Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

No knitting today, as planned. Legos instead!

The husband and I went out to BrickFair in northern Virginia to check out all of the cool buildouts (“MOCs” or “My Own Creations” in lego-speak), and do a little shopping. The creativity on display did not disappoint; lots of fun stuff to look at. I had my eye out for some minifigure display options for a set of 12 I have, but no dice today. We did find a couple lighting kits for some of our sets, and the husband put one of those on one of his favorite sets this evening with my help (extra hands). Very pleased with the results, the building is very nicely lit in a way that fits the underlying design.

Took so much time today, but I finished the bloody shawl. Here’s a bunch of photos over on flickr.

Spent the bulk of the day finishing it. Did the math just now, it was about 600 stitches per row at the end (started with 3!). Had a minor panic attack when I was on the next to last row and I dropped a stitch, which promptly laddered down 5-6 rows. There was a lot of swearing, and the fix isn’t pretty, but I got the errant stitch wrangled.

I’m glad it’s done. I’m glad I did it. And now I want to give my shoulders and fingers a rest. Though I think the leftover yarn might make some fun chickens…

Four more rows done today; ten more to go. Cue “little engine that could” noises.

The husband picked up Thunderbolts on blu-ray, so we watched that tonight. We’ve gotten so used to streaming that it was a pleasant surprise to be reminded how much better the picture quality is on physical media, especially blu-rays.

Work is a mess as people try to get the last funds out the door before the end of the fiscal year, plus dealing with lawsuits, cancelling awards at the whim of the administration, reinstating awards at the order of the court, etc. Full employment, but not full engagement. And no news on when our agency will move, if it does (it probably will because it’s a cabinet agency that wants our space, but they haven’t found us a replacement space yet). D-r-a-m-a.

Early day metroing downtown for dentist appointments for the husband and myself. Walked him up to a different metro after, then I walked up to the U street metro, all around about a mile and 3/4 (2.7km). Hardest part was reminding myself to brace my core and stand upright. I’ve been walking oddly for so long because of the knee that I have to retrain myself to walk normally. But I’m determined not to be one of those old men who are permanently hunched over.

Home to cool off, then PT. The husband met me there, a quick trip for groceries, then home to shower and knit. Finished the body of the shawl, now I’m on the border. Between the afternoon and evening (post comics & dinner) I finished the last two rows of the body and the first four rows of the border. Fourteen more to go, then bind off and done. So maybe seven more hours? Ha.

After all that I’m hoping I sleep like the dead.

It’s closeout for spending funds at work, so everyone is going nuts trying to get money set up. Add to that the chaos of 47’s various policy changes and all of the resultant lawsuits, plus a good chunk of the attorneys being out, and you have me running around like a mad man.

I did get four more rows done this evening. It’s taking about 50ish minutes for 2 rows, so 12 or so more hours on this thing? I’m definitely in the home stretch and I’m motivated to finish. No letting it sit for months more at this point.

Spent a good chunk of the day working on the shawl. 28 more rows to go, which will add 140 more stitches to what’s there (10 added every two rows). 80% done – the final section of the pattern (10 rows) and then the border (18 rows). Took a couple pictures this morning before I got going, and found one of the yarn I’m using. I have more yarn that I picked up at Maryland Sheep & Wool festival in 2023 to do another shawl when this one is done, but I may have to let myself forget how long this is taking first.

Saw Fantastic Four with the husband again. He did a double feature with Superman in the morning while I was knitting, and then F4 in the afternoon with me. Good timing, too, as I was able to rescue him from the torrential downpours that hit between him going to lunch and the movie.

After playing it low key this morning, I dragged the husband out to lunch, then indulged him by taking him to a comic shop to dig through back issues. He found several, so he had a good time.

Worked some on the shawl, and started a crochet scarf with some yarn a co-worker got me right after I had the surgery. Shawl was fine. Starting the scarf was wobbly, but okay once I got into a groove. I suspect that’ll last until it changes up the stitches in about three more rows.

Knee was sore this morning, probably from the seats at the movie theater. We normally get ones that have some leg room, but there was a snafu with our tickets so we ended up elsewhere. Still did PT, and actually felt better for having worked the knee, but it definitely threw me off today.

My other two team members are both on leave the rest of this week, so I was doing treble duty fielding questions today. I’m proud that only once did I say that something had to wait or go elsewhere.

No knitting tonight because we went to see Fantastic Four: First Steps. Marvel really nailed this one. They got the characters right (e.g., Johnny was quietly smart, but still a doofus; Sue was a leader, but not a ‘girl boss’), just enough comic fan nostalgia while still being accessible to new viewers. Fun. Five stars. And the mid-twentieth century architecture and clothing were spot on. Highly recommend.

Both in terms of PT and the knitting.

At PT they’re upping the weights in hand, and changing up the exercises, as they should be doing. I’m mostly fine on steps now, still some numbness when I kneel on the knee, and I can walk and bike pretty much normally. Zero cardio capacity at the moment, though, so I need to get on the bike more to help build that back.

Four more rows on the shawl. I’m 70% there, but with a lot more to go. I’m determined to get through this, though I may break and do a dishcloth or two when I need a small piece.

My nieces are all crocheting these days, and it’s fun to watch them finish things.