Blame it on the World Cup

Here is the Toupie on top of the dresser with the picture of me at my first Christmas in the background. I had the lamb toy in the photo until I was about seven.

Recently, Toupie seems not to mind having his photo taken.

The World Cup

I admit to it: I'm deep in the throes of World Cup football. Not doing great on my picks; but I'm determined not to come in dead last in the standings like I did in '06.

I've also been totally ruined by going to Busboys and Poets at 14th and V this morning to watch Ghana vs Australia on the most lovely large screen with an amazing sound system. The players seemed so puny on my television by comparison. Highly recommend the Buckwheat pancakes with Agave syrup. Skip the ham.

Knitting

And I've been knitting. Watching sports is so conducive to knitting. You can put all your tension into the work at hand.

The second Ishbel is coming along nicely. I expect to be finished by Monday or Tuesday. Yarn Forward 27 came out this week. I printed the Willow shawl pattern and cast on last night. I've commited to completely the Diamonds and Chevrons stole during the World Cup, but I'm not feeling that right now. I think it's the Adagio yarn more than anything. Might frog and try in a lace weight instead of fingering.

I've definitely decided to cash in my stash of change for the Solitude purple wool. I'm thinking of Liz Lovick's cowl to go with my purple coat.

I'm attending a five-week Lojong class. The class and the readings are so incredibly deep. Last weekend I completed Level IV of the Heart of Warriorship. I will take Level V in July. I'm amazed how--despite my fatigue last weekend and sleeping a good deal of the time I was supposed to be practicing the meditation technique on Sunday--the training just seeps over into my daily practice and butresses me through the day. I'm taking Meditation in Everyday Life which starts at the end of the Lojong class and then a Mahamudra class in September. The refuge class will be in August but the dates haven't been announced yet and the actual refuge ceremony will be in September.

Movies

I've rented an ecclectic selection of DVD's this week. I'll review those next week.

Magazines

I stumbled on a good deal: a year subscription to Vegetarian Times and Yoga Journal for $20 and treated myself. I'm really enjoying Vegetarian Times and Yoga Journal is always a treat. I have learned a lesson from last year. Don't subscribe to all the mags you want in the same month. They all need to be renewed in the same month. It was a duh moment for me. So now I'm spreading my renewals out.

Tumble

On the way to the doctor last week, tripped on an uneven bit of pavement and managed to remove a nice chunk of my epidermis just south of my right elbow. Our bodies have some awkward places. I used gauze instead of bandaids, which tend to stick to healing wounds making them painful to remove. But try wrapping your own elbow in a gauze bandage roll without making a pigs ear out of the process. Then try keeping the wrapping in place. Just as it was getting better, I accidently sprayed the wound with Icy Hot. I thought I'd picked up the can of Bentadine. Well, my arm felt like a swarm of bees were stinging it for two days, despite the good rinsing I gave it after discovering my error. I also realize this week that I have badly bruised the rest of the arm. OH well...It has meant a slow down in my knitting and carrying items isn't very pleasant, but the bee stinging sensation has abated and the wound is clean and healing nicely.

Books

My reading has been limited to the two books for the Lojong class.