Insanity & Knitting

Do they go hand in hand? Perhaps, at times. This time, though, they’re quite separate.

A package arrived at work this week. That’s nothing unusual, really; we have packages arriving almost daily. We’ve been expecting this one for a couple of weeks. Or, I should say, I’ve been expecting it.

Inside this box, we found this…

…which contained a white paper bag about the size of a lunch bag…

Here comes the insanity part. Inside that paper bag?

A small  packet with three sticks of Drill-ease (a drill bit lubricant), each about the size of a stick of chalk. All that packaging for those three little sticks of drill-ease! I was appalled at both the waste of packaging and, probably, the cost of transporting that nearly-empty packaging. Absolute insanity!

Now, the knitting. I finished another hat this week, but I’ve been told that it really doesn’t do anything for me, so I won’t show you a picture of me wearing it.

It’s a very cute hat, but it just doesn’t suit me apparently. That’s fine. It will go into a box, eventually making its way to someone on whom it does look good. The hat is Grantham, a free pattern available through Ravelry. As for yarn and stats, I posted all of that in last week’s post, so I won’t repeat it here.

Even though the hat doesn’t suit me, it really is a nice little hat. The yarn knitted up to a very nice fabric, firm without being stiff, touchable and warm. Sigh. Too bad it just isn’t me.

With yesterday being a Sit & Stitch day (for me… there’s usually someone there every Saturday, but I don’t attend every week), I wanted to start something new. Last week, after teaching at the yarn shop, I splurged and bought two balls of sock yarn (100 gm balls) to make another Western Seas sweater for another one of my grandsons. This time, it’s in a blue-green colourway and I think the patterning will show up better. At this point, there’s not a lot to see, just one of the lower bands. I haven’t even taken a picture of it yet, so the details will just have to wait. Next week, I promise.

On the weight loss front, I’m doing really well. I’ve been exercising almost daily, using a resistance tube (like a large tubular elastic with handles) and a skipping rope (not daily, 3 times per week is all I can handle… felt like I was about to get shin splints at one point). Between the increased exercise and changes to my eating habits, so far I’ve lost 4 lbs! I was thrilled when I stepped on my scale yesterday and realized I’d lost that much, three pounds in one week!

I must say that I really do feel a lot better, physically. Already, I have more energy and a much more positive outlook. And, there have been other results… John has really come on board in helping me to eat healthier. He does a lot of the cooking since he’s not working yet, and he’s been making an effort to use less fat, more vegetables and smaller portions. Both of us have pretty much stopped drinking alcohol, although he does like his beer on the weekends.

As well, my daughter has also joined LoseIt. We’ve been encouraging each other and it feels really good to know that we’re both working at getting healthy!