Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Okay, here's one of those "huh?" moments. The kids at school were talking about the really big puddles on the roads now that the snow is seriously melting. I told them that some of the street drains weren't allowing the melted water to flow through as they were still plugged with ice. One of the kids asked me if that was called "sewercide". After some questioning from me to determine what he was really wanting to know, he told me that when it rains really hard in a summer storm and water comes into the basement, he thought it was sewercide. The best I can conclude is that this boy thinks that sewer back-up is called sewercide. And, you know, if you've ever had sewer back-up in your basement, his word is a pretty accurate way to describe what you're feeling ; ) I assured the class that the puddles that they were playing in now were not the result of sewer back-up, just muddy water.

I have heard that the word "google" has now been added as a verb to the new dictionaries. Maybe "sewercide" (noun) should be the next addition.

I washed the FLAK back using the products that I have for my shelties, Bark 2 Basics shampoo and D-Mat conditioner, and it has softened up beautifully! I think that I'll be able to wear it as a pullover after all, mostly because of this great conditioner. Yay! I have a friend who breeds llamas and I know that she uses the D-Mat before grooming them for show so I figured that sheep's wool couldn't be that much different from llama fibre and dog hair.

The FLAK back is done! I will use the helpful advice from the FLAK listmates and wash and block this piece before deciding whether to make the front for a pullover or cardigan. It's a little scratchy for me now but a wash and rinse in high quality dog shampoo and conditioner might make it soft enough to wear next to the skin.

Still home sick but feeling more human. Apparently, this flu bug is hitting almost everyone around here.

I've had some time to work on the FLAK sweater and will finish the back in a few more rows. I'll try to get a picture of it then.

Winter does NOT want to leave! We're getting a bunch more snow today. It's quite depressing.

My husband came home with a high school story that I'll share with you. It provided me with a much-needed laugh last night. There's a student who has multiple inhalant allergies. She carries an Epipen with her at all times and needs it frequently. She had been having trouble breathing and went to the school office for help. The principal assessed her as being in distress and decided to give her a dose of epinephrine from her Epipen and send for help. He boldly administered the Epipen and realized that he had it backwards! As his thumb started to swell and he started having a reaction to the epinephrine, he was the one who went to the hospital for help. Both the student and the principal are now fine but he will have to listen to repeated advice from others ("hey, next time, pointy end down", etc.) for a long time, I'm afraid.

It was warm enough in the sunshine this afternoon to sit in my rocking chair in the sunroom. Harrison is happy that spring is almost here as this is his very favorite place to hang out. He can keep an eye on the birds and enjoy the sunbeams. The second picture is what Robbie thought of me playing with the camera instead of playing with him.

The south side of our home backs onto a large city park with a creek and biking trails winding through it. It's lovely even in the winter but most beautiful when the trees have leafed out and the birds are singing. Out of the sunroom, past where Harrison is lounging, is a hot tub that my husband Dan uses daily.

SO SICK!

No knitting or anything else is being done. I'm so sick that being vertical is a challenge. The doctors think it's influenza or possibly strep. I don't think that I've been this sick before. Yuck!

Here's another school giggle. It was supplied by the same child from the "I got lucky" story below. This kid is a keeper for sure! He's one of those that you could take home with you. My job-sharing partner Nikki was subbing for me one afternoon and was playing the Millionaire game with the leader-student-of-the-day. The Millionaire game is my version of TV's 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'. The leader gets 3 questions and is allowed 2 lifelines: Ask the Audience and Ask A Friend. The option to Walk Away is also offered. Getting all 3 questions correct earns them 3 small prizes (usually stickers). It's a great way to reinforce skills, particularly math skills, and it lets me individualize the questions to the student's level. It's important that you understand that we also have "Chances" in our classroom. These are little slips of paper that students can earn for doing pretty much anything that we like. They fill out their names and put them into a draw for prizes. The draw happens once a week and the kids really, really like to earn Chances. But I digress.

During another student's Millionaire questions, this little guy went up to Nikki and quietly said, "3 chances says that she gets this one." Nikki said that she wasn't going to bet with him about the outcome of the Millionaire game. He replied, "All I'm saying is, think about it" and he sauntered back to his desk as she smothered a laugh. Not sure where he got that idea at his age!

You know, teaching may be a tough job, but it's never boring!

It's been like Christmas around here! My Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece yarn came in the mail on Friday and my Elann order showed up today. The Cotton Fleece is very pretty. It's Candy Apple - a lovely dark blue-red. I swatched it last night and my hands hurt but I'm not sure it was from the knitting as I spent the weekend grooming my dogs so my hands could have hurt from that. At least that's what I'm hoping as I find the cotton much more wearable than wool. I've washed the swatch and am waiting for it to dry so that I can check the gauge.

The Elann order contained two books that I've been waiting for: Viking Patterns for Knitting by Elsebeth Lavold and the Harmony Guide of Aran Stitches and Patterns. So many things to knit, so little time...

Well, March came in like a lion with a storm in Saskatchewan so it had better go out like a lamb! I think we would all like spring to come soon.

I haven't done much knitting this week. I've been too tired to pick it up by the end of the day and I've learned not to knit when I'm tired or I just have to spend twice the time the next day to fix the mistakes. I wasn't too tired to shop online though ; ) I placed a large order with Elann for some more Addi turbo circulars, a couple of books, and the Stitch and Motif Maker software. The orders always come so soon from Elann that my box of goodies should show up early next week. A blocking board that I ordered from the states from a PayPal vendor came and it's beautiful! I had to pay duty but it was worth it. I still haven't seen the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece yarn that I ordered from a different PayPal vendor in the states yet but I did receive an email that it had been sent so I'm sure it will show up one of these days. I got it for a very good price although I may have to pay duty on it too which will make it a less good price. I have to admit that I love shopping for knitting supplies this way but it's effortless and so much fun that it could get dangerous to the pocketbook.