Thursday, November 6, 2008

Yummy swifts

Tilly is nothing if not adventurous. Not only is she willing to go anywhere that we're willing to take her, invent a variety styles of barking to get our attention, and find a myriad of ways to jump onto the bed first thing in the morning, she is also willing to seek out and try new ways to be naughty.

Remember back in the day when all we had to worry about was her tendency to nip? Well, that is slowing down some (although she is by no means above grabbing a hunk of skirt in her mouth and attempting to haul me bodily wherever she thinks I should be; and she's still no good once she gets hysterical), but she's on to bigger and better naughtinesses. A couple of months ago, she decided that books looked like good fun, and that she should eat them when at all possible. A month ago, she decided that knitting books taste better than other books (alas for my EZ and Yarn Harlot collections). On Tuesday, she decided that my lovely wooden yarn swift was surely placed within her reach (I know, I know, my bad) for her chewing convenience.

Grrr....

Anyone know where I can find a lovely wooden yarn swift for cheap?

In other news, my foot is, in fact, tweaked. But it is not broken. It was hurting so much yesterday (worse than the day before, which I take to be a sign of not-healing) that I finally went to the doctor, who kindly x-rayed it and told me that it wasn't broken, but that all of the signs suggested that I'd done something to one of the tendons located along the outside of my foot. She then put a patch with a topical version of an NSAID on it, wrapped it up in an ace bandage and told me to take it easy for a while (I hate "until it feels better" diagnoses, but there it is). By the time I'd gotten home and installed myself on the couch, I was feeling veeeerrrryyy sllleeeeepppyyyyy. A little while later, my brains felt fuzzy. Somehow, through the increasing haze, I realized (and attempted, badly, to articulate to Rick) that it had to be that stupid patch. I fumbled the bandage from around my foot and ripped the patch off and threw that darned thing away. An hour or so later, I was feeling back to normal, although I admit to bouts of incoherence on and off through the night. Apparently NSAIDs knock me out. Who knew?

So today I'm making do with an ace bandage. I'm also wearing a long skirt, handknit socks, and Birks (the only shoes that fit over the bandage), so I look like a complete Berkeley hippie. Oops.

In knitting news, I'm done with the cuff of the socks that I'm test-knitting for Laura (she's over at Fiber Dreams, and in fact, she's having a naming crisis over these exact socks, so you can head on over and help her out if you're so inclined). The stitch pattern on these is great fun, and I have to admit here and now that the cuffs got me through Academic Senate yesterday, with its ongoing (and exceedingly long-winded) saga of budget cuts. (The chancellor of the system has told us that we can and must teach the same number of students using fewer resources, "without compromising academic excellence"; I keep wanting to say to him, in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, "I don't think that word means what you think it means".)
Isn't that a great pattern? I'm knitting these in the extra-small size, since Younger Daughter needs a new pair of socks. The yarn is Old Maiden Aunt in the superwash merino 4-ply. I am loving the colors right now; the yarn is all spring green tones, and it's making me very happy. I'm using my size one Celtic Swans, which are also making me happy. So between the stitch motif, yarn, and needles, I'm having some fun with this one. I should be able to get the heel turned tonight, and then I'm on the home stretch. (Especially since tomorrow I have another long meeting about the budget, which is serious knitting time.)

And although I haven't said much about it, I think most of you can guess how much I'm enjoying it every time I hear "President-elect Obama" on the radio. Dang. We did good.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor swift. Poor Tilly if she pulls a stunt like that again.

I love the sock pattern - it combines all my favorites for socks - ribs, cables, and lace!

Laura said...

I'm glad your foot isn't broken! Hope it heals up quickly. The sock looks great. I'm glad you're enjoying it. :-)

EGunn said...

Love the sock! Cables are just perfect for sock cuffs.

I'm sorry your foot is unhappy. =/
At least you made the whole walk, though. =)

I really like Canada, but I think I'm glad I don't have to move there just yet...it's nice to have a 4-year reprieve. Besides, the line might have been longer at the border than it was at the voting stations, had things gone the other way!

Mary Lou said...

Let's make that president-elect Barack Hussein Obama!

Bea said...

Poor swift. Poor Jocelyn. Sorry about your foot. I can't take NSAIDs at all. They always stick me with steroids. Can't have like advil or anything so I can sympathize with the sleepy.

You should make sure to make everyone wait on you. Take advantage :)

Anonymous said...

Noooo! No book eating! Spindles are better. :)

Tweaked but not broken does not sound all that faboo either. Heal!

Cute socks.

Jane said...

What a lovely sock, beautiful colour and a great pattern.

Anonymous said...

Ouch.

But such a lovely sock (and dratted dog) to distract you from pain (both of the foot and of the budget cuts). At least we all know we'll be doing the same amount of work, and gradually more, with fewer resources, and we all expect to be nowhere near excellent (including our boss).

Alwen said...

Yowch! (Both the swift and the foot.)

I guess I get to be glad that all my dogs have chewed up are Halloween popcorn balls and yummy MRE packaging.

Anne said...

Fenway once ate a copy of Moby Dick.

Take it easy on that foot! I think you need to spend the weekend knitting on the couch.

Courtney said...

I'm sorry to hear about your foot AND your swift! My dog has thought about my yarn as a snack before, but he's never been dumb enough to try it. ;)

The cats I'm fostering on the other hand...

Your Princess Bride reference made me laugh. That's one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies. :) Thanks for the smile.

Yay on the Obama front. The next four years are gonna be great. :)

Nana Sadie said...

Oh, my. Good for you, looking like a Berkeley hippie! If I do, you should...
lololol
(but I wish your foot didn't have to be hurt in the process - heck I wish mine didn't)
LOVE the sock pattern - darling!

And yes, admins always think that less money and more work should never compromise excellence whether it be in the classroom, or the office.
(sigh)
OH. YES. We did REALLY GOOD!
Yes, we can!
(((hugs)))

mehitabel said...

I got my swift on ebay. This might be a good time to look for one there. Also do check Ravelry. I think I'm grateful that Simon got smacked in the head the last time I was winding yarn, and now thinks the swift is out to get him!
Hope your foot feels better soon. It took my ankle much much longer to heal than I expected, and it's still pretty sore and swells easily, and really I did try to be good!~

Willow said...

Yeah, I got the 'warning about budget cuts' email on Friday.

I'm loving those socks. I think they look a little like seaweed but I don't think Seaweed would be a great name for a pair of socks.

Have a good week!

Does anyone else ever look at the word verifications and READ them?
enwee-- looks like a French word spelled phonetically.

Anonymous said...

Get better! My daughter had to have surgery on a "just a tendon" once in her foot. Breaks are easier than that one was. Heal well!