Yesterday, I saw the eye doctor. Of course, my prescription is stronger, but I knew that was coming. The good news is that he photographed both retinas and there is nothing significant going on there -- just a couple of spots he would expect to see in someone who's been diabetic for 10+ years. Sigh of relief, anyone?

I was a little nervous abour ordering glasses from them at first, since they had no prices listed, but I ended up getting a nice pair of frames that cost about $60 over my limit with no extra charge. I did have to pay extra for a couple of things, but my out-of-pocket was only about $160, including anti-glare and transition tint. The actual total was close to $600, but insurance or discounts covered the lion's share.

Knitting: I'm trying a new pattern for a shawl (gift) and, now that I understand it, can highly recommend it: Simple Yet Effective Shawl. Notes for those with short attention spans (like me) or relative beginners (it's a newbie pattern):

1. Right away, put a safety pin on a stitch at the end of the increase row. Since you increase every other row, this will help you remember which one. (remember, these tips are for knitters like me, who can't remember what they just did)


2. Put the stitch marker in front of the center stitch on the increase row, and when you come back to it (on the increase row), do the increase, move the marker, knit 1, increase 1, and continue.


3. Don't forget, on your way back across, that the order will be reversed. Don't move the marker because it's on the wrong side of the knit stitch - it's NOT and this will mess you up when you come back to increase. (and I would know this how?)


4. Always knit the increase row. If you want to do stockinet, purl the plain row. If you want to do garter, knit the plain row, too.

It's a really cool pattern. You cast on FIVE, but are working from the neck down. This confused me greatly until I got a few inches in and saw how the end of every row stayed at the top. It only looks like you're knitting this deep, complicated vee. I picked this pattern b/c I wanted to use this really special yarn that didn't come with much info. (like gauge), and didn't know if I would have enough for another pattern I had picked out. Then, I found this pattern and you just knit until you run out of yarn. It will be either a nice, cozy shawl or a warm, triangular scarf.

Can you make out what's happening in this picture? It's a cameraphone snap of Charlie sharing my low-sugar peanut butter and celery snack. At the moment, his is on our "list," since he's still quite rambunctious and kitten-wild, and his constantly knocking over things or injuring one of us. Right now, John's abed with a pulled muscle in his back and just a few minutes ago, while I was on the phone with him, Charlie knocked the pill bottles onto the floor. John had just endured the agony of going downstairs to get the Aleve, and then back up.