Tag Archives: Icelandic Beauty


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3rd trip to dr in 2 weeks

There’s this strange virus going around where you get fever for 5 or so days.  Not a gastro, not really a “flu”…just a virus you have to wait out.  Well let me tell you, I can’t wait for it to get out!  Jakob woke up last Wed with 102 fever.  It seemed gone Thursday morning but was back before lunch, and in full swing by bedtime (even after a round of Tempra).  I brought the boys to the doctor on Friday to be checked- Jakob for the 48hrs of fever, and Henri ‘cus he had finished meds for an ear infection 1 week prior and was starting to be cranky and wake at night, and I wanted to make sure the infection hadn’t come back.  We saw the same doctor who had diagnosed Henri with the ear infection, and she said he might be coming down with the same thing Jakob had, and if either of them had fever in another 2 days to bring them back.  And that they are seeing a lot of this virus.  And that it was contagious as long as the fever was there.  We brought them home, and by bedtime Henri now also had 102 fever.

This meant that we had to do our New Years’ Eve plans in shifts so one of us could be home with the kids.  It was a little awkward, but it worked out in the end and both of us were able to see our friends, enjoy a great meal in good company, and then still be together in time for a midnight kiss.

They both still had fever this morning, so since it has been another 48 hrs I brought them back to the clinic.  Luckily we saw the same doctor again (I don’t know if she’s new so stuck on “emergency duty”, but she’s really sweet and great with the kids).  No ear infections, and their lungs sound good, so we still assume it’s the same virus.  If Jakob still has fever in 2 days, though, making it 6 days long, he’ll probably have to go for a chest xray to make sure there’s no pneumonia.  He’s not really coughing, but apparently a lingering fever is a symptom of pneumonia, even when you don’t hear anything in their chest with a stethoscope.

I’m going to pop in another disk of season 1 of Buffy and try to finish my KP pattern.  I’ve got the bulk of it done and even the finishing, but there are 2 little “bits” that I need to quickly sketch and knit, and then it is ready to photograph.  Nothing like starting off a new year clearing things off your plate!  (Let’s pretend for a moment that I don’t have a ton of OTHER things still on the plate).

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I forgot to mention that I got a photo of those dog sweaters being modeled:

I have no clue which dog is which, though I think Chopsy was the one with the narrower distance between front legs, so that would be Chopsy in the back and Tofu in front.


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2010-12-16

Does anyone else set a pace car for themselves when driving?  Like if you need to choose a lane at customs, or pick left, middle or right lane on the highway, so you find a car up ahead in another lane and then see if you ever pass that car, so you know you chose right?  Maybe I’m the only crazy one LOL. 

It’s stuff like that that I do when stuck in traffic, like this morning when on my way to the hospital AGAIN for more tests for Henri.  I swear, soon it will be easier to just deposit my paychecks right into a fund for the Children’s parking lot, ‘cus I’m at the point now where I can drive there in my sleep. 

No news yet with what’s going on with him.  All I know right now is that the first round of blood tests had the amino acids a bit high, but on the repeat they were ok.  What’s annoying is that on the repeat test his lactate was high, so that’s what we had to go and redo today.  It’s one of those tests that can be altered by stress and pressure, just like blood meter glucose readings for diabetics.  Pressure, as in force- meaning if you have to squeeze to get the blood out, the result will read higher than it actually is.  It’s a blood test done from a finger, not a vein, and the blood is kinda sucked into these skinny little tubes, and the first time we did it Henri was struggling in my arms and twisting around.  Today he cried but was pretty still, so we should get an accurate reading this time, and I’m sure it will be back down to normal.  Still won’t give us any answers, but at least nice to rule things out.

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I’ve had to keep him home for the last two days with a bit of an upset stomach, and today besides the blood test he has a WICKED cold complete with the rough, red cheeks, constant cough and sneezing, and a bit of mucous from his eyes (something my kids get when they’re sick).  I swear this poor kid can’t catch a break!  And it sucks ‘cus we have one of my best friends’ daughter’s birthday party this weekend and I really, really want to go as a family.  I hope he’ll be better by then!

I’ve kept him home from school and he naps for 3.5 hrs in the afternoon, so I was able to get a good chunk of knitting done.  Dog sweater the second is almost finished:

I’ve only got the tail-end (no pun intended) to go, then the body and cuff ribbings.  Yannick’s got bowling and the kids are in bed so while I don’t know if I can finish it tonight, I do see an end in sight.


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2010-12-10

Here’s another project finished long ago that completely missed the blog.

After a trip to Michael’s (I think) my mom brought me some sock yarn.  I didn’t know that Red Heart had a 70% wool/30% nylon sock yarn, with aloe even, and was eager to try it out.

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Pattern: Toasted Almond Toe-Up Socks (Ravelry link)

Size:  68 sts around

Yarn: Red Heart Heart & Sole in Toasted Almond, 0.75 each of 2 balls (one ball per sock)

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Needles: 2.5 mm

Notions: none

Dates:  March 11 2009 – March 21 2010

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I can’t believe it took me just over a year to knit a pair of socks!  I remember casting on for them right after my mom gave me the yarn, and I remember my struggle to find a matching repeat, only to find out that I’d found the repeat- but upside down.  Oh well- they were meant to be fraternal.

BTW the yarn was lovely to work with.  It felt softer than Regia, and I love my Regia workhorse sock yarn.  It wears beautifully, and all handknit socks in this house are thrown right in the wash along with all the clothes, jeans, etc, into the washer and dryer.  I have put this pair through at least a dozen times so far with no signs of pilling, sagging or stretching.

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I have been asked to knit 2 dog sweaters.  What started as a “you can knit those?” somehow turned into emailed measurements and chosen patterns, and now, as if I didn’t have enough on my plate, I have 2 dog sweaters to knit.  The pattern I’m using is Icelandic Beauty (Rav link) from the Dogs in Knits (Rav link) book which I had purchased back in ’05 when I was selling dog sweaters to a local boutique.

I’m not sure why the photo has rotated, since my original and the upload were both straight.  Oh well.

I’m doing the sweaters in solid red, as per the request, using Red Heart Super Saver acrylic yarn.  I had thought of getting a nicer yarn but then realized that I’m knitting dog sweaters.  And these dogs have legs *maybe* 6″ long.  These dogs are tiny, and very close to the ground, which means that these sweaters will be getting snow, slush, road salt, and probably a healthy dose of pee and poop on them.  100% machine wash-and-dryable acrylic is just perfect, I think.

This sweater is for Chopsy and while the chest size is perfect I already changed the neck opening and will be customizing the length, length to leg openings and width between leg openings.  Yay for knitting to gauge!