Hopefully the promised picture of the sensitive fern has appeared.....

Other updates:

We had our first soccer game tonight. 1v1 with the tieing (why can't I figure out the spelling for this word?) goal (our team) coming in the final seconds on a penalty kick due to a handball in the box. Nice job Kyle on that kick!

Icarus( black lace shawl) is coming along. I am on the second repeat of the first pattern, closing in on starting my third. I read on another blog that I - being of rather limited stature - may not want to knit five repeats of the first pattern. I guess we shall see as we get there how wide the shawl is becoming (I sense a session with cotten crochet thread and a darning needle coming)

The end of my first week at work is rapidly approaching. With one RN license in hand, another on the way soon, things seem to be coming together.

wildknits

Apologies for the lack of photo. I uploaded it, but where it went? No body knows! At least, I no longer have the energy to figure it out tonight.

I will try again on another day.

wildknits

Sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis). Okay, not truly a wildflower, but a cool plant anyway. Sensitive to: early frosts and being cut - both will make it wither quickly.

Other items of interest:
- passed my boards and am now a licensed RN - the sick feeling a the pit of my stomach last Wednesday was over nothing.
- started my new job today, so far so good.
- Icarus shawl is coming along, even managed to finish a few rows at the soccer game this evening.
- socks are languishing by the green couch though the heel is turned and the gusset is at least half worked.
- started playing soccer with a women's league in town. Now I have sore quads and bruises rivaling my girls'. this should prove an interesting combination with my running schedule - three miles and then a 90 minute game on a full-size field???

Otherwise not much going on around here.

wildknits

IT IS DONE! Well, at least the test is over. Now the wait.... did the computer shut off because I passed or because I failed? Did the questions seem hard because I was being tested at my highest ability level or becuase I was not prepeared? Questions, questions, no resolution for at least 24 - 48 hours.

So, do I celebrate that I have taken the test or wait for my results and celebrate ( or drown my sorrows)?

I am not sure if working on my socks is a good plan right now, gauge does matter with socks. Maybe the shawl is the answer, soothing lace... Well, that and going to watch a soccer game.

wildknits

Well, I spent the day driving... dropped Gilah at the airport (she is
off on a Norwegian adventure), got a little knitting in as I waited
for the Light Rail train to come (I love cities with good public
transportation!), then drove back home.

The shawl is being reborn! This is the first time that I have used my
yarn swift to undo a project. After winding the yarn back into a ball
(letting it rest on the swift overnight), I did a first for me. I
rewound the ball! It needed it, and I could have probably done it a
third time but I really wanted to cast on. It's lace, it will relax
and gauge is not a huge issue.

Two more days until I take my boards, then a few days of "free time"
and it is off to a full-time job.

wildknits

As promised a photo of a wildflower - Pale Corydalis (Corydalis sempervirens). Loves rocky places and blooms from spring through fall. This species is a biennial (2 years from seed to maturity to death). The corydalis species is a member of the Fumitory family (includes Bleeding Heart and Dutchman's Breeches). One of my favorites, and abundant in this land of rocky places - though you often have to go looking for it.

The shawl is no longer a shawl. Yesterday I took it apart after realizing I did not have enough yarn to finish it off. I decided rather than being unhappy with the results I would just start over. I was asked how long I had worked on it (about a month - off and on) and then the head-shaking began. The knitting is more than half the fun. Besides, it was a good distraction from studying on a day that was too hot to be outside hiking or running (88F. in my yard - in Duluth - in early June!).

I did end up running yesterday though. Temps were still in the low to mid 80's so I took it pretty easy. Being in not great shape, combined with running on muddy trails with big puddles (I ran through them) helped to keep the pace slow.

wildknits

Apologies to anyone who has stopped by looking for a post. I set this up and then disappeared to take finals, go on a trip, study for my boards, interview for a job and get some hiking in. While I was gone I did get some great pictures of wildflowers and will try to post some of my favorites at some point in time.

As far as knitting goes: one shawl under way and closed to finished, but I am now worried about running out of yarn before I get to a good stopping place in the lace pattern I decided to insert halfway through knitting the shawl. Also, a pair of socks is in the works, helping me to focus while I study.

Great moment of the past week: running along the Superior Hiking Trail form Jay Cooke State park to Beck's Rd (in Duluth) and encountering a very young fawn laying on the trail, trying to be invisible. I was stunned, awed and ... well I have run out of words to describe how I felt. Needless to say, after observing the fawn I moved on. I was worried about the stress it was under. The group of hikers that came along later did not see it, so mom must have come back and moved the fawn away.

Wildknits