It’s almost 2:30 and I just realized that I have done almost nothing today but sit in front of the computer reading blogs and listening to pod casts.
I did manage to get the last 2 loads of laundry done for the week but beyond that nothing. I blame Husband for that. He had left Friday night for a weekend camping with the guy’s and I was giddy with thoughts of what I could get done over 2 days.
I go the call Friday night that Youngers practice was canceled for the morning and with Husband gone Younger and I settled in and relaxed for the evening. I fell asleep on the couch so I have no idea what time she went to bed. All I know is that I woke up around 1 am with lights and fans on. If anyone looked in the window I must have looked like I was shot or drugged on the couch!
Saturday we took off to relieve Susan at Lucy’s and had a good afternoon. I made progress on the Clapotis to the point where I have dropped my first stitch in Section 3. I figured that I could get a few more stitches dropped but NOOOO! I didn't even finish the first repeat when I found my stitch count off! So, I set it aside and went to bed.
I awoke later than my usually time this morning (6:15) and settled in with my coffee and knitting to listen to a few pod casts figuring that Younger wouldn’t be awake for a couple of hours when I heard Husband’s truck backing down the street at 6:45 am! What the!??
The story was he was kept up all night both Friday and Saturday and came home to sleep. With the Nextel Cup having a weekend off I had nothing to watch this afternoon so I just sat here.
I have tried to start a new pair of socks for Younger in Fixation but had to frog it because I cast on too many stitches! So I decided to try using the 2 circ method and that went bust as well! I guess I’m going to make a burned offering of cashmere to the Knitting Deities in order to get out of this funk with being able to knit socks!
Maybe I should try and spin a little??
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
I Must Be Wearing A Sign
You ever have one of those days where the public assumes you are in charge and make all the decisions? Well, today was my day.
I was sent to the RMV to put another new company vehicle on the road and take one off. Before I left the office I went over the RMV-1 and filled in the missing stuff. I also made sure I had the correct registration for the vehicle coming off the road. I have this routine down pat. I know what to expect when I get to the registry. I’ve learned from past experience what the people behind the counter will hone in on and NOT give you plates.
What threw me today is when I was informed that I Had To Call a certain state agency because that agency would not perform the requested function. I am only the messenger! I’ve been given the warning the past 6 times (in less than 3 weeks, mind you!) about the PROBLEM and I have passed the message on to the appropriate person who should have dealt with this PROBLEM already!
Of course, it’s not an emergency for them because they didn’t heed the warning. By the way, the person behind the desk said I could come straight back to them today as soon as the PROBLEM was taken care of. HA! It’s going to be a few days before I get back there.
Later on, my boss was out of the office and I had to call him to find out what vehicle was to be looked at by an insurance adjuster. He had been told this person would arrive at 10 am. It was not 10 am but several hours past that. He was standing in the office and overheard my boss say that the vehicle in question might not be available because of the 10 am thing. To which, this man rather rudely said we don’t make time appointments because we don’t know how long it will take to make our assessment of a vehicle and if the vehicle was not here he would call in a few days to reschedule. Then I had to fast walk after him to inform him that the vehicle was here and point it out to him. Yuck! When my boss returned I passed the message on about the not scheduling times and he has decided that someone else will deal with the insurance stuff from now on.
On a better note, I have been knitting. Because of the issues with the sock knitting deities, I decided to tackle a Clapotis using a silk and rayon lace weight yarn from my stash. So far, so good. I’ve got to work 1 more repeat in Section 2 then comes the fun part with the dropping of stitches. I’m hoping to give this a SIL for Christmas. And husband commented that SIL would love the colors.
I was sent to the RMV to put another new company vehicle on the road and take one off. Before I left the office I went over the RMV-1 and filled in the missing stuff. I also made sure I had the correct registration for the vehicle coming off the road. I have this routine down pat. I know what to expect when I get to the registry. I’ve learned from past experience what the people behind the counter will hone in on and NOT give you plates.
What threw me today is when I was informed that I Had To Call a certain state agency because that agency would not perform the requested function. I am only the messenger! I’ve been given the warning the past 6 times (in less than 3 weeks, mind you!) about the PROBLEM and I have passed the message on to the appropriate person who should have dealt with this PROBLEM already!
Of course, it’s not an emergency for them because they didn’t heed the warning. By the way, the person behind the desk said I could come straight back to them today as soon as the PROBLEM was taken care of. HA! It’s going to be a few days before I get back there.
Later on, my boss was out of the office and I had to call him to find out what vehicle was to be looked at by an insurance adjuster. He had been told this person would arrive at 10 am. It was not 10 am but several hours past that. He was standing in the office and overheard my boss say that the vehicle in question might not be available because of the 10 am thing. To which, this man rather rudely said we don’t make time appointments because we don’t know how long it will take to make our assessment of a vehicle and if the vehicle was not here he would call in a few days to reschedule. Then I had to fast walk after him to inform him that the vehicle was here and point it out to him. Yuck! When my boss returned I passed the message on about the not scheduling times and he has decided that someone else will deal with the insurance stuff from now on.
On a better note, I have been knitting. Because of the issues with the sock knitting deities, I decided to tackle a Clapotis using a silk and rayon lace weight yarn from my stash. So far, so good. I’ve got to work 1 more repeat in Section 2 then comes the fun part with the dropping of stitches. I’m hoping to give this a SIL for Christmas. And husband commented that SIL would love the colors.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Writing Letters
It’s amazing what good stationary does! A few weeks ago, I was gifted with a couple of boxes of great quality, small note size stationary with matching envelopes. In the past week, I’ve discovered writing letters and mailing them.
I grew up in the age of paper. My grandfather came to this country after WWI from Germany and I can remember the look and feel of the airmail envelope. I can remember looking down the hall way and seeing them propped up on the bed and hearing Grampy reading (in German) all the news from the old country.
I remember being sent to the desk for paper and pen to write thank you notes and letter’s to family members that had moved away. It was exciting to receive mail in my name and know that someone had thought enough of me to do the physical task of putting pen to paper, writing my name on the envelope and spending money to insure that it arrived where I was living.
To this day, I still get excited butterflies in my stomach when I receive mail from family members and I still have letter’s and card’s I’ve received from when I was a child.
Don’t get me wrong. I now live in the electronic age. I spend a huge amount of time in front of computers both at work and at home. I love getting and sending email. I actually find it easier to write an email than a letter because I can erase any mistakes I make in spelling or grammar. Writing a letter in pen slows me down because I have think about what I want to say and then write it down. I’ve always thought faster than I can write and it became very frustrating forgetting what I wanted to say. Not to mention the fact, I can’t spell worth a damn.
Getting back to the stationary - During the week, I wrote a longish letter to a member of my knitting guild. She did not attend that last 2 meetings and I missed her. She has been my inspiration for a long time. She’s taught me so much about knitting and life in general and is always the first person I want to show off a Finished Object to. She is also a night owl, literally! She sleeps all day and is up all night so getting her on the phone is difficult. Not to mention that I don’t like to wake up her husband by calling too early in the morning.
And then tonight I was thinking about the wife of Youngers softball coach. She was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year and has not been able to come to any of the practices. We’ve been getting update on her progress from Coach but today it came to me that I wanted to let her know I was thinking of her and sending good energy her way. So I grabbed the box, pulled out a sheet and wrote her a short note. Then I folded it, put it in the envelope and addressed it. I’ll drop it in the mail at work on Monday.
Stationary is good!
I grew up in the age of paper. My grandfather came to this country after WWI from Germany and I can remember the look and feel of the airmail envelope. I can remember looking down the hall way and seeing them propped up on the bed and hearing Grampy reading (in German) all the news from the old country.
I remember being sent to the desk for paper and pen to write thank you notes and letter’s to family members that had moved away. It was exciting to receive mail in my name and know that someone had thought enough of me to do the physical task of putting pen to paper, writing my name on the envelope and spending money to insure that it arrived where I was living.
To this day, I still get excited butterflies in my stomach when I receive mail from family members and I still have letter’s and card’s I’ve received from when I was a child.
Don’t get me wrong. I now live in the electronic age. I spend a huge amount of time in front of computers both at work and at home. I love getting and sending email. I actually find it easier to write an email than a letter because I can erase any mistakes I make in spelling or grammar. Writing a letter in pen slows me down because I have think about what I want to say and then write it down. I’ve always thought faster than I can write and it became very frustrating forgetting what I wanted to say. Not to mention the fact, I can’t spell worth a damn.
Getting back to the stationary - During the week, I wrote a longish letter to a member of my knitting guild. She did not attend that last 2 meetings and I missed her. She has been my inspiration for a long time. She’s taught me so much about knitting and life in general and is always the first person I want to show off a Finished Object to. She is also a night owl, literally! She sleeps all day and is up all night so getting her on the phone is difficult. Not to mention that I don’t like to wake up her husband by calling too early in the morning.
And then tonight I was thinking about the wife of Youngers softball coach. She was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year and has not been able to come to any of the practices. We’ve been getting update on her progress from Coach but today it came to me that I wanted to let her know I was thinking of her and sending good energy her way. So I grabbed the box, pulled out a sheet and wrote her a short note. Then I folded it, put it in the envelope and addressed it. I’ll drop it in the mail at work on Monday.
Stationary is good!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
I Can Not Knit.......
Socks! I have been trying to make some new sock for myself since November? December? of last year. Oh, I’ve finished a few that were on the needles and I’ve completed a few simple pairs for younger. What I’ve been craving to make is a few more pairs of OOOH! AHHH! socks for my collection.
I’ve got all the popular books – Knitting on the Road, Vogue Socks One, Socks 3X. I’ve even bought a new one recently – Sensational Knitting Socks. I’ve got a gazillion patterns printed out from the web. I have a multiple sets of double point’s, 16 inch circ’s and 24 inch circ’s.
I have the desire and the need to make a pair that are chocolate for my feet. I can see these socks on my feet and feel the sensation of my body relaxing because my feet are happy.
So why is it that the desire is there, the knowledge is vast, the materials needed to complete this task are so available and I can not knit a pair of stinking socks!!!!
Since Saturday, I have cast on and frogged the same yarn 3 times. With the first pattern I chose I was able to complete the cuff and the simple 3 stitch ‘clock’ pattern down the sides defeated me. I couldn’t get the math to work. Of course, today it all made sense.
So I kept the cuff (I really, really like it) and found a different pattern for the leg. I got half way through the gusset decrease and frogged that! The cast on was a little tight, the leg was short and the gusset was going to be too large for my foot.
Today I attempted the original pattern again and I dropped a stitch somewhere in the working of the Cannel Isle cast on and didn’t find this out until I started the cuff pattern!
ARRRRGGGGGG!!!
It’s got to be some kind of karmic voodoo thing from some knitting deity who has decided that I should not knit fancy socks every again.
I give up. I’m going to knit lace.
I’ve got all the popular books – Knitting on the Road, Vogue Socks One, Socks 3X. I’ve even bought a new one recently – Sensational Knitting Socks. I’ve got a gazillion patterns printed out from the web. I have a multiple sets of double point’s, 16 inch circ’s and 24 inch circ’s.
I have the desire and the need to make a pair that are chocolate for my feet. I can see these socks on my feet and feel the sensation of my body relaxing because my feet are happy.
So why is it that the desire is there, the knowledge is vast, the materials needed to complete this task are so available and I can not knit a pair of stinking socks!!!!
Since Saturday, I have cast on and frogged the same yarn 3 times. With the first pattern I chose I was able to complete the cuff and the simple 3 stitch ‘clock’ pattern down the sides defeated me. I couldn’t get the math to work. Of course, today it all made sense.
So I kept the cuff (I really, really like it) and found a different pattern for the leg. I got half way through the gusset decrease and frogged that! The cast on was a little tight, the leg was short and the gusset was going to be too large for my foot.
Today I attempted the original pattern again and I dropped a stitch somewhere in the working of the Cannel Isle cast on and didn’t find this out until I started the cuff pattern!
ARRRRGGGGGG!!!
It’s got to be some kind of karmic voodoo thing from some knitting deity who has decided that I should not knit fancy socks every again.
I give up. I’m going to knit lace.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Great Genes
True story. I am a knitter. What!? We can do other things beside knit.
I also spin yarn. What!?
OK, I am a fiberist. Anyway, I digress.
Once a year we FIBERIST’S, get together for a whole weekend and have loads of fun. Not much sleep, but lots of knitting, spinning, weaving and fiber, fiber, fiber!!!!
This year I had worked my schedule so I could arrive at a decent hour on Friday and leave on Sunday morning. Not to be. My other life as a wife interfered.
I had taken a couple of vacation days so I could get some ‘girly’ things done Friday before I left town like get a manicure. My daughter was to be in school and husband at work. At 7:15 am he is flat on the floor in agony with back spasms and I’m dialing 911. Long story short, I did make it to SPA around 7 pm to hook up with my girlfriend whom I’m sharing a room with.
We unloaded my car and dumped everything in our room then I took a spin around the vendor area to scope out possible ways to spend my cash for the next day.
By now it’s waaay past time for me to eat so we decided to grab a quick bite and drink in the lounge. They had a DJ set up and the music was acceptable to me – early 90’s dance stuff with some newer stuff thrown in but the volume was such we couldn’t hear ourselves talk so we moved to the bar out of the high volume area.
Keep in mind, we are both in our mid-40’s, married, etc. It’s been a long day for both of us and it’s getting past our bedtimes.
So here we are, sitting at the bar with a drink in front of us, checking out the bar menu for food when this young man (he probably was in his late 20’s –early 30’s) can up to us and asked “ Are you ladies alone?”.
I looked at S. and didn’t say the first thing that came to my mind (which was NO! We’re together, you young thing. Go away!) What I did say was “No, we left them at home.” We chatted a couple of more minutes, he got another beer and went back to his table.
I leaned over to S. and said that he probable would be back and I was going to drop the bomb on him if he did.
He did return and I did drop the bomb on him! I forget exactly what he said but it was perfect thing for me to respond with “By the way, you are talking to a grandmother.” The expression on his face – mouth dropped open, eyes widened and I could see the brain cells trying to grasp that word – grandmother.
“You can’t be a grandmother, you are too young. You don’t have enough wrinkles or gray hair!”
(Meanwhile, I can see S. is about falling off the bar stool with laughter). And with a straight face I responded with “I have great genes.”
He said, “ Yes, you do.” And rubbed the knee of my jeans with his finger and walked away muttering a little bit.
S. and I got our food, ate it and headed back to our room. Waiting for the elevator, we looked at each other and starting giggling. Neither one of us had been hit on like that in years! Poor boy didn’t know what hit him!
I also spin yarn. What!?
OK, I am a fiberist. Anyway, I digress.
Once a year we FIBERIST’S, get together for a whole weekend and have loads of fun. Not much sleep, but lots of knitting, spinning, weaving and fiber, fiber, fiber!!!!
This year I had worked my schedule so I could arrive at a decent hour on Friday and leave on Sunday morning. Not to be. My other life as a wife interfered.
I had taken a couple of vacation days so I could get some ‘girly’ things done Friday before I left town like get a manicure. My daughter was to be in school and husband at work. At 7:15 am he is flat on the floor in agony with back spasms and I’m dialing 911. Long story short, I did make it to SPA around 7 pm to hook up with my girlfriend whom I’m sharing a room with.
We unloaded my car and dumped everything in our room then I took a spin around the vendor area to scope out possible ways to spend my cash for the next day.
By now it’s waaay past time for me to eat so we decided to grab a quick bite and drink in the lounge. They had a DJ set up and the music was acceptable to me – early 90’s dance stuff with some newer stuff thrown in but the volume was such we couldn’t hear ourselves talk so we moved to the bar out of the high volume area.
Keep in mind, we are both in our mid-40’s, married, etc. It’s been a long day for both of us and it’s getting past our bedtimes.
So here we are, sitting at the bar with a drink in front of us, checking out the bar menu for food when this young man (he probably was in his late 20’s –early 30’s) can up to us and asked “ Are you ladies alone?”.
I looked at S. and didn’t say the first thing that came to my mind (which was NO! We’re together, you young thing. Go away!) What I did say was “No, we left them at home.” We chatted a couple of more minutes, he got another beer and went back to his table.
I leaned over to S. and said that he probable would be back and I was going to drop the bomb on him if he did.
He did return and I did drop the bomb on him! I forget exactly what he said but it was perfect thing for me to respond with “By the way, you are talking to a grandmother.” The expression on his face – mouth dropped open, eyes widened and I could see the brain cells trying to grasp that word – grandmother.
“You can’t be a grandmother, you are too young. You don’t have enough wrinkles or gray hair!”
(Meanwhile, I can see S. is about falling off the bar stool with laughter). And with a straight face I responded with “I have great genes.”
He said, “ Yes, you do.” And rubbed the knee of my jeans with his finger and walked away muttering a little bit.
S. and I got our food, ate it and headed back to our room. Waiting for the elevator, we looked at each other and starting giggling. Neither one of us had been hit on like that in years! Poor boy didn’t know what hit him!
Monday, June 26, 2006
In which we get a new house phone
My first post!
‘We’ have issues here with cordless phones. ‘We’ replace the cordless phone about every 12-14 months. Now every cordless ‘we’ve’ purchased tells you not to have it mounted close to a microwave. Where is the only place in our kitchen to plug in the cordless phone? Yup, right next to the microwave! Has HE every read the instructions for ALL the phones HE has had to buy? Does HE every remember this when I read it to HIM every time a new phone is installed? NOPE!
This time I tried to ‘save’ him money by going to Radio Shack for a replacement battery. Never trust the clerk that DOES NOT check their computer that the replacement battery you hold in your hand is the correct one for the cordless phone you brought with you and are holding in your other hand! Two batteries and plus $20's later the phone is toast!
So today ‘we’ decided to get another cordless phone. I mentioned about the microwave problem and it might be a good idea to move the mounting away from the microwave. I literally could see the light bulb go off over his head!
'We' have a long phone cord that would reach through the doorway into the dining room where there is a short bookcase that has an outlet next to it!
So HE went to K-Mart to buy a new cordless phone. This time HE got a little smarter. HE purchased a unit with 2 cordless handsets complete with a new answering machine and both handsets have caller ID. Bonus! (The old machine has had issues since we bought it. Every other message that was left was garbled. Sorta like the trying to listen to a cassette tape that had be previously chewed up.)
Now comes the fun part! HE hands me his cell phone to call the house phone to check out what the new machine message is. This way I can decide to replace it with a differant one if I don’t like it. (That’s another story). So I call the house - Ring! Ring! Ring! And it’s not picking up!
Duh! It’s not plugged in to an outlet!!!!!! It took about 20 rings with him asking questions like “Is it ringing? It’s not picking up!” Then the good one – “I used the old power pack.” Different manufactures AND it’s not even plugged into the phone.
PS – correct power pack plugged in, phone picks up after 4 rings! And I like the message on the machine. Very male and the exact message I would have put on it.
PSS - a few hours later, after the handset were charged we got a call. I couldn't figure out how to what button to push to answer it! Got that straightened out (niece calling long-distance to see if she could use our couch for a few days) and asked where the instruction book for the new phone is.
It's in the box.
In the basement that has a river running though it.
Taped up!
Sigh........ I do love him.
Fiber Content - I've finished knitting the striped raglan cardigan and have started to sew in the ends. If all goes well, this will live at work for the summer.
‘We’ have issues here with cordless phones. ‘We’ replace the cordless phone about every 12-14 months. Now every cordless ‘we’ve’ purchased tells you not to have it mounted close to a microwave. Where is the only place in our kitchen to plug in the cordless phone? Yup, right next to the microwave! Has HE every read the instructions for ALL the phones HE has had to buy? Does HE every remember this when I read it to HIM every time a new phone is installed? NOPE!
This time I tried to ‘save’ him money by going to Radio Shack for a replacement battery. Never trust the clerk that DOES NOT check their computer that the replacement battery you hold in your hand is the correct one for the cordless phone you brought with you and are holding in your other hand! Two batteries and plus $20's later the phone is toast!
So today ‘we’ decided to get another cordless phone. I mentioned about the microwave problem and it might be a good idea to move the mounting away from the microwave. I literally could see the light bulb go off over his head!
'We' have a long phone cord that would reach through the doorway into the dining room where there is a short bookcase that has an outlet next to it!
So HE went to K-Mart to buy a new cordless phone. This time HE got a little smarter. HE purchased a unit with 2 cordless handsets complete with a new answering machine and both handsets have caller ID. Bonus! (The old machine has had issues since we bought it. Every other message that was left was garbled. Sorta like the trying to listen to a cassette tape that had be previously chewed up.)
Now comes the fun part! HE hands me his cell phone to call the house phone to check out what the new machine message is. This way I can decide to replace it with a differant one if I don’t like it. (That’s another story). So I call the house - Ring! Ring! Ring! And it’s not picking up!
Duh! It’s not plugged in to an outlet!!!!!! It took about 20 rings with him asking questions like “Is it ringing? It’s not picking up!” Then the good one – “I used the old power pack.” Different manufactures AND it’s not even plugged into the phone.
PS – correct power pack plugged in, phone picks up after 4 rings! And I like the message on the machine. Very male and the exact message I would have put on it.
PSS - a few hours later, after the handset were charged we got a call. I couldn't figure out how to what button to push to answer it! Got that straightened out (niece calling long-distance to see if she could use our couch for a few days) and asked where the instruction book for the new phone is.
It's in the box.
In the basement that has a river running though it.
Taped up!
Sigh........ I do love him.
Fiber Content - I've finished knitting the striped raglan cardigan and have started to sew in the ends. If all goes well, this will live at work for the summer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
