Luck 'o the Irish

I have knit a prototype for a pattern I've designed for Lindenhof. I was inspired by the gorgeous greens in their mohair/wool blend. This is the largest of 3 children's sizes.

I've also been swatching up a small storm. The cream is a 100% Romney from Lindenhof - it wants to be a ladies mitten with a cable up the back and, I think it's whispering, "Aran sweater. Pssst - over here!" The Noro swatch is Silver Thaw (colour#1) & it's for a new design from Sandra for Artisan Knitworks.

I did a dry run of my school run and the bus van is parked at the end of the driveway so the end of summer is nigh!! Party on while the partying is good dudes!! OH!!! And they don't hate me. Back at the beginning of summer I had requested one of the new vans that they were prepping for September. "I keep my van so clean Sandy - you know that I'll love and take care of a new van. Awwww, c'mon. Who do I have to sleep with?" It's about the A/C - when the air goes in a van they don't fix it. It's not a safety issue (I would beg to differ) so it doesn't get done. I really am not one for the wind blowing my hair - it makes knots & it's loud - so I hate having the windows down. I know, but once you really get to know me it's a lovable quirk. She left me hanging - no encouragement but not a clear "no" either.
So I wasn't completely surprised to not get a new van when they were handing out routes and keys on Wednesday, but I was annoyed that I got one of the oldest ones. And really, given that it's got 193,913kms on it, it's in pretty good shape. But it's not clean. I mean they pay drivers to clean the buses & vans over the summer!! So when I was in the office today picking up a couple of booster seats I just yanked her chain a bit, "Sandy, this is not the new van that I put in a request for back in June". "What? Oh, your van isn't in yet, that's the only reason that we gave you that old thing." OMG!!!! I'M GETTING A NEW VAN!!! I hugged her. For real, with feeling & a squeeze. Hmmmm, would they have still given me the new van if I hadn't said something? Who cares? I'M GETTING A NEW VAN!!! So I will give this one a light cleaning - I have certain standards (fairly high as far as I can tell by the other bus vans that I've driven) for my bus van and I can't drive it if it's all dusty and makes me feel grimy when I'm driving. I know, but once you really get to know me it's a lovable quirk. Of course I'll take a picture when I get it!! I'll probably even name it. Again, a lovable quirk.

Mischief went burrowing the other night and what better place than under a crocheted rug? I am using odd balls, making I-cord using Bond's Cool Corder
and then crocheting the cord into this rug. It's a WIP and will be bigger. Eventually. The Corder is cool and works best with 4ply, sport or DK weights, worsted is just a bit too thick and you can feel the stress that it puts on the needles. Anyway, the rug has a fair weight to it and Mischief loves burrowing under it.

You Don't Swallow When You Sleep

I feel compelled to explain my blogging absence. 1st thing is that I've been working through a cold. Kerwyn was really sick with it and so I felt quite fortunate to only feel low-grade crappy last Sunday, Monday & Tuesday. I felt a lot better Wednesday, but had laryngitis which got worse on Thursday and improved a bit Friday. Amanda thought that I sounded like the Gingerbread Man from Shrek "Yes, I know the Muffin Man." It just didn't stop being funny for her. Saturday I sounded a bit better, but my throat was starting to be sore & my ear was plugged and if I tipped my head to the right gave me a stabbing pain for my efforts. Needless to say I didn't do that anymore! (I'm trainable) I decided to go see the Dr. (now that we have a family doctor up here) on Monday if things didn't improve.
They didn't.
Sunday was horrible. Swallowing made me almost cry. And between the grating on my throat and the pressure on my ear, coughing made me want to die. And it wasn't a raw, scratchy throat that you might associate with a normal cold. It was a swollen, achy, ping-pong ball in your throat sore throat. I woke up long enough at 6:00AM to call in sick (which was a drama in itself. You know what I mean Jocelyn!) and at 9:00 to call the Dr.'s office. 4:10 appt - better than nothing. I tried so hard to get/stay asleep because you don't swallow when you sleep. It's true.
I dragged myself out of bed around noon and tried to eat. By it's very nature - and to be of any effect - requires much swallowing. That didn't last long.
Believe me, I tried rinsing my throat with hot water and a bit of lemon juice, hot tea - earl grey & mint -, I tried cleansing & anesthetizing the wound with alcohol - in generous quantities and varieties.
Waited an hour in the waiting room - thank God for knitting and tennis. Gotta love a doctor with the foresight to have cable tv in the waiting room!! Definitely an infection, she suspects strep and I had to endure the dreaded throat swab to prove it, and an ear infection. Ha!! FYI Stock - I'm not faking!!! "Oh, you sound better today Wannietta." Whatever - I'd rather feel great & sound like the Gingerbread Man ... Trust me. I have antibiotics and with any luck I should feel significantly better by this time tomorrow. Which means I'm going to have to brave the dispatcher & call in sick again tomorrow. But really, would you want a bus driver who is in pain with every swallow and hacking all over driving a bus? I thought not.

That's the next thing that had me down & out. We had 3 school bus accidents last week. 2 had injuries, one had a fatality to a student and another a fatality to the bus driver. I had a really hard time coming to grips with all of it. My empathic powers are as much of a curse as a blessing. I'm can handle hearing about it on the news a bit better now but it can still hit me hard.
I am so sad for the Pham family who lost 10 year old John, but my heart also goes out to the bus driver. The accident is still being investigated, but no matter what, she is never going to be able to forget that day, that moment and 2nd guess it.
On most days the responsibility that a school bus driver takes on is balanced by the smiles of the children, the happy reunion of children with their parents and the feeling of a job well & safely done. On a bad day there is no counterbalance. The responsibility is a crushing weight. And when it happens to one of us, we all feel the pressure. Thank God the bad days are few & far between.
I'm not sure that seat belts are the answer - there are studies that say not. I think that seat belts would probably give parents a peace of mind if nothing else. If the matter is studied further and seat belts are deemed necessary, hey - I'll be all for it.
Time will tell. And heal.