behind on everything

last week i was on back-up- the academic equivalent of a lifeline. that means that, in addition to normal busy-ness and receiving, i was responsible for fielding questions from interns and providing on-site aid when needed. no matter the time. there is an occasional back-up who resents intern calls, but i would always rather be woken unnecessarily than have an animal die because the intern was going it 'without a net'. of course, the down side is that one doesn't always get much sleep if they are approachable and supportive. so last weekend was going to be my saving grace. this weekend, i was going to catch up on email, catch up on posting, catch up on exercise and sleep. well, none of those things happened.

at the end of the day, i was just plain dead tired. i was at the hospital 10 hours Monday, 12 each on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 13 on Thursday. Saturday, i put in 9 hours. that meant my weekend was already reduced to Sunday when i only spent a measly hour at the hospital.

so, this week i was off back-up though still on clinics. i hoped, for no reason i can divine now, that i would have better luck making headway on, well, everything, but not so much. i did make it to the gym Monday and Tuesday, but developed a nasty migraine Wednesday that plagued me the remainder of the week.

tragedy was introduced at Travy's work when Tuesday they were told that one of his fellow trainees had committed suicide. this was perhaps even more saddening than one might expect. although they had only known each other two weeks, the trainees work through four months of training in a tight group with lots of team-building and group projects. of course, the woman who committed suicide stood out in the group as the most supportive and most interested in everyone else. as is always the case after a suicide, Trav is fluctuating between sorrow at her loss and apparent inability to ask for help and anger at the selfishness of her act. sigh.

the rest of the week was spent putting out client communication fires and struggling with very complex cases. though the days ran 11-12 hours a piece, our service had no inpatients remaining for the weekend. this is both good, because i really needed a break, and bad, because it means pretty much all of our inpatients died despite our best efforts.

most of the weekend has been spent puttering about home, watering plants, cuddling critters, and killing ants. Saturday, Travy kicked me out to attend the monthly meeting of the TV Handspinners guild. i had a great time listening to the chatter and watching other people's projects develop. Saturday night, we both went out to an Hard Knox Roller Girls bout to support one of Trav's co-workers. it was a good time, though the attendance certainly pales in comparison to DRD bouts.

Moody Blues handspun
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

craft updates? there are plenty of course- Friday i plied my first knittable yarn... Travy, of course, wants socks, and i think it may be fine enough for that purpose! i took it for show and tell at the guild meeting and was delighted to be informed that it is well-balanced, neither over- nor underplied!

Valpuri sweater
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

then there is my current sweater... Valpuri. this is a great example of the importance of stash... the yarn i ordered for this project ended up too fine somehow and i didn't like the look when i adjusted needles to get gauge. off to the stash and, lo and behold, the perfect yarn! this is yarn i picked up in North Hampton England when staying with friends to celebrate Y2K. seven years it has been skulking in my stash, biding its time, for this right pattern. as they no one really says in England- Huzzah!

Wine and Roses Mitts
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

because winter is approaching, i suspended sock knitting to make the Wine and Roses mitts my purse knitting. my gauge is a little lacier than the model's, but i think that will balance the warmer temperatures here in Tennessee nicely.

finally, there is a lace shawl/scarf on the needles from Victorian Lace Today in Knitpicks Gossamer Sweet Peas. it hasn't come very far though so i will reserve pictures for another post.

oh yeah, did i mention we have hummingbirds now? yippee!!

in the midst of chaos, there is still knitting

Hedera
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

here it is, my second week as Service Chief and my third week on clinics. can i just say how tired i am? last week we had two 10 hour days, two 12s and one ghastly 14 hour slog of a day. happily, our inpatients were fairly stable so weekend rounds/care took just an hour a day. what else? oh yeah, Friday i got bit through the nail by a wicked little dog. happily, it doesn't appear to be abscessing (so i think i will keep the nail) and it isn't impeding my knitting or spinning.

Birttania
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

this weekend had many pluses. i went back to the gym both Saturday and Sunday, my first visits since well before the move. i am sore sore sore, but it is a great feeling. i also had a massage Saturday which helped with the stress in general and my head in particular.

with such a long week, i hadn't any much time for crafting but i was able to squeeze some in this weekend. i blocked the Brittania and am very happy with the final result. (the photo is pre-block, just to give a feel for it all.) the Hedera socks should be finished soon though my sock pace has slowed now that i confine work on them to meetings. MS3 Swan Lake is complete (but unblocked). i don't know whether i like the combined construction but find the wing just darling. i may make a two-winged version with more beads. finally, i filled most of a second bobbin of fine merino in a colorway called Moody Blues (photo to follow) and am almost ready to attempt plying it. i am almost ready to take the plunge and purchase my own wheel. i am leaning towards the Lendrum Double Treadle. input welcome...

well, i am going to be late if i don't sign off now. i leave you with a photo of my one-winged dove:

MS3 complete but unblocked
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

a sto-reee!

today i sit down with my coffee just as the MS3 theme and clue go out. having the clue start with the following sentence has made my morning:

We will now be knitting a wing.

i may hate the final stole, i may love it, but waking up to read that has totally made it worthwhile. the discussion of asymmetry reminded me of a silliness from my residency so i am going to break my no recreational typing rule to share.

Internal Medicine is intense. the mortality rate is high, the owners highly invested and the patients usually particularly special (else the owner would never come so far). it can take less than 3 hours to reduce a student to tears so it is important to instantly achieve familiarity with all the 'kids' on a new student rotation. everyone has their own favorite icebreakers. one week, my chief of service Lauren had everyone share the song lyrics they most misunderstood.

one of the guys says, 'You know that song by Stevie Nicks? Edge of Seventeen? I thought for the longest time that she was singing, "Just like the one wing of love."'

[chuckling]

'I couldn't figure out what it meant. It drove me crazy. It took me like a year to figure out she was saying, "Just like a one-winged dove."'

[silence]

[people begin shifting and shuffling uncomfortably]

Lauren started giggling, chuckling, then laughing so hard her face turned purple - i thought she might have to change her pants.

'It's not "a one-winged dove". [gasping for air] It's "the white-winged dove."'

the guy: 'Oohhhhhh. That makes more sense.'

Lauren: 'A one-winged dove?'

the guy: 'I thought that maybe that was why the bird was so sad.'

so here we are, knitting one-winged doves... Lauren would be amused.

you can only leverage so far

in spite of my best efforts, my computer set-up at home isn't quite ergo (though still way better than my situation at work) so all the typing and computer diagram design i have been doing for my lectures have fried my arms. it is a good thing i will be going on clinics for six weeks come Monday so my arms have time to heal. that means 'recreational typing' is out. on the upside, the tendonitis does not appear to be aggravated by crafting... so here i present craft updates with few words:

MS3, through Clue 4
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

here is MS3, through the fourth clue. i couldn't decide whether to lengthen it, and eventually went with the pattern as written. we'll see how that shakes out.

Brittania
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

the Brittania is also coming along rather quickly, given its degree of neglect. last night i started shaping for the armholes for the front. the yarn is remarkably soft (Knit One Crochet Two Angora soft) and i am curious to see how it tolerates my lifestyle.

Hedera socks
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

with my Roza's socks completed and two days of lectures at a laparoscopy course to observe, i needed a new sock pattern. after much debate, i started Hedera by Cookie A. the body is a 4 row repeat and easy to perform in low light. i think they are turning out just lovely. i am past the gusset on the first sock.

My first true spool
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

after plying off the mish mosh to get empty spools, i began the 'serious' work applying my lesson in spinning. here is my first 'from scratch' spool.

My second spool
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

after finishing the first spool with reasonable focus on consistency, i thought i would try making a spool of finer wool. i thought it would help me gain proficiency handling difficult spots in the rovings. it is the yarn on my second spool. unfortunately, i have run out of Shermie. i also am not sure that i can ply the two together. happily, my mentor's spinning group meets this Saturday (1st Sat of the month). i can show her my work and get advice, probably pick up some more of Shermie's rovings, and select something else with which to play.

not shown is the progress i have made on my alpaca fleece and the fleeces that Cathy sent me. they are coming along, but i think one needs a bit of carding to loosen VM. also, i think i am not quite ready for spinning from the lock.

well, my arm's making cranky at me (kinda feels like bugs under my skin), so i'd best sign off.

the weekend of loose ends

The great undoing
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

i am not a woman of UFOs. i am a woman of completion. but for almost ten years, i have had the mother of all UFOs heavy round my neck. here it is.

my doom - delightful frogs nestled in a bed of reeds and sunny yellow algae.

for reasons that no longer are clear to me, i decided to would be fun to handquilt this beast. i would do a stippled pattern in the border of my boggy paradise and outline individual frogs in a bright green to contrast on the underside. unfortunately, i had no appreciation at all for the gaping suck that is handquilting. one can easily spend days toiling away for a few square feet progress. until this last weekend, my goal was to complete this bast**d in time to be wrapped within for cremation.

this weekend, that all changed. after unboxing my new Singer, sewing Bear a new bed and rice bags for backs, shoulders and eyes, i screwed up my courage and attacked the UFO with seam ripper clenched tightly in hand. with Travy's help, it took less than six hours till the handquilting was no more than a bad dream. i'll need to baste the layers and then on to the wonder of machine quilting.

Shermie the sheepie
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

Wednesday i got my first lesson in spinning. my new colleague Linda sent me home with her spare wheel - an Ashford Traditional with lazy Kate - and rovings from her sheep Shermie. my first work was a mess, between basic muscle memory problems and accidental dislodgement of the Scotch tension. in addition, her wheel had last been used for demonstrations at a pioneer-type festival and the spools were clouded with bits of work from a number of spinners. i plied the spools off to make a clean start and am much happier with my results this weekend. its not particularly thin but it is much more consistent. between social engagements and other loose ends, i did not have nearly as much time as i would have liked to play, but i do feel i have a better understanding of the process.

Fatal alpaca
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

speaking of process, in excited anticipation of fleeces generously offered by Cathy, i have been busy learning about washing fleece. being a treehugging radical, i of course have a front loader so the logistics have been a titch complicated. Linda had given me a fleece from her alpaca Cy, which i carefully washed, spun with my washer* and teased out to dry. with all the kettles burbling and a 'wet dog' smell, it seemed a little reminiscient of Fatal Attraction.

*it has a drain and spin option so i can spin without agitation. :)

then, in the midst of all the burbling, what should arrive but a big box of fleecey fun! thank you SO MUCH, Cathy!!! i can't wait to get it clean.

finally, i did get a little knitting done on both the Britannia and the MS3. photos will have to wait for my next post. it is bedtime and then some!

clickaclacka clickaclacka

Mystery stole, clue 3
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

daily doing continues to be a bear here. i have never ever in my entire work experience had such a negative start to a job. ironically, i continue to adore the faculty and think in my heart of hearts that it will be wonderful if i can just hang on to my humor a bit longer. it is so ridiculous that i cannot even begin to explain the situation. what, one might ask, can a girl do to maintain equanimity in such rough seas?

the answer, of course, is knit.

i have taken to lace knitting with relative ease, especially given my current mental abstraction. it certainly helps that MS3 is so beautifully designed. by midday Saturday, Clue 3 was realized before me, all shiny and elegant and soft. i keep her fluffed up beside me on my desk to provide emergency pets. i know she looks a little uneven in the photo, but i keep her wadded up most of the time so the cats don't nest on her...

Socks galore
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

with yarn in hand for two lolly summer sweaters, i had motivation indeed to get down below my three project limit.

ker-pow! Travy stripey socks, be done!

the stripey socks look a bit peculiar, i know, when their ribs suck in but Travy finds them quite fab indeed. i went with a simple K2, P2 rib and knit it up using more screamin' Opal on US 2s. (Travy likes loud socks.) the second of my Roza socks continues as well, growing a bit with each morning meeting.

readers playing along at home will recognize that that drops my active project count to TWO. without fanfare or fuss, i swatched Knit One, Crochet Too Angora Soft for Britannia. quite surprisingly, i was right on gauge. Friday i cast on and knit up the first couple inches of the back rib. Saturday, suspicious the slight uneven quality of my early stitches might be the result of Friday's cocktail hour, i frogged it and started over. turns out the yarn is just a titch irregular and i am not.

Britannia sweater
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

behold the first skein's worth of work in glorious Orange Julius orange!

i am mix and matching different pattern bits to better suit my frame. it will be interesting to see how things shake out...

alrighty, well, it is time to get back to gettin'. all these grants won't write themselves. sigh.

picture pages, picture pages,

Socks and more socks
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

come on get your picture pages.
come on get your crayons and your pencils....

okay, maybe not exactly. i have been slogging away most of the day on grant proposals, guidelines and deadlines. my eyes are shot and my arms cranky so i am not particularly up to typing, but i did want to post some knit updates.

as you can see, i am a bit past halfway there on the two pairs of socks currently in play. impressively, i have managed to not cast more socks on needles.

Mystery stole!
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

the MS3 is coming along quite well. the yarn i picked out is Alpaca with a Twist Fino in 'purple' and i am using US 4s. i am about halfway through the second Clue. i can't imagine that it is true, but the center panel almost looks like a big spider right now! i wasn't sure how i would like the beading but it isn't too much of a pain and adds a nice touch. i haven't done a KAL before and thus far am finding it quite entertaining.

in other news, after a long hiatus, there may be a sweater project on the horizon... i just have to finish one of the pairs of socks first. (three simultaneous projects is my cutoff threshold.)

a Monday of a Monday

my life as it stands now...

i am supposed to be at work, but i can't get in the hospital because my ID does not have the right permissions.
- Solution: Walk in through Large Animal Receiving and convince them to let me through.

i am supposed to be in my office, but i can't get in the door because i have no key. (note: someone moved my officemate's stuff off the second desk- and informed him he was getting an officemate- so i could at least move my boxes out of the car.)
- Solution: Borrow master key from Maintenance to get in each day. Unlock door and scurry back with key before they need it.

i am supposed to be writing grants, but i have no computer.
- Solution: Bring my own computer and plug into network. [Nope. Network won't accept me.]
- Solution B: Work from home. Ignore boyfriend and dog rolling around on floor like toddlers playing while trying to write high-level scientific grant.

i am supposed to be responsive at all times by phone and page, but they inputed an incorrect number into the directory.
- Solution: Patiently wait for bitchyself-righteous informative secretary to stop chiding me for 'ignoring my phone' and then politely point out that 'Number not in service' message is not equivalent to 'Doctor doesn't care.' Request they either fix the directory, call my personal cell or send carrier pigeon.

i am supposed to be monitoring and responding to work emails in a timely fashion, but the mail quota is incorrectly set so low that i go over quota roughly every three emails and an empty mailbox is at 45% of quota.
- Solution: Delete email every 5 minutes and empty trash. Wait patiently for computer guy to return to work to fix tomorrow... or sometime.

i am supposed to be receiving forms for proofing and completion in my mailbox, but i have no mailbox.
- Solution: Look confused instead of aggravated when people keep telling me to watch for [insert noun] in my box, and then gently suggest things be left on random counter for me to find after i point out i will not have a mailbox till the 15th.



have i mentioned recently that i hate moving?

complete-a-thon

Premature baby receiving blanket
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

okay, maybe not so much a complete-a-thon as a start... i had hoped to have more to show by now what with two days of brutal orientation hell under my belt, but day two did not really allow for knitting during the mind-numbing sessions. i have also been somewhat scattered and frantic, creating a Plan B on the fly since my office partner did not know he was getting an officemate and is currently out on family emergency. Travy and i were able to rebuild the home office yesterday so i could get to work on a grant that's deadline is looming.

so what can i share? first- i finished the Preemie receiving blanket. of course, i haven't a baby lying about to model it so i pressed a toy from my childhood into service. the blanket is crocheted in a simple 5 dc shell pattern with a size G hook. the yarn, Redheart TLC Baby, was less hideous than normal for Redheart. the blanket is waiting for a couple of buddies so it can be mailed off to charity (elephant not included).

Fish socks!
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

i have also finished the do-over on my Pomatomus socks (US 2s, Jitterbug yarn, colorway Monet). okay okay, the photo is blurry but the flash kept interfering with the color accuracy! i am also past the gusset shaping on the first of my Roza socks and on the first of Travy's next pair of simple ribbed socks.

and now? after working madly all day on above mentioned grant proposal, my arms demanded a break. during said break, i found myself lured into committing to MS3. although generally more of a 'spirit of the law' type when it comes to food recipes and the like, i have devolved into a complete scofflaw with regard to my yarn color selection for this project. it is recommended, for compliance with the secret theme, that the yarn be in either the white or black family. laceweight, and yarn store for that matter, selection here in Knoxville is sparse but i did not want to wait for an online purchase and get too far behind the pack so i ended up with a rich pinky coral yarn (photo to follow in next post). beads were even more of a struggle to procure but success was mine at last. i hope to cast on the gauge swatch tonight.

as you know,

yesterday the move finally brought me to my knees, morose and overwhelmed, like this but with a little more woe:


i work pretty darn hard to keep both my 'whataboutme' and my 'woeisme' valves closed, but life happens. sometimes the Lord sees fit to help me back on track, kinda like this:


but usually i try and help myself before asking for help.

my take when a valve springs a leak is that it is usually an indication i am not doing enough for others. basically, if i am keeping up on my service, the pressure available to blow a narcissistic gasket cannot accrue. even when this isn't the case, upping my service tends to help refocus my internal self on what is truly important.

Shell baby afghan
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

i am still remarkably tired though and have to be still a lot - waiting for workmen to repair various things, waiting endlessly at the DMV (90 minutes), waiting interminably for my license plates (only 18 minutes!) so... time for charity crafting. the afghan is turning out to be quite sweet. i got the pattern per se, here. although the pattern itself is quite brainless, it is not completely written up. still, it is pretty obvious how to proceed if you have crocheted any type of shell before.

Travy was quite disconcerted. he stared and stared and then finally, 'You know, I don't think I have seen you use one of those strange needles before.'

me: 'That's because it isn't a needle. It is a crochet hook. I am crocheting.'

him, uncertainly: 'Is this a sign you need more yarn?'

me: [blink] 'No. Crochet is faster than knitting. Warm Hearts is down an afghan crocheter. I hate this stupid (donated) yarn. They need things fast and I want to be done with the yarn quickly.'

him: 'Um, okay.'

even though i still have a headache and everything is still all messed up, i do feel much better today. i am not sure whether it was the crying or all the mindful crochet, but i'll take it either way.

Argosy
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

in other news, i now have three sets of socks in play (fish sock, Roza socks, new ribbed socks for Travy). i have to STOP casting on socks if i am ever to start the lace. sheesh. it is like i leave my brain in the other room for just a few minutes and BLAM! another pair of socks on the needles.

oh, yes. i found the Argosy in the last of the unpacking and it is finally blocked. i wouldn't have thought it possible, but i love it even more.

in case of emergency...

i have been holding this baby back as an emergency pick-me-up should the moving truly bring me to my knees. as i just spent 30 minutes crying quietly in a bank lobby whilst talking on the phone to Mom, i think today qualifies.



oh yeah. that's right. i guess i am making progress.

what i see

New neighbor!
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

yesterday, we hung most of the paintings and photos around the house. at this point, we are down to finding furniture for various 'holes'. this will probably take some time because we want things to be right and need to wait for our financial reserves to refill!

and now some images from my new home:

this little guy was the first neighbor we met. he was pretty quick to dart away but did wait for me to capture his gorgeous mug on camera...

First bird
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

using a genorous housewarming present from Dave and Nancy, we purchased shepherd's hooks and a few bird feeders Saturday afternoon. this is a photo of one of our first visitors Sunday! as you can see, he was quite curious about the silly biped on the other side of the glass.

Rte 66 lily
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

finally, this beaut is just for Cathy. the first bloom from a lily we planted off our patio. kudos go to Mom and Rol for their inspiration regarding the yard!

catching up

things are finally settling in here in Knoxville. yesterday i was able to brew my first TN latte, though the beans available leave a lot to be desired... i have some leads on local coffee roasters so hopefully that will be rectified soon.

i seem to have partially sprained my wrist so typing has been out for the last few days. i finally was able to find a sock in progress and knit a little yesterday. surprisingly, knitting appeared to have popped something back in place in my wrist, making typing possible again.

the main ongoing wrinkle is that our internet connection is consistently inconsistent; it bottoms out every day around 2pm and slowly restores itself around 6pm. tech support alternates between incompetent ('Let's unplug the modem and power cycle it again.'), denial ('You aren't one of our customers.'), and non-existent ('Ohhhhhhhh. You have a Mac. Ohhhhhhh. Well, the problem sounds like it is outside your house but, since you have a Mac, I just don't know.......... Maybe I should transfer you to Mac support so they can tell you to power cycle the modem...........'). they may or may not come later today to not fix the problem some more.

Denise (of Yin and Yarn), Charlie and me in Seattle
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

since the internet will probably be going down any minute, i better cut to the chase.

my annual work conference (right before the move) went well. i had plenty to do between two posters, a talk, rating the resident certifying exam, attending abstract presentations and saying my goodbyes in preparation for my move. the conference was in Seattle leading to a very special treat- dinner with Denise and Mr CPA! it was a wonderful time though i fear i chattered too much (side effect of 6 weeks without any real sleep).

Rol and Mom at our move-in to UTK
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

the flight to Nashville went uneventfully. Bear tried to bite a TSA agent but was unsuccessful. the great cat smuggle went off without a hitch allowing both cats to make the move. no luggage was lost. Mom and Rol drove to Knoxville with us to help sort things out. here they are as we celebrate our 'first night' in town with bubbly provided by dear friends Dave and Nancy (for Trav's and my one year dating anniversary).

Falling leaves modded
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

what about knitting? i hate loose ends and partial balls of yarn so... after finishing Travy's Tennessee socks, i knocked out these bobby socks using leftover Clown yarn during lectures in Seattle. i started with the Falling Leaves pattern and US 1s (i think) and just modded the top to make a roll-out cuff.

Bobby socks and bruises
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

i had leftovers of Regia from Travy's requested matching yuppie socks, so i figured i would make more bobby socks. the pattern i made up as i went along and i'm quite happy with the texture (a simple four row pattern) and fit. [as you can also see, moving is hard work. my bruises have bruises! the tickle of blood occasionally draws my attention to new injuries. i am hopeful the damage will fall off now that the boxes are mostly unpacked.]

current projects- Roza's socks for me and still have to finish up the recalcitrant fish socks. okay. [sigh] have to get back to unpacking.

[pardon my French but] moving sucks

it is going as well as one could hope for Day EIGHT of moving, but that doesn't mean it isn't still awful. thankfully(?), the moving truck finally arrived this morning with boxes aplenty.

did i mention i lost a Crystal Palace US 1 1/2 DPN in a 'closed system' never to be heard from again?

i say once more, moving sucks.

Tennessee socks!!! (and 'Fish' socks)

Tennessee socks!!! (and 'Fish' socks)
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

if you live in Tennessee (especially KNoxville), you have to have some orange and white, so i have been making Travy some UT socks. i am using Opal yarn in a basic rib pattern on US 2s.

the other sock was almost finished last nght but i am having to frog back to the body. it is Pomatomus in Jitterbug sock yarn on US2s and the slightly looser gauge meant i wasn't going to have quite enough yarn to finish the second sock, so i am taking out one of the repeats in the body (basically back to where it is in this picture) and going from there.

my 'home time' has been productive but very busy. yesterday alone i took Bear in for surgery, Mr Head in for blood work, Trav's car in for surgery, and Trav in for his dental work. whew! we are making headway though. still plenty to do before i head to the airport in 4 hours. it is going to be an exciting trip!!

wish me luck!!

i leave you with a photo of Bear with his 'monkey':

Bear with his 'monkey'
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

catching up

home, sweet home. at least for a few more weeks.

i cannot possibly stress enough how much i hate full blue moons. it is amazing how incredibly psychotic otherwise normal people become on the days surrounding a full moon. first i had to dress down a client to get her to stop calling every twenty minutes and harassing us for lab results not due back for at least another day. she went so far as to claim we were withholding results, had results faxed directly to her from the lab against their policies (probably by impersonating me), and demanded to speak to the practice manager about how results 'can't take that long'. [rolls eyes] at least she had the grace to apologize when i called the following day with results.

next day i have to fire a guy who decided that my honesty about his dog's poor response to treatment and grave prognosis was me 'not caring'. he alternated between crowding my space both physically and verbally in such a threatening manner that i thought we might have to call police, vowing to take me to the Board (basically for being honest) to get my license taken away, and accusing me of lying about being a doctor.

i cheer myself with the knowledge that the next full blue moon is a long time coming...

Presents from Denise and Toby
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

so to catch up on visuals now that Flickr is back, check out these awesome presents!!!! the first is a delightful surprise package from my pal Denise whom i will hopefully be meeting in person next weekend. her dog Toby also got in on the action, sending my kitties some special treats! Elise, aka Miss Priss, particularly is loving the little catnip hearts so much that i couldn't find the second one to include in the package photo!

Presents from Nancy
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

last weekend i come home to another surprise! my dear friend Nancy sent both Travy and I gifts. mine is a hand-made glasses holder for my new professorial reading glasses. Travy lucked out as well- his is a gorgeous necklace. Nancy made both using gorgeous antique beads from Africa.

Double knit hat for Dave (rabbit not included)
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

in the meantime, i was able to send off a super-special care package for Nancy and her petit ami* Dave. for Dave, i made a double knit cap adapting the basic instructions from here to suit. it is to replace a seaman's cap Dave has had so long that the yarn is irreparably failing. tomorrow i will get to find out whether it really fits, or whether their claims to that effect are just politeness.

*okay, he is officially her husband, but petit ami just sounds more lovely.

Surprise socks for Nancy
Originally uploaded by jacquichris

the other item is the secret item i couldn't share last month. it is a Cascade midweight sock pattern (don't have it in front of me- sorry!) using Fancy Image Hand-dyed Yarn from another great online buddy Lara who has been having some challenges of her own this moon cycle! Nancy claims she will be the envy of the neighborhood, which may be a bit of an overstatement, but the colorway is so happy that perhaps not.

this weekend i hope to finish the last Blacksburg afghan i will be knitting, so that i can enjoy puttering on small projects without guilt during talks at the big internal medicine convention next week...

of course, i do also have to finish slides for a presentation Thursday, finish an abstract also due Thursday, and reformat a paper for submission to a 'higher-impact' journal ASAP. hmm. maybe the afghan can wait...

so the original title of this post was...

"a 'quiet' weekend at home" but i didn't quite have an opportunity to post until now.

today i figure i will settle back into routine with so;me knitting posting after a day where even I (who can justify almost anything) lose my empathy for my clients.

but now it turns out that today...


so what can i share?

well... i shipped off the afghans to the yarn shop Mom discovered in Blacksburg.

the weekend was crazy stressful busy but Travy and i got buckets accomplished. i got my bifocals and am now continously disoriented and seasick when wearing glasses (though i trust i will acclimate with time). my flight was unremarkable and i used the hour to finish the first of a pair of Tennessee socks* for Travy. today was so sucky and annoying that i almost wish i could return to Dr. Death week. my new 'neighbors' are moderately noisy but i am getting by. and now the upside is that Panic Room is on TNT and i love Jodie Foster and have never seen it. okay... knitting content to return once Flickr is done with its massage. be well.

*if you don't have some orange-n-white to wear on game days in Knoxville, i am pretty sure they stone you... not to cross the Bible belt or anything (no pun intended)...

if this post was a window,

you would see just the tips of my hair peeking out over the bottom frame. it has been such a brutal and miserable week, it has taken me this long to build up enough energy to log in. now i am finding they changed the coding on Blogger so that Preview doesn't work right with Safari... since i violently hate uncountable things about Firefox, you can imagine my dismay. so what, i am sure, you are wondering has made my week so miserable.

the week started with a Monday of a Monday. Sunday night i slept on the most vicious of mattresses i have ever experienced. then in to work where every case either had emergent terminal disease or slow-death terminal disease. the whole day was spent either performing euthanasia and grief counseling or performing grief counseling toward a future euthanasia. talk about depressing. too miserable and tired to consider changing rooms. certain i would get used to the bed.

about midnight i conceded that i could not get used to sudden spring attacks from an otherwise wooden mattress and resigned myself to a miserable night. but hey- it was just a Monday thing, right?

well, no. unfortunately, this was to be an unshakable Dr. Death week. three cancellations because the patients died before their appointments... easily 50% of the cases i did see were terminal... at least one euthanasia a day... back seized up and migraine kicked in Thursday morning from the ongoing mattress hell... trying to finish the posters for ACVIM with a connection as slow as dial up... and so on and so on...

what else can i say?

Jaywalker socks
Originally uploaded by jacquichris.

i finished the Jaywalker socks while 'on leave'. they are awesome. if possible, i think i might cheat on my love for this yarn. sigh.

over the weekend, while trying frantically to get everything done for ACVIM and for our move to Tennessee, i managed to finish up two preemie burial buntings for Warm Hearts. projects for this fortnight? well, the first one is an afghan for the family of Ryan Christopher 'Stack' Clark. i should have it finished today and then i'll be moving onto a special secret something...

Comfort afghan for Ryan Christopher "Stack" Clark
Originally uploaded by jacquichris.

have to get back to my poster revisions... almost no time left before i have to have the posters to the printer. then back to the knitting and love of yarn.

happy knitting all!

what to do in a hotel outside Phoenix

what to do in a hotel outside Phoenix
Originally uploaded by jacquichris.

i have been very very busy working out here in Arizona. my day starts at 7ish and i leave at 6ish (including most of Saturday). during that time, i do not stop. not at all. i write files while i eat, i put together treatment protocols while i pee, and i return phone calls while i review radiographs. the clients are high maintenance and/or crazy, the team is understaffed, and the diseases are obstreperous.

did i mention i am having a ball?

at the end of the day, i am too tired to do anything but watch fuzzy limited cable, miss my 'lobster' and cats, and knit knit knit. so what have i made?

Tuesday i finished a secret item using Fancy Image Hand-dyed yarn that was a present from Lara. i can't wait to reveal it but i do want it to be a surprise! can i just say i love this yarn? dearly. so then i cast on item 2.

Friday, i finished the comfort afghan for the family of Ryan Davis. it is Spring Joys by Rena Stevens. i used Plymouth Yarn Encore in colorways 7828 and 389. the afghan will end up being roughly 3' x 3.5' once blocked. can i also say i love this yarn? machine washable, soft soft soft and warm.

so Saturday, i cast on Grumperina's Jaywalker socks using Lorna's Laces in Watercolor, a present from Denise, on US 1 1/2s. this is something for me.

i suspect i will have these finished by the time i get home late late Thursday. if i happen to finish early, i do have one other project with me to start. while home, i look forward to collecting a variety of projects for my next two week stint.

in the meantime, back to knitting and doctoring.


Note to self (and Lara): in future, trying to plan a cross-country move while staying in an entirely unrelated state isn't the wisest or most fun... [rolls eyes]

two for three thus far- UPDATED

Blacksburg comfort afghan
Originally uploaded by jacquichris.

my crazy goal to complete all my UFOs before leaving town is progressing better than anticipated...

here you see the completed afghan for the fmaily of Julia Pryde. it is about 4' by 3' and very lush. the pattern is Summer Willows by Rena Stevens, knit using US 15s and Lion Brand chenille. i am taking yarn to start a second afghan for the family of Ryan Clark.

More socks for Travy
Originally uploaded by jacquichris.

last night i finished the third set of socks for Travy. these were knit using Opal on US2 and are quite squooshy. had a scare Friday when i lost the first sock but was able to retrace my steps across town and track it down.

the argosy is pretty close. i am off to try and finish that before we head to the airport. perhaps i will have an addendum to this post before i leave town. we'll see.

i packed two new projects besides the afghan, but those are surprises for now. off to knit like a maniac!


ADDENDUM (4:12pm): Goal completed with 40 minutes to spare! Huzzah!!