Blast from the Past

Geez, has it been a week already? My apologies for neglecting you all. It's not as though I haven't had blog ideas, but it's been my 60 hour week at work, so that and getting enough sleep have taken precedence. I have, at least, managed to get photos from the honeymoon uploaded to Flickr.

Anyway, now that we're both here, do you remember this?



I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, because I first posted about it way back here. You'll notice that I have made a little progress since that time. It now has a heel and, after setting it aside for a few months to concentrate on wedding knitting, I've finally started the ribbing. Of course, there's still another sock to knit up after this one, but I hope to have a finished pair in under a year.

I think they'll look particularly smart worn with my new(ish) work shoes:



These were actually delivered just before the wedding, but since they were designated for the workplace (because the FiveFingerses are not a good idea when you need people to be paying attention to you rather than the shoes), they got set aside for three weeks before seeing any action. So far I've been very pleased.

7 Things

Another thing that got set aside was this meme, which Andy tagged me for the day before the wedding. I've been meaning to get around to it, really, but we haven't even gotten caught up on the housecleaning since the wedding, so it's kind of had to languish. Anyway, here goes, and since everyone's likely seen this one by now, I'm dispensing with the rules.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago, I was living in North Carolina, working at a few different clinics. I had just taken a leave of absence from grad school because my first advisor had me on the verge of going postal. I was a bit over a year away from buying my first house and a couple blissful years shy of meeting S. It was a good time. Mostly.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
a. finish my shift at work
b. walk/run around the Back Cove
c. shower
d. sleep
e. have dinner with the Landladies to go over the purchase contract for the house (which means I have to miss CWS yet again *sigh*)

3) Snacks I enjoy:
- Most of them, especially if cheese and/or salt are involved. Or fruit. Or all of the above.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
- Take our house off the grid, open up the floor plan and basically renovate it from the cellar up.
- Build a nice heated garage with a well-lit studio space for David above it.
- Buy my grandmother's childhood home from my great-aunt and restore it.
- Fund spay/neuter & vaccine clinics in India, where tens of thousands of children die of rabies from dog bites every year.
- Build my parents a home for their retirement.
- Fund my sister's education and set up college trusts for all of my nieces and nephew.
- Fund my own return to grad school and get my PhD.
- Set aside enough so that David & I would never have to worry about our own needs.
- Fund more projects like those linked over in the sidebar.

5) Places I have lived:
- Cayce, SC
- Newberry, SC
- Kinards (Bush River Community), SC
- Charleston, SC
- Johnson City, TN
- Fountain Inn, SC
- Winslow, ME
- Granada, Spain
- St. Paul, MN
- Portland, ME
- Raleigh, NC
- Durham, NC
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Auburn, ME
- Kittery Point, ME


6) Jobs I have had:
- Dishwasher in a seafood restaurant
- Farmhand
- Veterinarian

7) Friends I want to know more about:
You've likely realized by now that I don't pass these things on. Besides, I think most folks that would do this one have already done so. If not and you're in need of blog fodder, then go for it.

Footwork, Fancy and Otherwise

One down,



one to go.



And in other footwear news, I managed for the first time ever to sustain a running pace (only 5mph/8kph, but it was still running) for a full mile today without having to drop to a walk and without feeling like I was about to fall over and die. Granted, it was on a flat treadmill rather than on the hills on our little road, but it's still a milestone for me. I've always been better as a (very) short distance sprinter than any kind of distance runner. I've just never been able to maintain the pace and have had too much trouble with all my joint issues and raging shin splints (and general lack of commitment) to effectively build up to it.

I've also not done any training to speak of to get to this point. Between going out of town and kitty emergencies, I hadn't even been to the gym for a couple of weeks. The only thing different was that I was wearing my FiveFingers shoes, so it seems that they're helping me run much more efficiently. I also didn't have any knee pain during or after and, after slowing to a moderately brisk walk for ten minutes, I was able to go back up to a running pace for the last eight of my half hour of cardio. Color me very pleased.

Of course, I'm nowhere close to catching up to David's cousin Greg, who just ran his first marathon the other week (and whom you may recall from this post). Seeing as he's still in his early 30's and I'm staring down 40, I'm not sure that I'll try to catch up, either, but it was still a nice feeling.

Memery

MollyBeees tagged me for this one and it seemed interesting enough. I won't be tagging anyone else, but feel free if you wish to do it anyway.

What's the last book you read that you thought was really super, inspiring, you'd recommend it to most anyone?

I'll make this a twofer and say surgeon Atul Gawande's books, Complications and Better. For the lay person, I think that they help to put a human face on medical practice and point out the reality that we aren't perfect and aren't capable of miracles. For me as a professional, I think they're inspiration to aspire to be better.

What food totally grosses you out, you'd never be able to touch it? Ew. Gag. *hurl*

After many, many years as a vegetarian, this is pretty easy. I can't see myself ever going back to eating meat. Maybe as an act of absolute desperation, but I really find it repellent. Also, fat dog flesh under surgical lights smells an awful lot like beef, which doesn't help.

Did you ever watch a scary movie that frightened you so much you were afraid of the dark afterward? I mean like you're lying in bed trying to sleep, but you have to pee, but you're scared to get up. It doesn't have to be recently; could be when you were a kid. So what movie was it?

Not a movie, but when I was in high school I read Pet Sematary in a single day. When I got to the end, I was home alone (we lived in the sticks in South Carolina) and nobody was going to be home for over an hour. I closed all the curtains, locked all the doors, turned on the TV and radio and called a friend because I was so freaked out.

Oh, and The Mothman Prophecies still gives me goosebumps if I think about it, and I saw it in the theater over 6 years ago.

Is there a song that makes you dance every time you hear it? Would you tap you feet and sing along to it in public?

Every time I hear Pat Benatar sing Love is a Battlefield, I have to sing along and do the titty jiggle move from the video. Every time. Just see if you can resist.



Tattoos: yes or no? Do you have any? Tell us! Do you think they're gross? TELL US!

I blogged these in this post.

When's the last time you laughed so hard your ribs ached and/or you nearly peed yourself? What made you do it?

The hardest I have ever laughed in my life was the first time I saw Suzanne Westenhoefer perform. My face hurt.

Draw or doodle a picture of your pet(s) and post it if possible. Nothing fancy, don't be shy!

It's late, so I'm not going to try to draw anything, but I did make an lolcats of Tuck and Cougar just the other day.

Go through a stack or box of your old music. Stuff that you may not have heard in years. Pick one and tell us about it. Is it as good (or as bad) as you remember?

Again, it's late. And I really do need to go through my collection to see what needs to stay or go, but that project's been pending for a few years now.

Do you still sleep with a stuffed animal? We won't laugh!

No. Not since I was in my early teens, I don't think.

Walk Before You Run

On Wednesday, I gave the FiveFingers their first workout at the gym. The website recommends that people whose feet pronate (i.e., are really flat, like mine) use caution starting out with these shoes. Fortunately, several years of yoga taught me to correct my pronation without support, so I don't think that'll be much of concern. The real challenge is the whole shift in how I move.

I learned that I will be building up calluses at the base of the second toe on each foot, as that seems to be where I'm getting the most friction. I've always built up calluses in the summer from wearing sandals, but never at this spot. On the other hand, I noticed a lot less knee pain after my workout than I had in regular running shoes. I didn't try to run yet, of course, but I did walk on the treadmill at a pretty good pace.

Today I'll get to work out in a new pair, as I bought some more just for the gym.

Kilt Hose

I started these on my trip to California at the end of March, but I haven't really blogged about them much. Our minister (who is now on Ravelry, but I'm not sure how a nonny moose she wishes to be) pointed out that I hadn't added them to my projects or posted any pics of them or anything, so here goes:



Because I started these on the go, I opted for a fairly simple design that I could work out in my head. They're 3x1 rib with a simple braided cable running down each side. The wool is woolen spun worsted weight from Elsa Wool Company, and I'm knitting them on two size US3/3.25mm Addi 12" circs.

I knat the cuffs first with a provisional cast on to obviate any concerns about dealing with holes when switching directions for the leg. I'm getting fairly close to being able to decrease the extra stitches for the calf on the first one. I hope to make a lot of progress on these next weekend at the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat.

Apropos of Nothing

Because my job entails long hours with no ability to leave for lunch (assuming you could even find lunch at 2AM), I try to keep a stash of food on hand at the clinic. It's generally nothing fancy, but it keeps me from starving. Everyone else keeps food here, as well, and the rule is that if you don't want it thrown out or eaten, you need to put your name on it.

Fair enough.

The only problem is when people don't respect that rule and eat your food anyway. This happened recently with a brick of cheese I had in the fridge, but it's not the first time.

Now I'm generally more than happy to share my food when I'm working. I don't want staff coming in here and not having anything to eat for 10 or 12 hours. But when I'm coming in to work a 15 hour shift and expect to have food in the fridge, it's more than a little irritating to find some two-legged rat has been at it. So with my latest cheese purchase, I made a little sign to tape to it that I thought would get the point across a little more emphatically.

And Even More Shoes!

These are totally unrelated to the wedding, though I did consider saying I'd changed my mind just to see what people said. Anyway, last week I read this article (courtesy of Chris, who in turn got it from Chappysmom), which is basically about how bad shoes are for us biomechanically and we're better off going back to barefoot as much as possible.

Given that I already preferred wearing as little as possible on my feet during the warm months and given all my musculoskeletal issues, plus the fact that the article was backed up with hard data, I was an easy sell. The Vivo Barefoot line profiled in the article is pretty much all sold out at this point, so bought myself a pair of these at half the price:



Because they shipped from just outside Boston they were delivered the next day - Friday afternoon - literally a couple of minutes after I left for work. I think the UPS truck deliberately waited around the corner for me to leave, just to be spiteful. David will attest that I called him several times that night to see if he'd touched them or tried them on (He didn't. The toes scare him.) I tried them on briefly on Saturday, but it was too cold to wear them for long.

Sunday was little different, except that it was wetter. So today they got their first real breaking in. I had a few errands to run then spent the bulk of the afternoon working on the garden beds and getting seeds planted. The website doesn't say anything about them being good for moving wheelbarrows full of partly-composted manure to spread on the garden, but they worked quite well. And when I was done, I just tossed them into the washing machine.

I think I may get another pair for the gym and maybe, possibly a pair for work. I think the Vivo Barefoots might freak clients out less, though. When they're back in stock, that is, and assuming I can spare the pricetag.

Other Stuff in the Mail

I did get one package before I left for work on Friday. It was my prize from VUBOQ that I won from entering his 10% Tax Refund Challenge and donating 10% of my refund to a charity of my choice (and getting my name drawn out of a bag.) Unfortunately, when I picked it up I heard a faint *clink* that didn't bode well.

Inside was a pair of handmade pottery mugs, but the handle of one is in about four pieces. Eventually I shall take a tube of epoxy to it, but it was sad because I know VUBOQ put a good bit of work into them. The other mug, at least, is in perfect condition and very lovely.



The Rest of the Weekend

Saturday was quite a big day around the farm. It was David's 40th and Landlady Paula's 60th birthday, so we had a big 100 year birthday bash for them in Paula and Wendy's brand spanking new barn, complete with live band, lots of food, and lots of booze. A good time was had by all, though the size of the crowd was a bit overwhelming.

On Sunday, the main order of business for us was setting up a wedding registry, as friends and loved ones have been asking us more and more frequently. Now, we're hardly just starting out in life, so our needs are relatively few, but one thing we really need is some coherency in the dinnerware department. David had been living in single mode for a decade when we started dating, and I had come away from the relationship with S with his old hand-me-down med school dishes - leaving behind the nice dinnerware set our parents had chipped in to get for us.

So we agreed on putting together a multicolor set of Fiesta® ware, which meant a trip to the local Macy's to get a better visual idea of some of the options available and a couple of hours of discussing which pieces we actually want and what colors were available in each piece - not a straightforward task when you're trying not to have the exact same color grouping in any two pieces. Eventually, though, we managed to put together a list that will give us some nice multicolor place settings but give our guests some inexpensive gift options.

I also added on a few bigger ticket items, just in case anyone is so inclined. After all, that's what wedding registries are for, and I really could use a decent food processor. And a workbench, and a handmixer, and....