I ushered in the Winter Solstice by planting some miniature roses Mark's sister sent us for Thanksgiving. Why I decided to do this after five, when it was pretty dark already, is anybody's guess. It had been mostly below freezing here for two weeks, but the soil seemed warm enough, so hopefully they will survive.

We are preparing for the big influx of Mark's family, who will all have arrived by this time tomorrow. All that's left for me to do is mop and make the beds, but I'm afraid Mark has more to do... Despite my best efforts, I still am really dreading this visit. I'm still bitter about not being consulted about the thing in the first place, plus I'm not looking forward to having to play hostess all weekend. I like my sisters-in-law, but my brothers-in-law are not my favorite people in the world (they're not horrible--I just don't really enjoy hanging out with them), plus Mark's two nephews are notorious brats. I am so glad they are staying in a hotel! Our house is literally not big enough for four adults and two kids to stay with us. Anyway, I'm going to try to put my best face forward. At least I have a very good excuse for needing to go lie down. I plan on taking great advantage of this over the weekend. (I'm doing pretty well, by the way. I think I already have the beginnings of sciatica--whoopee--but other than that I can't really complain.)

Before I go run another of our countless errands, here's another FO shot:



How much do I love Socks That Rock?! A whole lot. I will get some more one of these days...I know Blue Moon Fiber Arts usually comes to Maryland Sheep & Wool, which hopefully I'll be up for attending this spring.

Oh, also, check out this slideshow where people submitted their photos along with their BMIs. Apparently everyone over a size 10 is obese...

Last thought: DADT is dead! I dance on your grave.

No worries--I am fine. I even was able to get the initial OB exam out of the way. We were able to see both arms and legs on the ultrasound this time, and it was doing a little aerobics. :) Not bad for only being an inch long!

Now that I finally have a bunch of photos loaded on Flickr, here's a picture of my finished Spanish Armada shawl:



I'd never made a square shawl before...it's pretty, but it's a bit less practical for me than a rectangular or triangular shawl. I did like working with Knit Picks Shadow, though--no problems with splitting or knots, and it feels pretty nice.

This is so bad, it's kind of funny...



I have been better, actually. The spotting and cramps are a bit worse than before, and I have a quick ultrasound tomorrow morning just to confirm that everybody's okay. It should be fine--I'm really not feeling that much worse than I have been--but of course I'm a bit of a basketcase about it. That's natural, I suppose. Mark has been his usual super-supportive, sane, reasonable, optimistic self, and my mother agrees that there is almost surely nothing to worry about. She apparently had spotting with me and one of my brothers (who was conceived while she had an IUD--oops!!), and had almost no complications otherwise. This afternoon I'm trying to distract myself with some sewing machine tasks (adding some lace to the tree skirt and taking in one of Mark's cotton sweaters so I can wear it, which should take me at least an hour!) and laundry, and I may try to memorize more Wagner. That should take up most of the space in my brain...

Oh, and I took some pictures yesterday! Here's the yoga mat bag I made back in July (it had been in my car, so I never got around to taking a picture of it).


I used the lace pattern from the February Baby/Lady sweater, and winged it from there. It's done a great job keeping my mat from rolling around the car.

I know things have been quiet around here...for multiple reasons. The first being that I never know where the camera is--I haven't taken any project pictures in more than a month! I do know its current location, so I promise to rectify this tomorrow. In the meantime, though, I know a blog with no pictures can be boring. I will address this next time!

One of the other reasons is a big one. I didn't want to speak too soon, just in case, but we're having a baby! (If you know me IRL and you're just hearing this now, I apologize! I probably just haven't run into you in the last week or so.) I am about 8 1/2 weeks along, and am due in mid-July. So far I'm not feeling too bad--I've had a bit of cramping and some extremely light spotting, but it's apparently within normal parameters (I have had to give up my yoga class, because twisting makes the cramps worse, and my back is already hurting a lot, but am looking forward to starting prenatal yoga within a month or two.) Mainly I've just been really tired, and I've already had to retire two of my three pairs of jeans, even though I've only gained about a pound. Last Thursday I had my first nurse appointment, and they did an ultrasound to check my due date--I was so relieved to see and hear the heartbeat, and see a little arm. :) After the appointment, I finally felt comfortable telling people outside of my immediate family. I'm still not completely out of the woods yet--I'll be feeling much, much better by this time next month, when I'm officially in my second trimester and have had my first OB appointment.

I have had to cut back on the singing already, unfortunately--I wasn't sure how I'd be feeling, and there really was only one audition that I was interested in, so I decided not to go back to New York this month. I'm still not sure if I'm going to do any competitions this winter (it'll depend on when they are!)--if not, I'll pretty much be at home until this time next year. I do hope to record a few things over the next few months, since I don't have to prepare for anything in particular.

I had all these grandiose plans to blog regularly during my trip to Albuquerque and during my production period, but they all went up in smoke. No internet access outside the exhibit hall in ABQ, and I was on my feet the whole time (as it was, I had a hard enough time preparing for my meeting!). And I was so busy during the rehearsal period that I barely had enough time to check my email every day (since my daily schedules were emailed, I did have to make time for that). I ended up catching a cold from someone else in the cast, which turned into a sinus infection because I wasn't getting enough rest--six days before the performance, I had no voice! Antibiotics cleared everything up, and I was able to take it easier the week before the show, but my hostess didn't know the password to her WiFi (her son had set it up for her iPad :>), so I had to go out to Starbucks or Panera just to get my work done. Anyway, it's been kind of crazy. (But if you are a regular reader of this blog, or say, a human being, you understand that life is always kind of crazy. Let's say it was kind of crazy, with limited internet access.)

So Albuquerque. I didn't see much of it outside the convention center and the brief trip I took to Old Town to eat (YUM) and buy yarn (yes, I bought 1600 yards of purple laceweight, why do you ask?). All I know is that my hair does not like the desert...but I knew that already.

The show went extremely well. The cast was talented and well-prepared, and were nice people to boot. The conductor is a real sweetie, despite our scheduling snafus, and the director had great ideas, and was also a hoot. (At one point during a walkthrough on the set, he got on the "God mike" and said in an ominous voice, "This is your Gay God speaking...") My costume was badass. I hope to have some pictures soon. (Preview: I had antennae made of hair. Cooler than it sounds.) Other than the logistics (and the cold!) it was a really fabulous experience.

Speaking of pictures, we didn't actually take any last weekend. (We did make it to IKEA, but that is beside the point.) And where the hell did Mark put the camera?! He said it was in the suitcase, but it is so not. In the meantime, here's a picture of the socks I made for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer swap I did on Ravelry.


Firestarter by Yarnissima--but I decided not to do twisted rib up the front of the leg, because the transition looked weird. This is only the second toe-up gusseted sock I've done, and I definitely prefer it to the other one I made. That said, no reason to switch from my usual short-row heel, since they fit so well.

I'd been working on a handful of holiday presents (including Anouk for my niece), but I've since gone back to my Immense Green Shawl of Immensity...


...a hat for myself out of frogged Silk Garden (I'm trying Tarris Heeter, but I'm not sure about the striping), and that Advent calendar--which is looking cute, but is way too hard on my hands since the felt is soaking up the glue like a sponge. I shall persevere.

Elvis Presley (You Dont Have To Say You Love Me)

I was watching some Dusty Springfield videos on YouTube when I came across this. Hurrah!

La-la-la-la-LATE. Sorry! I had errands to run yesterday afternoon (haircut, gas station, LYS for the Buffy swap I'm doing), and I chose to use my abbreviated interwebs time to take some damn pictures, for the first time in two months.


The Hat Heel socks! I currently have them in my lap, attempting to weave in the copious ends while Mark sleeps in. Though I hear him stirring...may have to spirit them away quickly. They're clearly a bit big on my foot, but I think my upsizing was successful--I'll know on Wednesday. I love the way they fit my high arches. I definitely have to make some for myself. When, I have no idea. So many sock patterns, so little time.

Speaking of which, I also finally have pictures of my Devons:


The pattern really does work well with handpainted yarn. They're a bit bulkier than I usually prefer, but I don't think it'll pose a problem with my shoes. I do hope the yarn softens up--it is pretty scratchy at the moment.

In other news: the week did not start well. I got a flat tire in a construction zone on the interstate on Monday, and spent three hours waiting for a tow truck. In the rain. During rush hour. And during the first hour, I was actually on the interstate, at the end of a merge lane, because the shoulder was too narrow where I got stuck. Luckily I had put off having the tires my father gave me put on the car, and the flat tire was actually my full-sized spare, which I bought in July--hooray for warranties! Also hooray for having more than $20 in cash on me (which is a rare occurrence), since AAA charges $3 a mile for anything over three miles when they tow to a non-AAA destination. (The AAA shop couldn't install tires not purchased there, and they didn't have any in stock. What the hell?! I'm going to wait two days for them to get a tire for an effing CAMRY, and then pay through the nose for the privilege? No thanks!) Even with the warranty and the very nice tow truck driver, it was pretty traumatic. I was almost rear-ended at highway speed several times. Also, I had to pee. The next morning the stress caught up with me, when I went to open a cabinet at work and BAM! my beloved bulging disc decided to bulge. I've spent the last few days in significant discomfort with the pinched nerves in my neck. I have to get this music learned, and this is NOT HELPING. :( Things did get better as the week progressed--we had a great time last night at a friend's art show, and it has finally decided to be autumn, for heaven's sake. I'm looking forward to a lovely, leisurely weekend, as soon as Mark gets his butt out of bed. :)

It's been forever since I did a meme, and Knotty Mouse had an interesting one, so here goes:

Rules are: Answer 8 questions posed by the tagger and ask 8 different questions of your 8 tagged persons.

1. What is your favorite song?
Hmm. I don't know that I really have one. My default answer for several years has been "Cloud Blood" by Ani DiFranco (or "Sick of Me", or "Reveling"). Maybe now it's "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" by Flight of the Conchords... I guess when it comes down to brass tacks, I prefer the slo-jams. :)

2. What is your favorite season?
Fall! Definitely Fall! With Spring a close second.

3. Name something you are into right now:
Lip gloss.

4. An awesome movie you’ve seen recently?
A Matter of Life and Death--we've only recently discovered Michael Powell. See this movie. Also see The Red Shoes, I Know Where I'm Going, 49th Parallel...

5. What is on your peanut butter sandwich?
Low-sugar strawberry jam from Trader Joe's! Though in an ideal world, everything would come with Nutella.

6. Cats or Dogs?
Dogs, but I can dig cats as well.

7. Your favorite thing about fall?
Sweatah weathah. Also, the smell of dead leaves.

8. Candy corn, Indian Corn, or Harvest Mix?
Whichever one is made with honey! Those are the best.

Eight questions (for which I will not tag anyone--if you're out there, leave a note and let me know if you're doing it):

1. Your favorite thing to make for dinner? (something involving curry)

2. Where do you set your thermostat? (summer: 76, winter: 64)

3. Ridiculous pet names for spouse? (boo, mostly)

4. TV show you wish were on Netflix Watch Instantly? (Star Trek!)

5. Last performance you attended? (my own recital, actually)

6. Books you're reading: (Villette by Charlotte Bronte on DailyLit, The Duchess in paperback)

7. Ultimate vacation? (the Big Island of Hawaii, so I can walk on a damn VOLCANO)

8. How do you like your jeans? (at waist, bootcut/flared leg, a bit of stretch, dark rinse)

I am so sleepy. Stupid Zyrtec. Mark insisted I give it a shot last night, and I should've known better. Eh, I'm just kind of cranky in general. My cycle is totally bizarre this month, my skin is an absolute mess, and I've been eating junk. Bleck. I want back on the Pill! :(

Ugh. Anyway, the wedding went okay. I dislike my brother's in-laws, but I don't foresee having to see them very often in the future. You know what I can't forgive, though? Having rude assholes talk at full volume while I was singing the prelude. Assholes who were completely oblivious to the fact that a dozen people were shushing them--and that the singer, who was only about ten feet away from them at the time, was totally giving them the stinkeye so they would shut the hell up. Once the fricking mother of the bride came in, they finally decided to show a little respect. Seriously?!?!? It was so incredibly rude, and disrespectful not only to me, but to the couple and their families. Oh, and they were most definitely seated on the bride's side. So trashy.

So yeah, it's good to be home. I've been working on learning my role for next month (though not as vigorously as I should be), and enjoying this respite from traveling. I'll have enough in October!

Jeez, still no pictures. I promise some by next week.

Yes, I have cheesy taste in music. I am addicted to melody and interesting chord progressions, and they just happen to appear often in 1970s glam/prog rock. Basically, if you are a musician, and you ever wore satin pants with a sequined dragon embroidered on them, I am probably a fan.



I had thought this song was by ELO, which I also like. But no, this is The Raspberries, fronted by the one and only Eric Carmen! I also just learned that Eric Carmen went to my husband's alma mater--and he was there at the same time as Tim Russert! Crazy.

Anyway, I totally meant to post on Friday, but I stayed off the computer after work. Things are heating up again--we leave on Wednesday afternoon for the wedding, and I've been taking care of some loose ends. (Oh, and there's some bridezilla-ness occurring. Also, I'm amazed how badly my future SIL spells. Then again, my mother managed THREE typos in the rehearsal dinner invitation, "rehersal" being one of them.) I'm also starting the holiday craftstravaganza...but believe me, there won't be much of it! I have pretty much decided I want to make an Advent calendar, kind of a cross between this and this (basically I want bird pockets). I have a yard or two of red fleece that I think will work really well with a few dowels, and I'll make the birds out of felt. This will probably be my main present to Mark, since he tells me he has enough socks for the time being. Damn, I wish he'd mentioned that before I decided to make them for his birthday...no matter, the Hat Heel socks are actually really cool. I'll make myself a pair someday--I think the construction works really well for higher arches.

Also, because I'm too embarrassed to put this on Facebook: lovely men in kilts. Enjoy!

The recital went quite well--I finally got those words to come out in the right order. Now I'm on my my next thing, which is preparing for the show I'm doing in early November. Unfortunately there was a scheduling conflict (I have to be out of town for work in the beginning of the rehearsal period), and it's one I thought I addressed back when I was first offered the part. Basically I didn't know that we were having daytime rehearsals on weekdays, so when I said I'd be available on a particular day, I thought it wouldn't be until the evening. Now it looks like it's going to work out, but I believe I've managed to irritate the conductor, which is never good. Groan. This has been seriously stressing me out over the past few days. It's even ruining my four-day weekend! Now I just want to eat Ben & Jerry's (which we do not keep in the house, for obvious reasons!!) and watch television. I am making my way through season 2 of Buffy right now, so at least I can be distracted by Angel...

In craftiness, I have finally given up on that sweater I was trying to design. I just couldn't get the sizing right. I could've knit three sweaters in all the time I wasted just trying to make one. Totally leaving the designing to the pros for the moment. I've started some interesting socks for a birthday present for Mark (making them a bit bigger, since the sizing is way small as written), and am still working on these as my travel project (Devon, from Sock Innovation):


I'm almost done, so I'm going to need a new travel project soon (I can't use the other socks, since they'll be a surprise). I do have some Time Traveler Felici that I want to make into a cowl, and I have a few possible patterns in mind. (The stripes are going to be a bit narrow, since it's designed for socks, but it'll still work.) The other thing I'm working on is Spanish Armada, but it does require a bit of concentration, so I haven't worked on it in about two weeks. It's a long-term project, anyway. Oh, and I'm also making a cross-stitch Galo de Barcelos for my grandmother's birthday (she collects them); it's small, and I'm almost done but I ran out of red floss!

So I thought August was my busiest month this year, and perhaps it was, but things just keep coming! This weekend one of Mark's friends is flying in to visit, and we're having a barbecue; my brother's wedding is on September 18; I'm not even thinking about the October fiasco right now; then my other brother's daughter's baptism should be on November 20. Since I will be the godmother, Mark keeps telling me to watch the end of The Godfather for practice. I wonder who will do my whacking for me while I have the perfect alibi? :)

bear
Originally uploaded by doctorgirlfriend

So here we are on Friday. Since I haven't taken any project pictures in more than a month, here's a picture of my niece (yes, I have a new niece--I just neglected to mention it here because of the slack) with the Baby Bobbi Bear I made her. This picture does not do her justice; she is absolutely adorable. The bear's not bad, either, I suppose.

So what have I been up to since Monday? All recital, all the time. I had the final two rehearsals Monday night and yesterday afternoon. It's occurred to me in the past few weeks that two or three of the pieces I chose are just too damn high in spots for me to sing comfortably, but it's obviously way too late to pick new pieces or new keys...I just have to get through it, and never perform them again! It's been a learning experience, and it's good to learn things, I suppose, but I would rather not have to go through it at this point. I mean, they'll sound fine, but it will be A LOT OF WORK. Like, Herculean effort. :'/ Most of the recital is perfectly fine, but the few measures that aren't are messing with my mind. I've also been dealing with some shoulder tension, and since it's been a while since I've done such a long performance, I'm out of practice in being able to get rid of it in the middle of a piece. Blech. It'll be fine. I just have to keep saying that, and walk myself mentally through the recital with relaxed shoulders...

In addition to the actual performance preparation, there's the dress, and the fact that I decided to hem it myself. Several pinking-shear disasters and at least 12-14 hours of work later, I have a mediocre hem job (a blind hem! On chiffon! What was I thinking?!?!?) and the knowledge that spending $60 to have it done professionally would actually have been a bargain. What a nightmare. In other recital drama, I remembered yesterday that my parents are coming down...and of course they're staying with us tomorrow night. From about 11:30 on Sunday, I need to be in my Fortress of Solitude: slow warming up, doing my hair and makeup, a little yoga, more warming up, listening to my dress rehearsal, reading through my translations... I know my parents don't really need entertaining, but there is still serious potential for guilt-tripping (six hours one-way they're coming, and I have to excuse myself for an extended amount of time), and then I feel bad sticking Mark with them. You know, I really don't need to worry about this. They decided to come down, and they're welcome, but they are well aware of the parameters.

Ugh, guess I needed to vent!

Everything will be fine...

You kick ass at this...

Once you get on stage you will feel awesome...

Since I've been so remiss lately, I'm going to plan to write something every Friday, starting this Friday. But in the meantime:

* Dress rehearsal for the recital is tonight! Everything should go fine, if I can remember the third verse of that first Bolcom song... I've already had a recital-related nightmare, where I ran so late that an Up With People-Style Def Leppard revue went on in my place. They were singing "Rock It", and jazz hands were involved.

* The Chicago trip was great--one of these days we'll get the pictures online and I'll link to it.

* I never posted a picture to my Tomato:


I look a little like Wonder Woman there... I really like the way it fits (I certainly customized the pattern), but I haven't worn it more than once or twice since it's been such a hot summer. Inspired by how well this turned out, I decided to finally bite the bullet and design my own sweater, with some Berocco Cotton Twist I got from a friend. The yarn looks and feels nice knitted up, but is extremely unpleasant to work with. Also, I am on my fourth try. It's harder than it looks! I think I'll mainly stick with heavily modifying other people's patterns, thanks.

*Right now I am trying to finish hemming my dress for Sunday (which incidentally is also my bridesmaid's dress for my brother's wedding next month). The chiffon overskirt has a 20-foot hem. I may need to do it by hand, Lord help me...

CIMG4685
Originally uploaded by doctorgirlfriend

Boobalicious...

No seriously, this was quite a labor. Take a look at the designer. Notice anything different? So yeah, there are short rows. And for some reason--even in something this form-fitting--I always overestimate how many rows I need to add. And because of the purl row just below the bust, not only did the short rows need to be exactly right, but I had to do an incredible amount of decreasing over like, four rows so the purl row wouldn't be baggy. Sheesh. I originally made the waist area too tight (my underbust is about 2" smaller than my waist, thanks to PCOS) and had to frog back. It's still a little tighter in the tummy area than I'd prefer, but I expect it will stretch. I wouldn't know, because I won't be wearing this sweater until September. It's just too damn hot here to wear a bulky-weight cotton sweater in the summertime. I'm not even wearing my worsted-weight ones until after Labor Day.

I actually have finished several other things, but I've been really busy (and spent all last week with a headache, grr), so I haven't found time to put things up here. Though I do manage to find time to knit and do cross-stitch and watch Dollhouse on Netflix. Ahem.

Anyway. I had a great rehearsal today--I think the recital is going to go well! There are a few spots I need to work technically (I'm doing all of the Wolf set in the high key, and there are a few phrases that need a little more concentration), but I'm all but memorized, and am in a good spot dramatically. We have about six weeks to go, and since we won't be able to meet for the next two weeks, we really don't have that much time left!

One of the reasons we can't meet for two weeks is that Mark and I are going to Chicago on vacation. I've actually never been there, and am really looking forward to it. We're going to hit the museums, eat crazy food, and just relax a little. It's been three years since we've taken a vacation that did not involve some family event. (Though we will probably see Mark's brother, who's coincidentally moving there next week.) It's going to be fantastic!

Arrested Development started when I was in graduate school, and I didn't watch a lot of TV back then. We've been watching it on Netflix, and wonder how we could've missed out. (I think we tried to watch it once during the second season, and had no clue what was going on, so we gave up.) David Tennant may not be my type, but you know who is? Jason Bateman. Never has a child star grown up to be so adorable. (I'm looking at you, Neil Patrick Harris fans...give me a BREAK.) Incidentally, he is one of Keith Olbermann's very good friends. LOL

I haven't been sleeping well this week--this morning I woke up before dawn, and probably caught 30 minutes of sleep between when Mark left around 7:30 and when my alarm went off--so I may not be comprehensible. I know I've been struggling with this damn sweater quite a bit. The short rows are misbehaving, and I have to decrease an inordinate amount over like, six rows. Grr. In better news, we are headed to the beach in a few hours! Our friend's parents have a beachhouse, and we are spending the weekend there. I'm not a huge beach person, but right now it sounds right up our alley...

I did have a bit of drama yesterday. My car had been making some noise, which we thought might have been a suspension problem. I was on my way to work, thinking that I was going to call a shop later that morning, when suddenly something very bad and loud happened, so I pulled over (on the left-hand shoulder of the interstate, where I had been going about 70). I chanced getting out of the car to take a look, and my rear driver's side tire had a huge rip in it. Metal coming out and everything. Apparently the noise and vibrations were from the tread separating from the rest of the tire. The whole thing ended up not costing anything (at the moment)--I had a full-sized spare tire, which the AAA tow truck driver put on for me (I did not want to be run over), and the car ran fine once it was on. My father has two tires for me up in Maryland (I'll need to meet my mother halfway sometime soon to pick them up), so I'll be able to have them put on instead of having to buy two new tires. Sometimes I lead a charmed life...

I think I may have a David Tennant problem... I got a cold over Memorial Day weekend and spent the majority of three days on the couch, watching DVDs and Netflix. (We bought a used Wii a few weeks ago--lots of fun!--and are using the Netflix hookup in a huge way.) So after last year's BBC Hamlet broadcast (great), several episodes of Season Two of New Who, and the last three specials from last year (recently on DVD)...whoa. Bleeding into my real life in a probably unhealthy way. I can blame some of it on all the Benadryl, and on some weird hormonal stuff, but seriously. He may have supplanted Uncle Keith as my fake boyfriend. He's certainly more age-appropriate. Not really my type, of course, but can you really control these things?

Anyway...the less we dwell on that the better! Not too too much going on here. I ran out of Malabrigo for my shawl, and may resort to begging on Ravelry for someone's leftover 5 grams. I finished my Tomato and my purse-project socks (no photos yet, because I've been lazy), and am now working on another sweater (Emmaline from the last Knitty) with yarn I bought in New York, and another pair of socks (plain ones for Mark out of leftovers) are in my purse. I also started an adorable cross-stitch pattern from Mochimochi Land, which kept me entertained when I was too sick to plan out short rows for the Tomato.

Oh, wait--I do have a picture I can show:


Cathy's birthday present! The pattern is here, but I ended up using someone else's edited chart because the original didn't make a lot of sense, plus I decided to improv a border pattern. I love these colors! I took the picture sitting on my lovely screened-in porch. Unfortunately it will be too hot to use it after about 10 A.M. for the next few months...

Other news...well, the recital's still happening. I was only able to start practicing again yesterday--I was really swollen from the cold, and I had NO endurance at all. I'll have my first practice with my pianist next week. I have all but one piece learned (minus the duets, which are still up in the air). We're also trying to plan a vacation for July, but are having trouble with the budget (airfare is insane right now!). Other than that, things are the same here.

CIMG4666
Originally uploaded by doctorgirlfriend

Dude, what the hell?! I can do better than updating the blog only once a month. Ah, I will do better... I have been very busy (though when is that not the case?), with lots of traveling and planning and exciting things. Guess what? I feel like a bulleted list. Forgive me in advance--I have been loopy from Midol for the last few hours...

* The picture: another shawl, dammit (pattern here), out of my long-neglected Malabrigo Lace. The color is much darker and more purple than in the photo. It's an Estonian-style pattern, with knitted lace (i.e. patterning on every row) in the second section and nupps in the border. I am just now working on the first nupp-free row. I am running precariously short on yarn, I think, but I suspect that at this point I could probably survive if I left off a row or two. Or I could track down a few yards of this yarn--I have a friend who just finished a cardigan in this colorway, I believe (Purple Mystery). I'm also working on a fitted Tomato in red Cotton-Ease (leaving out the unflattering colorwork!), for situations when lace is too complicated. I was going to design something for myself with this yarn, but what I had in mind wasn't going to work in worsted weight. I'm practically rewriting it, anyway.

* Recital update: I think we are set for August 29 at 3:00. This is dear Helen's birthday. I hope she doesn't mind. ;)

* In other singing news, I did a sample recording a few weeks ago with actual recording equipment, and it may work! I need to record some arias (including both Wagner, huzzah) so I can make a new demo--I haven't had much luck in the past with non-professional equipment, and this is like night and day.

* I went to Atlanta for work several weeks back. It was completely pointless. I was the only exhibitor at a conference of sixty people...and my table was across the hall from the men's room. Everyone saw me by 10 A.M. the first day, and I couldn't exactly make small talk with men coming out of the john. That, and the "downtown" hotel was not. It was about a mile from downtown, across twelve-plus lanes of superhighway, and in a very sketchy area. I was told not to walk the two blocks to the nearest bus stop. I did venture out one night--to an expensive (but nice) yarn store and a Thai restaurant, to the tune of $34 in taxi receipts. I suppose it was nice to get away, but it really was not helpful work-wise.

* Last weekend I flew up to New York, and a good time was had by all (with much anticipated family drama averted, thankfully) but mainly I was there for my sister-in-law's baby shower. She is so big! Everybody loved the blanket I made, to the point where it got kind of weird. Yes, it is a handmade blanket. Yes, I made it. No, it was not that hard, seriously. I like the compliments, but jeez, knitting is not magic. And I'm not even that coordinated, okay? Anyway, she got all sorts of expensive baby stuff, including lots of duck-themed onesies (since they don't know the sex). I'm hoping I can get some hand-me-downs someday...

* Speaking of which: this is weird to talk about on a blog, but I have like five readers, so whatever. We are going to start trying to have a baby soon. I won't say how soon, because it's already so strange and absent-referent to talk about sex without actually talking about sex (and gross, I mean my mother will know--and yes, I've been married for five years, but still)--but soon. Because of my various lady problems, it may take a while. Or it may take two months, who knows? Since I have the recital and that show coming up in the fall, it was most important to me that I be able to take a reflux medication that works. (Selfish? Not really. A bad performance from swollen cords would not be a good thing at this point, when I'm actually starting to move up in the world. I will still need to have a career after the baby's born, thank you. ) I was worried that I'd have to take Zantac, which doesn't really work for me, but just got confirmation that it will be okay to take Prevacid, which should be fine (I'm on Prilosec now, but it can cause birth defects). Anyway, I truly hope not to be one of those people that moan online about their fertility problems. I purposely avoid PCOS websites and forums, because I just don't want to hear about it, or about "miracle babies" (barf). So hopefully this will go relatively quickly. Whatever's supposed to happen will happen. I'm going to try real hard not to stress about it--at least not in an inordinate way. In the meantime, I refer you to the song in this post. Heaven forbid I lose my sense of humor.

*Saw my first firefly of the year last night! In case we couldn't tell from the humidity, it is definitely summer here now.

CIMG4558
Originally uploaded by doctorgirlfriend

Since it was so handy the last time: here's the Haruni I finished a few weeks ago. Super-fast pattern; I would've finished it in less than a week if I hadn't run out of yarn and put it on time out for a while before frogging back to omit a repeat of the main stitch pattern. I was originally going to overdye it, since the three little balls I had were three different colors, but it seemed to work out pretty well. The yarn is something I got in a trade, supposedly Cherry Tree Hill--I think it's 100% merino, and not superwash, two-ply, and I suspect it's handdyed (hence the color irregularities). The pattern is really written for beginners--lots of explanation (too much for me, really, since I just needed the charts). I really understand why this is such a popular pattern right now.

In recital news, I think we're going to be able to go with the last weekend in August--just waiting for confirmation. Yay! I worked on two of the trickier Wolf pieces in a lesson on Saturday, and everything appears to be in good shape. That, and I should be getting my contract for that November show in a few days. Good times!

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Originally uploaded by doctorgirlfriend

Just trying out the Flickr blog function... I finished the Que Sera last week sometime, and had Mark take some pictures this weekend. The pattern didn't have any shaping, so I added side panels in double moss stitch (echoing the edging). It buttons a little bit tight, but I think I can block it out more next time I wash it. (Granted, I've only been wearing it in the mornings, and in a few weeks I won't need it at all...) Overall, though, I'm quite happy, and have had lots of compliments on it.

In other news, I think I have an August recital in the works! With my regular pianist and everything! Now I just need to get that last Wolf song under my belt, and plan a duet or two, and the program will be set. I hope to confirm the date in the next few days. Of course, this makes a damn busy August and September for me (bridal shower 8/14, recital, wedding 9/18), but I'd have plenty of time in the next few months for preparations. Incidentally, I finally dragged myself over to David's Bridal to try on the bridesmaid dress...and wonder of wonders, it actually looks good on me. I only had to go up a size (predictable), and it actually fit! It's still a bit lower-cut than I'd prefer for a church wedding, but whisper I may actually wear it for the recital. Whatever I wear would have to be dry-cleaned anyway, so it won't really matter. So that was good.

Lea Michele can sing, but this woman is the QUEEN.



You're welcome.

Well, it has been a month, but a tumultuous one. Where should I even start? There was a plumbing issue, for one--as if the previous owners of our houser weren't already morons, we have now found out they fancied themselves plumbers. I'm no plumber, but I do know that water doesn't run uphill. And I knew that before water started dripping from the living room ceiling, then we spent $500 on plumbers and drywallers to fix things. Damn fancy shower--beware! Then last weekend we noticed the kitchen sink drain has a 360-degree coil in it. Amateur plumbing galore! What the hell were these people thinking? Oh, right. These are the same people that had mold in their crawlspace and didn't know about it, and had an unpermitted deck when they put their house on the market, and didn't have extensions on their drains. They weren't thinking AT ALL. We still can't use the master shower, because we have to remove more grout before we can caulk. I understand, home ownership is hard work, blah blah blah--we stained the deck this weekend, which was a lot of work (big deck), particularly because it hadn't been done before...and there it is again! How these idiots managed to get themselves fed surprises me. Anyway, grumble grumble. The worst is over, we think...

I did get good news about a role a few weeks ago. I don't have the contract yet, so I can't shout it from the rooftops, but it's Mozart in German, for a company I last sang for about three years ago. A bit of sleuthing could tell you exactly what role in what production I'm in. Especially since there is exactly one German Mozart role in my fach. ;)

Also, my brother's fiancee wants me to be a bridesmaid. And wear this. Yes, that's the David's Bridal prom site. Yes, I will look like a fool. Yes, she has met me, and knows that I am extremely curvy, but perhaps does not realize that I am going to fall out of the top of this. But how could I say no? I only have two brothers, and I was already in the other's wedding (to similar effect!)... I think I'm going to try to add illusion netting under the spaghetti straps so I can wear a regular bra. At least this one has a wrap. Maybe I can pin it on so I'm covered. As long as I don't wear the black bra. LOL She also wants me to sing--which I would gladly have done without being a bridesmaid. I was even looking forward to buying myself a nice black dress that I could use for oratorio... le sigh. So yeah, this is the LAST TIME I will be a bridesmaid.

Let me show you some knitting. The baby blanket came out really well, but it was such a bear by the end! My poor hands...


The shower is scheduled for May 22. I still want to pick up a few cute things at H&M (since one just opened here), but six weeks of hard, hard work is a fine shower gift by itself. I want to make a Baby Bobbi Bear once the baby's born.

I will leave off with a promise to write again next week (for real!), and a photo you may enjoy:


Godzilla versus Dalek?! Who would win that battle? Eh, probably the Dalek...

The knit-fu had left me for about a week, but it appears to be back. I had a string of disappointments, basically. First there was the Drops cardigan. My swatch LIED!!! Both my row gauge and stitch gauge were significantly off. I noticed this about six inches into the body--so yes, I should've frogged and started again with a larger needle, but for some reason I decided to press on--so I decided to try to compensate for the row gauge by changing my shaping (luckily this pattern does shaping by length, not row count), and figured I would be able to block it well enough that the row gauge would be corrected. Not so much. I was still about three inches short on the width at the bust, so I decided to make it a regular cardigan instead of double-breasted, as intended:


This threw off the collar, of course, and made my waist shaping look very dramatic (i.e. it stands up by itself). I am not so thrilled about that. (Also, JoAnn's was short a button! I think it will look better once I get the last button on.) Anyway, it's okay...but it's not really what I wanted.

Then my cowl came out five inches too wide:


Still pretty, and I still love the yarn, but it's just too big for my taste. I like snug cowls, and I don't like the baggy ones you have to pin closed AT ALL. But guess what--it's SPRING here! I'm putting this away for the next seven months, and I will worry about picking out the graft THEN.

There's also the issue of the baby blanket:


The pattern is Serenity (coincidentally, I have recently started watching Firefly)--and I have no problem with it, it's gorgeous. The problem is that this thing is DAMN heavy. What was I thinking when I decided to make a baby blanket out of kitchen cotton? I have it on two 32-inch needles now, so it's not quite as hard on my hands and wrists, but it's still not fun. It's for my brother and sister-in-law, and the baby's not due until July, but I just want to have this thing DONE. I'm finally done with the main charts, and only have twenty or thirty rows to go (depending on what size I feel like making--it will add about four inches if I make the larger size), but still, it is killing me. I decided to try to do at least two rows a day, and it seems to be working. In the meantime, though, it has been so hard on my hands that other yarncrafting was distasteful, and I started a counted cross-stitch pattern I bought like, six years ago. It's almost done, but I'm currently in backstitching purgatory (in black!!), so I've put it aside and started some socks for Mark for our anniversary. Ah, how nice it is to work with yarn with natural elasticity...

Nothing much new on the singing front. I'm trying to squeeze in lessons and coachings while I can, and probably need to make a quick recording in the next two months... I spent a while yesterday working on a Bach aria, which I'm not sure is working for me.

In house news, we've been getting an intermittent muddy smell from the HVAC. We're still trying to decide if we want to get a bunch of free estimates to figure out what's going on in the crawlspace, or if we should just hire someone independent to evaluate the situation. We don't know whether the problem is with the HVAC or if it's a moisture problem in the crawlspace--and if it's the latter, if the problem is leaky pipes (comparatively easy to fix) or condensation (nightmare). Part of the issue is that we will need to replace the HVAC in the next year, so we wouldn't want to have to redo anything if the problem is moisture. Oh, and of course this all costs money we would rather not spend. Ideally, the HVAC would conk out tomorrow, so we could have it fixed while the weather's nice and file a claim against the home warranty. Nothing I can do about this at this exact instant...

Random thought the other day: the dude I stalked in college ("Cowboy"!) was totally trying to look like Tom Baker's Doctor. For those who met said person, do you get it??



Weird-looking tall dude with big curly hair? This is an insane thought...

Apparently I was a bit too optimistic about the recital thing. Either that, or I jinxed myself. The accompanist who seemed so interested in working with me had some sort of pathological condition involving returning my emails. It should not take two weeks to give me a list of available dates, especially when I have six whole weeks wide open. Oh, and this happened twice. Anyway, because of this person's slack attitude*, I will have to postpone until the fall. I am beyond pissed about this, and I definitely will not contact this person to play for me again unless I have no choice. So I'm trying to move on, and I'm going to be working on a few roles and some Wagner until the summer, when I'll get back to the recital rep. This also gives me a chance to maybe throw in a cantata or something, so maybe (MAYBE) this is a good thing.

*I am trying so hard to give them the benefit of the doubt--I know they are busy, and have a sick parent--but the person has a smart phone, and I know they received my emails--and it should not take ten days to come up with an ambivalent one-line email. Grrrr arrrrgh...

In other news, we are having a housewarming party this weekend--I suppose I should do laundry before then. :) I've also been knitting furiously during the Olympics--though I never entered any organized events, I think my pace would get me a Nordic combined medal, at least. I finished Mark's Valentine's Day socks before the Olympics started:



(Pattern is Jacobean, yarn is from the now-defunct Rio de la Plata.) Once again I chose a pattern too busy for the yarn, but whatever, he likes them. I've also finished my second try at the Drops jacket; I need to buy more buttons and finish weaving in the ends. It's currently blocking, and I really hope I made it big enough (swatch FAIL--I don't know what happened!). I also managed to do some surgery on that black cardigan--completely changed the neckline and turned it into a pullover. I'm pretty satisfied with it, though I still wanted a cardigan... Oh, and last night I finished the Silk Garden cowl, though I need to make it smaller (undoing a graft, ugh). Pictures to follow! Right now I am back working on a baby blanket for the future niece/nephew (kitchen cotton, so I can only do a bit at a time), a super-easy shawlette for a friend's birthday, and vanilla socks for my portable project. I do have more lace on the horizon, and a more exciting pair of socks...and I suppose I need to get back to that baby sweater.

I now own a pullover.


And it only took a week! If only I could get away with wearing bulky yarn on a regular basis. The sleeves took a bit of fiddling, and I do wish they were a bit longer, but generally good.

I also finished that shawl I was working on:


In the end the spinning FAIL (way too many slubby bits for a fingering-weight yarn) is trumped by the damn beauty of the colors. I still probably won't buy it again, though--well, maybe I'll try the Silk Garden Sock. ;)

So guess what I'm working on now? Because I am a glutton for punishment?? This. You may recall that there was some drama regarding this pattern back in the spring of 2008--I made it in black Patons (what I used for that cardigan last month, incidentally), and it fit perfectly in the arms and from the bust up, but was just entirely the wrong shape. If my bust is the widest part of my torso north of my hips BY FAR, why ever would I make something that flared out from my bust?? Duh. Anyway, I'm making it again--with the Fisherman's Wool from my frogged Oblique (still sad about that!), in one piece to the underarms and with a whole bunch of shaping. The only snag is that I've had to plan out the buttonholes in advance; I have five planned (one completed so far), evenly spaced up the torso. It will be a huge pain in the ass if I have to move them later, so I do hope it works...

And in recital news: last night I sent my first choice in dates to my friend over at the college, and hopefully one of them will work. We're aiming for late March--and if we can't make that work, it will either need to be on a weeknight (not ideal, since my parents wanted to come) or all the way in the fall. Fingers crossed! The music is mostly learned, and there are just a few pieces to decide on. Dare I say it, this may actually be an enjoyable experience. How novel.

Before I forget: if you like girls with acoustic guitars, and don't mind some profanity, you may love Garfunkel and Oates. They are my new favorite. This one's actually relatively safe for work, provided you can let the word "bitch" slide by:


No offense to NORMAL pregnant women, of course...

Last item: we're having a housewarming party! I am excited. Yesterday I even emptied the last box in the spare bedroom--it is so wonderful to have those built-in shelves...

I'm in love...with a yarn.


(Of course the photo doesn't do it justice...I took it!)

I've had this Noro Silk Garden since the summertime--on sale!--but hadn't worked with it until the other day, when I started this pattern. Within minutes I was staring at my four rows of stockinette with wonder and awe. This may be the most beautiful yarn in the world--and so much softer than I expected for all the mohair! I wish it weren't so expensive...

Speaking of Noro, I've just finished two projects using two different weights of Kureyon (must be Noro week here)--the yoked sweater and my Nightsongs shawl. I'll have Mark take some pictures this weekend.

Anna had a meme on her blog a few weeks ago that I really liked, but am not getting around to until today...

The idea is to wander around your house one day, taking photos. Nothing too staged, just how things look on that day.

You shall see just how non-staged things are.

In the kitchen


Yep, there are cups to wash, and the drying rack is full. And there's my tea, next to the kettle. No worries.

On the nightstand


My great-grandmother gave me that panda when I was born, and I haven't found a permanent place for it yet since the move. The Santa tin is full of wonderful hand salve Helen made for me.

In your work/craft space


I like to sit at this corner of the couch to knit, do translations, watch TV... We have one of those couches that looks green in real life, but is completely absent of color in photos--plus it has a nap that makes it look even more muddy. Next time we buy furniture, we'll choose a different type of fabric.

Out the window


...which is why I'm getting to this today. We had five inches of snow Friday night and Saturday morning, and yesterday was sunny but didn't get above freezing. Our road is not plowed, and will not be plowed, because this city of 400,000 people owns about a dozen plows total--but the driveway is a bigger problem. Unless we have a big melt today, the Corolla's not going anywhere until Wednesday. I have a rehearsal tonight, and I'm still not sure how I'm going to get there...

On your feet


Pink slippers, bathroom floor.

Knitting or knitwear in action


The pattern is a vest that I've modified for gauge and to add sleeves. At this point I think both lower arms will be ribbed in the contrast color (Noro Big Kureyon), because I'm just about out of the red (Cascade Eco+, which is great and inexpensive). A few weeks ago I realized I didn't own one pullover sweater. This is more of a layering piece, which I'll be able to wear as outerwear in the next three weeks. The back came out a little baggy for my taste--I'm hoping blocking will take care of that.

This is the closest to crunking I have ever seen in a figure skating routine:



How awesome is this?!

We watched the movie Once the other night--it was pretty good, and the music was spectacular. I've had this song in my head for almost a week now.

Oh, I am such a slacker. I had this grand plan that I would be such a diligent blogger this month, but it just didn't happen. I will try to be better!

While I'm talking about it, this is one of my new favorite blogs. She is all kinds of awesome.

So what have I been up to? Well, there was a New Year's gig, and an audition, and right now I am planning a recital for the spring. Lots of Hugo Wolf--my main purpose for doing a recital in the first place, other than just to keep busy during this economic dry spell, was to learn "Kennst du das Land?", which I've wanted to sing since oh, 1998. I didn't do it in grad school because there was a Wolf song rep class my first year and everybody was doing Wolf, and I decided "Von ewiger Liebe" was more portable for competitions so I learned that instead. Anyway, so there's a Wolf set, and a bunch of William Bolcom cabaret songs, and an aria or two--plus I'd like to do a few fun duets, depending on schedules. I have a free venue (which I am very excited about!), and a pianist with a relatively flexible schedule, so I'm optimistic we can work something out.

Crafting-wise, I've been working on some baby sweaters (everybody's having babies around me!), and I've started a crocheted ripple afghan with my animal-fiber and nicer leftovers. I also finished that cardigan I was working on:


I don't love any of the pictures, but this one is the least offensive. I decided in the end to leave off the buttons and use a kilt pin to close it. I do need to block the collar better, once I feel like pulling out the iron. I also finished my awesome Tom Baker socks!


I actually liked them better before I dyed them, but they're more authentic now. :) There were more than a hundred ends to sew in--it took a few hours, I think. I tried to be methodical about it.