Monster Shawl

Here is the Monster Shawl:

This was one of the most demanding knitting projects I've ever conquered.  It started with a cast on of three stitches on November 27, 2011 (while I was in college) and ended with blocking on March 1st, 2015.  There were almost 1000 stitches on the needles when I cast off.

This beast contains approximately 1200 yards of 100% suri yarn mill-spun from two of our alpacas (Carmen and Winslow), nearly 75,000 stitches and 2250 glass beads.  Now I just need to find a movie star who will buy it and wear it to the Oscars.  Wouldn't that be cool?

McKenzie River Fishing

My friend Julie and I went fly fishing on the McKenzie River last Sunday.  The weather was perfect and the fishing was pretty good.  We caught our limit of trout and I caught this steelhead:

The fly choice of the day was called a Possie Bugger.  It has this name due to the fawn colored Australian opossum fur used in it.

The guide fixed us a fish fry lunch, he fried four trout in two cubes of butter!  It was a fun day.  Julie's first fly fishing experience, my first steelhead, and my first fishing trip that didn't involve my dad or my husband.

Oh look, it hasn't quite been a year since I posted.  I could give all kinds of excuses about night shift and working full time but really, I've just been lazy about it.

I'm at the end of four nights off and here is some of the dying and spinning I worked in:

This yarn is a result of a Judith MacKenzie workshop I took in Mount Hood, Oregon.  The theme was scrap and I came up with a festive result.  It was a little hard to spin at first since it was supposed to be random, I had to give up some of the control I try to have over everything that I do.  I ended up breaking all the different fibers into bits and tossing them together like a salad, then I'd spin with one chunk for a few minutes, toss it into the empty basket, pick up the next piece and continue like that until I'd gone through the lot once then start over until it was all spun up.  I spread it out onto five bobbins, added a couple bobbins of black alpaca and grey wool to the mix, then rotated through the bobbins a few minutes at a time as I plied three together.

On the way home from the workshop I met my sister for dinner and we swapped birthday presents.  Hers was actually on time for a change and I got to have a summer birthday for a change.  I couldn't believe what she gave me, this yarn bowl.  How appropriate and beautiful is that?!

Rocky got his tractor stuck in the mud a few weeks ago so Carly and I had to give him a hand.  She found the perfect spot, she even had a window to steam up.   It was funny, she didn't wait for me to invite her up, she was climbing in before I even got in the seat.  She's the funniest dog I've ever had.

She even gives me a wink now and then.

We did get to do something fun not too long ago.  We finally used our camper and went to Collier Memorial State Park.  It was a nice campground with a logging museum across the street.  While we were there we went to see Crater Lake and then Klamath Lake, both were gorgeous.   We had beautiful weather and it was nice to get away from the farm for a few days.  

Back to the Basics

Remember this dish towel warp?  Well I've finally started weaving on it.

This pattern is called Cat Tracks and Snail Trails.  Rocky keeps calling it Tiger Tracks and Snake Trails.  The pattern only calls for two colors so I was worried that using a third color wouldn't work very well, but I like how it is weaving up.

Rogue River Twitch

We recently took a trip down the Rogue River with Helfrich Outfitters.  As always, they show their clients a good time.  This is our first day putting in just above Graves Creek near Galice, OR.

After lunch that day we were treated to a show of helicopters dipping water out of the river from in front of and behind our boats.  All the camp sites along the south bank were closed due to wild fire.  We actually saw one area that was still smoldering and one log with flames coming from it.  It was still pretty smoky in that area and we really noticed it while trying to sleep in our cabin that night at Black Bar Lodge.

We didn't stop at Zane Grey's cabin.  It is a neat place to see, but it had all been wrapped in tin foil to help protect it from the fires.  We were able to see a glimpse of it from the river.

Along the way we got to stop and explore Rogue River Ranch.  (I can't believe it, because of the government shut down I can't even link to the page.)  It is a historic ranch that was established in the 1880's during the gold rush.  You can take a self guided tour through the house, tack shed, and blacksmith shop.  The grounds have a caretaker who lives there and keeps the place in beautiful condition.  There is a large field where people can even camp for the night.  I guess it's a good thing we were there when we were, it's probably all locked up now.

I think this set of rapids is called Blossom Bar.  To me there was no obvious route through these boulders and I was very thankful to be with such experienced guides.  It's kind of hard to see because of the rock behind it, but that big boulder behind and to the right of that boat has a big hole worn through it, I think it's called C rock.

We did a lot of fishing.  The first day we tried to catch salmon, but they weren't hungry so we switched to fly fishing for half pounders.  These fish have a rather unique life cycle, I added a link that gives a brief but nice explanation.  We used wet flies and a technique called the "Rogue River Twitch."  It was fun and thanks to lessons from the guides my cast was getting pretty good by the third day.  Turns out that half pounders love vitamin D.  This is Vitamin D:

The guy who developed this particular fly pattern named it Vitamin D.  I thought it was pretty as far as flies go, too bad the ones that get in our houses and annoy us aren't as attractive.

And this is one of the half pounders I caught and brought home.

It was a good trip with no phones, no radio, and no TV except at the last lodge.  The weather was beautiful, but it did get cold and windy on the third day.  I think this photo was during a sun break that day.  Oh, we also enjoyed the company of a family from Eugene that was in our group.  They were a nice bunch who enjoyed fishing and laughter.  

Other than getting back into canning (in the middle of the night, thanks to shift work), that's about the extent of my summer fun this year.

John Day

If you've never been to central Oregon (I mean east of Bend) you must find time to go.  This is Cant Ranch which is right by the John Day Fossil Beds.  The Cant family raised sheep here.  Unfortunately the house isn't open on weekends, but you can still wander around the property, see the shearing shed, and walk a trail down to the river.

This is a view from a lookout on the highway between Dayville and Mount Vernon.  I think the geography over there is fascinating.

Here are some pictures of the Painted Hills.  The different colors are from the minerals in the clay.  There are so many different colors of reds, greens, browns, grays, and even lavender.  It is pretty spectacular.  One sign recommends evening for the best photos.  It was overcast and not evening when I was there.

Getting Framed

I finally got around to framing some things.

This is a doily my mom made.  She may have made it before I was even born, I don't remember seeing her made it so I was either really young or not around.  I think it is way more beautiful framed like this than lying on my end table covered with things and collecting dust.

This is a birthday/graduation card given to me by Julie Lyford, she painted it with water colors.  It commemorates a fly fishing workshop we took together.

And this is my college diploma that I still can't believe I have.

I got to spend the month of May working evenings learning how to work in a hospital blood bank.  It is really interesting and tragic at the same time.  We type blood for people and cross match them with donor blood for transfusions.  There are a lot of people who are sick and need blood products, but we also keep prepared to traumas.  The other night we had a patient who had been in a bad accident and we kept matching blood for almost three hours.  They got between 30 and 40 units of blood products by the time my shift ended.  I hope I get to hear if the patient made it.  It was a tragic situation for the patient and their family, I'm sure, but from my perspective it really feels good to have a job that can help people when they need it most.

Most of my blood bank training is done so I have to go back to night shift.  Evening shift was like a vacation, you get to sleep until you wake up, work around the house or do errands until early afternoon and then go to work.  I think that's how life should be.  Some day.

We went to see the new Star Trek movie in 3D.  Everybody at work was talking about how good it is, but we just thought it was okay.  Maybe we just aren't big enough Trek fans.  At home we watched The Librarian, Curse of the Judas Chalice, it was fun.  It's kind of like National Treasure.

Shows and Movies

Last night Rocky and I went to dinner and West Side Story with friends at the Hult Center.  We had a good time and enjoyed the show.  I had a busy work week which was both good and stressful, so it was nice to go out and have some fun.

On the movie front Lincoln was good, not exciting but interesting and historical, of course.  I found a really good movie on TV called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  It's about a group of retirees who give up their lives in England and move to India.  None of them find what they're expecting there and I can't say anymore or I'll spoil it.  It was really good; funny and moving.  The latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, was pretty good too.

I may have posted previously that I've discovered audiobooks from the library.  I'm totally addicted to them. I transfer them to my MVP player and listen while I do chores.  It's also a good way to fall asleep since it doesn't require light and you can totally relax with your eyes closed.  I mostly listen to fiction and have found that the simpler stories are best if you're planning to listen while doing other things.  I did download Heaven Is For Real which is very different from what I usually read, but I found it very intriguing.

It is now 6:00 am on Easter morning and I'm thinking about going to bed.  I've just enjoyed three nights off and my work week starts again at 9:00 pm tonight.

Have a happy Easter.

Duck Basketball

Rocky and I went to our first Duck basketball game in the Matthew Knight Arena Thursday.  It was the Civil War game, Senior Night, and Phil Knight's 75th birthday.  We had fun and were both impressed with the arena, however it didn't seem as big as it does on TV.  I was a little appalled at the behavior of the fans.  One of the Beavers caused a collision that injured a Duck and the fans started chanting, "F$@* the Beavers!"  I wondered if it could be heard on TV.  It was a pretty rough game at times, but the Ducks pulled off a win.

Speaking of winning, we watched a really good movie tonight called Win Win.  I won't tell you about it, just know that it is good and the only thing to be cautious about are a few swear words.  It is funny, sad, serious, and light.  Different types of people dealing with different types of tough life issues.

Here is a photo of Carly watching me play on the computer:

Shift Work

I survived my first week of night shift.  After the first night I wasn't so sure it was going to work out, but now I think it will work out.  As it turns out, I can sleep during the day.  Last night/this morning was my first night off and I stayed up cleaning house.  It is weird and the whole house is affected by my new schedule.  I get home when Rocky is getting up and then I get up when Rocky is gets home.  Carly is so confused and you can see the sadness in her eyes when I leave for work at 8:30 pm.  I think the only one who loves the new schedule is the cat; he gets to sleep with Rocky all night and then with me all day.

Despite the hours I really enjoy the job.  The work is interesting and I get to work with some neat people.  I love knowing that the work I'm doing is helping people in our community.

We watched a funny movie the other night, Waking Ned Devine.  It is a bit different, but well worth watching.

Still Learning

I've been on the new job for three weeks now and still have lots to learn.  The most difficult is learning the computer systems and protocols.  The work is fascinating and I'm going to love this career.

I finally received my diploma and credentials from the American Society for Clinical Pathology so I'm all official.  It feels good and I'm remembering how to relax again.  This weekend I watched One Day, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and The Help.  All were worth watching.

Now, if only the weather would warm up.  It has been so cold that I have to break ice in water buckets every day.  Today we're even fogged in.  We're loving the wood stove right now.

Dinner and a Movie

Since I finished school and don't have to spend all of my time studying I've been able to watch a few movies and do some real cooking again.  Last night we watched Safe House and I made this fish dish although I substituted store bought mango salsa and I made Kale for the first time.  With all the southern cooking I grew up with I never acquired a taste for greens so I really didn't think I was going to like this, but it was pretty good.  I didn't put any sugar in as the recipe called for and was glad, the cranberries added plenty of sweetness.

Other good movies I've seen recently are Trouble with the Curve and We Bought a Zoo.  Both are good enough to watch more than once.

I had a conversation the other day about candy from my childhood.  See if you remember these:

Flicks

Zotz

Pop Rocks, of course

Jolly Rancher Sticks, everybody loved Fire, my favorites were Watermelon and Strawberry

Candy cigarettes, you don't see them anymore

Wax Lips and Cinnamon Toothpicks, not really candy but we had to have them anyway

One last topic for this post:  Football.  I really wanted to know what a Hokie is so I went to Virginia Tech's website:  http://www.vt.edu/about/hokie.html

Happy New Year.

Graduation!!!

Finally, I'm done!!!  

I finally earned a college degree in Clinical Laboratory Science,

 and it was the same week I turned 44.

Three and a half years of studying and sleepless nights led to graduation at the James Brown Arena.

Before the ceremony we were herded like cattle in these pens under the arena.  

These are just a few of my classmates.  There were about 18 in my class  (I was the only one here in Springfield) and a few more in the Masters class who will graduate in the Spring.

Everybody in Augusta, GA was so nice to us, they even gave us a special parking space.

The night before graduation was the awards ceremony and the professors arranged for dinner at the Olive Garden afterwards.  Only two of the Masters student and one set of parents made it.  

From left to right is Ms. Kraj (she taught Molecular), Dr. Anne Ranne (I love her name, she taught Professional Ethics), Rocky, Me, Dr. Pretlow (Biochemisty and research writing, also a great mentor for me through the program), the two Masters students, one set of parents (they thought I was from the South), Dr. Russell (Hematology and Microbiology; I've never heard a Southerner talk as fast as she does), and Ms. Eggert (she teaches Radiation Therapy, I did not have her as a teacher).  Mr. Wise did not come to dinner, he taught Blood Banking and Immunology.

I'll be bringing in the new year with a new job.  I can't wait to start.  PeaceHealth hired me to work in the Blood Bank at River Bend Hospital and I'll also work at the small lab they kept at Sacred Heart.  

GHSU

It has been a while since I've taken time to post. I am now in the last few weeks of my junior year Georgia Health Sciences University's distance learning program. I've been spending about two days per week in labs at Peace Health Laboratory here in Springfield. It has been such an interesting experience. I've learned what happens with those blood and urine specimens our doctors like to take. I know what things like malaria and giardia look like microscopically. It is all so fascinating.

Besides the labs I have class lectures that get uploaded to the Internet every day. I print out a Power Point presentation that the professor uses and log on to watch the lecture s/he gave to the campus class. It is really cool. I can pause the lecture so I can catch up on my note taking, or go back to the lecture if I don't understand something in my notes later on while studying for an exam.

Some of my exams are practicals that are given to me by the lab instructors at PHL, but most are online multiple choice or fill in the blank. Sometimes the instructors open the exams for three days or so and I can take it on my own when I feel ready and other times they are proctored where I have to go to the lab and sign on in front of somebody who can verify that I'm not using notes. There are time limits for all the exams so you really need to know the material anyway or you wouldn't be able to complete the exams. There's a little timer in the corner of the screen. I don't know what happens if you run out of time, fortunately I've been able to finish all of them so far. I did make the mistake of answering the phone once during an exam and only had about two minutes left when I clicked "Finished."

GHSU, formerly the Medical College of Georgia, was established in 1828 in Augusta. The school has an interesting history. It is the 13th oldest medical college in the U.S. The school closed during the Civil War to operate solely as a hospital for the soldiers. I can't wait to visit the school in person, learn more about its history, and meet my professors.

Last week was spring vacation. They schedule the spring break to coincide with the Masters' Tournament that takes place in Augusta. I guess all the locals like to get out of town for that. It didn't feel like much of a vacation; I studied, took two quizzes, and three exams. Rocky and I did take an inland marine fishing workshop through ODFW in Newport last weekend. It was fun and interesting. Rocky caught a female crab in a Crabhawk and I pretty much just lost tackle in the jetty. I did see a couple of migrating whales while we were in Yachats, that was pretty neat. In all my 40+ years of visiting the Oregon coast, that was the first time I've seen whales here.

Tidbits

My postings are getting farther and farther apart, this is mostly just because I'm so busy and when I'm not busy I'm tired.

I just completed the first semester of my junior year at Georgia Health Sciences University. It was constant hard work, but so interesting. I spent many days looking at blood cells in a microscope. I learned how to test for syphilis, sickle cell anemia, and a lot of other things that I've already forgotten. I also spent three days at a draw site learning how to draw blood. It was scary, but I did perform a few draws on real patients including one from a guy's hand. This coming semester I have to spend 30 hours drawing blood from hospital patients so the three days was good practice.

All but one of my angora and pygora goats have died so we bought some replacements. They are nubian-boer crosses. The brown one is Fudge and the other three, who all look alike, are Oscar, Elmo, and Kidd.



We did have a little fun this summer. We went camping at Gold Lake one weekend with the pontoon boats. Rocky caught one fish that he had to throw back. It was fun paddling around in the lake, but on shore the mosquitoes were so bad that we went home a day early. I think we went through three bottles of repellent. We even had to use it on Carly, her poor face was covered in welts.



Carly and I went hunting with Rocky a couple of times this fall. Carly really likes being out in the woods, she doesn't even mind the safety vest.

We only made it out to Fern Ridge a couple of times this summer. Carly absolutely loves the Seadoos.

Happenings

In my last post I forgot to write that we are now down to just one goat. Of course, it is Billy the bully. Even though he is the goat that I don't like I feel sorry for him. He cries a lot now that he's alone. So, yesterday I bought three kids. These are nubian/boer crosses so I won't have to deal with fiber. Two of them are white with black on their necks and faces and one is brown. The little girl I'm buying them from named them Oscar, Elmo, and Fudge. I don't get to bring Fudge home until July because he's only two weeks old.

As for school, I applied for my Associates of Science Degree last week. I should graduate next term. I found out that my interview with the lab about the medical technology program will be scheduled the first week of June. This is all so exciting, it is hard to wait for all the steps to happen.

When I came home from school on Thursday, I discovered that Carly had been sprayed by a skunk. I remembered that a friend had the same experience last winter so I called her. She found a recipe for skunk wash online that worked pretty well. It is hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dawn dish soap. I only had enough soda and peroxide for one batch and that was only enough for one washing. It helped a lot, but I think she needed a couple more washings with it. She still stinks, but not nearly as bad. Yesterday I brushed a lot of her undercoat out and that helped as well, so I think she's going to get brushed more today. She may be bald by the time I'm done with her.

Spring Vacation 2011

Now that Spring term is almost over I'm finally getting around to telling you about the Spring break. Since neither of us had ever been up to the northern Oregon coast we spent a long weekend up there.

Our adventure started at the Tillamook Cheese Factory where we tried squeaky cheese for the first time. If you've never had it it squeaks against your teeth when you eat it. I had to ask what makes it different and they said it is cheese that hasn't been aged yet. We brought some home and within a couple of days it quit squeaking; that explains why we can't buy it in stores.

We stayed in Seaside which was crowded with kids on Spring vacation. I didn't realize that there was so much for kids to do there.

We visited Fort Clatsop which is where Lewis and Clark ended up. It isn't very big, but it's a beautiful setting with a nice little museum. This is the rebuilt entrance to the fort:

We also visited Fort Stevens which was the only West Coast location that was bombed by a Japanese submarine during WWII. The only casualty was a baseball backstop. It was pretty interesting. They have a small museum and a lot of bunkers and structures you can explore.

We also enjoyed the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. We spent a lot of time in there, it was so big. The history of the bar pilots is fascinating.

It was a good trip. Rocky doesn't usually do vacations like this but he admitted that it was interesting.

For now I'm just trudging away at the last three weeks of Spring term and thinking about what I want to do to prepare for the Black Sheep Gathering next month.

Another term down. I thought next term was going to be my last at LCC, but it turns out that one of the classes I need won't be offered until Summer term. This means my Spring term class load will be lighter, but no time for a vacation this Summer. We'll just have to schedule a Christmas vacation again this year.

Carly is all set for Summer with her new Doggles:
She is not very fond of them, but I think she'll keep them on while riding the Sea Doos.

I think she prefers the librarian look:

I finally had Jill's eye removed. It got to looking really bad, and seemed to be causing her pain.
I was really worried about her surviving surgery, but she came through it like nothing happened. Rocky's giving me a bad time about spending so much money on an old cat, but even he admits that she seems a little feistier than before.

Blue and Carly are getting to be such good friends now. Blue tries to get Carly to pet him and Carly has learned to watch for quick claws.

For the rest of this week and next, I have to get caught up on some of the chores around here.

Happy New Year

I survived another Christmas and am happy to be starting 2011. One fun thing that did happen on Christmas Eve is that I ran into a former classmate, one of the Sage twins (I didn't ask which one, and they are identical). He was with his daughter at the Safeway Starbucks and I was there buying the Safeway peanut buttercup cookies for presents. It was fun to see him and hope I run into him or his brother again in the near future when there is a little more time to catch up.

Winter term starts tomorrow, I'm enrolled full time in order to get my prerequisites in before starting the program (if I get accepted). I'm signed up for Research Writing, Principles of Biology, and US History. This time US History will cover the 1800's which includes the Civil War. Not my favorite era, but I have the same teacher as last term and she has a way of making history interesting.

We've seen a few movies over the school break. Inception was weird and I'm glad we saw it at the dollar theater. 2012 wasn't too bad. I really want to see Despicable Me, but I can't get Rocky to go see it. We watched Gran Torino again, that is such a good movie. Clint Eastwood's character reminds me so much of my dad.

It is cold today, but we have to tend to my goats. This wet weather is not at all good for their hooves so we need to go clean and trim them up. Sounds simple, but it is a big job that takes both of us. The hardest part is catching them. Even with a limp goats are faster than we are.

Ahhhhh

I thought Summer term was intense taking two four week terms of General Chemistry, but Fall term proved to be even worse. It was difficult in part because of Organic Chemistry, but also because I got sick the second week of term and I'm just now beginning to feel somewhat healthy again. I think I got two different strains of the flu, one after the other.

Organic Chemistry, it turns out, is not a particularly difficult subject except for the fact that it moves way too fast. There are so many little details to remember. I felt like everything that was crammed into this term should have been spread out over at least two terms. History 203, on the other hand, was kind of fun. We covered 1890 through to the civil rights movement and just a little of the Vietnam war. It was interesting in that it was taught from a social perspective rather than political. I felt like a child when I'd come home from class and tell Rocky what I learned that day.

Even though I took my final exams on Monday and Tuesday, my biggest "final" this week was an interview with the Medical College of Georgia this morning. I was so nervous about it since I had no idea what to expect, but I think it went very well. The doctor who interviewed me was very friendly and said everything with my application looked good on their end. Now they just have to send my file with their recommendation to the lab and I'll need to be interviewed by them. One thing I found that was funny is that if I get accepted I'm going to have to pass an exam about the history of Georgia before graduating.

Thanksgiving was spent at Rocky's parents' as usual, but this year Darin (Rocky's cousin) brought his family along with Carly's mom and brother. The family stayed at Jack and Sandy's and Carly got to have the dogs to our house for a slumber party. Here I am with all three of them on the couch:

That's Carly on my lap, Charlie next to me, and Paris with her tongue hanging out. It was fun to watch them play together. Carly and Charlie romped nonstop; Paris joined in sometimes, but mostly just watched.

Of course, I have to share this photo of Blue and Carly being friendly:

It took Blue a long time to warm up to Carly, but now they're pretty good friends.

To end this post I'll tell you that it is my birthday, which is off to a great start. I made myself some Scottish oatmeal scones for breakfast, had a successful interview with the college I want to attend, and to celebrate I'm planning to cut my hair so I can donate it to Angel Hair.