quick update -- I may be a hypochondriac...

Thank you everyone for your concern! It seems I had you all and myself worried for no reason. I did go to the doctor, and she gave me the all-clear. I probably just irritated the muscles with all this new, unaccustomed walking. She suggested ice, ibuprofin and good shoes and cushioning if needed, but by all means, keep on walking. Which is a good thing, because I did before I went to see her. ;)
Not much else to report...have to get READY FOR SPA! Hope to see lots of you there Friday night at the Hilton Bar! (Nora, book that flight yet?)

Crap. Crap. Crap.

First, let me premise my post be saying I am NOT a morning person. Not. So not. It takes me a while to rev up the mental engines. A cup of coffee, a cozy kid-snuggle, some mindless e-mail reading and Raveling and I might be ready to get off the couch. Now, that said, a few weeks ago, in the morning, hubby took the dogs outside for their morning business and Ta-shi wandered up to the back deck where a bag of lovely smelling trash was residing, awaiting removal. I noticed her mad sniffing and oh so apparent desire to tear into said bag, and in a truly Neanderthal-ish and primal move made the physical equivalent to a hefty grunt by kicking the door to startle her from her intended course of action. It took a minute or two, but after walking away I noticed a distinct and sharp pain deep in the ball of my foot. It hurt. Bad. I got my trusty block of frozen spinach used for just such occassions and nursed the foot most of the day. Although I didn't kick that hard, I must have hit it just right. The foot seemed to recover after a day or so and all was well until this morning. Once up from the couch, coffee coursing through my veins, I became obsessed with cleaning and decluttering and after about an hour of such began to feel that foot pain once again. (SEE why i don't clean?) Crap! What have I done? I am sitting here now, foot in the air, imagining a hairline fracture and fretting BECAUSE I CAN'T TAKE THE DOG FOR A WALK. Even with the grey, rainy day, I had every intention. We missed out yesterday (although Chewie got to play for hours with Coco and new friend Rosie, a gorgeous yellow lab pup) and it is so hard to develop a routine that I am freaking out. I'll nurse it a while and see how it feels later. Heck, the threat of loosing my walks could even make me go to the doctor.
In the meantime, paperwork for tax prep and Mr Greenjeans will be my companions.
dammnit.

Of Amanda, Jericho, Greenjeans, and long walks...

First off, I finally made an Amanda hat! Here is my lovely little model and recipient wearing her chapeau...
The only mod was to go down a needle size (I am an average tension knitter) to a size 8 to create a slightly smaller size for the girl. Fits great and she says it is very warm (and soft and cushy, too). Thumbs up, Gina!
Secondly, my Mr. Greenjeans is growing exponentially thanks to a marathon of Jericho.

OMG I love this show. Talk about quality TV -- which we can't often do. The Universal HD channel ran a marathon last weekend of the entire first season and what we couldn't watch or record I watched through on-line streaming at the above link. Seriously -- go watch it. I don't want it to get cancelled! (It was already brought back from the brink once...) This was the perfect pairing of easy knit and intense TV watching. There was no chance of being bored while I purled furiously across the entire inner expense of this sweater while intently watching the denizens of post-apocalyptic Kansas deal with survival and the best and worst it brings out in humans nature. Adding 2.5 inches to the body length had me casting off the body Wednesday morning, and I have now picked up the front ribbing. I am doing this first out of yarn shortage fears. Once this is done, I'll knit the sleeves until I run out. I am confident I'll have at least a 3/4 sleeve out of the rest as I used just a smidge over 2 balls out of four for the body prior to starting the ribbing. I can't believe how quickly this has gone and couldn't be more thrilled.
As for the long walks, I have been converted by Cesar to believe that the key to my puppy's happiness is walks - nice, long, energetic walks. Chewie and I, and sometimes Tashi, have been walking everyday for over a week now (other than during Wednesdays storm -- ICK) and yesterday I drove out our route to calculate the distance. 2.7 miles! As tired as I am, and as much as I hate the cold, I am very excited about this. I'm getting excercise! It doesn't cost anything! And I am already seeing a second digit on the scale I haven't seen in a looong time. I love my puppy.

To frog, or not to frog...

So I have once again managed to mess up my knitting. yup, that old counting thing. I have no idea how, but I seemed to have been off by 10 or more (18??) when counting stitches before separating sleeves for my Mr.Greenjeans/Bluejeans sweater and did so a bit too early. Which means knitting and increasing on the two front edges now for another 21 rows to get to the proper stitch count to proceed for the medium, rip back and add in the missing rows and increases, or continue on as tho I am knitting the small. Now, the thing is, it fits in the shoulders and with the button band, should do so in the bust, as it is now, but is a much more fitted sweater than the design called for, but I think I like it. And, I am trying to get back to the gym and loose weight, plus I need to start taking the puppy for VIGOROUS walks to curb his energy, and I am soo hoping I slim down.... grrrrr -- what to do! I'm just so mad at my distracted self for messing this up. So much for a simple knit. (well, now that I have tried it on for the picture, I like the fit. I'm gonna go with it.)
On another note, I haven't entirely messed this one up yet...

Yes, I finally cast on for an Amanda hat for Rachel. I bought this Malabrigo in the Dusty colorway from a friend a while back, but I was never thrilled with the color, so I overdyed it red. You can see a hint of the original color variation ( a dirty brown over a dusty rose), but not too much. What an easy stitch pattern to memorize! I went down a needle size to make a slightly smaller hat and it looks like this will be just right for the girl. This one should be finished up today.
Thank you all so much for your input on my club plans! I hope to have finalized details very soon. In the mean time, I have a small update planned for this weekend in the etsy shop, so if you are up for some window shopping or otherwise, do take a peek!
Oh! Before I forget! If you are heading to the NETA Spa, there will be a Blogger/Raveler meet-up in the Hilton Bar on FRIDAY EVENING! Let's start the weekend right! I can't wait! I'll even grab a pack of "Hello, my name is... tags that we can put names/blognames. Always good to know!