New Ride

On January 5th I wrote about my new shoe, and my Christmas Day fall down the stairs.  I have had additional footwear since that time.  It started out with this boot that reminded me a lot of Darth Vader.

It turns out that I not only have a fractured metatarsal bone, but I also broke my ankle.  The ankle was healing but the foot was not, so I had surgery on Thursday to repair and pin the metatarsal bone.  The surgery was outpatient, so I am now at home.  To get around I have this new ride.  It is a knee scooter.  You put the knee from the injured foot on the seat, and scoot from place to place.  I have crutches as well, but mostly I rely on the scooter.  I will be home for at least the next two weeks, but when I do go back to school, I think the kids are really going to like this scooter.

Oh, yeah, I also have a new shorter boot, which I wear 24 hours a day for the next six weeks.  You really take your mobility for granted, until you lose it or have it limited.  I live in a two story house, so I am living on the main floor, for the first few days.  I'm not going to attempt the stairs for a while.  Also, when I have healed I am going to reorganize my kitchen.  I now realize that I don't have things very conveniently located.

Winnie is a little confused about the whole thing, but she likes the idea that I am home all the time and laying around a lot.  It makes for more snuggle and petting time for her.

Lilac Teapot

For Christmas both Jacci and Nadine gave me gift certificates to Gong Fu Tea.  My friends and family know what I like.  I hung on to both of them until after my birthday.  I have really been wanting this little lilac Beehouse Teapot.  I don't need a new teapot, and I spend a lot on tea every month, so I was debating whether I should use the gift certificates just to replenish my tea supply.  I decided it was a gift, so I don't have to be practical.  I went shopping on Saturday and got the new tea pot and three of my favorite teas.

Nadine's Hat

I finished knitting Nadine's hat.  This pattern is out of a book called, 60 Quick Knits.  The pattern is called Twisted Toque.  It took me longer than I expected, because it is a more complex pattern than I usually do, and I had to rip it way back about two weeks ago.  The pattern makes the hat pucker a little bit, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Over all, I am pleased though.  This hat is out of the same yarn that I made her scarf.  I gave her the scarf at Christmas.  The hat is for her birthday, which was in early December, but better late than never, I guess.

Brainy Kids

We are studying the human body in Science and Health, so we made brain hats on Thursday.  I have some very brainy kids in my class.

Homework

At Phillips we assign homework on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  Parents expect and look for it.  We had a very busy day today.  It was a testing day.  We started out the day with a math quiz.  We also took a big reading test.  Because the kids had worked so hard, I decided to go easy on the homework.  I wrote this assignment on the board, and asked students to write it in their planners.  Two of my students approached me with worried looks on their faces.

"Ms. Day," one of them said, "I don't have that book."   She was totally serious.  It was one of those teacher moments when I thought I had given clear directions, but obviously I need to do some clarification.

And that was our day.

Crocheted Necklace

I have been mostly into knitting lately, but I enjoyed making a crocheted necklace this weekend.  Last July I took a class at Knitting Next Door to learn how.  The only stitch you need to know for this is how to chain.  It is made with ladder yarn, which looks more like ribbon than it does yarn.  The finished necklace reflects the light and looks like it is made with beads instead of the fabric that it really is. It is an easy, but unique project.

I don't know if the pattern was created by Cindy Peters, my instructor and the owner of Knitting Next Door or if it originally came from somewhere else.

You will need:
1 skein of Darkhorse Beautiful ladder yarn
Size L crochet hook
yarn needle
a decorative bead

1. Cut 5 lengths of yarn 110 inches long each.
2. Leaving a 10 inch tail, chain until you have a 10 inch tail on the opposite end.  Tie off.
3. Repeat for the remaining 4 lengths for a total of 5 strands.
4. Tie all 5 strands together in a knot close to the last stitch on each end.
5. Thread the loose ends onto a yarn needle and put through a decorative bead.
6. Tie all loose strands together and trim ends even. The bead allows you to slide and adjust the length of the necklace.

Clean Classroom

Today was my first day back to school after being home three days with a foot fracture. I was fortunate to have my very favorite sub.  When I walked in this morning, I thought I was in the wrong classroom.  The room looked fantastic!  Everything was neat and clean.  I haven't seen the top of my desk in ages.  My classroom hasn't looked this good since the first week of school.  On top of that, the kids were learning and doing a great job.  Thanks, Julie!

Potholders from Leftover Yarn

After all my knitting projects for Christmas, I decided it was time to knit a few things for my own kitchen.  I found this pattern on Ravelry.  You can see the pattern here.  Either I was miss understanding the original pattern or there was something wrong with it, because when I cast on the required 50 stitches, the result was a gigantic potholder.  Instead, I ripped it out and started over with 30 stitches.  I made some other changes as well.

The colors might seem a little funky because I was using yarn I had left over from dish clothes I had knitted earlier.  When I ran out of a color, I just switched to something else.  I actually still like them, and they will be very useful.  I will use this pattern again now that I have made adjustments to it.

Materials Needed:
Peaches and Creme 100% Cotton Yarn
1 pair size 8 needles
1 crochet hook

Directions:
Cast on 30 stitches with two strands of yarn
Row 1-6: work in seed stitch (k1, p1, k1, p1, etc.)
Row 7-24: work 4 stitches in seed stitch, knit 11, purl 11, work 4 stitches in seed stitch
Row 25-42: work 4 stitches in seed stitch, purl 11, knit 11, work 4 stitches in seed stitch
Row 43-48: work in seed stitch
Bind off leaving a length of yarn that you can chain into a loop.
Materials

New Shoe

Are you one of those people who loves shoes?  I am, but I don't get new ones often.  Here is my latest purchase, only it's shoe, singular.    This was all because of my fall down the stairs on Christmas Day.  I was going out to the car to get my tea, and that's all I remember.  I managed to knock myself out, and I was covered with bruises from head to toe.  Fortunately I was at my sister's house, with 2 doctors (my niece and brother-in-law) handy.

Initially, it was my back that hurt the most.  My foot was the most colorful, but the pain didn't really start until Wednesday of this week, when I went back to school.  That meant I was on my feet a lot. Each day my foot became more and more painful.  This morning, I went back to the doctor.  Turns out I have a fractured metatarsal.  No wonder my foot hurt.  I'm going to stay home for a few days, but when I go back I'll be sporting this new shoe.  It's not exactly cutting edge fashion, but it is giving my foot a lot more support.

Happy New Year 2013!

It's the beginning of a new year.  This year I hope to do better with my photo a day.  In 2012 I returned to things I used to do in the past. I have become a dedicated knitter, and I did some sewing too.  I learned how to do both things when I was a kid, but had pretty much stopped both during recent years. I love the satisfaction of creating something.  I love the beauty of fabric and yarn.  All that knitting and sewing kind of pushed out my blogging, however.  During 2013, I hope to find time for both.

Today was the last day of our winter vacation.  Most of it I spent at home.  I made this pillow case today.  I purchased the fabric at the Dutchman's Store when I visited Nancy. I grew up camping, and I still enjoy it.  Every summer our family explored the United States and we camped along the way.  I have many special memories associated with camping, so this fabric really caught my eye.  I look forward to using this pillow case.