This is the completed first sock. I started at the toe and ended at the cuff. It’s done on 68 sts with Mega Boots Stretch sock yarn.

Thank God I knit. I’m having a really hard time going through the last few days and even while watching TV my mind gets distracted. I find the only time I’m not thinking about anything is when I’m knitting. I’m trying really hard not to complain because I don’t want to be selfish especially now when my mom and my aunts are going through something so terrible. I just feel like I’m lost. I’m trying to take it one day at a time but it’s so hard because everyone else is going through one thing, but I’m going through two things and it’s really, really difficult. I find I’m more sore and stiff now that I’ve been going out like to work and to my mom’s house, and every time I go in a car I get the flashbacks and fear that we’re going to get into an accident, and on top of that I miss my grandmother so much and have to prepare for the funeral on Tuesday. This is so hard.

Thank God for Yannick. He’s been so supportive through this, even calling my mom through the day to see how she’s doing, and spending most of each day there with her helping her set up for the shiva this week. [Note: shiva is when the friends and family come to the house to pay their repects. I found a really good article online that explains it, so if you’re interested, click here: http://www.aish.com/literacy/lifecycle/The_Stages_of_Jewish_Mourning.asp

Since Yannick has been out of the house the last few days I was able to work on his Mega Socks. Obviously some stuff has come up, but I’m still trying to get them finished for Valentine’s Day as his gift. Last night I finished the first sock. Blogger is being funny and not letting me upload pics using their software (what else is new?) so I’m going to post them in a second with hello.

I won’t be around this week ‘cus I’ll be at my mom’s every night for the shiva, but I’ll be knitting, so that’s something.

Bad luck happens in threes they say. My mom was so worried about that. A few weeks ago my sister smashed their car (she’s fine, car’s a total wreck). Tuesday I had my car accident. And well today my maternal grandmother passed away. I know she’s been unwell for a while, not sick exactly but unable to communicate and needing full assistance, and it’s been a few years since she’s been able to live on her own and talk and stuff, but it’s still a big shock, especially since she wasn’t ill or anything recently. Just peacefully (I hope), sitting up in her chair. So I might be awol for a bit, nothing new with me, but just letting you know.

I’ve done it, created a group for Needle Arts PenPals. Voila:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/needleartspenpals/

Please come and sign up if you’re interested, and feel free to pass on the invite to absolutely anyone you know who would like to be a pen pal. There are no requirements other than the time to write a letter, pop on a stamp and put it in the mail.

…for not writing. Tuesday night I was in a car accident. I’m ok, but it was really scary.

I was coming home from work on the 20 and an 18 wheeler who was in the middle lane decided he wanted to get into the right lane behind me…only he didn’t feel like waiting until he had clearance. So he hit me right on the gas tank of my car, which, thanks to all the snow on the ground, slid my car diagonally right into the middle and left lanes. Someone hit me in the driver’s front light and smashed it, then another car slammed into my driver’s door. Truth be told, I thought I was going to die. I kept saying “no no no no no” and thinking “I can’t believe this is how I’m going to die” and I honestly don’t know if I meant “in a car accident” or “now that I’m engaged and things are going well and we’re talking kids…and now I’m going to die before I get to do any of it.” Probably the latter, knowing me.

My car came to a stop diagonally across the middle and left lanes, as if I was going the wrong way on the highway with the nose of the car more in the left lane. I turned off the engine, and once I was sure I was ok (other than a banged knee) I turned my car back on and reversed to go pull over on the right hand shoulder. I can’t believe that after witnessing a 4 car + accident (I think another car might have hit me, but I’m not sure) most people in the right lane kept going. I actually had to wait for traffic to slow before I could actually back up and have room to get over to the right shoulder.

The truck had pulled over and so did another car who had to be towed. After sitting there for about 2 hours and dealing with the police and an ambulence (I refused to go) I was allowed to leave. The truck driver took full responsibility, thank God ‘cus there’s no way anyone else was to blame. He even told me over and over that he was sorry and just didn’t see me and hoped I was ok. (I’m saying “he” but I honestly think it might have been a woman…not too sure though). I was able to drive my car home at about 8pm, but I kept my flashers on and didn’t go over 60 on the highway and 40 on the main roads, ‘cus I wasn’t sure how it would drive. My hood kept bobbing up, and I didn’t know what other damage there was.

I came home and took a bath, and it was only once I got home that my side and stomach started to hurt. When my dad found out he wanted to make sure there was no internal damage so Yannick took me to the emergency room. We got there around 11pm, and they finally took me to see the doctor at 2am, and he finally came into the room around 3:30. He said I had to stay there so they could do an ultrasound which didn’t open until the morning. So they put me onto a stretcher and stuck an IV “door” into my hand, then took blood and wheeled me for chest xrays. Then it was about 5am and they brought me to a random hallway in the emergency observation area. I know it could have been worse, but considering they parked me under a bright light next to the very busy drug storage section, it could have been better too.

I didn’t sleep much, and at 7am they took another blood test. Around 9am they brought me for the ultrasound, and it wasn’t until 12 that they said it was all clear and I could go home.

So now I’m home. Banged and sore, but ok. The worst part is the flashbacks. I’ve never been through a trauma like this before, and I find that it keeps popping into my head at random times. Like last night I watched that TV commercial where the harried mom runs out and hugs the pizza delivery guy, and when they collided on screen, in my head I saw the car turning and the other cars smashing into it, and started crying again. But I guess that will go away soon. I’m off work for a couple of days, so I’m taking it easy.

I had an idea for a knitting and crochet penpal exchange, kinda like the secret pal stuff but with no gifts required, only a pen and paper. I’m going to put the word out in knitting groups and see if people are receptive to it, if they are then maybe I’ll try to set something up.

I don’t know what’s with me lately, but I’m always freezing and always exhausted. And not just “oh I’m kinda tired”. I mean falling-asleep-at-my-desk-at-work tired. Last night I fell asleep so fast that I didn’t even have time to put in the earplugs I usually sleep with because Yannick’s snoring is so loud. And I didn’t wake up until 7am. THAT’S tired!

I know, I know, it’s 11:30pm and I’m posting when I could be sleeping. I’m just doing a quick install of some software on my Palm and then I’m crashing, I swear. I had planned to go to bed so early tonight, but CSI and Without A Trace were both new episodes and I convinced myself that I just HAD to stay up and watch, because Valentine’s Day is in about 2 1/2 weeks and I need to get a move on Yannick’s Mega Socks which I finally frogged and restarted last night. (That frog was for you Robyn). 🙂

At least tomorrow I get a good night’s sleep, somewhat. In an attempt to suck up for ditching me the other night, Yannick wanted to go out to a coffee shop somewhere and knit together. The plans he ditched from were to knit together because he’s still working on that blankie for me, and he thinks by volunteering to do it publicly that he’ll earn some extra credit. Normally he would, but Saturday I need to be up nearly at the crack of dawn to be at my mom’s ‘cus all the bridal party women are pilling into her van and meeting the other bridal party chicks at a bridal salon for 8am. And the salon is on Chabanel, like 30 minutes drive time. Well, Saturday 7:30am…maybe 20 minutes. Still, it means waking up reeeeeallly early. Luckily Yannick agreed to work for me so I can go with and see what my bridesmaids et al try on, so instead of going to work afterwards I think I’ll come home and nap.

Today is my aunt’s birthday, so after work I went out with her, my mom, my other aunt and my cousin to Daou, a Lebanese restaurant on Marcel Laurin. Apparently it’s THE birthday spot to go to, because 9 tables were occupied, and 8 of them had birthdays! When it’s your birthday all of a sudden a loud tape comes on playing the Lebanese version of “Happy Birthday” and I swear it came on 8 times, and 8 times they brought out baklava or some other dessert for the birthday people. Kinda funny. The food was great though. It was my first time there and I would definately go back.

Yesterday I did manage to make a swatch on the bulky machine with the Homespun yarn. It took a lot of effort. I wound up making only 2 samples, as seen below:

The Homespun gauge is 14 sts/20 rows = 4″ st st. The narrow-looking part was done on every needle at the loosest setting (10.2 I think). The looser part was done on the tightest setting (0) but on every other needle.

Here’s the thing. Both are pretty close on the stitch count. Every needle gives me 14 sts to the 4″ on the nose. Every other needle gives me 13.5, and the jacket is too large anyways so I can play with that. Unfortunately I’m not even close with the row count. Counting 20 rows on the tighter one gives me barely 3″, and on the looser one I get around 3.25″/3.5″. I know that the pattern is basically a rectangle and I can recalculate my gauge to make it the correct length…I just don’t know if I want to bother. I can barely see anything with this yarn and my skill on the machine isn’t that good. It’s common for me to have an odd loop at the edge of a row from not pulling the yarn taut enough, or to accidentally drop a stitch. A big part of me is leaning towards doing this by hand just so I have complete control over it, because I really feel that when I use the machines I’m NOT in control.

We’ll see. I’ll ask Yannick later which fabric he likes better- the one from the machine or mine by hand, as I have about 4″ done so far. My fabric has more drape, that’s for sure. There’s nothing stopping me from doing it by hand. It’s slower, and I have to keep scrunching the yarn down ‘cus it bunches up along the core. But it’s soft, and a relaxing, easy knit. I just feel so silly having 2 knitting machines and not using them, especially on a pattern as easy as this one.

Oh- I finished 1 Fibonacci sock last night! I’ll post a pic tomorrow.

This just popped into my head: I love the texture and the feel of this stuff, and I can’t wait to cuddle up in my jacket. Just the more I think that I could probably do it on the machine, the more I’m loathe to keep working on it by hand. I know I tried Homespun on my new standard bed machine and I couldn’t get it working. I’m thinking if I try to swatch it up on the bulky machine I might have more luck. Hmm. A project for tomorrow I think.

Can you see what this is? I couldn’t believe it when I saw it…it’s a giant can of Red Bull Energy Drink! This pic is taken right at the corner of the street I work on. I was heading away from work to the closest nursery, ‘cus I’m having issues with a cactus garden. Anyways, I thought the car with the giant can was so cute that I took a picture. 🙂

Can you see what this is? I couldn’t believe it when I saw it…it’s a giant can of Red Bull Energy Drink! This pic is taken right at the corner of the street I work on. I was heading away from work to the closest nursery, ‘cus I’m having issues with a cactus garden. Anyways, I thought the car with the giant can was so cute that I took a picture. 🙂