Don't tell me there isn't global warming. Up until now, it's been an eerily warm winter with mostly rain rather than snow. In fact, I was beginning to think that the snow bunny (Cuniculus nix, ssp. skii) was going to be another victim of global climate change. You used to see them hanging out around ski slopes, bundled up in their winter garments. With the lack of snow here in upstate New York this year, I feared they were going the way of the dodo. After all, when that slope has no snow - or is all ice - the snow bunny is just your average couch potato.
Well, when it rains, it pours. Or, It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas? Whatever. We have around 3-feet of snow here in Albany. I had to dig my car out of the snow this morning (aided later by my kind landlord's snow blower - yes, I blew my way out of there) to make an appointment with an orthodontist. (Yup, I'm going to get braces at age 25.) The drive was treacherous, but I got there and back without too much trouble. Then I had to dig a place to park by the curb in front of my house so that I wasn't parking in the middle of the road. That's a picture of my car, two hours after I parked it. It's still coming down pretty hard, and is expected to continue until morning.
So, classes were cancelled today. I took the time to do my weekly cleaning. Then, I took pictures of all the works-in-progress that I have been saving up. That's the Greek Pullover (from IK, Fall 2005) in the rose-coloured Rowan Kid Classic that I splurged on when the colour was discontinued and it was on sale. It was still expensive, but I'd wanted that sweater, in that yarn and in that colour, for so long, and it was my last chance. The sweater is wearable now as it is; all I have to do is sew on the pink chiffon ruffles at the hems. But, technically, it is still a WIP.
Here's another sweater that I love from the Fall 2005 issue of IK, Essential Indulgence. Well, I didn't indulge myself on this one. Blue Sky Alpaca Silk is just too expensive! Instead, I got some Pure Alpaca from Elann, and knit this up pretty quickly. Now that I'm sewing it together, though, I'm having second thoughts about those outside seams (see how the seams are visible in the picture from the magazine?). The problem is, my seams seem (excuse the pun) a lot more prominent than in the photo. But this unusual feature in the pattern was one of the things that caught my eye. Well, if worst comes to worst, I'll undo all the seams and sew it back together again with traditional, on-the-inside seams. Here's hoping I won't have to do that!
This pair of Mittens from Lapland (in Folk Mittens) is something I've had on the needles for a long, long time. You see how the hat I bought almost perfectly matches the mittens? Well, I bought the hat after I'd started knitting the mittens, and you'd think that would be motivation to hurry up and finish them, so I could have a set. Well, that lone finished mitten you do see is too small! I guess that will have to be a "practice" mitten. I've started a second/new first mitten now, and this time I'm going to be good. I've resolved to knit a couple of rows each week, at least. The worst part of knitting this pattern is the braided cuff. It's lovely to look at, but a pain to knit because the yarn gets all twisted up.
And last, but not least, is the Peacock Feathers shawl from Fiddlesticks Knitting that I'm knitting for Moowcow. This is the most complicated lace pattern I've knitted to date and, maybe it's just me, but the pattern isn't intuitive, and my eyes are glued to the pattern chart. It's a headache, and I've just admitted to myself that I really want/need a magnetic chart holder so that the pattern is held up, and I can keep track of which line of the chart I'm on. So this is kind of on the back-burner until I order and receive the chart keeper from KnitPicks.I do have a finished object: a pair of mittens I designed and knit for my roommate for Christmas. I finished at the last minute (before leaving to go home for Christmas) and boxed it up without taking a picture, so I'll have to ask her for them so I can get a picture now.
3 comments:
When I heard on the news that Upstate NY got all that snow, I was a little... jealous. Do you hate that I'm jealous of your snow while it's supposed to reach 70 degrees F here tomorrow?
BRACES?! Oh man. I was stunned when my new dentist (a year ago; now I have another dentist) suggested I think about getting braces... yeah, at age 24 or whatever. After almost as many years of no one even mentioning braces to me? Yeah right! Not with these student load payments! So what's the reason for your braces? Mine would've been mostly cosmetic, which I was NOT interested in paying for, especially since it wouldn't have been covered by insurance. Oh, and how long will they be on for? Sorry for all the questions. I was sad when my sister had to enter college with braces.
As usual, your knits are stunning and beyond my comprehension. ;) Glad to see you're making good use of your snow days.
The reason for braces? Well, I have a rather serious overbite. It isn't the end of the world; I could probably go into old age without fixing it. But now that I'm going to be in one place for a while, and have resigned myself to a certain amount of pain and discomfort, I'm going to allow my parents to do this thing for me that they've always wanted to do. I think I'm going to try to help with the payments, though. But I totally hear you on the school loan payments! I have car payments, life insurance payments, loan payments.....What's a poor graduate student to do?
As for how long it takes, it really depends on the person (from my siblings' experiences, and quoting from my orthodontist). For me, he said that it would take around 2 years, which is average for adults. But I do - as I said - have a serious overbite. If your teeth aren't that crooked, it could take less time. You might even be eligible for Invisalign braces, which are practically invisible.
And my braces won't be covered under my insurance, either. But I do feel as though they're long overdue. I should have had this done in my teens. But orthodontic technology has advanced a lot in recent years; I think I will have a better experience than Moocow did.
It IS a really good decision to do something like this for yourself. It's for your health! And honestly, you'd probably still have to bat all the boys away. Hee hee! I wonder if I'll still be able to recognize you the next time we see each other!
You're right. I had the option of doing Invialign, which makes the hassle of having braces more bearable. But... we shall see.
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