The Big One!

The big one is headed our way. Watch out America! If you haven't laid in a week's worth of supplies, go tonight, because there will be no going tomorrow--or the next day for that matter.

And buy your generator/snowblower/shovel/and whatever other winter gear, including sleeping bags and extra water. Drain any and all pipes--just in case your heat goes out, along with your electric.

Set up some bricks in the living room, lay in some wood and burnables--heck, bring in your trash can, because if you loose your method of heating the house, you can burn the trash (stinky, but paper--especially cardboard boxes burn REAL hot, and we all get enough junk mail to heat our homes for years.).

Don't forget to get up on the roof with a shovel so that your roof doesn't fall in. Have a line to keep you from falling off. Don't attach to the chimney stack, but to the entire chimney, so that if you do fall, you don't end up breaking something important (like your head). Remember, it's not the fall that kills you. It's that sudden stop. Be sure to have a buddy to spot you on the ground...he can smoke while he watches--since you probably lit his clothing on fire when you tried to burn the trash indoors.

For those who have ice on the way--head a little north--since a little south, you may have severe weather in the form of tornadoes. You will most certainly lose your electric in an ice storm of this magnitude. Lay in extra covers and kerosene--DO NOT LEAVE A KEROSENE HEATER TO BURN UNATTENDED. Everyone takes a shift, 4 hours at a time, until help comes...oh, maybe next week.

Let's see, what am I forgetting. Water, pack in some water, just in case you lose your heat, don't know it, and your pipes freeze and burst, taking all your hard-earned water away. Make up chili, bean soup and cabbage or sauerkraut. The end result (ha!) is methane, which can be burned (if you can figure out a way to ignite it without burning off the hairs on your booty).

Next spring, put up a blade style weather vane and a solar panel, collect energy from both. The weather vane will still keep you at about 10% charge during inclement weather, and that MIGHT just run your corn stove.

If all else fails, bring the barbecue into the house and run the propane!

And lastly, don't believe all the hype...much. You might be able to do without the barbecue propane tank.

Work Tomorrow!

I'll be heading back to work tomorrow after a 3 day weekend, taken because I didn't think I would make it through the day, considering how Thursday turned out, but in fact, Friday wasn't so bad.

I finished another slipper and started the next one for the pair--then while putting away some laundry, I found that the dog had chewed a hole in my blue side-cabled slippers, which TOTALLY blew my day.

I'm not sure what makes her prefer my footwear--but she is constantly chewing holes in my socks, and if I leave my undies on the floor, they go by way of the trash as well (which is really disgusting, and I don't know why I wrote it, but there you go!)

So now, I have some mending to do. Firstly, though, I have to iron hubby's shirt. He has another interview with this company that he interviewed with last week--so he wants crisp clothing. This is no problem, as I like when he looks good. We think this might just be a "formality", and that he really does have the job, which excites him quite a bit, since he studied for many weeks to get a job like this, and here it comes. He's looking forward to starting as early as Tuesday, or as late as next Monday. Either way, we both figure he's a shoe-in. The man is just good at what he does!

We made scalloped taters and pork chops tonight for supper. I just love crock pot meals. I wish that I had a crock for every day of the week! Much too hard to clean the pot daily!

Well, I'm going to do that ironing. Then I might look up another crock pot meal.

JUst a Little Excitement

It snowed 4" last night. This is not normally a problem, especially since we live on a hill. One track generally plows through our road without much trouble. But two vehicles cannot pass each other with any amount of snowfall, because there are ditches on both sides of the road...

Not DEEP ditches, mind you, but in the slickness of winter, if you end up in one, you need some real power to get out of it..especially the ditch on the brushy side of the road that butts up against the woods.

Which is precisely what happened this afternoon.

Then a car came by, tried to get around, ended up in the ditch. Still another, and drove right into the ditch.

I swear, we had a parking lot in front of our barn!

The two cars came out with a one ton truck. The diesel truck was on the brush side, and was NOT coming out, no matter what happened. Finally, a neighbor came down with his front-loader, and towed the pickup out of the brush/snow/ditch.

All is back to normal, now, but the roadway is a mess.

Around about the time we got the truck out, the local Snowmobiler's Club shot by. There were 5 or 6 of them. They like to speed up our hill and back down the other side, just before they hit our mailbox--then down the road, and of course, there's a truck in the road. I imagine he'll be on his way home in a moment or two. I'm glad we got him out. It would have been harder if the plow had come by, and I saw one "thinking about it" on the main road, then decided against it.

After all that, my step son got stuck in the lower drive. I went down to help, by steering the truck (which I didn't do well at all) while he towed it out with his bigger truck. We nearly ended up in the deeper ditch that has water in it, but we got out. He managed to drive the little truck halfway up the drive, and when it would go no further, he parked it. Even so, it slid a foot before coming to a halt with the parking brake. I hope the parking brake doesn't fail during the night.

So that was my excitement for the day. Time for a pop and sit down in my chair and finish this pair of slippers.

I'm Growing Up

No, seriously, I'm really just getting old, and things are wearing out...this stuff is natural. I knew it would happen. I just didn't think it would FEEL this bad!

I say this somewhat in jest.

My husband, of course, is a man's man--he doesn't understand any of this "woman stuff" and thinks it's all in my imagination, but the last couple of days, he's seen a real change in my behavior as it relates to my mood, and he's been skeptical..

That is, until this morning.

Some years ago, I had a hysterectomy done. I had cysts on my ovaries and a fibroid on my uterus, which was causing me quite a lot of difficulty. Since things were fixed some 20 years back, I never thought I would need a hysterectomy, but here I was, having problems with the very parts I didn't need anymore! So I had them removed. Zip! Bang! Just like that.

And I survived--I didn't think I was going to for a while, but eventually, things got back to normal, with the addition of this thing that was just so great! NO MORE PMS! I used to get seriously emotional about a week before, you see, and not know what in the world was WRONG with me. Turns out, nothing was "wrong" per se, but just that I was excreting estrogen--and for me, a little goes a long way. There were days where I would cry all day, and have no clue what might be wrong. And of course, by the time I could get in to see the doctor, WHAM BAM--the reason you change to clean underwear BEFORE you go to the doctor! By this time, however, symptoms were over, and I didn't have anything to report, or I'd forget, or "Oh, that's why!"

But I never put the two and two together, about my entire emotional life from the time I was about 11 (early bloomer, I guess) to the day I had my hysterectomy!

Until recently.

I visited my GP, complaining of dryness and sandpaper and pain during (hummm humm) and right away she sent me to a gynecologist. He checked me out thoroughly and pronounced me menopausal. Okay, so what does that mean? Do I get a lolly pop?

He said no, which upset me, but he prescribed this cream to help with the dryness and bring my (humm humm) back in line so that (humm humm) wouldn't be so uncomfortable.

I used the cream, as prescribed by my doctor, in very small quantity--probably even less than he prescribed--and within two days, I turned into Godzilla. I was mean to my husband. Somewhat less so to my co-workers, and I found myself crying and upset, anxious and sure that the world was out to get me...all within a couple of days.

I called the nurse in fits of tears that came, mostly because I didn't understand what was happening, and wondering if what it was, might it be this CREAM?

I called my therapist, and told her that I really needed to see her TODAY? Please? And tomorrow was all she could advance me.

I told my supervisor that I wasn't coming in on Friday.

And I delved into my work, as much as one can, just to busy my brain so that I didn't think about "stuff" that might set off another crying jag.

What's sort of funny about this, is that my horoscope says "Great times recently." HA! Right.

So last night, no cream, since doctor called and said "discontinue". So I did, and today (Friday). Still a little "touchy", but I think I can get through the day without crying.

Like I said. A little goes a long way! So maybe we'll just use the cream once a week, maybe twice, and see how that goes. In the meanwhile, I'm off to my therapist.

So if you're my age (Not quite 55). Keep this sort of thing in mind. Just because the doctor says it should or shouldn't do this, doesn't mean it necessarily will or won't. Give yourself a break. You know your body pretty well by now. Listen carefully to it.

Yahoo Messenger isn't Working

At least it's not working on my phone. I might have to reload it. Something is amiss, anyway.

I have found a new love.

It's called Zoup!

As you can see, I am quite in love, but the exclamation point is actually part of the name of the restaurant, so I can't lay claim.

Anyway, they serve...

Soup. Yes, and sandwiches and salads. A good place to eat if you're sort of trying to watch your weight. Their menu is online. You can order online and you can pick up your order at a specified time.

They have over a hundred different soups, and they rotate daily, so they are never serving the same soups--although some soup might carry over into the next day. Today, they had Potato/Cheddar.

OMG.

Lust, hunger...no lust. Love...okay, love.

Tasty stuff at Zoup!, so if you have one nearby, check it out. You'll be glad you did!

Twenty Seven Degrees

No, I'm not talking about karate belts. I'm talking about temperatures. Outside temperatures. Not a single degree can be felt, because at that temperature, nerves hibernate.

Bundle up before you go out, little children--and don't put your tongue against the flagpole just because a bully tells you to!

No, it's darn cold in them there hills, and it doesn't feel much warmer inside the house! I know, however, that once I step into that frozen airspace, the hairs on my head will freeze to my scalp (because I took a shower this morning). This means hat. My skin on my hands will dry and redden. This means mittens. The hair on the back of my neck will be so cold that I'll catch pneumonia. This means scarf. And all the heat of my body will migrate to my central parts to keep the vital to life organs from shutting down. This means coat. My toes will turn blue at the prospect. This means boots.

And I left my boots at the office.

Forgot.

I am doomed.

And everyone at the office is sick and coughing. Something that I seriously wish they would stay HOME to do. So far (knock on the plastic keyboard), I haven't come down with the ick--and I've been using hand sanitizer a lot more often lately. I've been eating oranges. More vegetables, please. Stocking up on the vitamins and minerals that my body needs to keep me healthy, even in the office onslaught.

On a good note, hubby had another interview yesterday, and he tells me that it went very well, and that he might have found another job that he believes he will enjoy. Plus, it's kind of right up his alley--working with dies and such--I'm hoping that he can get the day shift, but he will probably end up with midnights. I'll have to bring out my Rottweiler statue to put in the bay window...at first glance, and especially in the dark, he looks very real, and has a very toothy grin. He has this look about him...as if to say...

Sure, come on in. I can't wait to taste you!



So extra socks on those feet (yes) and make them wool so you don't sweat and get colder and freeze where you stand.

Good luck as you venture out into the blustery day.

Mandy

Mandy lives in a cage during the night. She feels safer that way, and doesn't bark at shadows all night, keeping the family awake, or being a very preemptive alarm clock--keeping the human component of the house from enjoying a full night's sleep. It works for everyone.

Still, I wish she didn't have to live in a cage during the night. If someone were to break in, she would be most vociferous and probably more than a little scary. A frightened dog is the worst sort of dog to come against. Handling a frightened dog is not an easy thing to do--and frightened dogs are very likely to bite your head off.

So imagine my angst...



When on the front page of the local paper, was a story of a person who had hogtied their pit bull terrier mix with electrical tape, taped it's mouth shut, beat it senseless about the head, and left it in a wooded area to freeze to death.

Now, frankly, I don't care much for pit bulls, but this was too much for my sensitive soul to bear.

A kinder soul walking his boxer dogs found the pit bull literally frozen to the ground. I'm not sure how he got the dog OFF the ground, but he had to have needed some liquid to get the dog up without taking it's skin right off it's body...but I digress.

He took the dog directly to the humane society. There's a $500 reward for information leading to the owner, and some felony charges await the culprit. If I knew who it was, I wouldn't even ask for the reward--I might give it to the humane society who took the dog. I might give it to the man who saved the dog. I might give it to the prosecutor who puts the owner into jail for doing such a heinous thing!

And I don't care much for pit bull terriers. But this treatment was cruel, even for a pit bull.

But then I got to thinking...

What if the pit bull had killed his child? Well, I suppose that the cruelty the dog endured was still too much, since a dog like that should be put down--but people--HUMANELY...as in, take it to the vet and have it put to sleep. It makes me wonder sometimes, how can people be so inhumane and inhuman? Still, where's the dead (or maimed) child? Huh?

Mandy is let out of her cage in the morning when my alarm sounds, and released into the cold winter to do her business. She barks at the door to be let in, and I let her in because I know how cold it is out there, and she's an indoor dog. Even though she has a rough coat with lots of undercoat to keep her warmer, she's still an indoor dog and not accustomed to being outside for a long period of time. Her little foot pads get cold and it makes her feet hurt. So I don't leave her outside very long. I did try the leather soled dog boots, but they were more trouble than they were worth, and kept coming off. She'd leave three of them outside, which I'd have to retrieve, which means I'd have to get dressed, put on shoes, and go outside and get them before they blew away. So I just watch from the window to make sure she does all her business, and then let her back inside to warm up.

At the moment, she's at my feet, getting a good head scratching. Next, she's on the bed, wagging her tail and smiling at me. Thanking me for her breakfast (kibble served wet, as she likes it) when she comes back in. She's a good dog. I have been through the wringer with her on some fronts, but I would never leave her outside to freeze to death. I just shake my head sometimes in disbelief at the horrible things people can do to other living things.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not a PITA supporter. I believe that people should go out and shoot deer for food. I believe we raise chickens and beef (and others) for meat to eat. We have canine teeth so that we can rip and tear meat, and molars so that we can mash food into little bits. I am not a vegetarian. I like meat. I'm not always sure that the farms that raise animals for food always handle matters humanely, but then again, neither did the caveman. I doubt we sing a little song of praise and thanks for the "kill" anymore--thanking the animal for giving up it's life spirit--but then again, the animals are raised for this specific purpose--not to be pets or family members. And the sheer quantity would preclude that, I think.

Anyway--it's only 10 degrees outside. I'm going to crawl back between the sheets and beg Mandy to lay on my feet and keep them warm.

So I'm watching the news for any reports on the

The Latest...

It seemed like the week went on forever. When I got home today from my day at JoAnn's (more on that later), hubby was playing his game, and I decided to put in a load of laundry and get more knitting done.

Now the exciting part...

I knit two scarves out of Red Heart Pompadoodle yarn. Everyone walking by LOVED them, and basically, they sold out of the yarn in no time flat.

Twice.

They had to go back to the storage room to get more.

By the time I left, they had just 2 balls of blue left.

I think they liked the project I did. It sure made them some money!

And I had a couple of people sign up for classes, too. So I'll be seeing some activity there.

But it's cold, my friends. Very, very cold. As we speak, my little thermometer on my computer is registering only 9 degrees outside. Hubby has had the fireplace set to TWO all day, and it's still only 65 degrees inside the house. Usually, we only have the fire set on ONE, and it nearly smokes us out! Thank goodness, that we will be going to bed at some point soon. So with that, I'm off to check my Facebook page, and then to bed.

Knitting, Again...

Same bag, different color...or should I say colors? I'm using some of the leftovers from the blue bag to make the bottom and sides, then starting with the brown, light brown, tan and cream--I have some variagated green/brown, and think I might make a stripe of that as well. It will make my bag quite original, I think.

I'm going to work up several felted items and take them all in to felt them at the local laundermat. Save my own machine, and my girlfriend's machine--since I don't have a top loader.

Work is going along, and I have just 10 minutes before lunch. The plan is to go to Zoup! and get some soup. They make it a little too convenient, because I can order online, go over at my leisure, grab my soup and go. I think it works really well. The soup at Zoup! is pretty fantastic, and I can't stop going over there. It's never the same thing twice in a row, and I get a lot of variety. It's also pretty low carb, and I can eat what I need, and still feel full.

After work today, I'm going to drop in on a friend and give her a hand with a crochet pattern because she's having trouble. Then I'll go home and knit some more. I know it sounds like a pretty boring day. I have lots of those--lacking in drama and suspense--but it's good for my blood pressure! :) (not that my BP is high, you understand, but why take chances?) I think I can live with a boring life.

Of course, you know, you live a boring life for too long, and all of a sudden, the drama and suspense comes crashing down on you, and suddenly, you don't know which way to turn. It's sort of like you're Wylie Coyote, and the anvil is coming back down to hit you in the head and knock you clear to China, and all you have on hand is an umbrella to stop it. In these times, you open the umbrella over your head, and let the anvil hit you and knock you clear to China. Funny how that really does happen in real life, when you figure that running just isn't going to cut it. Right now, though, I'm in one of those smooth, (don't tell anybody!) easy going sort of times...but I can sense the anvil coming.

Because life happens to you, like it or not.

I hope your umbrella isn't made by Acme.

Gretchen Purse

It's ready for felting. I just have to knit a few more things (also for felting) before I can completely finish the article. I'm pretty jazzed about the whole thing, and can't wait. I have different shades of brown waiting for the needles for another bag, but want to also make another pair of fuzzy slippers. Decisions. Decisions!

Holy Cow at JoAnn's!

I had five students for Knitting 101 tonight. That's a lot of students! They were all happy with what they learned, even though some of them didn't quite "get" all of it, there was some real learning going on, and we all had a bit of fun!

Working on the Gretchen, but found a small roadblock, and I'm waiting for the designer to get back to me on the matter. There's just a little instruction left out that might be helpful for newcomers to knitting and make the pattern easier to understand.

Thinking of the storm that is set to hit tonight, and how it's going to affect getting to the office tomorrow. I hope that the roads don't get too bad, but they are saying "Rain, sleet and snow", and all three make for treacherous driving. Maybe they will call off tomorrow? Especially since I have only a half day. It would be so much better to just wait until noon to go into town. I wonder if they would understand?

Sunrise on MLK Holiday

Just to share.

I got an email from the designer of the Gretchen Purse. It seems her son likes to play with her rows counter. She thought she had knit 68 rows before the handle. Except that she had only knit about 54 in actuality.

I have to frog about 14 more rows!

Tenna Draper
Ravelry id-drapert
Blog-www.tothenines9.blogspot.com

Saturday Knitting Field Trip?

Or maybe not. We're getting quite a lot of snow. I think it's going to be canceled. Ratz! I really wanted to go!

Guess if it's canceled, I'll stay home and knit on the Gretchen purse. I've knit 28 of the 68 rows of the purse so far. It was slow knitting last night because I was watching Medium.

Finally went to sleep about 10:30/11:00pm, and there was still no snow, so I was hopeful, but this morning, the little thermometer on my desktop says 25 degrees and snow--even though I'm not seeing any falling--I suppose it could just be that I can't see anymore--especially small things--and spots on my windshield look like fog to me due to the double image. It's really frustrating. But there is new snow on the ground covering up the tracks that I wanted to review this morning--and all over the car--not very deep, certainly wouldn't stop me or my friend, but there are others who won't venture out if the road is slick--or if there's a possibility of "more snow". So I figure, it will likely be canceled.

I got some good news and some bad news from the doctor yesterday. The bad news is that they (and I quote) "don't know what it is". Sigh. The good news is that (and again, I quote), "it isn't what they thought it might be." Because that test came out negative.

So how do you treat something if you don't know what it is?

So there's a referral in my future, I expect, but I have a suspicion, and I'm going to discuss it with the doc on Tuesday (since Monday is a holiday).

Well, guess I will comb my hair and begin my day. Perhaps I will clean kitchen. Perhaps I'll get a Pepsi out of the frig, sit in my chair and knit? The former doesn't sound fun at all, but the latter sounds okay. Maybe I'll do both, and hope that my friend calls me before I start hoping that things will work out and we're going, and then get the call sometime around 10 saying we're not going.

Don't you just hate it when that happens?

The Start of Something BIG!

Well maybe not so big...but a stealh project for a friend!

Tenna Draper
Ravelry id-drapert
Blog-www.tothenines9.blogspot.com

Thursday--

And, if I'm not mistaken, a three day weekend, where I can get tons of work around the house done.

Or, not?

Whatever I do, I suppose it will be something that will energize me for work next week.

Or. not.

Did you like the bag I posted yesterday? It's quite cute, yes? I went right out and bought the yarn for two of them. I'm thinking seriously about starting one today.

Or. not.

What is this? Startitis meltdown?

I say that because I also have the yarn for a pair of slippers, several prayer shawls, an afghan, three or four shawls, I can't begin to tell you how many socks and dishcloths, and patterns for all these--

And Rhiannon languishes in my fear that she will not work out for me. I'm a bit worried about her. A fair isle sweater sits in a bag downstairs, I am sure, CRYING to be let out to play. It took three Tylenol and a Valium to shut out her pleas one day--

Not for her--for ME!

I always get like this after a long-ish project is finished. I have so many projects that I can't decide what to do or what to work on next!

Yarn Harlot decided to put all her yarn and patterns into kits and put herself into a "self-imposed sock club". I don't think this means she actually joined a sock club. I think she had so much yarn and so many sock patterns, that she just bagged up some yarn and a pattern, and it was sort of like a "grab and git". Me? I'd probably join the sock club, if I didn't spend the money on yarn of some sort.

It's not like I'm unfaithful with my projects, but when they get to a point where I fear they aren't going to work to flawless perfection. So trust me, when it comes to my knitting, nothing short of perfection is desired, but most of the time, I have to deal with little imperfections at one point or another, and it bugs the heck out of me--I mean, I *have* been knitting for many, many, many years, after all! (Okay, let's knock off the Many, Many bit!)

So I suppose that I will begin with a blue bag. I'm going to trade this for some green lace-weight that I have been coveting for some time that's in my friend's stash. As if I need more yarn. But this stuff is earmarked for a special project, and I simply must have it. She tells me that the dog got hold of it (I can fix tears and I can wash slobber, NO PROBLEM!). I suppose that it's a fair trade, seeing as how she covets the bag, and actually likes my knitting. Go figure. (No really, Mary, you know I'm not a horrible knitter, but felting sort of takes all those small imperfections and hides them so well that even the hairdresser doesn't know.)

I was dreaming about playing piano again last night--this time with someone who was pretty accomplished at piano--but all I could do was plink out a few notes and goof around.

Then I realized that my alarm was ringing.

Funny how reality intrudes on my sleeping world.

Finished!

And I will wear to the office tomorrow! The pic shows only half of the scarf. My new keyboard used for perspective. 

Tenna Draper
Ravelry id-drapert
Blog-www.tothenines9.blogspot.com

Still Plodding Along

I am still working on the Honeycomb Scarf. This Fisherman skein of wool is lasting forever, and there seems to be no end to it. The plan is to keep going until there's nothing left, and I'm sticking to that. Still, it seems like it's taking a VERY long time.

Found a new project that I think I would like to work on. It will be using Fisherman in a different color, which will be great, because then (gasp) I can make another Honeycomb scarf (not) out of a different color. Or maybe a hat. The Ravelry link is here:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gretchen-purse



I know it doesn't look like much, but it's got everything I like in a bag--simple, understated, goes with everything, easy to carry. I could make a hundred of these in every color of the rainbow just by dying the wool.

So I got the pattern. Who knows when I'll start it. First, there's this Honeycomb scarf...

Eunny Jang's Ribbing Tips

Eunny Jang shows us how to cast on for ribbing:

Almost Four Feet Long

Its almost done. The skein is nearly gone.

Tenna Draper
Ravelry id-drapert
Blog-www.tothenines9.blogspot.com

Finally the Weekend!

I'm taking it easy, for the most part. Hubby and I finished cleaning the kitchen up, and I knit on my honeycomb scarf. We started watching a "Bones" Dvd from Netflix, and I decided to come in and blog.

Things just seem to work out that way, sometimes.

I'm playing around a lot with my newer computer--I like the monitor--A LOT. It's not the best that there is, but it's really quite more than I need. The laptop was okay, and still works. I might just run that back and forth to work--you know, if I could "ever get some free time" around there.

Honestly, I was behind 2 weeks, and in a week, I had myself caught back up. I worked my fingers to the bone, and got bony fingers to prove it, and stressed myself out with all of it, so when Wednesday happened, I was so sure that it was Tuesday. Then all the rest of the week, date-wise, I was a day behind. Meaning, that while it was the 6th, I was still writing the 5th. It was weird, but I didn't write the year down wrong, which is what I usually do....2010 all over again. Not this year, sweetheart! No, this year, I lose a day. I wonder if that's going to be a theme for the year?

We had dinner at Fire Mountain. This is a buffet style restaurant, similar to the old Ryan's Steakhouse, except you get to watch them make your steak over an open grill--the rest of the food is out on display. It's usually a good place to eat, as long as I stay away from the lettuce. Today, I didn't, and now, I'm paying for it. Funny how something like that, just one or two little bits, and you feel icky all night long.

I've nearly finished getting my computer back to snuff. I've got a few more things to do, but essentially, it's pretty much done. I've cleaned out a ton of email, and updated the sites I visit regularly. Here, of course, and Ravelry, and some others. It's not a simple process. Once you get your old machine "just right", it's time to get a new machine and start all over with a new operating system and the whole works. It's been daunting, but I'll survive.

If I can, I will get a picture of the Honeycomb Scarf uploaded so you can see how far I've come with it. I swear, it's nearly done--maybe another foot or two. I figure that I'll just run the skein out before finishing off, and hope to not have any leftovers, or to have a scarf that's too short. Time will tell.

Rich Michaels, local radio personality (I think I mentioned him in the not too distant past), invited a bunch of people to a local pub to have a reunion and drink. Well, I'm not up for that scene. I'd rather spend my eves knitting--besides, I can't partake anyhow, so why revel in someone else's party mood when I'm really not up for it after the trip to Fire Mountain?

So off I go to get back to the knitting scene. I hope that everyone is having a great new year.

The Guru Hat

Tenna Draper
Ravelry id-drapert
Blog-www.tothenines9.blogspot.com

Here's my guri

He's adorable.
Hubby made a wonderful supper too.

Tenna Draper
Ravelry id-drapert
Blog-www.tothenines9.blogspot.com

Long Day at the Office

It was a long day today, but I made it through. My guru showed up today, and we spent most of the evening working on putting my computer up and getting it running.


I gave him his hat, and he was quite pleased with it.

It's getting late, and I have already taken my sleeping pill, and I'm starting to get a little bleary eyed. I'll post a pic of the hat (on the guru) in a moment...

There's been a development. I can't be more specific than that, other than I have to wait for some results, and then I might not tell the results...It will have to remain a secret for the time being.

First Day Back to Work

Sigh. Vacation is over. Today I go back to the office.

I really enjoyed my vacation. It was quite restful, and goodness knows that I could use the rest. I'm really stressed out this morning, because I know that when I go in to the office, EVERYTHING will be scattered to the four winds, and I will have to get everything back into sensible order before I can begin anew for the New Year, and I only have a half day in which to do it, which by all accounts, is clearly not enough time.

I finished reading Sherlock Holmes, which was more of an anthology of short stories of his exploits as written by Dr. Watson, however, it was a good read and kept me intrigued for it's 750+ pages. Then I read "The Ritual Bath" by a Ms. Kellerman. I give that one about 4 stars. A speedy (200+ pages) detective/mystery novel about rape and murder in a small Jewish community. My next "read" is "Winter Garden".

I'm still working on the Cable Scarf from JoAnn's. Today is knit day, and I am taking the cable scarf with me to work on. I won't be taking my Nook, because I don't have any time. It's very likely, considering all the "catching up" I'll need to do, that I won't have time to visit the loo, let alone read a book or knit. So all that is going to sit in the car waiting, since "Winter Garden" isn't on my Nook--but on the Kindle App on my phone. The book was too expensive to re-download to the Nook.

Between work and play is a doctor appointment that I cannot miss.

Even through all the stress this morning, I am still tired and grumpy. I would FAR rather stay home. I didn't get any of the housework or the house projects done, and I'm thinking that on Wednesday I should begin that. Tuesday night is knit night in Lake O. My hope is that hubby will try to finish the "honey-do" list I leave for him.

Beyond all of that, it is going to show to be a quite normal Monday, and with that, it appears that my blogging time is up, and I should be on my way to the office. Everyone have a good first Monday of the New Year.

The Tarot Card for the Day is the 9 of Swords Reversed. It means that the time of suffering is nearly done. The nightmare that has plagued me for so long is resolving itself. That reminds me. I have to contact my GP and get an appointment. Thank you, Tarot!

Honeycomb Scarf

I started the scarf two months ago as a sample for JoAnn's. Pretty scarf but takes a while to knit.

Tenna Draper
Ravelry id-drapert
Blog-www.tothenines9.blogspot.com