The Tarot Never Lies

I have a person who IM'd me from Dubai, asking for a reading--

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Now the first thing I do before doing a reading, is to reach out into the ether to get a "fix" on that person.

I suppose that's rather a silly thing to say to someone who likely may not know what that means...but in a rather simple explanation, I just ask for "insight" on who or what that person might be...whatever it might be.

For this person, I got an immediate vision that he was in jail.

Now, I did ask if he was in trouble, and then if he was in jail, to which he replied yes and no respectively. But the cards don't lie. And my visions, while sometimes "off" do not lie when I'm inquiring about someone that I have never met. That day, I drew the 9 of swords and a couple of other cards that implied to me that indeed, he was in some sort of deep trouble.

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Today, I drew again. 9 of Swords, Emperor reversed, 2 of swords reversed.
Suffering and night terrors speaking to the childish behaviors that plague you, you will need to wait for the results of your recent decisions.

When I inquired how he lost his job, he indicated that it was due to cut backs in the company. To which I remember thinking "In Dubai?" Since Dubai is one of the richest cities in the world, I tend to be dubious about his answer. Although Accounting is considered to be 100% expense in the business world--a task that can be taught to anyone off the street, literally, should they possess enough smarts to get them by. So Accountants are the first to go in a company experiencing financial difficulties, in favor of someone who will work for less.

So I'm not exactly sure that some of his statements are truthful--like I say, the Tarot never lies.

So we will see.

Sleepless in Seattle...Got Nothin' on My House!

Well, after spending several hours last night, sleepless due to my fears about my kitty, I knit on my sleeves for the swing sweater up to the underarm and put them away. Then I got out a good book and did another chapter plus a couple pages (because I forgot, I was trying to read one chapter a night so I could remember where I left off). Then I got up for a minute and simply sat in my rocking chair...

And heard the most horrible cat scream in the state going on in my back yard.

And I shivered. I fretted. I stewed. I steamed.

I'm not real good under pressure, see?

But a few moments later, I hear a light mew at the sliding glass door, and when I turned on the lights outside...

THERE SHE WAS!

So I opened the door and grabbed her and pulled her inside--closed the door, and then I picked her up and I hugged her and squeezed her and I called her "George".

Then I went to bed...because now, all was right with the world again.

And that's the good news for today.

The bad news is that I've got to do some cleaning around the house, and I would VERY much rather have some fun, since last weekend was such a bust...but you know what? I figure if I work for a couple of hours this morning on different things, that are readily apparent to hubby, maybe he will leave me alone for most of the day.

And it would appear that it's been too hot for my laptop these last couple of days--the keyboard doesn't want to type when my fingers touch the keys. As if it gets confused about which key I pressed first. So I'm having to go back and forth to type a word.

for insatnce here's a line where i didn't worry about going back and retyping....see what I mean?

I have a cat box to clean out today. Joy. My favorite job in the whole house! sigh.

I think I'd rather put my nose up my dog's butt--well, on second thought, it has been a few days since she's been to the groomers...

So I cleaned the bathroom sink--always a good place to start cleaning, and for the moment, my handknit socks are in the basin washing/soaking. From there, I figure I'll move on to the cat box--sweep the stairs, and maybe vacuum the livingroom floor. All things that hubby will notice once he drags his lazy bum out of bed. How is it that I can be up half the night, and yet still get out of bed at a reasonable hour in the morning on a weekend, while he lays in bed for many more hours? Why, I ask you?

Well, I think I'm going to shut my machine down for a while and allow it to cool down a bit. In the meanwhile, I'm going to clean out the cat box.

Joy. Hey, Mandy? Where are you...here doggie...nice doggie...

OMG! OMG!

Oh NO!

Seriously, people! OH NO!

My dog started to bark tonight, and I thought she wanted to go out to shake the dew, as it were, and so I got out of bed to let her out, thinking it likely that she wouldn't go out for hubby, and when I did, my CAT slipped out--Smokey, my long-haired ragdoll--between my legs and into the night!!!

Now, she's been outdoors before, mind you, but not since the coyotes came around, and so now I'm terrified she may not ever come back!!! The fact that my attempts to catch her, never mind the dog chasing her, might hamper the return faces me too, because in trying, not only did I pull her tail because I couldn't see her well enough, when the dog went flying after her, I got a rope burn on my thigh!

OMG! Now, this SOB hurts like an SOB! I've got ice on it, and it STILL STINGS! I tried to clean it off with a little peroxide..YIKES! I won't make THAT mistake again! But it had to be cleaned off. The rope is none too clean being outdoors all the time.

So I'm crying. Lost my cat and my leg hurts like ach ee double toothpicks, and if something happens to my cat I'm going to be really upset.

Of course, hubby, caring soul that he is, wants to know what all the ruckus is about, and when I tell him, he says "Oh, she's been an outdoor cat before!" and then when I told him that I got a rope burn, he looks at it, and says "yup, that's a rope burn. Does it sting?"

Alright, so he's not much of a nurturer! He assured me she would be back, and if not, then she'd be gone. Yeah, nuturer...

So, I'm at my blog, seriously upset. Angry with the world. Waiting for my cat to come home...and he comes out of the bedroom, because I've been sleeping since about 7 pm, tired from not having gotten enough sleep the night before (and an ice cream treat from Wendy's restaurant that's a no-no for my diet), and suddenly up at 10pm...and he's wondering if I'm going to stay up all night now that I've been sleeping all evening.

Yeah, nurturer...

Like Jackie Gleason always said "One of these days, Alice, one of these days POW! Right to the moon!"

But I respond with, "just go to bed, I'll be in presently." This old gal has learned a thing or three about not responding how she really feels (but only sometimes).

So I'm sitting here in front of my puter, with a bag of ice on my leg, trying to cool the burn. Any sort of warmth on it makes it sting.

So I decide to open the mail.

Hmm...a credit from the Insurance company, always nice. They're going to apply it to the balance--even nicer! Hubby always pays his on time, and I pay mine in increments, so the credit will be applied to MY account, rather than HIS, and that's as it should be, since I have a higher premium, as I still have comprehensive coverage on my car, I think it's only fair...

Okay, and a thank you card from some kid that graduated--who's he? I have no real idea. Must be we mailed some money to him, because the picture inside wasn't the kid I was expecting...who is he? I'll have to ask hubby when we get up in the morning.

And finally after all this time, the coupons for the Kentucky Grilled Chicken from KFC! We have been waiting for at least 2 months for the rain checks to arrive....background story....hubby's mother gave us some coupons from the local paper to get some of this new-fangled chicken from KFC, but they were out the day we went, so they gave us a rain check application. We've been waiting patiently for the rain checks to come. They are now here.

I can't believe I didn't blog about this before, but there you go. That's the mail. Pretty ordinary, eh? But money's money--and it can stay in the household or my pocket for a little while longer. And, since there's a KFC in the area, we might take advantage of the coupons this weekend! One more day that I don't have to cook is a GOOD thing.

Okay.
I'm worried about my cat.
I wonder if I'll get much sleep tonight?

Knitting Beyond the Basics

This is a book that drew my attention from a pattern on Ravelry, and now I don't remember which one it was, but I'm pretty sure it was one of the tank tops in my favorites--

I ordered the book through my local library. They found it somewhere in North Dakota (but does it really matter?) and sent it to me. I purused it at my leisure...and decided I wanted a copy of my own.

Off to Amazon go I, the intrepid adventurer, in search of the book in question, and I find it there, slightly used, but none the worse for wear for a measley $3.50.

I think I can afford $3.50!

So I bought it.

There's not one pattern in this book that I'm not keen on casting on immediately. Watch out STASH! Of course, I can't cast on all the projects within it's pages, but I intend to do all of them at some point in the next 20 lives that I'll have to live in order to finish all the projects that I want to finish--since I'm in my 50's, I'm a tad worried that I might not make it in THIS lifetime. I'll just have to talk with the man upstairs--of course it's likely he won't want to send me back, considering how I screwed up this try...

Tarot card for the day is from the Psychic Tarot, the 9 of pentacles--entitled Material Harvest, but dear reader, it's REVERSED--Upright, the card stands for plenty, reaping the rewards of the hard work and fait accompli--the cash bonus comes through! Reversed, it means that funds are delayed (a reference to my furlow day last week?), hard work without the benefit expected, and or financial tightness (good gravy! I think I've had enough of that for the last several weeks!). So the card means that things are going to continue to be as snug as the new socks on my feet (meaning the one's I just finished the other day..). Maybe I shouldn't have purchased the book?

But I have bigger fish to fry.

Hubby has decided that he's going to retire. (YAY!)

This means that he can either REALLY RETIRE, or he can change his mind in a week, but I don't expect him to do that. I figure he decided to retire, simply so that he could move forward with his life, instead of waiting on General Motors to get their act together. It opens some additional doors, and gives him the opportunity to make decisions that will impact his future--in other words, a chance to pursue the things that he WANTS to do, instead of what he HAS to do. I figure he's in the catbird seat right now, and I hope that he takes full advantage.

In the meanwhile...

I'm back to work on the Swing Sweater. The front and back are finished. The sleeves are on the needles, and I am 4" into them. I expect to be finished with the sweater come this weekend. The project has been languishing far too long in my queue, and it's time to get it finished. Ditto the Fair Isle Sweater, but I think that one needs to hit the needles in the Fall.

The next project on the "honey do" list is the Princess Shawl--perhaps get more done--but I'm none to keen on starting it in the middle of the summer. It stresses me out, and when I stress, I sweat, and when I sweat, I'm uncomfortable, and when I'm uncomfortable AND it's HOT, I get irritable, and when I'm irritable, hubby and I argue...and we all know what happens when people argue, right? So I suppose putting off the Princess Shawl to preserve my marriage is a good choice.

:)

The next furlow day is July 6. We get a 4-day weekend. Hot digiddy!

Hubby's sister wants us all to head to Florida in late summer and take a fishing boat excursion on the ocean. I just happen to have a furlow day the first week of September...food for thought, anyway. I have to convince hubby that it's important somehow...hmm...work...fishing...yeah, my mind definitely bends toward the fishing side. I mean, why work when you can go fishing? I think it would be pretty cool to haul in one of those big fish--although I would probably end up going overboard--even cooler to be able to take it home and eat it! I wonder if they allow that?

I'd also like to go visit Cypress Gardens again. It's been years since I was there last. I prefer it to Busch Gardens--which is so commercial--Cypress really is a garden. I like to walk among the flowers and trees, quiet and introspective, drinking in the beauty like the butterfly drinks in the floral nectar. The young men on the waterski team aren't bad either....

With that thought, I suppose I'll close, since I need to get back to work. Lunch is nearly over. Ya'll have a good day!

Working on it finally...

The swing sweater on Ravelry and on Berroco's site. It's a free pattern, and the directions aren't really all that indicative of what's happening, especially when you get to the point of those decreases on the front and back center panel.

It's a cute idea, but didnt' work out right for me...so here's what I did...

I went along until I had 6 stitches between the markers, two in the middle and two on each side of the outer markers--so picture, marker, 2, marker, 2, marker, 2, marker. Okay?

On the next row 1, I dropped the 2 central markers and did a sl1, k2 tog, psso and a k3together. Then I knit row 2-6 EVEN--no decreases or m1s. Then on the final Row 1, I worked to one stitch BEFORE the marker, slipped it, dropped the marker, slipped it back and knit a sl1, k2 tog, psso. Then I slipped 2 sts, dropped the last marker, slipped them back and k3 tog. Then I knit the rest of the way across and then rows 2-6 I knit evenly. Then I just knit evenly until it was 18" to the underarm and did the underarm decreases etc.

So the back and front are now done. I have located another skein of yarn, and I'm going to cast on both sleeves today for my project to deal with at the office OR, I could take my wheel in--drop it off in the office and then head to park the car...which is what I think I'd rather do, but later, I have to go to the library to pick up a book, so I don't really want to run about with my wheel in the car all day, so I will simply take my knitting. Besides, I have a lot to catch up on!

Tarot card for the day is the Queen of Pents reversed.

The card says to watch out for someone who is greedy and pretentious, or perhaps I'm being too focused on finances and may not have enough to go around. Yes, for this pay period, I DON'T have enough to go around. I think I spent my last dollar buying gas for the car. After the fiasco at the concert...oh--didn't I tell you?

Well, pull up a chair and let me tell you my adventure!

Hubby had promised me a fun date this weekend, and I was seriously looking forward to it! He got tickets to the B93.7 Country Western Birthday Bash held in Ionia Michigan. I was seriously geeked up for this. My hubby almost NEVER takes me out for REAL dates, and this was a big thing for both of us.

We drove to Ionia in my car. It took 2 hours to get to the parking lot--which was nearly a mile from the bandstand at the fairgrounds. The car was overheated from all the stop and going. But we paid our $15 and wheeled into the lot, found a space, and headed off on foot to the fairgrounds.

We were hungry by the time we got to the highway, so stopped in to Little Ceasar's for some pop and pizza, then headed out again. We got most of the way to the entrance, and people were starting to come back. They were telling us that they weren't letting people in. They did not say why.

I was $15 pissed off!

But we trudged back the mile we'd come hike through the swamp and woods with our gear, and went back to the car which was STILL HOT, got in and drove off. I wanted to get with someone to get my parking money back, and there was no one there to give me my money back!

Apparently, they had all been called back to the fairgrounds...something about a riot?

And apparently, at some point after the concert began, they cancelled it due to high water rising--oh yeah, didn't anybody tell you? The Ionia fairgrounds is now the Grand River Flood Plain!

There were cars parked on the grounds that were halfway to the engine block with water as we were coming in. By the time we went back to the parking space, those same cars were now sucking water into the passenger area--dirty muddy water. People couldn't start their cars...and higher water was coming with Lansing's 7.5" inches of rain on Friday night!

Oh, lots of people stranded.

I'm glad I didn't try to go in--didn't really want to be involved with the riot. And glad we parked where we did, and didn't try to cross the puddle (which was 5 feet deep before the dump truck brought in several hundred yards of gravel, which simply washed away and left a 3 foot deep puddle that was over a mile long! The 4-wheel trucks that traversed that were stranded too. Dumbies.

But I'm still ticked that I paid $15 for parking. I feel like I was rooked out of my money, and so I'm going to contact the Ionia Chamber of Commerce to discuss the matter. I don't believe they should be allowed to keep that money!

My son and hubby both say I'm wasting my time. I probably am, but it never hurts to try!

Finally Finished!

The Socks from the 14th issue of Yarn Forward are finally finished. They are snug, comfy and soft!



It's too bad that I couldn't really get a good picture of the pattern that the cables make--they sure pop off the socks in real life! I'm as pleased as I can be with them. They are so PRETTY! Now to upload to Ravelry and to Sock a Month Blog!

In the meanwhile, I pull another card for myself. Concerned still with last night's nightmare, I pull the Three of pentacles...and sip a cup of coffee. I know what the nightmare is about. Finances are tight due to the furlow days at the office, so stress is higher than normal. The consequences of my actions over the last couple of days--well, let's just say that I do have a concern that hell will rain down all upon me--and I really didn't need all the extra stress--obviously...and so I have NIGHTMARES to beat all NIGHTMARES. Which would lead me to believe that I would pull the 9 of swords, which is the suffering card, but the combination of stressors, beginning with the shortage of funds is the beginning of nightmares. I am taking steps to get rid of the other stressors in my life--cleaning house, if you will.

BEGINNING with my projects that are languishing in my project queue on Ravelry. See that swing sweater over there in the right margin? Well, that's my next "to do". I've done several rows this morning, made breakfast and started blogging. I am on a roll. I should be done with the front today. The back is already done. It's a raglan sweater, and I'll do both sleeves at the same time, trying to match them. The back and front are not so critical. I'm pleased that this sweater is only taking a couple of skeins of my big bag of boucle--I will still have plenty to make a seraphina shawl! YAY!

Lot's of storms the last couple of days too, and I haven't been blogging because of it--I have a problem with losing data in lightning storms. I have a problem with my computer shutting down immediately and without warning when lightning gets too close! Yikes! But today is supposed to be sunny. If I could have taken a pic last night I would have. We have a drain near our home, and it came within inches of overflowing the banks. At sunrise, it had fallen two feet--quite a drop for the amount of rain we got. Hubby left a five gallon bucket outside from cleaning the garage, and when he woke up and moved it there was 3" of water in the bottom! That's a lot of rain in anyone's book!

So, I'm thinking backward in time--now to Thursday. Worked all day, and wished all day that it would go a tad faster, because of the furlow day on Friday, I was geeked up for my weekend to begin, beginning with heading to Flint for band practice. I still haven't really made up my mind one way or another about that--I think they want me to come back, but I can't be sure of course--as no one seems to be in charge of that question, save for the drum sargeant, and I only had a chance to chat with him briefly after practice Thursday night. He was very forthcoming about the music (which I already had), and I spent practice with the pipers listening and drumming on my leg, trying to follow along. Before this, however, I spent with the younger and beginner drummers. This was the most fun that I've had in FOREVER. There was a handsome young man--maybe 6 or 7 years old, strawberry blond hair, adorable face--holding sticks that were seriously too big for his hands (in retrospect, why didn't I give him a pair of my Neil's which are thinner and easier to handle, not to mention lighter?) Anyway, I don't think I ever did catch his name, but he was one of those characters that grandmothers just love to pinch their cheeks, if you know what I mean. I spent a fair amount of time working with him on singles (Stone Breaker) and doublets and rolls. He's very interested, and doing VERY well for his age.

There was also his dad--who has a good deal in common with me--but I didn't catch his name either. He's about 30ish, plays guitar by ear, adopted, learning drums, married, oh, and there was something else, but I don't recall what it was. Sad. They say that there are 3 things that indicate you are getting older. Memory is the first to go, and I forgot the other 2...

There, I think I backed up enough...now to the present day.

Hubby is taking me to a concert at the Ionia Fairgrounds today. Sadly, I believe that the Ionia Fairgrounds are currently underwater. We'll head over there to see--but I have a hunch that the concert will be canceled. BUMMER!

And I need to shower before going, so I need to git.

Before I go...

Your tarot card is THE LOVERS REVERSED.

This means that you are faced with a choice today. Your gut is telling you one thing, your head another. Be sure to make the right choice, because it would appear that neither is particularly good--which means that you are presented with a paradox. Wait and see how things go before you act out of impatience. Best to just sit on it for a while yet.

In the meanwhile, enjoy your day!

What Has Blogger/Blogging Meant to Me---

Blogger has become a best friend after a fashion...

It is, after all, where I go to post some really personal stuff--and some not so personal--about the relationships I've had over the course of my lifetime, how silly reality is for me sometimes--it's where I go to rant and rave about someone who really ticked me off. It's where I post information about the projects I immerse myself into--ranging from knitting to tarot to Scottish Drumming and playing with Bagpipes. It's where I tell everyone about the birthday party I attended, or the spinning on my wheel. It's where I keep pictures that identify me and my family as the people we are, and the sometimes odd relationships and how they change over time.

Blogger goes there with me--willingly! Can you image? Laughing, crying, rant and rave, blogger is there! And while my life has never run in a straight line--in fact, I think of it more like a butterfly, nesting on each little flower that happens to catch it's eye, then flying in circles overhead until the next flower...even when life is hectic and the forces of nature seem to drive my psyche into the ground, I still find time to tell my best friend what I did today...if anything indeed happened.

And it usually does.

Today is no exception...more on that later...you'll have to read the next post to catch my meaning!

News is Good!

I'm nearly done with my socks. I'm doing toe decreases, and almost done with the pattern there (just one more row of pattrn), then a few more decrease rows, and I get to wear them.

For now, however, time to go to the office. I expect to have pictures later, but I have band practice tonight, so posting will need to wait until Friday.

Since today is MY Friday, due to the temporary layoffs for state employees on the actual Friday (hear me grumbling?) I'm going to spend time catching up on some things.

Everyone have a good weekend. Since I drew THE WORLD yesterday for my daily card, I think I will have one too!

:)

Going to Work!

I'm late, so no post yet. Catch me tomorrow! Busy day today, because computers have been down for several days with next to nothing to do, so today is catch up day!

I found it!

The perfect pattern stitch for my halter top!

Today, my son is--

I feel so OLD!

I celebrate my son's birthday today, although his birthday is Monday, we are celebrating it today.
He will be 30 years old Monday.

THIRTY YEARS OLD!

Do you know what that means?

It means that I am WAY WAY OLDER THAN THAT!

And I want a motorcycle????? Am I DAFT?

So for a tarot card today, I pull the 10 of pentacles from the Robin Wood deck.I ponder on the card, as it's my "daily card" as I often will pull a card for my day. It's simply unbelievable how these darn cards can figure out what's going to happen in my day!

The 10 of Pentacles is a time of wealth, sharing wealth with friends and family. Meeting up with family and good times and celebrations--hmm..how did they know that I'm going to my mother's to see my son to throw a little birthday party and buy him a pair of shoes for his birthday?

It's a little scary.

Of course, the card shows a blue sky in the background--I'm hoping that it means the sun will come out, because right now, it's leaking outside. I'd as soon prefer a nice day.

But I often wonder how the cards know what's happening in my day sometimes. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. This is out of a 76 card deck--Someone factor out the odds of that particular card being pulled for the day on the very day that I celebrate my son's 30th?

Well, enough obsessing on the matter. Not all things are chance happenings. The real test is if the card gets pulled on his birthday again next year, right?

In the meanwhile, I have things to do today--grocery shopping for one. Beyond the cake and ice cream, we are nearly out of everything, because I haven't been to the grocery store for much of anything for several weeks--even Hubby is noticing! We're starting to drain the freezer of food! Raiding the stash, as it were.

And I've got socks to knit. They are turning out so pretty. I got the gusset decreases done last night, so now, I'm down to knitting around and around on the foot, the pattern on top, stockinette stitch on the bottom. I expect that it will go much faster than the leg, which is patterned on both front and back. Sorry that the pic is so blurry. Sometimes my phone takes spectacular pics. Other times, well, what you see...

I can't wait to finish them because there's a little halter top that I want to make. And the translation button is right there at the top, under the British flag, then click on Sto Traducendo (which might mean "your translation" in Italian, but what do I know?). It's knit, and mostly mesh, and it's not really a pattern, but more of a "jumping off point", giving dimensions, rather than actual "stitches", but that's fine--I can use whatever I want for the lower end, and then pick up stitches for the upper and knit it! Or, I can look for a crochet mesh pattern on the web and work that, picking up stitches at the top of the mesh and knit the rest of it. It's in a cotton, but doesn't necessarily need to be. Dimensions can be adjusted to fit my own, slightly expanded (Can you say, short rows to make room for my bigger boozooms?) upper half, I have some merino silk that I made a hat out of that would work up just beautiful for this--I could add beads for sparkle (maybe) and or work in some stripes, top half in one color, lower half in another. The possibilities are pretty endless! So I'm fairly excited about this little wonder.

So Hubby is barking for breakfast--oh, wait, maybe that's the dog? Well, whatever, someone wants breakfast, I guess. So I should get moving.

I must say, work is devoid of any meaning--the place is a TIME SUCK. Especially when the servers for 3 of the 4 programs you use are down for the weekend, and possibly through to Monday. I got very little done today, and the day simply dragged. Boredom, thy name is Nine to Five.

Cover via Amazon

In the final analysis, however, I finally arrived home, and there is no one here. My husband is likely mowing his mother's lawn, and it's possible that I could get quite a lot of knitting done tonight. My phone has been turned off most of the afternoon, or I'd have known that Hubby was at his mother's. I can't help it. The computer's at my isp burped today, and left nearly 200 emails on the server. I have to delete each one individually from my phone. Quite a hassle.

In the meantime, Monday is my son's birthday. He wants shoes. I just hope that I have money enough to cover that. I've got to get groceries, and my cell phone bill is coming due again.

And in case you were wondering, no, it hasn't come down any since I got it and I'm really sorry that I DID get a Blackberry. I do love my

Image by nino63004 via Flickr

Blackberry, and I keep all sorts of information in there--what we need from the grocery store, to the phone #'s of everyone I know, PLUS birthdays, anniversaries, when I should send out cards. I'd be pretty lost without it, but it's a costly little doo dad.

If it weren't for the fact that it holds my entire life in it's archives, I'd probably let it go.

I'm also considering letting go of Direct TV--only because I think that I'm tired of watching the same old re-runs of cable television--I originally got it, thinking that we would be watching new programming--frankly it's not. The shows that I watch most of the time are on Network television, and I can get that with a converter box. I have a coupon on the way, and when it gets here, it will be goodbye direct tv, and goodbye paying $60 a month to watch re-runs over and over and for the nth time, over. Even Hubby is tired of the reruns.

If it sounds like I'm trying to pare down some things, I am. It seems that every time I see something I'd like to have (say that motorcycle?) I can't get it because my money is already earmarked for this, that or the other thing. It's not that I'm over-extended by any means, but it sure would be nice to have that motorcycle.

So I've been taking pics, and I found a great one. It's funny, but I seem to take the best pictures when I'm driving out the front of my car. I don't get that, but there you go. Here's the one I took the other day on my way to the office.

Isn't that just beautiful?

Thursday Evening

Some exciting news, and a real boost for my psyche...

Ray and I drove to Flint Scottish's band practice and sat down with the drummers and worked on the competition scores for this years drumming. I was asked at least a half dozen times if I was planning on returning to the band. So was Ray.

How nice! They would like to have me BACK! I'm thrilled!

I must say it was the most fun I've had in an evening in a long time.

Now if I could just learn the score properly, instead of just by "sound", I'll be all set. I love to read the scores, but very often it takes longer for my hands to "do" what my eyes see on the page, than for my hands to do "close to" what my ears hear--which is often quite different.

So while Ray learns by what he hears, and approximates what's written fairly easily, I have to see it and hear it MANY times in order to play it.

So tonight, I'm going to copy the music into drum note and see if I can play it here at the house--and go from there. I honestly don't know if I would go back to the band, but it might be fun to compete with them in Detroit in August.

Can I do it that fast? Well, that's a good question, and I'm not sure of the answer, but I'm willing to try it!

And if you're reading this, ex husband, it should come as no surprise that they can use all the drummers they can get, as the Windsor bunch abandoned them for all the work they did together and moved on to another group to give them a taste of victory, I suppose. Just a bunch of travelling troubadours, I suppose, or perhaps just troublemakers. If you'd like to make another appearance, I could offer an olive branch--although I don't think your back could deal with the drum. I know you said that you're "not interested in bagpipe bands anymore" (yeah, right, like that kind of interest just goes away!) but if that's the case, then why did you come to the Grand Rapids practice at my offer?

Anyway, next Thursday is the next practice at the church. The address is on the website.

Oh, and Flint took first place in Grade V in Alma this year, both Saturday and Sunday.

But there are things I would like to discuss with you, and this is not the venue to do it in.

Gusset, gusset--who got the gusset?

I got the gusset today on my socks, that is. And I'm 8 rows into the instep. From here on out, the socks are easy peasy, and of course, since there's no pattern on the bottom of the foot--

And who wants a pattern where no one will see it?

The foot should go really quickly now--that is, of course, assuming that I don't make another bonehead mistake, and have to rip back..

Quiet now, I'm thinking positive thoughts to counteract that last statement.

Today's card is the King of Cups reversed. It's warning me to be wary of a hasty individual who has my best interest at heart but isn't very reliable. He's wishy washy. Or it could mean that I am being very distracted in my living, and failing to complete things, and that while this time is going on I'm melancholy and depressed.

For my husband, I pulled the Fool reversed. He went to the local community college to look into his prospects for going back to school to finish his degree. The Fool says that it's a "jump" that he likely won't follow through with--being that it was reversed, and is basically "head in the clouds behavior with no intention of backing it up". Poor guy, he's watching his step, literally. Seeking out other options to being unemployed, and doesn't know which way to go is best. He is probably wishing that his father was still alive so that he could bounce his ideas off the man. Sadly, pappa died in April.

So the King could also be referring to my husband, who is very much waffling about, trying to make decisions and never really lighting on that flower. I wonder whether he will find his way?

Heel Flap!

I've turned the heel on my socks, and so without further adieu

Aren't they pretty? The color is fantastic, and while the picture doesn't show it, the cable just pops off the fabric! Reason is that the knits are all twisted, like theJapanese do it, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the designer had a bit of Japanese inspiration--the cable can be used for all manner of other things, too--gauntlets, headband, even down the back of a cardi--it's a really nice cable pattern.

Well, I have to update in some other places, so I will sign off for now.

Cards To Contemplate...

I drew the Knight of Swords this morning. Titled "Change". Then I drew the Lover's reversed and the Moon reversed.

This doesn't bode well for the day....

A change occurs (or a different course of action) from a bad choice that leaves the future a bit unpredictable.

Hubby is going to a meeting today with respect to retirement. He still hasn't made a choice whether to retire or to continue working. His decisions are still on the fence. I'm hoping that the meeting will help him make up his mind because we're both a little tired of the uncertainty. He on the side of irritability, me on the receiving end of his irritability. The "not knowing" is basically killing us both...

And even though he knows that I support him which ever way he decides to go, he's still concerned about filling his days with things that he WANTS to do, not just chores around the house, should he decide to retire--trouble is, he can't decide what he WANTS to do--be that learning a new skill or finding a new job or finding a new hobby. His biggest issue with "new hobby" is that he doesn't have one. Not a single, solitary one. (Sorry for the redundancy.)

I had rather hoped that he would have something of a midlife crisis, and buy a motorcycle--now that would have been a bad option for HIM (a good one for me), because he's not really what I'd call a defensive driver. His irritability doesn't help. I think he drives too fast most of the time. But he could buy a motorcycle for ME to drive, and then we could ride EVERYWHERE. And it would be fun.

Hold it. What did I just write there? And it would be fun. Frankly, I'm not sure he knows HOW to have fun. He has put some serious crimps in MY style recently. My "fun quotient" has dropped a few degrees to the point of being lukewarm. Hence the extra knitting on my socks.

I am only 8 rows away from the heel flap. Pics after I turn the heel, okay?

Well, it's time to get going to the office. I have lots planned to do today. I just don't know how it's all going to come together, is all.

Oh the Possibilities

Check this out!

The Weekend

Finally here, and suddenly gone. I was really happy to see it come, but it's been so unproductive that it's been sort of a downer. The whole of it has been the single most boring weekend of recent memory, and while I've gone through (almost) 2 more repeats of the pattern on my socks, they are still only 5" long on the leg, which isn't really enough length.

We've been over at my mother in law's house both days, working on her flower garden, moving hosta plants around and pulling weeds, trying to kill off moles and knitting, watching television and worrying about her coughing. We think she has bronchitis again (or still).

The cottonwoods have flowered, and big fluffy flakes of cotton are flying everywhere, making me sneeze huge sneezes that feel like my nose is going to fly across the room! YIKES!

I pulled the wheel for my daily card today. The card is a complete gamble--since it's upright it signifies a favorable "turn" of events, that could easily "turn" into tragedy, should the right conditions exist. Or it could reference the near purchase of a motorcycle this weekend, that ended up not happening. In some ways, I'm glad that it fell through. In another way, I'm not, but it's more glad than not glad, I suppose. Still the addition of "fun" to my life is a bit of a downer.

It was a 1982 Honda Goldwing Aspencade, with a trailer hitch, all the amenities and WHAT A DEAL I WORKED OUT WITH THE DEALERSHIP!!! They were going to put on a new front tire, fix the front forks and put on front brake pads, and let me walk out the door with it for only $2900.

Now that's a good deal in anyody's book, considering that they wanted $3800 for it to start without fixing ANYTHING, my offer was REALLY low. The fact that they were willing to split the difference told me there might be something about the bike that they wanted to be rid of it, but I can't be sure of that. Plus it came with 2 helmets, radio, faring, saddlebags and trunk, light kit and chrome all the way around it, highway pegs, foot boards--the seat wasn't great, but I planned to put my sheepskin on it anyway. I was geeked about it. Hubby was down on the idea.

Too dangerous, he said. Not worried about MY driving, mind you, but the fact that other drivers do not watch as well for motorcycles as they do for cars--some actually look, and still don't see you. Something of a blind spot, I suppose. I didn't want to make Hubby angry by going over his head, and the fact that parts might be an issue in the future finally turned me off to the idea.

I'll wait until he decides to divorce me or when he dies--one never knows which might happen--although I don't see either coming down the pike anytime soon, thank god!

So the wheel comes and goes, speaking to the changable winds of time and space, continually going around and around, ceaselessly, never really alighting on anything solidly, but always spinning, going no where. Bringing joy and pain, life and death, all the duplicity that the world provides, black and white, love and hate...yep, all there.

And that's precisely how I feel--one second up, one second down. The wheel describes my psyche over the last couple of days. So, I knit in order to make sanity out of the insanity. It's been a rough couple of days.

I believe that one day, I will have a motorcycle. When that day comes, I will take a trip across the country to find, perhaps, where I belong in life, and visit friends along the way. Adventure. Fun. Bugs in my teeth.

Socks...Finally

A progress report--it seems like these are taking forever. The pattern is rather complicated with a fair amount of twisted cable stitches, which to be honest, the twisting sure makes the stitch pop off the background, but also makes it easier to drop them when you're trying to knit them!

Here's progress, though, from the last couple of days....









Sorry for the blurry pics. The Blackberry does seem to shake a lot when I take a pic--or maybe it's just that *I* shake a lot. The camera phone has no inertial dampeners like my digital camera has.

I've been thinking a lot these days about getting a motorcycle. This happens every summer beginning from the first moment I see the first motorcycle on the road until

oh, maybe snowfall?

Anyway, with my yarn/pattern addiction, there's no way to afford one--considering the insurance, plates and registration, upkeep and the actual cost of the cycle. It will likely pass me by for another 2 years or more. Now, I suppose that every time I *see* a pattern I'd like to have or a skein of yarn I'd really love to buy because it's "OH SO SOFT", I can say..hmm, another $6 for the Motorcycle Kitty, or another $20 toward the two-wheeler savings plan, and I would have the cost of the motorcycle in no time at all. And there's really nothing to say that I have to have a Goldwing, but that's what I'd like to have--and a brand new one, too...if I could manage it.

Ah, a girl can dream, right.

I miss my motorcycle.

I Wonder...

Ray wrote me an email.

It was an interesting email. It's too bad, because you know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words?

Well, if Ray could have gotten a picture to share with me, I think that I would have been very surprised--very surprised indeed.

He had a visitor on Monday afternoon. Which doesn't surprise me one bit, since I knew that my ex was headed up north on Friday morning! However, my ex had the Coleman Caboose trailer on the back of the bike--and well, on Monday, there was no Coleman Caboose Trailer, and according to neighbors, the motorcycle was rather dinged up in back...hmmm.

Now I know not if any of this is true or not.

But I will tell you a story--

One day, Randy and I were driving south on a 4 lane highway, and someone in a car passed us, and then cut us off quite abruptly. Randy FUMED immediately, and sped up to this guy's speed, drove into the passing lane, and drove up beside the car and KICKED THE DOOR.

That is no lie and no joke--he could have killed us both doing that!

Today, my ex was online again around noon hour, after being offline all weekend, Monday and Tuesday. When I got in the car, I found the email from Ray.

I'm thinking that Ray may have seen the aftermath of the loss of the Coleman Caboose--what do you think?

Time Marches On!

And sometimes to the tune of a different drummer.

Take for instance yesterday...ever notice how quickly time flies the older you get? I remember when I was a kid, summer seemed to last forever! I tell you, I was ALWAYS ready to go back to school in the fall. Then, when my son was born, summer didn't seem to last long enough! All too soon, our fun was cut short, and he returned to school.

Now, the days just literally fly by, and then they are gone. Sometimes I burn through days and I don't remember what happened! Monday was one of those days. It's Tuesday already, and I have little idea of how it got here so fast, but here it is, for the moment anyway, and my tarot card tells me to think about home and family. There has been so much in the way of family of late--and I'm considering contacting my sister to take her to dinner for her birthday on Sunday...of course, first comes Saturday, which I'll be spending with my mother and son.

The days are just so busy and full. I'm not even retired yet.

Sunday last, Hubby and I decided to do some work in the yard. He doesn't sleep well, and so I got up early and got started with the area we decided to afford the most attention, which had to do with the sheep pen, feeder, hay mound and so forth. By noon, I was ready to quit! But we stayed out there until 5pm, working on it. I was so tired and so sore that I dropped into bed at 8pm and slept right through until the alarm went off.

Monday, I worked my buns off, and before I knew it, LUNCH happened. Then, I looked at the clock and it's 3pm and nearly time to go home. I even stayed over a half hour to get something accomplished, and then things got BUSY!

After work, I dropped in to Threadbear and picked up a size 1 9" Addi Turbo needle.
Then, I stopped in to Barnes & Noble and picked up Issue 5 of The Knitter. This is a tremendous magazine. Google and subscribe. You won't regret it!
Then, I drove to Kroger's to pick up just a few grocery staples...milk, eggs, pop and a few other items.
Then, I drove home and did something that I never figured I'd do.

I tried on my new glasses. They don't work--maybe I told you that already, but

THEY DON'T WORK.

So for some reason, I tried them on upside down.

Suddenly, I could see out of them. PERFECTLY.

These glasses are going back to switch the lenses. Hopefully, it's a simple surgery. Otherwise, they will have to make the lenses again, and put them in the proper order. I was just livid!! Mostly because the nice gentleman who brought them to me poo pooed me when I said...

"Um, they don't work."

"Oh, sometimes people have trouble for a while with Progressive lenses, and it takes a while to get used to them."

"No, dear, these glasses aren't right at all--everything is FUZZY. I can't drive with these!"

"Well, just give it some time..."

"How long do I have before I can't return them?"

"Thirty days"

"I'll be back Monday."

And that was the end of the conversation. I walked out with my $80 glasses. And while it sounds like an easy fix, if they redo them, and they still aren't right, I have to get my eyes rechecked, and glasses redone AGAIN.

I'm learning to dislike them already.

So back to Monday again....

After the discovery, I drove over to my girlfriend's house for Knit Knight--or Spin Night, depending on the craft you bring with you....and I worked on my socks. They are coming along nicely. Pics tomorrow when it means something.

And suddenly the day was over, and I fell into bed. Funny how that happens.

I hope your days are as full as mine are these days.