Socken Progress...

Well, I had a problem with the vikkel braid because I was knitting it wrong. I figured out why on the drive home. I put in a life line and frogged back and set it aside.

When I got home, hubby informed me that he was unable to get on the internet.

Why?

His buddy had come over and done some checking on our systems, and reconnected the router incorrectly, claimed it "looked" right, and left before checking whether it was or not.

I spent the next hour and a half, trying to figure out what he'd done, and finally call my guru.

Early on in the conversation, he asks me, "Are you plugged into the router right?"

Well, I had no idea that hubby's friend had even bothered to unplug the router, so I said "yes, I think so."

"It's not plugged into the internet port, is it?"

"No," I explained, "I haven't moved or changed it since you last touched it."

All this while, hubby is lying in bed, listening to the one sided conversation. And finally, after nearly 2 hours of fret and stew, I actually look at the back of the router, and sure enough....

"Hubby," says I. "Did your friend reconnect the router?"

"Yes," reports hubby.

I moved the plug, and all suddenly became right and one with the rest of the world.

Imagine my relief.

I promptly told my husband that his friend was NOT to touch my machine without my being here. It's bad enough to have your computer down, but network stuff drives me CRAZY, because I have a tenuous grasp of what they mean and how they really work. They are Greek to me. My guru understands them in a big way, and that's how he can diagnose stuff like this over the phone to network idiots like myself.

I'm glad I set the knitting aside.

Tonight, I re-knit the vikkel braid properly. Then I knit 3 more rows.

Here's the pic.

Of course, it would over-expose, but at least the color is closer to reality under the Ott light. The dark grey line is the life line that I decided to leave in--just in case I run into trouble elsewhere, but I'm not expecting anything. I just had to set it down for a while. The house is cold and my fingers are numb, so I figured--time to blog.

Today, I got groceries. I spent nearly $300. I can't believe how pricey groceries have become! I was so cold, that I decided to make some hot, homemade soup, and determined that I would make a cabbage soup--and then hubby, after eating a bowl or two, informs me that he doesn't like cabbage soup.

Well, there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, it's quite good. It will make a good supper for the next several days--especially if he doesn't eat much of it, right?

I also purchased the cotton yarn to make "Best Witches" from Rachel's Knitting Room at Yahoo Groups, and bought some sock yarn in grey to make hubby a pair of knit socks--then 6 skeins of Bernat acrylic in nearly the same color to make hubby a sweater--a simple raglan with a cable down the front--which I think will suit him well.

I've been working feverishly on a shawl KAL that I started with a friend from California. She told me that she was to row 123, so I knit to row 122. She determined that she was off a stitch, and so went hunting for the problem. I hope it hasn't put her off continuing to knit it. It's a really pretty pattern. I almost wish that I was doing it in a color! Instead, I'm using up some of my laceweight scraps--the next shawl will come out of a new pound of laceweight, and I dare not forget the mohair cone I have downstairs, too. Plus I have lots of cotton, and the Princess Shawl (which still haunts me).

You knew I'd get to haunting before the end of my post, didn't you?

Which brings me to a Tarot Card. It's been a while since I've done one--and this time, I pull the Queen of Swords, entitled Imagination. Now, the Queen of Swords generally means I'm being a bitc (need I go on), and that I should lighten up, because I'm hurting a relationship with my caustic behavior. With hubby's mood being tarnished by the lack of employment around here, being unmotivated to do much of anything around the house, including lighting the fire when it's finger numbing cold in the house--well, my mood is about to sink. I have to seriously be imaginative where he's concerned. Since the way to a man's heart is through his stomach I thought cabbage soup would make him appreciate me--but alas...So apparently, there is only one thing left to do--

Oy, the things a girl has to do to get by in this world!

What's crazy is that last night, we drove to the toy store, and didn't find anything intriguing. So we just came home and went to sleep. I don't know--it worked for me--I was exhausted from a long day at the office. But he's got nothing to do but either sit and stew about how bored he is, or sleep. I wish he'd go to school or something! ANYTHING! And my frustration, which basically feeds off HIS frustration, well things are coming to a boil in the pot--and I haven't any idea how to keep the lid from blowing off the top and clattering across the floor!

Maybe I could use the Queen's sword and slice him to bits, but that's going to get me nowhere. Instead, I have to use my imagination.

Maybe I'll make pudding instead--chocolate, to elevate his mood. What do you think?

Sock Progress

Well, it's slow, because I'm only working on it here and there at the office right now. I'll bring it home this weekend to work on it because the KAL shawl is all caught up, and there will be a wait for a while before the next installment comes out.

So tonight, it's very likely I will make a ton of progress on these. Sorry that the color is so darn horrible--what can I say? Fluorescent lights give off a greenish glow that wash out the beautiful yellows and oranges in this yarn! Would that it had some red and pink and purple in it, it would be the color of sunrise--a color I LOVE, but can't seem to duplicate with dyes.

Don't you just hate when that happens? I mean purple, red and yellow make something the color and consistency of MUD. It's not pretty, trust me.

The other thing I was pondering this morning is the changes in how you go to the family doctor (general practitioner) and tell him/her about this/that ailment.

Do they fix it?

Not usually. If it's a cold or the flu, they can give you a pill or a shot, which usually doesn't make you feel better for several days, but

If your foot hurts

If you have a little spot on your arm

If your back has been bothering you

THEY REFER YOU TO ANOTHER DOCTOR--meaning that you end up paying for 2 doctors (and sometimes 3 if you want a second opine) instead of just your gp, with whom you know is intimately knowledgeable about your body and has possibly seen it many times.

And the news is telling us that soon, there will be a shortage of doctors.

WHAT?

When a single person has to go to 2 or 3 for the same thing, it would seem like there is no SHORTAGE, just an OVERAGE of doctors who are so specialized that they've lost sight of the goal to help people and are looking to line their own pockets and pay their school loans off as quickly as possible so they can pay down that $500,000 house!

More later on this subject, as I'm rather miffed about it.

New Project, Just now Cast On!

Very pretty socks, called Fox Faces by Nancy Bush. Done as a KAL in Sock Knitter's Anonymous, I couldn't get my own projects done fast enough to get to them, but I'm starting late.

The yarn picture doesn't do it justice. The color simply pops out at you, a bright yellow orange. These will be beautiful!

Another FO!

I finished the October Mid Month Cloth for the Monthly Dishcloth Yahoo Group.

I think it's pretty cute.

Wavy Riblets

Pic at last!



As well as the progress on the Log-Cabin Scrappy!

The Week Begins Anew!

And finds me catching up on scrappy knitting. Jeff and I breakfasted at Denny's this morning (since I woke up at 4am, it was a long wait for breakfast) a bit earlier than usual, which brings us home to work on things that need to be worked on...

like the mower...

Oh, wait, did I say "Today, you have to work your buns off around here, baby..."?

I worked a little bit more on the Log-Cabin Scrap knit that I started some time ago, and I'm finding that while I like my starts to happen on the right side of the work, it doesn't use up ALL the ball, and I end up tossing out too much. So now, I start on the wrong side, or in the middle, of any given row. As the work becomes bigger (and it will), there will be more starts and stops. Eventually, I may even work it as if I were working a square shawl, but I'm not close enough for that.

In the meanwhile, I did finish the Wavy Riblets and promised a picture today, but sorry--it's not finished blocking. It was late last night when I finished, and I was too lazy just didn't have the heart to get out the ironing board, iron and wet cloth to do the blocking. However, it IS on wires. If it made a pretty picture, that's what you'd be seeing now.

I guess that Jeff is cold. He's back in bed being lazy, when he should be fixing the mower. This is really irritating. He gets upset with me if I do nothing but knit, but when he languishes in bed, I can't say anything about it without an argument. If he doesn't fix the mower today, it will be another week before he can pick up leaves. It's supposed to rain all week next week off and on, which means WET LEAVES all week. Should any sort of wind pick up, we will be raking leaves in the ditch (which is a huge job, and VERY hard on both of us--so God help us if we have to wait until the Spring Thaw!).

I'd just as soon have him pick them up with the mower, which mulches them and makes them small and compact, and we can burn them on the back 40. It works out well for everyone.

Especially me, and I'm the one who counts most. That's why I knit.

A Very Busy Saturday!

I have been so busy today!

I'm trying to prepare for Thanksgiving (which granted, is over a month away, but you don't know the depth of the work I need to do, or the time I really need to do it properly in--imagine you have dust everywhere that has run away with your vacuum, and you have my house)--which is going to take supreme effort on my part, to complete to my satisfaction. I have only had Thanksgiving once before, and my hubby (who was only hubby-to-be then) gave me a Xanax and told me to go lie down, which I did--and ended up sleeping through the entire preparation day!

Things turned out well anyhow, because my mother was there, and he is a good cook as well. By the time the "inlaws-to-be" arrived, everything was ready to go out on the table!

This will be the first time since then--a full 9 years later. I've been very lucky. Jeff's sister, who is a GREAT PARTY PLANNER has always had the day, but sadly, she has moved with her hubby to Florida...and is not available to take the responsibility this year, but MAY appear at Christmas, at which time, we will party at my mother-in-law's house, but Thanksgiving, since I haven't "done my time" as it were, is mine.

My biggest fret is that people will be uncomfortable because there is no where to sit except on the dining room chairs or in the breakfast nook, which of course, both will have tablecloths on them. The food will be divvied up and everyone will have a share in the making. Hubby will make his famous baked beans. His sister will make the turkey. Others will bring other things...his mom likes to make pies. She does make a mean pie.

There's also a relative in a wheel chair, and that's the main reason for having the party at my house, which can be rigged easily for wheelchair access by placing 2 x 10's and plywood at the entrance, once inside, she should be good to go--the entrance to the living area is a wide space, so she'll be able to wheel around everywhere on the first floor except for the kitchen, which is probably too narrow in access for the wheelchair. Still, I'm sure she'll bring something from her kitchen if she comes. I sort of hope she does, as it will mean that my party is a success and accessible to everyone in the family, and no one will feel left out. Of course, if she makes other plans for herself, I won't feel slighted in, well, the slightest! HA!

The next project is the kitchen, but I am not the only one that has little tasks to do. Hubby's got tasks too, and I do expect him to fulfill his end of the bargain. The first task he has is to make a list of everything he feels needs done BEFORE we can have the party. His next job for me is sewing up the curtains in the living room. To do that, I have to take them down and buy some thread the same color and set up my sewing machine (which is actually a job for him, since he leaves his contents of his pockets on my sewing cabinet--and then I can stitch to my heart's content. So I have to get thread-- perhaps Monday after my doctor's appointment I'll stop over at Hobby Lobby and pick some up. Before I can get matching thread, though, he has to take down one of the panels for me to take to work on Monday, so that I can match the color of the drapes appropriately. Perhaps tomorrow evening, as he's planning to work on the mower Sunday.

And life goes on with all the trappings of daily chores and breathing in, breathing out...oh, yes, and remember to put the Xanax within easy reach!

Piggie Went Bust!

For whatever reason, my gauge must have loosened (or else my cast on was just too darn tight), but the top just would not block flat.

No matter what I tried--including sitting on it, as if The Fonz was watching...

UPDATE: See the notes/comments in one of my posts, and it shows that Jeny now has a stretchy cast on, with a video instruction on her blog. GREAT! Right after frogging! Oh well, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

But alas, to the frog pond you go, until I figure out how to counteract the issues with knitting you.

In the meanwhile, I picked up knitting another dishcloth from the Holiday Gifts group on Yahoo! They have a pattern for a cloth called "Wavy Riblets". Sounded like surf and turf to me, but I cast on this morning. I'm half done with that.

And then I decided I wanted to move my computer to the bedroom--out of sight, so that the house can look a little less cluttered in the front area. Of course, all my computer stuff is now in the bedroom, and now the BEDROOM looks cluttered, but hey--give me credit for trying, okay? This is in preparation for having the family (meaning Jeff's family) at my house for Thanksgiving, and I'll be really mad if people change their minds to have it at their house, because I really want to have it here! I really do! But if you could see my house, you would know that I am decidedly NOT a housekeeper, and what's cleaned one day is tomorrow's mess. I keep telling my hubby that you cannot do dishes and expect them to STAY DONE--they propagate out of thin air, and breed like mad! Dust bunnies? Same story, only mine live with cat and dog hair, and roll around the rooms freely as if they own the place.

There's a reason why they call it "FUR niture", after all.

So now I have to decide if I want a battery backup for my laptop. I think it would be a good idea--it is a safer surge protector. Lately, we've been having service interruption with our electric. This is not a problem, if the interruption is only momentary, and my computer will shut itself off when the internal battery is low. But a bigger backup would give considerably more protection. I just have no clue if I really need it RIGHT NOW TODAY, if I could get by on a strip--I do not have enough outlets on the wall socket. I DO have a 2 to 4 socket extender, t I need 8. Yes, don't look at me like that. I need 8.

Computer
Power to the printer
Power for the Router
Clock
Lamp
Phone charger
USB Hub

and 1 other thing that I'm not really sure what it is, but all are currently plugged in where I sit and in the bedroom where I am moving, and nothing is leaving the bedroom. Except for my husband when he realizes that he can't sleep because Eudora sings every time it downloads email. God help us all..maybe something will leave the bedroom after all? KIDDING! I'll turn off the singing. It isn't really needed anyway.

But 8 slots! That's a lot!

But what I'm really concerned about is a power outage during the winter. We heat with corn, and the blower runs on electric. Ergo, no electric, no heat. We do have a wood stove in the basement, but how to find wood to last several days in the middle of the night (should that become an issue)?

And so came my idea of having a windmill--and make our own energy--especially to run the corn stove, but my hubby nixed the idea. So I guess I best knit and crochet a lot of blankets, right? HA!

So right after I spend $25 at the LYS yesterday, I get a gift certificate from the same store. Why couldn't they have sent me that gift card 2 days earlier? Now I have to go back to the store and buy something else!

Put your hand on my forehead, will you? I think I might be sick!

Music to My Ears

I have had a love of music throughout my life. I started playing guitar in 5th grade. I switched to drumming in my 30's, and I'm still trying to grasp Bagpipes.

I need a teacher for it, though. While I know where to find one, it is very expensive for just a half hour lesson. Beyond that, my brain doesn't work with all those little black dots--and I get confused easily. I need to be able to look at a note and say--it's a C and be right--without thinking about it first. Sort of like how I know that a-p-p-l-e spells apple, or that ar$e is a typo for arse and several other typos. It comes as naturally as breathing.
So why music doesn't come so easily anymore is beyond me. I have to think about it. I no longer have perfect pitch.

Well, maybe I didn't have it to begin with, but there you go. I'm going to try to learn bagpipes again. We'll see how far it goes.

OMG!

I called my husband this morning to let him
know that my office wouldn't have enough flu
vaccine to innoculate him, and he tole me he'd
set it up someplace.

Then he said hia sister was in Emergency with
either a palsy (of a sort that his father had that
went away eventually) or perhaps had a stroke!

She's not taking visitors and I am just at my wit'
s end! I'm going to head down to the hospital
after my doctor appointment, or at least see my
mother in law who I'm quite sure is beside
herself with worry!

Updates as available to me, but if you're
reading this send up a little prayer for Jennie.
Thank you in advance.

Update: she's fine--Bell's Palsy.

Piggie Pillow Progress

It's not much more than a lump of knitting but here goes nuthin'



Click to "embiggen". Will post to Ravelry this evening.

I do love Ravelry, but I can't keep up with the stash recording! I simply buy too much yarn--I hear a diet coming! Help me hide!

I Found IT!

Fleegle's Blog. This gal is a STITCH!

Well, I suppose that it MIGHT be a guy, but it doesn't read like one.

Anyway, she is going to start a new shawl, and I love the look of it, but think that I'm going to work on another pair of monster sox--after I finish my mother's Piggie Pillow.

I'm about 23 rows into it and the gauge is looking good, even though I went down a needle size--the needle I'm using is made of plastic or nylon, and it's not a 7, but not a 6 either...sort of in between, which is GOOD because I tried a 7 in Addi, and the gauge was about a half inch more than I needed stitch-wise, but spot on in rows. That was disturbing. The nylon, however, drags the acrylic yarn, and so the stitches are a leeeetle bit bigger than a 6, and so I think I'm getting really close to gauge on the stitches, but again, spot on in rows.

It might be an issue, but I think I'm not going to worry much about it. If it's ruffly, it's ruffly. It's a pillow, right?

Anyway, time to go to work. Will post pics of the pillow later.

Monster Sox are Finished!

And I have pics in every configuration I could think of--so here's the "Grand Tour".

I've been trying, though, for several minutes to upload these pictures, and they are just not going--something about a server error on Blogger? Try again in a minute? WHAT? Has the world come to an end? Is life as we knew it now gone forever?

I'll try again in a few minutes, but I want to talk about this new bind off for socks--this is just amazing! I've been trying to find a good bind off for socks-especially toe up, ever since learning to kitchner-and let me tell you, this has the makings of GENIUS! Go here for instructions, and then try it out on your next pair of socks (or your cuffs and bottom edge on your sweater knit from the next down-anything, really, that calls for a stretchy bind off).

My only wish is that they would come up with a stretchy cast ON so that the top-down socks could be just as stretchy! Like those circular shawls, and the bottom of the stoles and WHATEVER! Test it on a dishcloth, then use it everywhere. All I can say is that this person is a truly wonderful knitter to have come up with something so EASY to do that it works like a charm without any effort at all! I'm hooked, and the weirdest thing? She did it for free and shared it with the entire toe up sock-knitting world out of the goodness of her heart--well, I just hope she got a little something for it. She should be contracted to come up with the best top down cast on too.

The next project (small) on the needles is the piggie pillow. I'm fairly sure I don't have the correct yarn, but it's a pillow, right? I just hope it's not too big or too small for the pillow form. Again, I will check my gauge to make sure. Stitches are "close" as far as what's on the label, but who knits like the people who knit for the label? I expect to come out "close".

I'm still really flumoxed by Blogger's upload feature. Perhaps I'll upload to Flickr and go from there. Ah, done. Time to go work on my mother's piggie pillow!

WE FROZE LAST NIGHT!

Well, it got down to the 20's last night, which the weatherman predicted, and since we didn't leave the heater on last night, things are really chilly inside the house. I drank my 2 cups of coffee, and think of warming my hands with another, but instead decided to light the corn stove.

But since SOMEONE left the lamp oil outdoors last night not to mention the matches, nothing is lighting well this am, and I am still cold.

The good news, is that the sunrise sky is wonderful with color..

And in other good news, I am nearly done with the monster sox. I am at the ribbing..so they will be finished presently..

Yesterday, I took a day off work to take my mother to the doctor's office to get her set up for her surgery, and I found this...

To make this...

From Nicky Epstein's "Knitting for Your Home". When I saw this pattern, I thought of my mother immediately, as she collects everything piggie--and for the last several years, all she's received for birthday or Christmas is something piggie-themed. I figure I should probably switch to some other type of thing, but for whatever reason, things "piggie" seem to pop up everywhere, and I can't resist.

So now, the corn stove is finally lit, and the house is warming. The sun is up in the sky (soon to warm up the rest of the world. Life seems good again.

Today, there are plans to fix the ceiling fan that fell on the floor a couple of weeks ago--note the hanger in the ceiling--I'll have to buy potatoes to get out the bulbs, some of which were those energy saving bulbs that are suppose to have mercury in them--and you are supposed to call hazmat--well, I used my vacuum, and hope that everything else got picked up--I've already had one piece of glass in my foot since it dropped--silly me, I didn't find it when I vacuumed, but my foot found it several days later. No more of those stupid energy saving lights EVER AGAIN!

Before we can fix it, we need a small cotter-pin, so I am waiting for the hardware store to open (in half an hour) so I can get one small cotter-pin. Should cost more to drive there than the pin itself, but I have some other things to pick up at the local Meijer's, too, so it's not a totally wasted trip.

And the mower gave out--so there's fixing to do on that as well. Many of the leaves have fallen, and this mower picks up leaves and such so that we can burn it in a pile, instead of lighting the woods on fire. That would not be a good thing. I think that there are parts we need for the mower as well, so perhaps I should wait until hubby is out of bed (and no, he doesn't wake up on the weekend at 4am like I do when the dog wants to go out because I woke up momentarily to go potty myself...), which will likely happen sometime around 10 unless I intervene and make his breakfast, waking him up with the smell of scrambled eggs frying...maybe some coffee in the cofeemaker? We'll see about that.

And I got a call last night from my sister-in-law who is all a tither about the Pow Wow going on in Jackson. I've heard these are VERY cool, with lots of Native American Indians doing Native American Indian dances and selling their wares, craftsmen (and women) of various tribes (and some perhaps of no tribal affiliation) with beads and wampum. It sounded like a cool thing to do on a Saturday (if we didn't have so much else to do today).

And I got an invite from my BFF Linda to go to the tractor pull at the Eagle fairgrounds on Sunday. I've only ever been to one in my whole life, and thought it was lots of fun, but when I suggested it to hubby, he just sort of groaned and said no. I may still go.

And I've added several new projects to my Ravelry page...I'm drapert there, too. Checkit out. I have the yarns to do the October and November Monthly Dishcloth KAL's too, so it will be a busy time of year. Wish me luck!

Hubby Buys a New Coat

Took him forever to find one he liked that he thought would keep him warm this winter. Another nylon coat that will rip and spill its downy guts all over the house.

Instead, he bought two coats--one to wear when it's really cold, and one to wear when he's blowing out the driveway--which, I swear, the man could sweat in the arctic!

So about the time he decided he was prepared to check out, I decided I was bored and walked over to the ladies habd bags--which of course we can't confuse with the men's handbags, but even with all the variety, not a single thing stood out screaming "Take me! Take me!"

I went home wearing a coat I've worm for the last five years (and looks it, I might add) and carrying my fishing tackle handbag that has all the nooks and crannies that I love and is still lightweight due to its canvas "fishing gear waterproof" fabric. Add to that, it's blue, and everyone knows how much of a blue freak I am.

Well, maybe not...but you do now!

So after knitting for a stretch, I find out I'm going to need to rip some because I don't seem to have enough stitches. Such is life.

Someone tell me why my computer printer makes my dog go nutty-fruitcake?

So now we're back home and I'm gearing up to sit down, put my feet on a hassock and take one long, deep breath--then I'll get up and go to bed.

How's that sound for a good night?

Good News and Bad...

The good news is that I can still use the old whorl for my Kromski Wheel. The good news is that the whorl that The Woolery sent me, while smaller, WILL go on the shaft of my fliers, albeit, the one will only screw on backwards. The other one won't go on AT ALL.

The bad news is that Kromski has changed some things about their line, and so they don't make the larger whorl anymore. And that makes me sad. They have also changed the flyer assembly, so IF I want a new flyer for my Kromski's (and I have THREE of them), I will have to use the new "improved" style, which I have no idea if it will fit my wheels or not. I'd like to find out, but it will cost me some BUCKS to do that.

The good news is that I finished the Path of Flowers Stole. It is blocked and I just have to weave in two ends.

The bad news is that I really don't have anyplace to wear it--rather like my Civil War Shawl. I suppose I can wear it to Scottish and Civil War functions, but since Ray is the only one I know at those things--well. I guess I just don't know yet what I'm going to do with it.

The good news is that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has put out a new pattern for a cowl called "Pretty Thing". And it is a pretty thing. For $5 it's yours (and mine). I bet this designer earns at least $5000 for this cowl--that's how popular she is, and how pretty the cowl is. You'll find it easily in a search on Ravelry.com

The bad news is that I have to buy some cashmere yarn to make it, which means....
Good news! I get to go to the LYS to buy more yarn!
The bad news? With who's MONEY?

The good news is that I am nearly done with my monster socks.
The bad news--they're probably going to be too long. I think I may have said so in my last post, but
The bad news--I'm losing my memory. I suppose that in some instances that could be good news, especially in the case of someone I do not care to mention ever again.

The good news is that we will likely get the air conditioner out of the window and I got a space cleared in the closet again to stow it away.

The bad news is that we have to turn the heat on, 'cuz it's gettin' COLD in dem dere hills! Which means that I will have to buy corn soon, and well--the crop hasn't been combined yet. What's totally weird about all that is that I actually have the money to buy the corn this year--and certainly now is better than later, although...

The bad news is that we'll have to move things around in the garage in order to make room for the new bags of corn, so we use the older stuff up first. And...

The bad news is that we also have to pull out the corn stove and clean it out, which means pulling out all the corn that's already in it, before we can pull it out.

The good news is that hubby retired. The bad news is that he's fidgeting in his seat with nothing to do....so he's

Good news...looking for work--bad news, he hasn't found anything he thinks he'd really be interested in--other than work that he's been doing for the last 30 years. I think he shouldn't have retired, but it was the best option at the time. So I will have to put him to work on some of the bad news. He's not going to like that--and by the end of the day he will be one of those Grumpy Ole Men (GOM) and I'm not about to put up with THAT today.

Because I have things that I need to do, too. Like drink my coffee. Eat my breakfast. Buy some groceries. Buy that cashmere yarn. Finish the socks. Laundry. Vacuuming (Dr. took me off the 10 pound restriction.). Feed my snake.

Oh yes, more bad news--another one got away--probably eaten by the cat. So now I have only one.

And if the sun comes out, the lawn needs mowed. The AC needs to come out of the window and stowed away. The corn needs to be removed from the stove so that it can be pulled out of it's cubbie hole in the wall, and the ashes can be removed and the pipes swept--which alone is a big and heavy job. The garage needs to be reconnoitered. And this is what it looks like outside:

They told us SUNSHINE!!! grrr.

Blogging from My Phone...

I turned in a bug report for the Bolt Browser, which is the browser I use on my cellie. Guess what? They fixed it and sent me an update today that fixed the very bugs I reported. This thrills me to no end, because it makes it WAY easier to blog from my Blackberry!

I've been on my own all evening this evening since hubby is over at his mother's house working on something with his son in the barn. I called to make sure he was ok--since he doesn't do well driving after dark, but he was still there and I told him to sleep over. With all the deer running about, I believe it's safer that way.

So I'm watching television and suddenly get a chocolate attack. What to do? So I made a cake. I ate some of it right out of the oven. Presto! Chocolate attack goes away!

I haven't knit on my socks this evening. I'm trying to decide what I want to do about them. They are slightly too long. I think if I wash them they might shrink a bit--but if not, I might opt to give them to my son for Christmas. If that's the case, I probably shouldn't make them too feminine--put in frilly patterns and such--but I tell you, if I make them unisex, wash them and they shrink the way I want--I'll be mad that I didn't make them frilly!

I am never satisfied!

Tomorrow is Friday. I have almost worked a full week. I suppose it hasn't been too bad. But I have been tired nearly every day. I have to get up early to shower in the morning, so maybe I shouldn't stay up to watch "The Mentalist". I wish I could remember how to set up to record on my VCR!

I think I'm going to work a bit on some spinning for a while--maybe tomorrow. For tonight, I want to watch television and blog.

The Progress on the Monster Sox!

Progress pic time!

At the Office

Wow, this has been a great day for finishing up things! I'm not bragging by any means, but it feels good to be able to take a regular lunch again (although I ate too much, and I must start cutting back again if I'm to lose weight!). The only trouble (and you knew I couldn't go far without having a problem, didn't you?) is that I have to take Benedryl to dry up my allergies, and it makes me tired (naturally), and if I don't follow up with rest (like right now), I get a headache (like RIGHT NOW!). So, you guessed it.

I'm happy to have my phone back on my desk, unfortunately, all my coded buttons are undone! I have to recode them again. That's going to be a sincere pain in the behind, but it will give me something to do today. I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. It's hard when you hurt.

I mean, now that I am caught up with paperwork and phone calls. I can't imagine how I managed to do it, but I did. Headache and all notwithstanding.

So until the next job comes, I'll be working on my old emails from ages ago to see if things have been completed, and move information from one spot to another. Such fun!

It's Just Another Monday

Well, perhaps it wasn't--my first day back to work--my phone is back at my desk (yay). Notice that the "yay" isn't very happy?

I'm exhausted. The day took a lot out of me, and I wonder if it wouldn't have been better if I had gone in only a half day, but I made it through the day, and all I can say is "yay" and "whew". Beyond that, my husband called me at work to relate that we were going to his mother's for supper (okay), and that Mandy got sick all over the carpetting again.

And so I was up until 11pm last night, cleanup up dog poop from the carpet--lucky for me that I had it scotch-guarded, so cleanup wasn't the complete chore that it was before I had the carpet cleaned.

So it's Tuesday now and I'm preparing for another run. I guess the part I hate most is having to walk to and from the office. I know that it's good for me from an exercise standpoint, but I so dislike the cold, and when it's cold and wet outdoors, there's just nothing can keep me warm! I can wear so many layers that I look like a walking wardrobe, toddling down the street, purse and knitting bag in hand, but there is just nothing like being warm and cozy inside your own skin. No matter how many layers, though, I can't seem to make myself warm enough!

And with colder weather coming, it will be a long while before I can walk to work in comfort--and then it's too hot. I should have been born in a more temperate climate. Sometimes I think Alaska would be nice--it's pretty cold there all the time, and I wouldn't have all these "one minute warm, next minute freezing" types of changes--and I suppose that's what I really want. Someplace where the temps don't change 30 degrees in one day.

That would be ideal.

Well, it's 6:30am. I need to hoof it. I have a couple more things to do. Maybe I'll park in the lot today, because it's supposed to rain....hate rain...especially cold rain. It just chills me through and through. Well. Bye.