first thing in the morning. After wards, we will be packing the new hose line that we received under a federal grant. Oh joy!!! New hose line is no fun until it gets dirty.

After I am done at my primary fire company, I will be running home to shower and change into my uniform before I head down to the truck house. When I get down there, I am to start my my probie training. The assistant chief is going to be dropping off the information that I need to get started.

And Sunday is the practical day for my class. We will be throwing ladders all day. Oh joy!!! Now, I can throw a ladder but it is not pretty. Think about it, the shortest ladders are 14 foot roof ladders and I am not quite 5'2"... Are you getting the picture in your mind yet? Utility control is real easy for me since I can reach everything really easy.

Plus the written final for the class is Monday night. I need to study for this exam. And somewhere in the next month or two, I have a database to update with driving directions. I have finished the driving directions for my first due but I need to convert the driving directions for the neighboring fire district. I have their maps but they are written for coming from their fire house. Changing the info in the database will not be that hard but it is time consuming.

And yeah, I still find to knit. And I forgot that I have to add in time to go to the gym and for partying. I have started partying again after taking a looong break. My friends in the fire service like to party and it is time to go out and have fun again.

 

Being Good

I have been really good lately. I have not bought any sock yarn in a month! Amazing!! So according to the rules of the Sock Yarn Addicts Club, I am entitled to a gold star.

My wrist appears to be healed from what ever I did to it. So sock knitting has resumed. I have finished one of my socks for Sock-a-pooolza and I need to hurry up and knit the second one. I also need to email my person and explain that her socks will be a week or so late. Cross your fingers that constant sock knitting doesn't cause my wrist to start hurting again.

I finish my fire classes for the spring this coming Monday night. Yeah!! Three months off from formal classes. And on the fire side, things have been really, really quiet lately. That is when things get scary because when we get one it will be bad. (at least that is what the old timers say.)

And my new UPS driver is great. I have known him for quite awhile because he has filled in on this route before. But the best thing is that he is not only a really sweet guy but he is also a fire fighter at another station in the county. His station is just up the road abut 10 miles. And what he likes is that when he is out on this route, he knows that he can b***h about the idiots from the other companies and I know who he is talking about.

Healing Slowly

Okay, what ever I did to my wrist is healing slowly but it is healing. Actually it is healing faster than I thought it would. Tendon injuries do heal faster than ligament injuries. I have been resting it, keeping it fairly straight, icing it, and taking anti-inflammatory meds.I knew that my EMT training would come in handy for something at some point. Well, besides allowing me to ride the band-aid wagon when I am told to get in the back. (I prefer the fire side to the EMS side. And I prefer riding the truck to the engine.)

So what have I been doing? Well, I have been playing with making a video for an idea I have. I want to do a recruitment video that can be posted on the web for the volunteer fire service in my county. And a friend has been working on one for the truck house and I have been going through my photos to help him out. Plus I have started one for my primary fire company.

And I have been catching up on my reading. I am almost out of books so that means I need to go to Borders this weekend. I can not run out of books to read. And that is saying a lot since I have a very large book collection and I do re-read my books. Actually that reminds me that I need to get together the books that I want to get rid of and take them down to the library. The local library has a book sale during our town's community days.

I  have also been spending plenty of time on MySpace. Yes, I do have a MySpace page. It is a fun way to connect with your friends and meet new people. Quite a few volunteer fire fighters in my county and the surrounding counties have pages there. I have actually been reconnecting with a friend from my fire fighter 1 class who runs in my county but I never get to see her. And I have been able to meet other fire fighters that I would have never had the chance to meet.

I did try some knitting last night. But I did not try any sock knitting. Instead, I pulled out my Clapotis to work on since it is on larger needles. I only knit 2 rows but it didn't hurt so that tells me that my wrist is healing. But I am going to wait to pick up sock needles for a few more days.

Oh, I forgot one other benefit of MySpace is that I have been exposed to some pretty interesting music that I would have never heard otherwise. Right now, one of my favorites is a song called 'Crazy B***h' by the band BuCk ChErRy. Since the only version that they have up on the website is the explicit version be careful about clicking the link if you are at work or there are small children around. The song is a little on the raunchy side. What can I say, I like it. And I have been called that name a few times.

 

No Knitting

No knitting to report. I was out weeding Sunday and I did something to my wrist. I think when I was pulling out those never ending dandelion roots, I may have torqued my wrist the wrong way. I didn't realize that I had done anything to my wrist until I went to pick up something and realized that my wrist hurt.

I am pretty sure that it is a simple case of a minor tendon injury. It only hurts when I bend my wrist a certain way. It is fine when I keep my wrist straight. I am icing it and resting it. And I am not knitting right now. If it is still hurting by next Monday, I will go and get it checked out. If I go to the doctor's right now, the advice that I will be given is the same thing that I am already doing. So my theory is why go to be told to do something that I am already doing? Plus I have injured myself before and I know when to head to the doctor's and when to take care of it at home. I used to be a gymnast and wrist injuries were pretty common. So I do have a good background in treating my own injuries.

Very Little Time for Knitting - Photo Heavy

The past several days have been so busy that I have not had any time at all for knitting. Yeah, that busy!

I will start with the fun stuff first. Late Saturday afternoon, my brother called me to see what I was doing Easter  Sunday. He had a 3-day pass for Hershey Park and wanted to take his 2 older kids back up. Their baby brother got sick on Saturday so they had left early. Don't worry, the baby is fun but he really didn't need to be out for the day.

So Easter Sunday was spent at Hershey Park. And here are some of the photos of the day. And no, I did not ride the roller coasters. I do not ride roller coasters. Ever!

ps - look carefully at some of the photos at what people are doing....

Test Time

You scored as Elizabeth Bennet. As one of Austen's most beloved characters, Elizabeth Bennet represents what most women would like to become: strong, independent, and loyal.  Of course, she has her faults including a stubborn will of iron and a clinging to first impressions.  Overall, Lizzie is bright and lovable...something to admire and aspire to. Elizabeth Bennet 75% Emma Woodhouse 72% Marianne Dashwood 59% Elinor Dashwood 59% Jane Bennet 56% Charlotte Lucas 53% Lady Catherine 44% Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!! created with QuizFarm.com

Out Playing

Look for a few posts in the next few days. Things have been a little busy - drills, fires, and Hersehey Park. Plenty of photos but they need to be edited or sorted.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Okay, here are some photos of how I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon yesterday. (scroll down for the real story!)

Okay, are you confused yet? No, I was not a a ball game. Although I was at the rear parking lot for the local Carolina league team. Do the bright orange cones give you any clue? Remember taking driver's ed and having to drive between the orange cones and parallel park between the cones? Okay, we were driving around the cones but I can promise you that I was not the one driving. Trust me on this one, I will never drive this thing! It is big and red and requires 2 drivers. Yesterday was quiet at the station so we went out for driver's training. One of the guys is still practicing tillering and that is him in the photos practicing in the parking lot. Next time, we go out he will be driving on the roads. Scary!!!

Oh, you wanted to see a picture of the guy who was driving? I guess I can do that. But I do need to tell him that he does look really cute when he wears his glasses. Okay, maybe I won't do that but he does look cute when he wears them.

But you don't come here just in hopes of seeing fire fighters in their gear. Some of you expect to see knitting. And look, I have knitting!!! This is sock 1 of my sock-a-pooolza socks. I frogged what I had and restarted it. It is the same pattern except that I am now doing it toe-up. I am really loving this pattern since it is real easy to memorize and it looks great top-down and toe-up. And I am almost at the point where I get to turn the heel. Yeah!!!!

Books for Books Meme

Here is a meme that is actually right up my alley. Cara over at january one has tagged anyone who wants it. And since I like books....

Meme instructions: Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won't, underline the ones on your book shelf, and place parentheses around the ones you've never even heard of.

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
(The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon)
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
(The Secret History - Donna Tartt )
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
(Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert

You want to do this? CONSIDER YOURSELF TAGGED. And yes, I love books. It can be very diffcult to pull me out of a booksotre without me purchasing at least 2 or 3 books. BTW, my current read is definitely different. It is The Colony by John Tayman about the Molokai leper colony. Between 1866 and 1969, if the government, both the Hawaiian and  the US, suspected that you might have Hansen's disease, you would be exiled to a remote peninsula on Molokai. It is definitley worth a read.

Odds & Ends

The things we will do for friends. As I have already mentioned, I am going to the Apple Store this coming weekend. Well, the closest Apple Store is in Bethesda which is about 50 miles from me. Not that great of a distance when you live in the greater DC area. I have been known to drive to the Eastern Shore of Maryland for dinner and that is about 70 some odd miles one way.

The other night after stopping my LYS, I stopped but the truck house to talk to my friends.  Okay, actually, I stopped by to talk to T. Well, one thing led to another and he is willing to try one of my favorite ethnic foods. Although I love Chinese food, and that is the only true ethnic food that I can get up here in the county, I really truly love Arabic food. Actually, I love Lebanese food. And my all time favorite restaurant is the Lebanese Taverna in Rockville, Maryland.

So I am going to go shopping on Sunday and I will be picking T up some carryout for his lunch on Monday. Let's see, shopping at Nordstrom's, the Apple Store and Whole Foods plus a trip to the Taverna that equals a perfect day out.

I might even try to sneak in a trip to Woolwinders while I am down that way.

 

Being Bad

Okay, I don't know about you but when I get my tax refund back I always allow myself a guilty purchase or two. I take the money back that I am receiving and divide it in half - half goes into savings and the rest is mad money. And when I checked my on-line balance on Monday, I discovered my mad money sitting in there. And since I was able to snag one of the few openings in the exclusive Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Club, aka the STR Club, I went ahead and paid that invoice super quick. Yeah, I need more sock yarn like I need another tattoo.  Oh wait, I want another tattoo so I guess that that isn't a really good analogy. But yeah, I am in! My first kit is already on its way. Thanks Kaci and everyone at Blue Moon!!!

And the second thing that my mad money will be spent on is replacing my big iPod. But that really isn't doing something crazy since I was planning on replacing it this year. It is just now a necessity. See over the weekend, my big iPod gave me a very unhappy face. When I turn it on, I see an image of an iPod wearing a frown. The battery has died in it and I can just as easily put the money that it would cost me to replace the battery towards a new iPod with a larger capacity. And this time, I will be buying my new iPod straight from my local Apple store. After consulting my my technical person, also more commonly referred as my bother, I am going to skip the HP/Apple iPods and buy a straight Apple iPod. And for those of you who do not speak sister-ese, bother is another word for brother.

And I received some really bad news yesterday. No, not that type of bad news. But that I will not be able to be at MS&W early the first day. I start a new fire class on Monday and I just so happen to know the instructor pretty well. (He is not only my assistant chief but some one I have known since high school. Rumor has it that we were prom dates but I will not verify that rumor.)

Well, we were out on a b.s. fire call yesterday when I asked him if class would be over by the first weekend in May. He told me that he thought the final was that weekend. When we got back to the station, I checked out the schedule that was in his truck. And yes, the final is Saturday, May 7!!!!! So I may make the festival late in the day depending on what time we get done. The final includes a practical and a written test. The written final shouldn't take me more than 10 to 20 minutes depending on how many questions are on it. There should probably be 50 questions on it should that means I will be done in 10 minutes. Okay, I am able to take tests so don't hate me for that.

I will definitely be there on Sunday. But don't worry, I am working on a plan to get the good stuff. I just need to talk to some one first. More later.

Socks Yet Again

Okay, to answer a few questions about my sock stash. No that was not just the stuff I liked; it was all of my sock stash except for the odds and ends bag. I have a bag where I stash away the odds and ends of sock yarns plus the stuff that I have tried and didn't like. And the actual number of skeins really isn't that bad when you get down to it. Some of the yarn in the keep stash was received as gifts. So I really can't place it in my get rid of pile.

But I do have a finished Jaywalker sock to show off. I am not 100% sure I like the fit on my foot so I am waiting a few more days before starting the mate. I will do my best to take a photo of the sock actually on my foot soon. If I do end up frogging the sock, I already have a pattern in mind for the yarn. It is a pattern that I saw in Socks, Socks, Socks called Gull Wing Lace Rib. I am planning on using this pattern really soon.

I am planning on having a sock yarn sale on either the blog or on eBay really soon. Some of the yarns that have been in the yard sale are going to be going on over to eBay. I have several skeins of Alice Starmore yarns that I want to de-stash and the best place for those particular yarns is eBay.

And Phyl, I will send you an email privately about how the meeting went on Saturday. But let's just say, I am undecided at this point if I want to continue getting to know G. Pris, you already know the details. And I have a guy who asked me out on MySpace but I haven't answered him yet. I am having this one checked out by some male friends first.

And just to prove that I actually do finish up some things, hrere are two photos of 2 hats that were finished this weekedn. One is in Noro Kureyon and the other is in Rowanspun Aran. The color on the Rowan hat is really hard to photograph but it is nice deep dark navy with little flecks of color.

Pretty Travel Pictures

Okay, I did spend almost all of yesterday cleaning up the stash and finishing 2 UFOs but their photos will have to wait until tomorrow. I still need to take the photos.

But I saw these two wonderful photos on Webshots today and decide to share them. Take a close look at the one. Do you see who is hiding under the shade?

These photos are of someone's vacation to Kenya. And now, I wanting to visit there as well. Before the only part of Africa that I have ever wanted to visit was Morocco. And now I can add Kenya to the list.

Yet More Quizes

So what type of girl are you and are you uptown or downtown? Can you tell that I have been spending a little bit too much time on MySpace?

You Are Downtown

You're a funky spirit that requires freedom to live. Your city girl persona needs adventure, diversity, and great pizza.

Are You Uptown or Downtown?

You are a New Age Girl!

You're bright, opinionated, and dedicated to changing the world. Even if it's one hybrid car at a time, you do you part to make things better. In fact, you may be so busy with your causes that you have little time for love. Take an extra yoga class or two, and you just might meet New Age Guy!

What Kind of Girl Are You?

Dating in the Modern Age

Okay, Phyl, just for you, here is an update on my dating life.

I joined CatholicSingles.com which is like Match.com but for Catholics. It was free for the basic stuff so I figured why not. Well, I got a hit right off the bat from a guy down in Lorton, Virginia, which is really right down the road. I checked out his profile and he seemed okay. He works in the defense industry and he is a volunteer firefighter.The one thing that struck me as a little bit strange was his age and the fact that he has never been married. But, hey, who is to say that he didn't get burned in the past.

So I responded to his initial email and gave him one of my proxy email addys. (Why yes, I have several email addys; doesn't everyone?)

In his very first e-mail, he was asking about kids and wanting to meet in person. Oookay... I may live in the country but I am still basically a big city girl and wary of meeting people who can not be vouched for by friends.  And I told him that in the first email to him.

We have exchanged a grand total of 6 emails and he is still pressing to meet in person. And he has been asking some questions but he seemed really hesitant to answer my questions. Plus based on his profile, he is a much more devout Catholic than I am. I am something of a liberal Catholic who blends some Buddhist beliefs into my personal beliefs. He seemed a little bit put off by that but okay.

In the next to last email exchange, I flat out told him that until we got to know each other better through email there would be no meeting in person. His last email to me said something to the fact that I should learn to trust more easily and that this would be his last email to me.

Okay, that is fine with me since he wasn't willing to learn a bit more about each other through email than he wasn't right. Plus I prefer to err on the side of caution. It is better to be safe than sorry.

But that is okay, because I think I already have a keeper in the wings. I have been riding down at the truck house in the county for the past several months. And prior to that, I have had the chance to get to know one of the career guys (T) stationed there. T is married but he is a really nice guy. And we were talking one night and he asked my permission to give my cell number to a friend of his who lives down in Blacksburg, Virginia. (All together, how sweet!!)

 

The guy he wanted to give my number to is his best friend since like 3rd grade. G works all of the time between his job at Tech and helping his parents take care of 35 acres. Yes, he lives with his parents event though he is in his 30's but he has his own space on the family estate for lack of a better word. His parents need the help maintaining the acreage and rather than see them sell it off, he helps to take care of it.

I said yes to giving out my cell phone number. G is originally from up here and gets up here quite frequently as time allows. The first time, he called we ended up talking for almost an hour. The only reason that the call ended was that I got a fire call.

And every time we talk, we end up talking for at least an hour. T told me one day that G has been wanting to see a picture of me and T told me to just email him the pictures. And yes I did do that. I have seen one photo of G and yeah, I like him. The one thing that G asked T about me was I real. He said that I was sweet and too good to be true.  T told him that yes, I really was that sweet. Okay, that really does give your ego a boost.

Now I would have willingly meet G somewhere half way between here and Blacksburg simply because T knows him and can vouch for him. Is that wrong? I don't think so, because T can vouch for him and has known him for well over 20 years.

And just so you have some photos to look at, I am going to give a link over to a friend's Myspace page that has a picture of my new ride as he puts it. Yeah, I like big trucks! And here is a link that has a picture of T in it. Ignore the short little s**t next to him because we all do anyway. (Not true, Matt, just in case you find this page!) yeah, both of them are cute and they are both really sweet.

Flashing the Sock Stash

Okay, I have taken the challenge and I am going to flash my sock stash. I joined the Sock Yarn Addicts Club and we are flashing our stash plus doing an inventory of it. Do you have any clue as to how hard it is to inventory your sock stash? And yes, I am flashing mine early. I like to be different.

I did finally find a use for the antique cradle I bought last fall. I have finally finished the refinishing of it and it has made a great prop for flashing my sock stash. And I may end up using it to store my sock stash in because all of it fits in the cradle.

Now the big question is how many pairs of socks are in the cradle? Yes, I know that you really want to know. Although after checking out Emy's pile, I have nothing to worry about. She has more pairs of socks in her stash than I do. And the amazing thing is that we both have the same neon bright pink Koigu yarn. Yes, she sent it to me when she was my secret pal. BTW, she has enough yarn at home for 39 pairs if socks plus more on hold at the shop.

I have about 72 skeins of sock yarn in my stash at the moment not including the yarn that is already on the needles. But I am not going to keep all of that yarn. There are 3 skeins/pairs in my definite sell/give away pile. Three are 17 pairs of socks in my maybe get rid of pile. I am not 100% in love with these yarns after looking at them again.

But in the keep pile, there are 31 pairs of socks. But there are 2 skeins of the same color yarn and these skeins make a pair of socks each. So although I love the color, I may reduce it to 1 skein. I really do not need 2 pairs of socks in the same color. So I will be sorting out the sock yarns this evening and looking at them harshly as to keep them or do I help them find a good home where they will be loved. Some decisions are hard to make but I have to make them. After all, sock yarn wants to be loved and used.

So if you are a member of the sock yarn addicts club and you feel need to increase to increase your stash before April 1, keep an eye out next week and I will posting photos of the socks that will be looking for new homes. And yes, there will be some Lorna's Laces in that pile.

And btw, some of the orange sock yarn in the stash belongs to Priscilla but she will not be getting it until MS&W. So Pris, you really need to make sure that you come again this year. And yes, Mac has to come along to carry stuff for us again. LOL

Is It True?

Okay, I am a sucker for tests. And this one had me curious seeing as how I am in a long distance relationship right now. (We are still in the getting to know each stage. And yeah, I am liking him!) And I have some one else from the DC area who wants to met me but  I am a little hestiant to meet this guy. Something is setting off warning bells. I think we need to exchange some more emails first. Because, the first guy is definitely making think and feel that this one might be a keeper.

So try this quiz and see what type of girlfriend you are and is it really true?

 

            You're an Amorous Adventurer

           

What Kind of Girlfriend Are You?
           Brought to you by Tickle          

Sock-a-pooolza Socks

I have finally decided on my pattern and yarn for Sock-a-pooolza. I have decided to do something entirely strange and weird for me. I am doing a top down sock!! I am using the Simply Lovely Lace pattern from the current issue of IK. The yarn is some that I bought off of eBay from a seller named kbrece. The yarn is a hand-dyed sock yarn in purples and it reminds me of spring. I will try and get photos tonight or tomorrow.

I have also restarted my Falling Leaves sock but in a different yarn this time. It kind of helps to read the pattern correctly. For some strange reason, I insisted on reading the pattern incorrectly. I am using Turks and Caicos colorway from Dani at Sunshine Yarns. I am loving her yarns!

And if I am quiet this week, don't be worried. I am just enjoying not having class for another two weeks. Yes, in two weeks, I have a new class starting on truck operations. I have also been spending time down at the truck house. Yes, I enjoy riding the trucks. The people at the truck house are wonderful and we have fun even when we are doing something as simple as washing all of the trash cans in the station. It is all in the company you keep.

And I am still in my getting to know each other better stage of a relationship with the guy in Blacksburg.

 

 

Finals Are Done - For Now

Okay, the final for my Fire Fighter 2 class is done and over with it. I know that I passed the exam but I will not know my score until next week. Some of the questions on the test made you wonder who wrote the thing!

And I managed to stay busy over the weekend.  I was sitting at home Saturday morning knitting when I should have been cleaning when I heard Box 11-22 coming from pager. Yes, I immediately put shoes on and grabbed my camera and keys and headed out the door.

I was lucky and made it on the first piece out of the door which happened to be the quint/truck. When we pulled around the corner, I saw flames shooting out of the chimney at the second story level. The house that was on fire was a end unit of a row of townhouses. I really wish that I could have had the chance to get a photo of the flames coming out but my job comes first.

Now, I have been riding a  'real' truck long enough that I know to grab my tools. But the quint is a truck that is confused since it carries hose line and some water. The other guy in the back with me grabbed the hose line and was yelling at me to drop my tools. Forget that!! There were some issues such as the fact that the hose line was not charged when he entered the building and there were no life safety issues since the residents were out. The tanker was right behind us and he really should have waited the extra minute. But the issues have been dealt with by those who have to handle them. And I did the right thing but waiting that extra minute. It really didn't make any difference to damage done by the fire.

And the cool thing about this fire was that I was talking to the fire marshall that I had met on a previous fire. It turns out that he is friends with my brother and he has asked me to email him any photos that I take on a fire scene. Depending on where the fire marshall's are coming from, we can be there for an hour or more waiting on them. So any photos that are taken prior to their arrival can help them in making their findings. I guess having connections sometimes does help...

Socks on the Needles

Never let it be said that I don't like knitting socks. Here are some photos of the some of the ones that I have on the needles right now. I just started what is for me something strange - a sock from the top down. But I didn't take a photo of it because there is not enough of it to show yet.

There is a plain Jane toe up sock in a color that will go great with jeans. This one may go to a friend who has been helping me out quite a bit at the fire hall by acting as a buffer between me and some one who has been acting like a jerk lately. Luckily her foot is the same size as mine.

There is my Jaywalker in STR (colorway is Fire on the Mountain) that I work on at night right before turning off the lights. Yes, I knit in bed; doesn't everyone? (And yes my foot is on top of a pile of quilts that I made. I really need to get back to quilting soon.)

There is my Falling Leaves sock from Knitty in Koigu. Right now, I am not seeing the lacey pattern in this sock but I like the pattern that I am getting so I will keep knitting on it.

And the one that I just started the Simply Lovely Lace socks from the current issue of Interweave Knits. And until I get more then the inch or so that I have on the needles, this sock will remain incognito.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is here for a few days. And with spring comes flowers. So to distract you from lack of knitting photos, here are some photos of my flowers. Enjoy the flower pictures while you can because I am planning on digging up my flower beds in the next week or so. It is time to redo them.

And of course, being spring, my thoughts turn to nice bright colors, I have added some sock yarn to my stash for spring. One skein is the colorway Turks & Caicos from Sunshine Yarns. I love the colors in this skein because they remind me of the tropics.

And the second skein is a dyed to order by Heather of All Things Heather. I bought the yarn through her Etsy store. I love Hawaii but I have never found a sock yarn that reminds me of the colors of the ocean right off of the Islands. I sent her two pictures of the waters right off the coast and this is what she came up with and it is as close as I am going to get to perfection in yarn.

Quiet Time

I am knitting but I have some issues that I need to deal with right now at the fire company. There are times when it sucks being good at research!

But I am going to post two photos of the place I really want to go to on vacation. I guess itis time to stop spending money on yarn and saving because this will be an expensive vacation.

My New Needles

Okay, I didn't get as much done last night as I had intended. I went down to the fire house to pick up something and I was told that I had to be at the company meeting by the vice president. Actually, I was told that as a company officer, I had to be at the meeting. So we had one of the shortest company meetings on record. (The shortest company meetings was about 5 minutes and that was because we had a call.)

So when I finally got home, I started frogging my Falling Leaves sock. I am having some problems with the eyelets showing so I am frogging it and I am going to try knitting into back of the yarn-overs before I change patterns.

And of course, I spent almost an hour on the phone with some one who is becoming important to me. The only reason our conversation ended was that my minitor went off with 3 beeps and a box number where I knew our truck was due. And yes, I did make the truck. When we got there we had to walk a bit since all of the units were staging and the other truck was already in place. The fire was already knocked when we got there. We ended up using our truck after the fire because the roof had to be taken off and we have a basket on the end of our ladder. And working off of the basket was the safest route.

I did not go up in the bucket since we could only safely have 3 people up there at a time. My partner and I took care of returning the tools that we had initially pulled were returned to the quint. After that we were free to stand around and watch. Well, actually, I had another job on the fire ground. I am the company photographer so my other job is to take pictures. I ended up with over 300 shots from last night. Now comes the fun part of editing them.

My chief was on the call but he was working. My chief is a career fire fighter and last night he was at his duty station but they were also on the call. But he hung out with us since he was driving the engine. And of course, he was directing me to take as many photos as I could.

When we were on our way home, the guys on my crew were going through all of the pictures. It is a little bit difficult to get shots of the roof work from the ground, but I did get them. Actually reviewing the pictures entertained us on the way home.

I was supposed to call that certain some one back when I had the chance on the call. But considering that the call went out at 11:01 and we got back to the station at 2 am, I decided that it was smart to not call him since he had the night off. I am sure that I will be hearing from him tonight.

And just to show you that I still knit, I am offering up a photo of a sock that I am knitting using my brand new ebony dpn needles from Lantern Moon. My only compliant about these needles is that I have broken 2 of them in less than a week. The first one broke within 24 hours and the second one broke Sunday morning. My LYS has already replaced the first one and I am going by tonight to get a replacement needle. Hopefully, I will not have any more break on me. I have only ever broken one dpn in all of the years that I have been knitting so this is a little strange to me.

No Posts Equals Busy

I have been busy this week so I apologize for the lack of posts.

Monday night in class, we had the opportunity to play with the gas prop. This is a simulated propane gas fire. This is actually quite a bit of fun although tit is hard work. This type of fire fighting requires quite a bit of team work and coordination because you are approach the fire as a single unit and you have to provide a total water curtain over the fire. Just think about how hard it is to get two people to walk together. Now imagine 6 to 8 people having to not only advance forward together but hauling a nice and heavy hose. But it sure is pretty to look at when you are not on the hose line. The photos here are courtesy of one of my class mates. I forgot my camera and he had his.

Last night, I had to go to a meeting for a local group. My fire company is trying to get some donations from local groups. We are trying to make our classroom at the station a true classroom by updating the equipment. And I am the person who was sent out to make the presentation request for the money.

I headed back to the station after the meeting to let the chief know that we would be getting something but that I would not know the exact amount until today. (And yes, we got some of the money that we requested.) I was just getting ready to leave the station when I heard 3 beeps go out over the radio. I stopped to listen to who had the box alarm. As soon as I heard Box 2-16, I was headed for my locker and trying to get off my uniform shoes. I knew that we were going.

You could see the house fire from quite a distance. The house was rocking!! The truck company was first on scene and quickly established the fact that the attack would be an exterior attack only. The house was fully involved by the time the engine that I was on arrived. And we were the third engine in to the scene!

There were some water issues with regards to hydrant pressure and getting the caps off the hydrants. I know of at least one hydrant wrench that was broken last night. The biggest dangers last night were from the flying embers carried by the wind and the water problems. Basically there is nothing left of this house. There are 4 walls and the foundation and that is it. There is a story about the house fire in today's local paper and on the union website. My digital camera was left in my truck and I only had a disposable camera with me. And as soon as I get that camera developed, I will have pictures of the fire.

I am planning on spending this weekend knitting and in class. So enjoy your weekend!

And my camera is now permently with me all of the time so that I do not miss anything!

 

Socks All of the Time

Okay, I have been knitting but I am not ready to show pictures of them. I have finally turned the heel of my Jaywalker after several discussions with my short rowed heel. It just did not want to cooperate with me.

I have also started my lace pattern for my Falling Leaves sock. This is the sock pattern that I am knitting for Sockapooolza or at least I am giving it a test run. I will let you know after I get a lace repeats in the sock if the yarn colors and the pattern will work together.

But in the search for the perfect sock yarn, I have added some new sock yarns to my ever growing stash of sock yarns. I ordered some Zen sock yarn and Claudia's sock yarn from kpixie.com. I must say that shipping is extremely prompt and I am loving the yarn colors. I have pinks in the Zen Garden and the color freesia in the Claudia's. And I was able to persude one of the Buddhas in my collection to pose and to recline amid the wonderful yarns.

And just for fun, I am inclluding a photo of me from my class on Saturday when we were testing hydrant pressures. Yeah, a fun thing to do on a cold and windy Saturday is play with cold water ;)

(And the guy in the white jacket is not only the instructor but he is also my chief. And he is a really nice guy on top of everything else.)

Injuried Reserve

I have been knitting too much!!! I knit almost all day on Sunday and I somehow aggravated my shoulder. Okay, I also lifted more weights than I should have when I was doing my work out. I was doing a triceps exercise and did a few too many repeats. I had already done my daily yoga workout. And everything together means that I did more than my shoulder was comfortable doing in one day.

I rested the shoulder and took some pain pills. I did not run any calls for a 24 hour period. I also avoided knitting. It was still hurting last night before class. I let my chief know that it was bothering me again and that I would probably not run any calls for the next 24 hours or so. I iced the shoulder again last night and it felt better this morning when I got up.

But I decided to work on my socks at work. Guess what is causing the pain? Yep, the socks! Tiny needles and sore shoulders do not go together. I guess I need to work on something bigger than a size 0 for the next few days.

I also just got back from what should have been 2 working fires. I say two working fires because we were can celled in route to the second fire. And we would have been the first truck on the second fire. We went all the way down the highway non-emergency and turned around at the exit for the fire. We were just getting back on the highway when we saw the other truck that said they were closer getting off the highway. And that fire sounded good!! The initial on-scene report had fire in the walls. And with it being a restaurant, it would have been fun! Okay, fun for us not for the restaurant.

I will try and post some pictures tomorrow of some of the shots from the today's house fire. And yes, my shoulder still hurts.