Challenges

Yesterday was one of those days. You know, if things are going to go wrong they go in a big way. I mentioned that we had a water main leak a few weeks ago. The DPW guys were not unhappy that day as it resulted in overtime for them but it got Husband and I talking about how crappy our water pressure is and with the warm weather coming it's going to get even worse. And lets not go into the interesting color that comes out of the facets.
Anyway, last week I heard a lot of loud male voices outside my house and when I stepped outside it was a bunch of city workers spray painting my street.
See -
















One color for gas and one for the water. They informed me the 2 inch water main was being upgraded to an 8 inch main! Yipee!!! We'll be able to flush both toilets at the same time.
So this has been living on my street for about a week.

Tuesday they started making the trench for the new pipe, which involved a very annoying machine that make all kinds of weird loud noises and it came down past my house. The upshot of THAT was this

A semi solid line down the street that ends at the stream. They also dug a really deep hole at the other end of the street which they do cover with a huge steel plate every night. Well yesterday morning just as the guys were starting to dig again, I had to call 911. My CO2 monitor was going off intermittently and you are suppose to call the Fire Department. Turns out it's an old unit giving up the ghost but they smelled gas in the kitchen and had to call the gas company. Which arrived about 20 minutes later and didn't find any detectable levels of gas anywhere in the house - not around the stove, under the stove, behind the stove or in the stove. However, we could SMELL gas every so often so he had to condemn my stove.


Which, for me is not so bad. I've wanted to replace this since we bought the house 15 years ago but I wasn't prepared to shop for a new one this weekend. I've got to work both days and also will have the little dogs overnight. We're looking for a used range to get us through until we remodel the kitchen. That's when I'll have the nice new cook top and dual ovens installed.
Sigh, why do hardware always go south when you just spent you last dime? But I have dual flushing to look forward to this summer!

O.M.G.!!!!!

Warning - Put down any liquids and solids before clicking.
Check out the baby. Babyhood

Now check out the picture that didn't make the pattern. Baby Got Flack

Told you. Don't blame me for having to clean up a mess.

PS - The second link is why The Boss got her nickname. She came out with that look!

SPRING?

Well, I know it's spring. The DPW department is fixing a water main break -again! Back in January, the big trucks were at the end of my street along with a front end loader and a whole boatload of men looking into a huge hole. Well, today when I finally got home for good, I noticed a huge puddle and bubbling water at the same corner. So for the last few hours, I've enjoyed the sounds of jackhammers, big truck backup beepers and a front end loader revving up.
Our house guest, Miss Wanda, is currently moping on the couch with Youngest as Husband had a baseball thing tonight. She tried her darnedest to go with him but she had to stay here with us. Check out Lucy's latest blog post to see what I'm talking about. She sooo wanted to get in the car as soon as I walked in the door. And then she was so disapointed that Husband wasn't here for her to worship. But she'll have a few days to soak him up.
As for knitting, I've finished a few small things but best of all I haven't started anything new. Now if Mother Nature will stop snowing on my day's off, I can get into my stash and really get it organized.
I realized that I put most of it into my Ravelry but about half of it has no designation as to which box I put it into. So maybe tomorrow I can get out there and really get it organized.
Wish me luck!

And So It Begins!!!!!

In just under an hour my sporting season will start. It's going to be an interesting season. Lots of interesting rule changes, lots of new teams and lots of action!
I've got my knitting project lined up just waiting to be picked up after DW yells Boggity! Boggity! Boggity! How I've missed that. And how I'm going to enjoy it for the next few races.
Unfortunately, I've been laid low with a nasty cold and am missing The Boss's birthday party. She's 11! Which means The Gift will be 2 in a couple of months. And Youngest will be 25 after that. What is going on with the calendar?! How did these kids get so old so fast?
Well, I'm going to claim my spot on the couch, get comfy and enjoy the next few hours. I'm hoping for a great race with a tight finish and no injuries to any of the driver's, except The Other Gordon. He needs to crash right after crossing the start/finish line so I don't have to see his car on the track or hear his name mentioned.
Have a great day and if y'all don't hear from me until just before Thanksgiving, I'll be doing fine!

So I Didn't Win

Yesterday a group of us from the Taunton SnB decided to take advantage of the Super Bowl. Black Sheep Knitting Co., in Needham was one of the many LYS having sales and we did ourselves proud. I DID NOT spend the most but I did manage to get a few noteworthy items as well as knocking off a couple of things on my wish list.
Look! Yarn!
Starting left to right from the back are Bashful Fibers, Mountain Colors Bearfoot, Regis Softy Color, Lang Jawoll Aktion (with a reinforcement spool!), Regia Silk and Lang Jawoll Cotton Jacquard.





I found out about Bashful Fibers from exploring other's stashes on Ravelry but didn't expect to find it so quick. My plan is to make Youngest a pair of tube socks with it.
I had to get the Bearfoot cause I don't have that colorway. I was asked what I was going to make with it. Well, nothing as a matter of fact. I buy Bearfoot to feel up not to knit with it! I have never even heard of the Regia Softy and decided use it to make The Boss and The Gift matching socks. The rest will eventually become socks for whoever.

But I didn't just buy yarn, I added to the accessories/books section as well.












Knitted Jackets by Cheryl Oberle, Addi 0000 (1.25mm) double points, a Mighty Bright clip on lamp (love the color!), pink and blue highlighter tape, another pair of 'reading' glasses, three samples of Soak, jumbo locking stitch markers and soft stitch ring markers.
I plan on using my Border Leicester hand-spun to make The Wrapper jacket. The pullover I had almost completed turned out Wrong! So I hunted around and found Cheryl had a new book out. This pattern jumped out at me as I wanted a casual jacket for the yarn. Let's hope I have enough hand-spun to complete it!
I've needed an small clip on light for years and this one seems to fit the bill. It has 2 LED lights and runs on 3 AAA batteries. I like the fact you can choose one or 2 lights and it clips or will sit flat. I tested it out last night during part of the game and I was able to see my pattern and knitting quite clearly. I have high hopes for this.
I'm always in need of reading glasses and I loved the color of this pair. Hopefully (if I remember to put them in the bag) I'll have an easier time of finding these than some of my other pairs.
I was called crazy when I showed off my find of a set of Addi 0000 needles. I have enough cobweb lace yarn to make a Wedding Ring shawl. Just cause I've had this yarn for almost 10 years and never started doesn't mean I'm crazy! My Mom has a magnifying lamp I can use.
The rest will probably end up being used for gifts bags on The Half Mystery Tour. Which is still in the planning phase. I'm waiting on a certain place to get back to me so I can get pricing done.

Oh, and if buying more sock yarn wasn't enough I even bought socks this weekend. See - I can shop for clothes. These are Smart Wool socks with a padded sole. I test wore them yesterday and I was impressed. My feet were warm but not overly so and the padding help with keeping my feet comfortable.
I did buy another style of Smart Wool socks but the company will be getting a nasty letter from me about those. Making the cast on and cuff tight for a pair of knee high socks that are designed for multiple sized feet makes for having the circulation cut off on your calves. Stupid people! The elastic in the sock will keep them up!

On The Down Side

I've made it over the mountain and now I can see the finish line! I've spent the last month or so getting my Ravelry account filled up with FOs, UFOs, TOADs and the SABLE.
My next step is to really examine the UFOs and decide which I want to finish and then frog the rest. Then I'm going to attach the SABLE and try to get it down to a stash.
This has been a good exercise for me. I've finally got a handle on what I've got going and and how much time I have to play with it. I sorta knew I had KADD (knitting attention deficit disorder) but had no idea how bad it was! No wonder I have 8 size 4 16 inch circular needles and could not find one when I needed one! They were in UFOS! Some of which were years old and now that they have surfaced I can't figure out A) Why I started/stopped the project, B) Where I was in the pattern and C) What was I thinking???? when I started it.
This has lead to reflection in other area's of my life and home. I'm really starting to get the house into some kind of order without any input from Husband. He's just hopeless at that sort of thing. I'm not sure why but I've come to accept that he is not able to deal with anything outside of work.
So, this time next year I'm hoping that I have a dining room set up, a functioning kitchen and bedrooms that echo when you enter.

PS-Happy Birthday to me!!!

On A Roll

Sorta. I've been busy entering my stash into Ravelry - http://www.ravelry.com/people/thefibergoddess/stash?view=thumbnail
along with taking pictures to go with the yarn. I am getting better with the digital camera which I consider a side benefit.
As I've pulled out my yarn, I've also discovered some old projects, some of which are TOAD's (Trashed Objects Abandoned in Disgust). I have decided that for 2009 I will work my way through my TOAD's and UFO's and either make them FO's or frog them and re-purpose the yarn. In addition, I'm going to take a serious look at the SABLE and whittle it down to a more manageable STASH.
And maybe, just maybe I can get an Etsy shop up and running for myself this year. I've been thinking about this for a while and have a couple of idea's on what I want to do. Now I just have to firm up which way I want to go and start it.