Massive post of randomness

I just can't seem to get this blogging thing down. Others seem to be able to blog on a regular basis. Even if it is a short, pithy post, it appears with a regularity that boggles my mind. But I'm finding blogging regularity something somewhat out of reach at the moment. I'm left with a whole week's worth of stuff I'd like to post about on the weekend, all of which would have worked so much better as individual posts throughout the week. But so be it, my week gets away from me and here I am on Sunday morning with time and too many thoughts whirling away to remain off-line any longer.

First of all, I am temporarily stuck on sleeve island with Samus. I've finished the increases and have only a few inches left before starting the cap shaping, so rescue is in sight. I love working two sleeves at the same time because I know that they are exactly the same size and when I'm finished, I'm FINISHED! I'll need to go shopping for a matching zipper soon. If the cardigan fits well, I'm going all the way with the finishing and using grosgrain ribbon to finish the inside.

I did cast on for a new gift project but it is a stealth project. Shhhh! No details until June except this one little partial picture.

Hockeyboy Socks and Shifting Sands are on hold temporarily, only because I have two hands, instead of four or more. I continue to do washcloths here and there, because they fit in my purse, whereas Samus and Stealth do not. Oh, for more time and hands.

On the personal front, I returned to boxing class this week. I loved it but regret it. Not because my back couldn't take it but the rest of me couldn't! I am sore all over. OH MY! I am so far out of shape, I'm embarrassed. I slipped into a beginning boxing class. My coach looked at me and said, "Ummm, this is a beginning boxing class. Just boxing." I said, "That's okay. I'm easing back in, since I'm recovering from the back injury. I need to take it slow, so I thought this class would be a good one to start with." Ha! He made me demonstrate proper form for the class. Being in front of the class made me try hard to do things right. Yowza, am I paying for it now! But my back withstood it and it is good to be back. The soreness will pass and I'll be back in fighting form soon (I hope).

I also took DD#3 to her Vision Therapy evaluation this week. It was an interesting experience. She walked out of this appointment far less traumatized than from the one with the opthamologist but it was still challenging for her. We still need to go back for the consultation appointment, so I don't have a great deal of information but the one piece of good news they gave me was that tests indicated that she is experiencing double vision, which was a good thing. It means that her weak eye is not shutting down completely. When the eye shuts down completely, it is much more difficult to get it back. Double vision means that the eye and brain is still trying to get things coordinated and working and there is reason to hope that she can still regain binocular vision, with proper treatment.

Dance season is starting to heat up, with DD#1 increasing her dance schedule. She landed the role of one of the step-sisters in Cinderella, so she has two extra rehersals a week this month. She also had a performance on Saturday morning at the Mall of America to kick off the Fraser Roll and Stroll. Since our dance studio has an Adaptive Dance Program for special needs students, the studio participated in this particular event for the past few years. My daughter has been a student helper who works directly with a special needs student for the past two years. What is most thrilling about this is the girl has progressed to the point that next year she probably will no longer need a helper. I love the fact that this studio has this program and that my daughter has had the opportunity to use her gift for dance to do more than just perform or gratify her own ego (or mine). I sincerely hope that the opportunity presents itself for DD#1 to get another chance to work with someone else next year, when her special friend moves on to a class without a helper.

On the homeschool front, my "Men Knit, Too" class for our homeschool academy was cancelled for lack of interest. I have mixed feelings. I'm thrilled because I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the vision isses with DD#3 and the extra rehersals for DD#1 and the classes DS#1 and DD#1 take once a week. I've fallen terribly behind on so many things around the house with my back issues and my two youngest daughters are behind on some of their schoolwork because of everything being so crazy around here. The idea of having no lessons to plan and write is so relieving, I could dance. But I am also bummed because I had some great articles planned for the class.

When I teach at our academy, we only have 6 hours of actual teaching time each semester. So we spend the bulk of the time actually knitting. But I do write short articles for the students to take home and read on their own. Since we homeschoolers tend to want to make every educational experience count, the articles cover subjects like history, geography, Bible, and even chemistry and physics. Trust me, I can incorporate just about any subject into an article on knitting. I had already done some research on articles that would appeal to young men and I was excited to actually put them together. I had plans for articles on mechanical engineering based on such subjects as spun yarn vs. cables that hold up suspension bridges, medical equipment that uses knitted structures and other uses for the understanding of the basic knitted fabric structure. I had an article planned on intellectual property law that was based on the history of guilds (including knitting guilds). I had an article planned on the industrial revolution and the invention of machines like the knitting machine. And so much more.

Teaching knitting is like falling off a truck. I can do that in my sleep. But the exciting part is getting to research and write the articles. But I can't justify the time spent unless it is for an actual class. So I am a little disappointed that the class didn't happen this time around. But maybe next year. And perhaps, this summer, I just take the time to write the articles anyway, just in case.

Whew! I wonder how many faithful friends actually stuck it out and read this far? See what I mean about randomness. I just have to get better about more frequent and shorter posts. But I feel better having posted. It was like a giant dustball under the bed. You know it's there. You know you have to deal with it. You just keep postponing it. And it gets bigger and bigger. Now I've made a clean sweep of it. We'll see how good I am at keeping that dustball of random thoughts from accumulating again.