I've been in a funk . . .

since my surgery. Not a bad mood, just a funk. I think it is because I can't do a lot of the things I would choose to do in my leisure time. I can't knit or crochet for the most part. I did try to begin knitting a tank top--a Rowan pattern for which I have no photo. It is on size 11 needles so I thought that perhaps I could hold them more easily. I chose to use straights because I thought I could wedge them in my sides while I knit. Bad choice. First off, the needles are wood and the yarn is a cotton tape. Secondly, trying to purl with 12 inch needles, holding them the way I have to is a lost cause. I may transfer them to my knitpicks circs which will at least be slicker for the cotton yarn.

Last week, I had to get readjusted to getting up at the crack of dawn and going through the day on 5 - 6 hours of sleep. While I was off, I was able to revert to my normal sleep pattern of staying up until 1 or 2 and getting up at 9 a.m. This is my summer schedule and I feel great when I'm able to follow it. Unfortunately my professional world doesn't seem to mesh with that too well. I went back to school last Wednesday (April 9) to be greeted by two birthday gifts! First off, Pheelya gave me this:

The yarn is lovely!  Two skeins of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk for a scarf and a skein of laceweight 100% merino from Handpainted Yarns.  I love the magnetic pads too!  I go through those things like water!  Then my buddy Lisa gave me this cute shirt:

Won't that go great with jeans in the summer?

Saturday, we drove to the land of "yinz," "n'at" and "jagoff" to get ready for Bird's senior recital. For the unenlighted, that means Pittsburgh!  For more Pittsburghese, refer to the video in my previous post.  Now--understand that I am not poking fun of Pittsburghers with their colloquialisms. I'm from the Baltimore area which is well known for its Baltimorese. Around these parts, it is common to hear folks say things like "I'm from Harrid Canny (Howard County)" or "Let's go danny aishen (down to the ocean)."  When Ems comes over, she is usually greeted with "Jeet yet (Did you eat yet)? So we have our own way of altering the English language around here!

We got to the burgh around 6:30 and went to Bird's to drop off some of the food that needed to be refrigerated, before heading to the Double Wide Grill which is one of my favorite Pittsburgh restaurants. It can be found at 24th and Carson on the Southside. If you haven't been there and happen to be in the neighborhood, you should try it. It is in an old gas station and it is really cleverly done up with antique gas pumps, lighting made out of oil cans etc. The menu is really good and there are a lot of vegetarian selections. The wait staff wears work shirts etc. and it has a lot of outside seating.

After dinner we walked around looking at some of the row houses which are on the market. The house on the slopes that Bird is renting was put on the market. When I saw the price, I thought that it would be worth investigating purchasing a house since the mortgage payment would probably be less than the monthly rental. I spent the evening perusing the real estate listings for the Southside online. The homes in the slopes, like Bird's, are 1/3 to 1/4 the price of comparable homes around here. I was simply astounded! We have a 2nd year teacher at my school who is moving back to Pittsburgh because she and her husband want to buy a house. I get it now. 100K or even less is certainly more affordable than 350K! Housing aound here is just so inflated. I don't see me and DH living here once we retire. Who can afford it?

Sunday morning we headed off to the Giant Eagle to pick up the deli trays for Bird's reception, then it was off to Duquesne.  His recital was at 11 a.m.  We set up the reception in the lobby of the recital hall then I got to playing with the video camera.  Talk about a bummer!  It wasn't working!  It worked earlier in the week and I had charged it all up.  It played back and it recorded sound, but the video display was totally black!  I tried everything imaginable!  I was so upset!  At least the performance was professionally recorded so we will have a CD of it.  I was really proud of Bird.  He played extremely well.  After a walk to the Starbucks at the student union with Bird and 3 of his buddies, we left for home.  On the way home DH desperately tried to find the Caps game on the radio.  We've been excited about the Caps.  The words "Caps" and "playoffs" don't typically appear together but they've been hot lately!

This week was my first full week back at work.  I thought it would never end!  My hand and arm are improving greatly though and I've been able to do some little things that I haven't been able to do--open my Sweet 'n Low, turn the doorknob, hold the blow dryer etc. etc.  This coming Tuesday I will get the cast taken off and it will be replaced with a removable splint which will make showering so much easier.   

I stopped at Joann's and took advantage of their 99 cent McCall's pattern sale:

I'm thinking that I have fabric in my stash for all of them!  I also needed to pick up some crystal buttons for the cuffs of this Nanette Lepore silk blouse:

I picked up this blouse which retails for $310 for about $40 on Ebay.  It is new, but missing the buttons.  I've seen the buttons that come on it and they are fancy so I got these:

I decided to buy the little button pins which I've never tried. I've learned that rhinestone buttons need to be removed for drycleaning. I have a vintage jacket that has them and whenever I have it cleaned, I have to remove the buttons then sew them back on and it is a pain. I wouldn't use the pins because they would show when i wear the jacket open, but they are perfect for the cuffs on this blouse!


Check out my other Ebay scores on Nanette Lepore tops:



The top 2 are new with tags and the bottom 2 are secondhand.  I love them all!  The embroidery on the teal on is done in gold metallic thread and it is stunning.  I also snagged a pair of new black cotton Christopher Blue stretch jeans really cheap!  Gotta love Ebay!  

I have to do the FAFSA for Bird this afternoon.  Hopefully this will be the last time for that one!  Then I have to upload some Ebay auctions.  Gotta make room in my closet for the new spring stuff!

Bushism of the day:

"Then you wake up at the high school level and find out that the illiteracy level of our children are appalling." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2004

Kitty Cam:  Samantha enjoys the spot of sun on the family room floor.