more than you really wanted to know

2011-01-13T22:28:00.002-06:00

Wow. Can hardly believe it's been almost a year since I put in my two cents' worth here. The blank space invites a summary of the past twelve months, but the hour is late and tomorrow is another work day, so this will have to wait - I hope not another entire year.

free verse

2010-01-25T17:11:00.002-06:00

hi how's your day going? mine was okay,

not any more frustrating than has been typical lately

until one of my people came in my office

to tell me something she thought I was doing wrong

with the work I took off her hands because she couldn't keep up

because I'm not doing it the same way she has always done it

I tried to blow it off and say okay that's fine

and she kept at me until I asked her what difference it made

and she said that's the way I taught her to do it

she doesn't remember all the changes from where it began

and I tried to explain that I will do it my way

and that it's okay too to do it her way

she did what she does and talked over me so she couldn't hear me

telling me why we are supposed to do it her way

then I asked her if she had ever heard the expression "teach your grandmother to suck eggs" and she went away mad

and now I'm trying to calm myself down

sometimes I wish I were a smoker

or a drinker

or had a rewind button

I'm a blatantly Selfish Knitter

2009-08-09T18:28:00.001-05:00

I found a nifty little contest at http://lostcityknits.blogspot.com/ - an insanely lovely person wants to give away yarn and goodies! I hope to win by posting this link here!

Old times and old biddies

2009-07-11T14:03:00.003-05:00

Alice and I threw a birthday party for Juanita this morning. I'm not saying how old she is, but she was born 76 years ago. She doesn't get out any more for physical reasons, so in this little social circle, we always get together at her house.

Alice went by our mutually favorite restaurant and picked up an omelette for Juanita. It was prepared just the way she likes it, by Amy, who calls her Grandma. Amy wrote a Happy Birthday message on the top of the styrofoam box.

Alice also brought her an assortment of greeting cards for Juanita to send out - birthday, get well, sympathy, etc. Also gave her a mildly risque birthday card which she enjoyed immensely!

I made a chocolate sheet cake from my favorite recipe, and brought her a little bag containing some stationery items from Target's office supply aisle, plus a package of balloons with a hand pump. I picked out a birthday card suitable for a child - it had punchouts of beach toys and a little bag to keep them in.

Juanita sent me into her kitchen to make us a pot of coffee - which I had never done in her house, but I eventually found the coffee and the filters and got the job done. Then I served coffee and cake to Alice and myself - Juanita didn't want any until she finished her omelette. Then I refilled the coffee mugs and served Juanita's cake. I told them not to expect that kind of service every time.

It was interesting to see what she liked and what she didn't - Juanita's not one to hold back her opinions, which can be refreshing! She had no use for the balloons and pump, and said she wouldn't open that, so I told her to feel free to give it to her grandkids. I'm not even sure she liked the card I gave her, but my opinion is that we're never too old to have some silly fun once in a while. She said she would use the pens, and what was she supposed to do with the spiral notebook, and why in the world did she need a glue stick, and what was this white-out thing anyway? We told her it was to cover up any mistakes she made with the pens, and - deadpan - she said she never makes mistakes.

She was very happy with the omelette - it was a favorite she had not been able to enjoy for a long while - and I believe she sincerely enjoyed the cake. She liked the cards Alice had given her, but she gave them back! Apparently on a previous birthday or Christmas, one of us (possibly Alice) had given her exactly the same selection of cards, and she had not yet used them up. We told her she was supposed to send them to people - and for a few years recently, I have given her postage stamps as birthday gifts - but she said she didn't have enough occasions to send that many cards.

She said her son Bill asked what she wanted for her birthday, and she told him she wanted a tube of toothpaste! That led to an extended story about what kind, where it could be found, who shops at which stores and won't go to others, and what she had been using since she ran out of her favorite kind. Turns out she's now working on a tube that had been her husband's. He died sixteen years ago. I think Alice is going to return the cards and seek out the favored toothpaste, if Bill doesn't remember it. If she doesn't, I will!

Our conversation from there meandered around from watching the fireworks display last night - since it was rained out on the Fourth - and Juanita said something about us "old biddies" (Alice and me) going out at night in all that traffic - to memories of life on a farm and cardboard inserts in worn-out shoes.

And that was all in the space of two hours this morning. Can't wait to see what the rest of the day holds for me!

2009-07-04T21:44:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd drop in on some blogs tonight and see what's new. Seems like since everyone I know is either on Ravelry or Facebook, nobody blogs any more. Including myself.

One blogger that I read pretty often is apparently having the same problem. She decided to try to post Five on Friday - once a week, post five things that have happened, or that she has accomplished, in the previous week. I'm wondering if I have enough self-discipline to follow a schedule like that. Maybe I could do a One on Wednesday?

I started one post last month that I saved as a draft and never finished. Maybe I should start there, then post at least a rough outline of what's up in my life. Then maybe I would eventually go back and add pictures and details.

Someone is setting off explosives very near to my house. Gunfire is rare in this neighborhood, so the first one startled me. But it is the Fourth of July, so I'm not getting too upset about it. Just wish I had had the nerve to pick up some fireworks while I was out of state earlier this week and bring the contraband home with me.

This is my belated post from end of May 2009

2009-05-31T14:03:00.006-05:00

May 29 - Dallas, TX. 7:30 pm, Legacy Books, 7300 Dallas Parkway, Suite A120. Plano, TX 75024:

I went to see the Yarn Harlot again!

I know, I know. You're thinking, why would you want to go when you've seen her before? What more could she have to say about knitting?

First of all, I'm really glad I went. It was a fun and relaxing getaway. Four of us - the Tuesday Night Knitters core group - were originally planning to go. Anita and Polly couldn't make it, so it was only Judy and I who ultimately made the trip.

We each packed up plenty of knitting and a change of clothes, I transferred my GPS locator from my car to hers, and we took off.

The weather was decent and the drive was mostly uneventful, except for when we made a pit stop in Marietta and when we returned to the car it was deader than the proverbial doornail. Judy looked under the hood while I perused the owner's manual looking for some kind of safety switch override. Then we decided to wiggle the battery cables and one came off in my hand! We had no tools, so we fell back on acting helpless and charming. Two nice young construction workers with a small pair of pliers and a huge Crescent wrench were able to tighten up the cable terminal for us, and we were off again.

Our favorite Harlot was, as usual, both hilarious and educational. I was intrigued with the Theta brain wave theory that she explained to us. Let us go nowhere without our Emergency Knitting!

Birdbrain!

2009-05-31T14:01:00.001-05:00

True story: My son and I went to lunch at Burger King a few days ago. We returned to the car and were getting ready to drive away when we both just stopped, mid-conversation, to watch a bird. It had in its beak what looked like a chunk of bread. The bird swooped down to land just under the shade of a car parked across the way in front of us. It was a hot day and there was a little puddle of water there, probably condensation that had run down and back from the car's air conditioner. The bird cocked its head one way and another, dipping the bread into the water. I have to believe it took the softened bread back to its nest for babies, or for a nesting momma bird.

What a birdbrain!

Getting better

2009-03-28T09:57:00.002-05:00

I know, my last post was pretty dismal - but I thought it was better than nothing at all.

This week I have felt much better, but have been very busy at work, trying to make up for missing half of last week. Still not quite caught up.

This afternoon I am going to a birthday party-- my youngest grandchild is one year old today!

Lost week

2009-03-28T09:53:00.000-05:00

From March 16 to March 19 ...

I woke up Monday morning with a scratchy throat - just like three weeks ago, and again a month or so before that.

Tuesday morning it was a little worse, with obvious sinus drainage. I decide to call my doctor for an appointment right away, instead of waiting and hoping it would clear up on its own. Got in to see him Tuesday afternoon, by which time I was feeling much worse. He prescribed me yet another round of antibiotics (stronger each time, with me thinking about this bug building up its immunity) plus a decongestant.

Usually when I make an appointment with my doctor, his staff will tell me they can work me in, but I may have to wait a while. So far - in the last 20 or 30 years I've been seeing him - that usually means 10 or 15 minutes. Not so this time - it's Spring Break! Most of the other doctors in this clinic have escaped for ski trips or whatever. I spent over an hour in the hallway, with the overflow from his office lobby.

Two unhappy toddlers, with their irritated and irritating young mother complaining into her cell phone, just about drove me away with their whining and crying. I was relieved, as were all the others waiting, when a cheerful and competent young mother with two ill but otherwise contented toddlers arrived. She sat in the middle of the floor and played with all four children. I wanted to give her a medal. After the whiny crew were called in to see the doctor, another patiently waiting patient rewarded the good mommy by insisting she and her little ones go next in line, ahead of the adults.

So for my 3:45 appointment, I got in about 5:00 and was out by 5:20 with two prescriptions in hand.

I wearily drove down the street to Homeland, where the pharmacy has a convenient drive up window, and turned in the prescriptions. The lady said it would take about 15 minutes. Too long to wait at the window, and just about long enough to go home and come right back, so I drove to a shady spot and worked on a crossword puzzle. (Didn't even feel up to knitting - and still don't want to think that hard.)

Went back to be told they were able to fill one prescription, but they were out of the other. My options were to let them order it and pick it up the next afternoon, or go somewhere else to have it filled. Didn't want to deal with that hassle, so I said to just order it for me.

Drove home and was almost in my garage when I remembered that I had a book on reserve to pick up at the library. Headed out again, and was halfway there when the pharmacy called me. They did have the second medication, had overlooked it on the shelf. Did I still want it? Yes!

Went on to the library. Had to park the car and go inside - no way around that. Looked at the new book shelf on my way to the service desk and found two new books by old favorite authors - John Sandford and John Harvey. Harvey has finally written another Charlie Resnick novel after a hiatus of several years! So I got those, plus the Anna Zilboorg hat book I had reordered, paid my dollar for overdues.

Went back to the pharmacy window, paid for the second prescription, then finally made it home about 6:30.

I thought about calling to let my pals know that I was not going to our knit-night at Borders, but I fell asleep before I could decide who to call first. Woke up about 8 and took my meds.

Stayed home Wednesday, read and slept a lot.

Got up Thursday morning, got ready for work, started out to my car and realized I really didn't feel well enough to drive to work, much less be there and try to focus on anything. Called in sick and went back to bed.

I am thankful for my family

2008-11-28T03:15:00.002-06:00

Had a great Thanksgiving Day - all the kids and grandkids gathered at Sarah’s house. I only had to provide a thawed turkey and make the gravy. No cooking, no cleanup, and just a little grandbaby holding duty! I did have to use the allergy meds more than usual due to the two grand-dogs and one grand-cat in the house. I got home about seven and crashed in my easy chair - woke up at one AM breathing freely and feeling restored. Now here I am, wide awake at three AM! Maybe I should go shopping …
I've spent the last half-hour trying to send photos from my phone to my blog - no success, so here we are, photo-less. You will just have to use your imagination!

Mission Statement

2008-11-25T09:04:00.003-06:00

Today is an anniversary for me - seventeen years ago today was my first day at GLP - and here I still am. I'm hoping to work one more year of five-day weeks, then go to three-day weeks for two more years, then retire from here and see what comes next. I want the next phase to involve lots of arts & crafts, with some of them for-profit. Hmmm . . . that almost sounds like a real plan. Subject to change, but a plan.

Boo!

2008-11-01T10:36:00.002-05:00

I know, I haven't posted since the Fourth of July, but life is busy and I'm disorganized. That's just the way it is. I'll post some pictures one of these days and fill you in on what I've been up to since July.
I sat on my porch swing last night with a bag of candy and a bag of knitting. Added several rows to my February Lady sweater and treated about 20 kids, if you count my three grownup kids that stopped by individually. (see note below)
After the trick-or-treating was all over, I curled up in my easy chair to watch a recorded Criminal Minds and started a new Forest Canopy Shawl. Next thing I knew I was looking at the menu screen and had four and a half tiny rows, with half a row of loose stitches. I frogged and went to bed!
Note:
1 Tired Dad, with two boys dressed as Pumpkins, on their way home from church carnival, his wife at home ill with something probably carried home from preschool
1 Firefighter, accompanied by a Monk, on their way to a party
1 Pizza Delivery Person, after delivering a pizza in my neighborhood

Fourth of July Weekend

2008-07-06T22:55:00.005-05:00

Hello all!
Hope you had a great Independence Day weekend. Mine started with going to watch the annual parade that travels through my home town along part of Route 66. There were lots of vehicles to enjoy, antique and otherwise, along with horses and bicycles and floats and all those hopeful candidates campaigning for our votes.

I wimped out, though, and left early - wasn't enjoying the heat and I've mostly seen it all before, every year for the last 30 years or so.
I went home, cooled off, blocked my Forest Canopy Shawl, and took a nap.

Sam and family invited me to go watch the 'booms' with the grand-boys, but I just couldn't bear the thought of the traffic. On the Fourth, it takes an hour or more - each way - to drive less than two miles to the park, then there is the walk from the parking lot into the Festival area. So again I wimped out, opting to enjoy the sound of the 'booms' in the air-conditioned comfort of my home.

Saturday morning the kids and I met for breakfast and had a good time in spite of the slightly odd service. They wouldn't let us have a high chair at the end of our booth - the waitress said because someone might trip on it. It was a little close, but we managed. The rest of the crew had places to go and/or naps to take, so I went up the the LYS to knit and visit until Sarah called. She and I went and got our toes done! Funny how a quickly a pedicure can change from a luxury to a necessity!

Later I went to a movie at Penn Square. A few years ago I would never have thought to go to a movie alone, but there are advantages to going my own way. I saw Hancock, the superhero movie starring Will Smith. I wouldn't recommend it for family entertainment, because of bad language and one especially unusual bit of violence, but it was a lot of fun and - dare I say? - somewhat heartwarming. I still want to see WALL-E and Get Smart and maybe even the American Girl movie.

Today - Sunday - I slept in much later than I intended, then decided I had been a lazy slug for long enough and unclogged my slow tub drain. Yes, again. I suppose it needs some regular maintenance if I want to avoid this nasty annual snake job.
Then I got out my big old screwdriver and my rubber mallet and set at defrosting the old refrigerator that sits in my utility room. The freezer part was completely iced in, so between sessions of chipping ice and leaving it to melt (I took a few breaks for knitting and reading and TV watching) I finally got the freezer door open and took the food out. It went much faster after that.

I seem to be falling back into my old habit of reading daily. This week I listened to Nevada Barr's Winter Study on CD (in my car) , read Robert Crais' L.A. Requiem and Jennifer Chiaverini's Quilter's Apprentice. Last week I read Brendan DuBois' Resurrection Day, a disturbing story set in 1971, depicting what our country might have been like if the Cuban Missile Crisis had escalated into nuclear war.
I also started Absolute Power by David Baldacci, but when I figured out why I kept thinking about Clint Eastwood I gave it up. Decided I'll try to find a Baldacci book that wasn't a movie that I have seen.
Next up on my eclectic selections are Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled by Dorothy Gilman and Twilight, another dark story by Brendan DuBois. I'm not sure I will read Twilight right away; I love DuBois' Lewis Cole series, and he is a very good writer, but I'm not sure I can stomach two such dark stories so close together - his writing makes them seem almost real.
I have a reserve in for William G. Tapply's One-Way Ticket - he's another of my many favorites.
And so to bed, for tomorrow is another work day. 'Night, all!

Is this February 2nd?

2008-06-25T20:46:00.009-05:00

Hello there! I just thought I would poke my head out, like a groundhog, and see what's going on around me! Sorry I haven't posted lately. It is just like anything else that I put off - the longer I put it off, the harder it is to start again. This little note is just an attempt to build a fire under me. I don't think I can pick up where I left off and fill in everything to date.

PS: On the right, here-- that's Max. Doesn't he look strong and wise? He's quiet, and quick to smile. He'll be three months old this Saturday.

Tracking backwards through time - I had lunch with a few of my favorite people today; sorry, no pictures. Six of us came from four different places to meet for a cheap and tasty burger; Cousin Beth came from her home; Sam, my favorite son, came from his office; DIL Andrea brought the two little boys from their home; and I came from my office. It's amazing how fast an hour can pass, but it surely is a nice break for the middle of a workday!

Tuesday nights, for a while now, has been an informal, but regularly scheduled, knit night for Anita, Polly, and me. Actually, I don't know how long this has been ongoing - I was invited a few months ago to join in this established event. We started out going to Starbucks, which was nice, but decided that a bookstore might be quieter and have more available seating, and still have tasty concoctions to sip on as we knit. So, for a couple of months now, we've been meeting at Borders - and naturally we sit in the section where the knitting books are. Last week I got really tickled when some young ladies stopped by and asked us a few questions. I had the distinct feeling that they saw us as a quaint exhibit organized by the bookstore.

Sometimes I get to kidnap a grandchild for no special reason. One evening recently, the little man and I went out for dogs and a beer. I was pleased to find that A&W does still serve root beer in chilled mugs!

My favorite local yarn store usually closes at six pm, but on Thursday nights is open until eight pm. A growing number of us have developed the pleasant habit of dropping in to knit and visit. We have a lot of laughs and always ooh and aah over everyone else's projects. There's a lot of yarn petting and fondling that goes on there. I always come away with ideas for more projects.

Polly, one of my Tuesday night knitting pals, threw down a challenge last week. I've been knitting socks two at a time, on one circular needle. She brought me a pattern for two socks knitted at the same time, one inside each other. Of course, I had to accept the challenge--so even though I have several works in progress, I picked out some likely yarn last Thursday, and will probably cast on tomorrow night! I'll try to shoot and post some pictures.

Our darlin' boy turned three years old earlier this month, and had a backyard party with a cars theme. Or maybe it was a Cars theme. Guests were supposed to only bring one tiny car each as gifts, and most people complied. Grandmothers and aunts can be exempted from the rules, can't they? I have lots of pictures of that fun event.

That pretty much takes care of June, except for showing you the shawl I made. It still needs to be blocked, but I'm pretty happy with it. I had my doubts about getting it finished at all when I ran out of yarn just before the end, but Carol, another knitting pal, rescued me. She is making a sweater, scarf, and hat with the same yarn, and gave me enough to finish my scarf. (Thanks again, fellow Crazy Lady!)

Happy Mothers' Day!

2008-05-11T22:49:00.002-05:00

And a happy Mothers' Day to everyone - even those of you whose babies have four legs or scales or feathers or whatever!
My kids had a big surprise for me. The only clue they gave me was that I had to be up and dressed by ten a.m. - no sleeping in or lounging in my jammies. I figured they were going to take me out somewhere, but I was so wrong. We never left the premises.
After we enjoyed chocolate-glazed donuts and Mothers' Day cards, they pretty much abandoned me in the house with my new grandson (that's a REALLY sneaky trick).
My merciless crew then proceeded to empty and organize my two-car garage. They discarded enough of my trash and treasures to make room for my one small car. I've lived in this house for 29 years and I am trying to remember if I have ever seen a vehicle in this garage - a vehicle bigger than a bicycle, that is. (Hey, there WAS a bicycle in there - where did it go?)
I'm a little sorry we didn't do before and after pictures, but the 'before' was every bit as cluttered as you can imagine.
P.S. If anyone needs a sturdy 4' x 8' worktable, please come by and pick it up from the curb!

He's here!

2008-03-28T01:54:00.003-05:00

Our new baby is here at last! He arrived Friday, 03/28/08, at 1:06am, weighing in at 8 lbs, 12 oz.

Yah-ta-hey

2008-03-22T00:36:00.003-05:00

Let me tell you, two four-day weeks with a fun-filled weekend in between makes for one long day. By Thursday I was so out of it that when I got home from work, I sat down in my recliner intending to read my mail, and slept for twelve hours straight. I did feel much better Friday. Sometimes the old bod just has to say STOP!
The weekend was a wonderful experience. We drove from OKC, which is 1299 ft above sea level, to a point just across the Continental Divide, and just east of the Arizona state line. We spent the weekend at 6568 ft above sea level, and I for one could tell the difference in the air.
We met some really nice people; all but one were Navajo, since there was no one else there. I made friends with a loveable Lab named Opie, and four of us cousins had a really fun slumber party.
Oh, and one more thing - I finished my Branching Out scarf!
Be forewarned, I'll be back in a day or two with lots of pictures to show you.

* poof! *

2008-03-18T12:12:00.001-05:00

I arrived at work at 7:45 am today, with a smile on my face and a peaceful feeling in my heart.
It's noon. They're both gone.

Knitting Daily

2008-03-09T12:54:00.010-05:00

Illness among my co-workers* has increased my already full workload, so the past couple of weeks have been a little rough for me.
* (I always feel compelled to hyphenate that word, otherwise I tend to read it as "Cow Orkers" whatever those might be - it doesn't sound pretty.)
More work hours mean fewer play hours, but I have been steadily working on my
Branching Out scarf,

and have started a pair of toe-up socks.

The cold weather will probably end just as I finish this warm wool/alpaca scarf, but I will be able to wear the socks year round.

I hope to block these Baby Pea Pod pieces and sew them together this week.

Off to see the wizard . . .

2008-03-09T12:47:00.003-05:00

Last night I took my favorite Little Man to see a high school production of Wizard of Oz .
We both enjoyed the show even though it was three hours long.

On the ride home, I asked him which part he liked best.
"The lion. He went 'aargh and aargh.' "

I asked him if he liked the music.
"It was beautiful."

Then he went to sleep in his carseat.

Saturday Morning

2008-02-23T08:46:00.003-06:00

As I write this I am comfortably reclined in an upholstered chair, surrounded by equipment humming and clicking and occasionally beeping. A monitor and keyboard hover in front of me supported by an articulated arm *what the heck is that noise*

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Please excuse the interruption. I am at home now.

I intended to continue that first paragraph by explaining to you that I was blogging one-handed because my left arm was busy with a fat needle and a several clear tubes connected to an intricate machine named Amicus that was pumping blood out of my arm, extracting life-saving platelets, and returning my blood to me.

You may or may not know, so I will explain, that this is a completely sterile process, because the Amicus and others of its ilk are set up for each extraction with a sealed 'kit' of tubes and bags and such, so the only opening in the entire kit is at the needle. Everything from my entry paperwork to the final product is identified with barcode labels.

The kit itself fits into openings in the Amicus, and loading it is a process that - well, if you sew, have you ever threaded a serger? It's a lot like that. Bags go on hooks, tubes go into channels and around gears, and I don't know what else. It is an extremely well monitored system and I feel completely safe with the procedure, plus I get that warm fuzzy feeling of having done something beneficial for a cancer patient or some idiot who doesn't know to slow down when the streets are icy. They tell me that one platelet donation can save three lives.

I was going to tell you about my surroundings, including the man to my right who was quietly snoring, and the lady to my left who was engrossed in a book. I was going to describe the two phlebotomists who were at this time all the way down at the end of the long room, taking care of some chores after making sure we donors were snugly settled in.

I was rudely interrupted from this pleasant story-telling by the sudden onset of horrible banging and clanking and screeching noises from that wonderful machine named Amicus.

As I said, no one was nearby, so I said, loudly, "HELP!" That, or possibly the awful noises from Amicus, got the immediate attention of two skilled professionals, who rapidly shut down the machine, pulled the needle from my arm, and applied a gauze pad to the hole so my blood wouldn't leak out. They were calm but definitely not smiling as they diagnosed the problem as a "defective kit." I got the impression that this was something that would be intensely investigated. I can't even imagine how much paperwork this incident will generate.

They told me I was fine, but I would have to wait the full 58 days before I could donate again because I did not get that 'return'. I would need that time to rebuild my blood.

I really admire those women. I feel so safe in their care. Most of the time, everything goes as planned, but when it doesn't, there is no hesitation. They know exactly what to do.

I am really sorry they had to clean up all that mess, and I'm also sorry the blood was wasted. I'll go back in April. Or maybe May.

Tagged again

2008-02-21T23:16:00.002-06:00

Anna tagged me for the same "meme" - would someone please tell me what that word means?
Anyhoo, here I go again - Good thing I've got more than one book . . .

Nearest book: Assuming that means physically nearest, this is on top of the stack of four I picked up at the library last night:

Killer Waves, by Brendan DuBois.

I like his writing style and the characters he has created, and am trying to read my way through his entire body of work. (I wanted to use that French word that makes me think of eggs but I don't know how to spell it.)

Page 123:

Has words, even paragraphs. That's good!

Skip five sentences, post the next three:

"Anyway, the meeting got even stranger when people started arguing on why dogs have to get licensed, and cats don't, and cat owners are freeloaders when compared to dog owners. That's when I gave it up and decided to leave."
"Good choice."

Am I the only one that has trouble refraining from adding context around these sentences?

Tag five people: I'm not entirely sure that I personally know five more bloggers, but I'll try.
*hmmmm* (humming and thinking) *hmm hmm hmm* (there has to be someone!)

Anita made me do it

2008-02-19T23:26:00.003-06:00

I realize that I have not been blogging lately. It's not that I don't enjoy it - I have just felt very boring lately. But then I did say "even if no one else finds it interesting" so here I am, back again with boring stuff to say. Or maybe not . . .

Anita and I met at Starbuck's tonight for a mini-knit-in. We talked and knitted and laughed at ourselves. That was fun. And when you get right down to it, that sweet lady can be really sneaky. When she asked me if I had read her blog lately she didn't tell me she had tagged me.

I'm IT, so here goes!

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more: Even though it is physically the closest, I think I'll skip the phone book - it doesn't have sentences. Next-nearest book is a used book that was given to me, and I haven't read it yet. Title is Spring Hill, Tennesee, subtitle, A Novel, author, Tom T. Hall.

I like his songs, so I should like his book as well.

On page 123, find the first 5 sentences: Done.

Post the next 3 sentences: "You oughta dress up mo' often. It make you look ten years younger every time."
Amanda brushed the front of the tweed jacket with her hand.

Tag five people: Andrea, Sam, Carolyn, Amanda, Linda

Fait accompli. I've never done this before; am I supposed to tell them they've been tagged, or just hang out until they find this?

Uh oh - look at the time! Yet another reason for me to avoid this activity. I really need to get more sleep!

I'll try to stop by here sooner next time. Just don't try to make me promise.

It's only February - want to see those Christmas socks?

2008-01-20T20:28:00.009-06:00

Sam, those are NOT for your ears!

Melissa always HAS liked purple.

Pat got socks for his hands.

Warm tootsies for my beautiful granddaughter!

No socks visible here, just had to show you a cute grandkid!

(I did make him a pair of socks - we just didn't get a picture. )

Christmas Doggerel

2007-12-25T05:36:00.000-06:00

Four AM Christmas Day, and all through the house
Are so many WIPs I feel like a louse.
Though most of my gift list was truly unspoken
The ones incomplete feel like promises broken.

One goal, handknit socks for each of my loved ones;
I finished two pair for four daughters* and two for four sons*.
I started a scarf and a pair of warm mitts.
One, I can finish, but the other's the pits.

Presents are wrapped-- except one that's back-ordered
And due in on Thursday--hope I can afford it.
The sheet cake is baked, iced, and well covered,
Green beans are casseroled, with mushroom soup smothered.

I sewed one more stocking for a significant other
Too late, remembered Little Man's expected new brother.
I have too many ideas and not enough time
But I always remember just how blessed that I'm!

(*I'm taking LOTS of poetic license here--!)

Merry Christmas, and God bless you one and all!

Thinking about Christmas

2007-12-02T14:26:00.000-06:00

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary:

(No, I'm not Jewish; that's not what I said! I'm about as White Anglo-Saxon Protestant as a person can be -- I'm printing a wonderful quote from Ben Stein!)

My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was
Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those
beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I
don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are: Christmas trees.
It
doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don’t think
they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of
like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy
time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on
display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a
crèche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away .
I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think
Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who
believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no
idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country.
I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my
throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that
we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren’t allowed to worship God as we
understand Him? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a
lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the
America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another
for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it’s
not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane
Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding
Katrina); Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She
said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years
we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government
and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has
calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His
protection if we demand He leave us alone?"
In light of recent
events…terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when
Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained
she didn’t want prayer in our schools , and we said OK.
Then someone said you
better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou
shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr.
Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because
their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem
(Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s
talking about. And we said OK.
Now we’re asking ourselves why our children
have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t
bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably,
if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has
a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder
why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but
question what the Bible says . Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and
they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the
Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and
obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is
suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing?
Funny how when
you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list
because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for
sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of
us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not
then just discard it… no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought
process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My
Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
Amen

My September

2007-09-29T20:32:00.000-05:00

It's me-- I'm back-- don't know why I've been away for so long --

Well, that's not completely true. There just doesn't seem to have been much to blog about lately. I've been working, and knitting socks, and reading, and watching new TV shows.

I think I'm okay on toddler socks now. I got past my mental block on those, and have returned to working on my current Six Socks Knit Along project, the Victorian Lace pattern.

The first one took me about two months - I didn't keep track of time on it very well, but I finished the first sock right after I got back from seeing the Yarn Harlot in Wichita on September 16.

The delightful Ms. Pearl-McPhee was as entertaining as ever. I admit I had wondered if she repeated the same stories every tour, but her material this time was completely different from when I heard her in OKC last year.

She stood behind a heavy wooden lectern, in the auditorium of the beautiful East Wichita High School, and of course had to pull the mic way down to her level. I had a seat on the right side of the front row, and I could see that as she spoke, she mostly kept her hands in plain sight, holding the edges of the lectern, or gesturing, or turning pages in her notes.

When she opened the Q & A segment, I soon noticed that her hands were very busy behind the lectern, and I remembered to ask her something I had wondered about since last year. When my turn came, I asked her if she would step out from behind the lectern so we could watch her hands, and her fingers were simply flying with her doublepoints. She didn't ever seem to look at her hands. I think she said, "I'm knitting. You all know how to knit, right?" But it was like nothing I had ever seen before.

I continued with the second part of my question, asking how she holds her needles when she uses straight needles. She then told us about the history and technique of Irish Cottage Knitting, and borrowed a scarf-in-progress from the nearest knitter using straights, and demonstrated for us, holding one needle stationary under her right arm, tensioning the yarn with her right hand. She said this is the technique used by the fastest knitters in the world.

Yep, there is such a competition - and I seriously doubt if it has ever been mentioned on ESPN.

I cast on my second VL sock at lunchtime Wednesday, September 19, and finished the leg in eight days. That's some kind of record for me. I'm just past the heel turn now. Maybe there is some truth to that YH sock mojo after all!

I miss my knitting buddies. I was just really beginning to feel like I belong to this group, and now I haven't seen any of them for almost a month, and haven't even made it in to the LYS in that time.

We were SO not ready to vote at the last Knit In, but MG made us do it anyway. We were still throwing in new ideas for names after the vote, and some of them were pretty good. DYYSH Night is my personal interpretation of the winning name - we ARE, in spirit if not in name, the -- (drum roll, please) -- Divine Yarn-Yarn SisterHood!

I nagged at myself this week - even told myself I can't go play with my precious grandson - until I finally put some more work in on my living room remodel. Today I put the trim up around the two doors, and put the treshhold edge down at the front door. There is still a gap, but that must be what that color-matched sealant is for--at least it is now! Wonder how many more tubes of that I will use, compared to what a pro would need.

Now I'm ready for another trip to Home Depot for my baseboards, and when I get them installed I can think of putting the furniture in there like a real living room, instead of it being a woodshop adjunct.

Then that reminds me - I've got to find some space in the garage. It's there, I just can't see it for the clutter. Which in turn reminds me that I really want to replace my garage door, but I am reluctant to take that big bite out of my savings.

I have to stop now and get some sleep. I have a very important Play Date in the morning!

My Ravelry Status - 08/31/07

2007-08-31T21:01:00.000-05:00

You signed up on June 23, 2007
You are #10804 on the list.
7 people are ahead of you in line.
19091 people are behind you in line.
36% of the list has been invited so far

Seven to go. Only seven people. Yippee!

Note to www.techcrunch.com/tag/ravelry:
Social Network? Is that what Ravelry is? [I signed up for the same good reason lots of other knitters did - if everybody else wants in, let me in too!]

Social Network? This may be like all those blind men trying to figure out what an elephant is, but my view is WOW! A tremendous database, where I can, oh, look up a yarn in my stash and see how it will work up with a pattern I have in mind. Or maybe if I'm near the end of a project and need one more skein, maybe I can find someone who has one to spare. And just think about doing a pattern search all in one place, not on fifty different websites?

Social Network? That will likely be a side benefit, and maybe primary to some people, but to me it looks very like a really wonderful resource.

And that's MHO.

Put away your white shoes now, darlin'

2007-08-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

This has been a really strange summer, weatherwise, but with Labor Day fast approaching I guess we can call it gone. Sorry about the dearth of entertaining reading here, but the days recently have seemed awfully short.

A few of my faithful readers have asked for an explanation of the "interesting"events posted August 11, so I'll tell you about one of those days.

I'm a confirmed procrastinator. There, I said it.

Most days it's a struggle for me to get myself out of the house in the mornings--most days I pull into the office parking lot at the last possible minute. On this particular day, I was feeling pretty good about myself; I refrained from hitting that snooze button "just one more time!" and ate a simple breakfast in time to head out of the house with a few minutes to spare. I'm out the door, arms loaded with purse and knitting bag and water bottle, headed for my car which is, as always, parked nose-out in my driveway, ready to go.

Why is there a puddle of water by the garage door?

I looked up, stupidly. The sky was clear. No recent rain dripping off the roof. And then I knew. I threw my stuff into the car, and went back into the house. Yanked open the laundry room door to see what I knew was there-- a floor full of water.

I said a few unladylike words, thanked myself for not having laundered the pile of towels in the floor, shoved them around so I could walk on them from the door to the @#$%@! water heater and turned the pilot to OFF. Went back across the towel bridge, opened the door leading to the garage, and fetched the water key from the garage wall.

Back again to the front yard. Used the key to flip the cover off the water meter, fitted it into the slot and pulled with all my might, trying to turn the water off. The valve wouldn't turn.
No reason to worry; I was wondering why those pieces of rebar were still keeping my garbage cans company beside the house-- I got one of those, slipped it part-way into the steel-pipe handle of the water key to increase my leverage, and gave it all I had. The valve wouldn't turn.

I stood in the middle of my front yard, with tears of frustration rapidly forming, and looked up and down the street, trying to think which of my neighbors might be able to help. Dear Mrs. Carter, a tiny Southern lady who is 80 if she's a day? Mr. Lunday, 90-ish and stone deaf? All the able-bodied souls on my street were off to work already.

I tried the city water department, but I got their voice mail--it was still too early for them. Then I remembered. Our heroic Bethany firefighters are always ready to help. I really didn't think this situation justified a 911 call, no matter how desperate I felt. Instead, I called my younger daughter, who for some obscure reason learned the fire department non-emergency number about 15 years ago and still knows it.

So I called, and my phone call brought me a big shiny red fire truck (quietly - they didn't use their sirens) and two extremely capable-looking bodybuilders, um, firemen. They applied my water key to the valve, added my rebar extension, and rippled all of their lovely muscles. The valve wouldn't turn.

We all agreed they probably COULD break it loose, but would most likely break the meter in the process. So one pulled out a radio and called another city employee. That call brought us a pretty red water department pickup, and another pair of valiant men. (Maybe not as impressive-looking as firefighters, but they had a much bigger water key than mine.) One put the key in the slot, and applied all his strength. The valve wouldn't turn.

The second water department guy went back to the truck and returned with a long wrench to use as a cheater bar, and the two tried again. With much loud complaining of metal-on-metal, the valve finally turned. Our heroes turned it back and forth a couple more times to loosen it up, but we all agreed that they certainly hadn't had to turn my water off in a very long time. So much for paying my water bill promptly all these years.

I thanked them and they all drove away, but my ordeal was not over. I still had a leaking water heater, and I knew I needed to call a plumber. [A moment of silence here.] There is some dark humor in that statement. I haven't had to call a plumber since 1976. I was married to the best plumber in town for 26 years, but he quit this life a couple of years ago, and now is resting where faucets don't leak and toilets don't clog. Probably drinking a cold beer and enjoying a cigarette.

So I called our friend at the supply house, and asked him who I should call. He recommended a local third-generation plumber who came out promptly (Honest! He was there by 10:30 am and finished in two hours!) and did a quick and efficient job of replacing the tank.

We got to talking about his dad (retired) and my husband (deceased) and his grand-dad (deceased), who all knew each other. We shared a few laughs and shed a few tears. I learned that his grand-dad was the same nice old man with a smile in his eyes who, twenty years ago, would order blueberry pie down at the local restaurant, then would say the slice was too big and would give me half.

I love blueberry pie.

More random stuff

2007-08-28T11:48:00.000-05:00

On this day in 1953, Nippon Television broadcasted Japan's first television show, including its first TV advertisement. In 1937, Toyota Motors became an independent company. In 1907, UPS was founded by James E. Casey in Seattle, Washington. In 1898, Caleb Bradham renamed his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola". In 1884, the first known photograph of a tornado was made. In 1859, a geomagnetic storm caused the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it was seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe and as far afield as Japan. And in 1845, Scientific American magazine published its first issue. Happy Birthday LeAnn Rimes (1982), Jack Black and Jason Priestley (1969), Shania Twain (1965), Jennifer Coolidge (1963), Emma Samms (1960), Scott Hamilton (1958), Daniel Stern (1957), Ben Gazzara (1930) and Donald O'Connor (1925).

"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home." - Ken Olsen, President, Digital Equipment, 1977

Adding to my vocabulary . . .

2007-08-27T17:57:00.000-05:00

BACN: Bacn (pronounced "bacon" and a creative misspelling along the lines of site names
like Flickr) lies between e-mail and spam; it's all that stuff you do want but which is low-priority and which you often don't have time to read.
Better than SPAM?

Interesting Times

2007-08-11T03:29:00.000-05:00

It has been an "interesting" week, to say the least. I could write pages and pages about each day, but I think I won't. At least not all, and not now.
Think of this as an outline:
Sunday I spent a pleasant afternoon with cousins Jan, Beth, and Joyce, and Aunt Pauline.
Monday morning I attended the funeral of a man I never met.
Monday evening three small boys mowed my front yard.
Tuesday evening cousin Joyce and I experienced a miracle, then went to see Bourne Ultimatum.
Wednesday evening my son-in-law mowed my back yard and re-mowed my front yard.
Thursday morning I was visited by two firemen, two city workers, and one excellent plumber.
Friday was almost uneventful.
I can't wait to see what Saturday holds.

It's a learning curve, I guess

2007-08-11T02:40:00.000-05:00

I know, I'm up too late again. I had to finish an entertaining novel, then decided to check for email and read my favorite blogs.

The first blog I opened gave me great comfort. I learned that the Yarn Harlot, who can knit socks with her eyes closed and has probably made thousands of them, can have the same problems as I, who can count all my completed pairs of socks without using all my fingers.

A couple of weeks ago I made a pair of top-down socks for my little grandson, age two. They took me less than a week of spare minutes, and they turned out well. I made them both at the same time, on one circular needle, except for when I separated them to do the heels.

I was (and still am in spite of everything) feeling newly proficient with my sock skills.

I now know how to turn a heel, thanks to the 'recipe' in Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Knitting Rules. I've memorized the Kitchener process, thanks to Susan Pierce Lawrence's instructions. Both are in my head. I no longer need to look at step-by-step illustrated instruction.

I tried the finished socks on the cute little feet.

Too short.

I snipped a couple of stitches, removed the toes, added a few rows, including a couple of stripes in a different color for visual interest (I didn't have another color of the same yarn) and reknitted the toes. Length is okay, but the contrast stripes are not stretchy enough. Too tight. His mom said he likes to put them on his hands and play with them.

I looked at the two neat little sock-toes that I had amputated; it seemed a shame to frog or toss two well-Kitchenered toes, so I picked up stitches and started knitting upwards. Would this the second pair, or the third? It felt like three.

Finished the heels, tried them on his wiggly feet.

Too long.

Frogged the heels plus a few rows, reknit the heels, topped them off with 2x2 ribbing. Sock perfection! (No picture; they look just like the first ones, only longer.)

Tried them on his little pink piggies.

Too tight.

Aaarghhh!

Random Thought

2007-07-31T21:48:00.000-05:00

<<< Recommended reading for anyone who speaks, reads, or writes in English: Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss.

The other must-have reference, the famous "little book", has only 71 pages. >>>

Pretty things

2007-07-27T02:34:00.001-05:00

July 9, 2007: Southwestern Sky

July 23, 2007: Northwestern sky:

and . . .

July 27, completed Theo socks:

Hope God gets as much satisfaction out of his handiwork as I do mine!

Thinking Swiftly, Again

2007-07-27T01:38:00.000-05:00

Results of Sunday's project, pictured here:

After I realized that not all skeins are created equal, I added another set of peg sockets to YarnSwift v1. Hope the palm prints on my forehead aren't permanent. In the picture on the right, below, you may notice the yarn forms a diamond rather than a square - I used two middle pegs and two inner pegs to take up the slack that you see in the picture on the left. It wobbles a bit in action, but it still works.

Oops, that's Version 2 in that picture on the right. Same concept, though.

I added more spacers below the arms to make room for the wobble.

By this time I knew that I will want even more options on the spacing, so I drilled more holes in the arms of YarnSwift v2, then cut and glued some thin pieces to put bottoms on the holes. I found some unused trim wood just in time to keep me from cutting up my yardstick. (Click to enlarge, if you like.)

Both versions work, but I'm not really satisfied. Tomorrow is another day, Scarlett. There will be a Version 3!

Stupid clock!

2007-07-26T17:21:00.000-05:00

Before I left the office for lunch today, I went to the ladies' room. When I came out, I looked at the clock in the kitchen, which said it was about a quarter to one.
I went to my car, drove maybe a mile to Wendy's. Ordered my food, worked part of a crossword while I ate, cleaned up my food trash, and got out my knitting. Looked at the time on my phone so I would know how much time I had left, and it said 1:59.
I couldn't believe it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to do those things, but I thought maybe I got distracted by the crossword. Could happen.
I put away my socks and went back to work. First thing, I went to take another look at the kitchen clock.
Even now, at five pm, it still says it's a quarter to one.

Random Thought

2007-07-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

Whatever happened to "of"?
We used to say "a couple of gallons" or "a couple of dollars" and so forth.
For the past couple of years or so, from all I hear on TV or read in the newspaper, there must be a shortage of "ofs". They say "a couple days" or "a couple miles" which just sounds wrong to me.
And then there's "done" instead of "finished."
I'm done. Poke me with a fork.

Lazy Sunday

2007-07-22T16:27:00.000-05:00

It took me a while to get motivated today, but I finally finished something! Actually two somethings - I started them a week or two ago, but had to keep going back to my favorite toy stores (Home Depot and Hobby Lobby) for more stuff.

I haven't even sanded it or swept up the sawdust yet, but I had to show off my YarnSwift.v1, patterned after the CraftyGirl's yarn swift. (I may have more versions to come - I keep thinking of ways I'd rather do certain parts.)

The pegs on the arms of this swift are doll pins, held in place by doll pin stands. The stands are glued to the arms, and the pins are removeable. Thanks, Anna - you got me looking in this department at HL when I made those spindles!

I made another one with dowel rods in holes, but technical difficulties are still hindering that one. I was unable to find wood in the dimensions I wanted (1" x 1") so I could drill the holes only halfway through, so I settled for thinner wood (actual size 1.25" x 0.25") and drilled all the way through. Now I need to figure out how to keep those pegs in place and have them still be removable. I will propably attach another layer of the same size underneath.

Oh, yeah - remember that Carpenter's Mantra, "measure twice, cut once"? I would like to add, "buy twice as much material as you think you'll need, because you'll need it."

Now I can wind all that yarn I've recently added to my stash . . . and I can start over on my Mystery Stole 3. I like a challenge, but laceweight merino with #10 seed beads? That's more than I am ready to take on. I'm regrouping to start again with fingering weight and #8 beads. Pix later - nothing to show yet.

I did finish a washcloth for the gift project that Anita is organizing - I'll say no more in case it's a surprise to the "giftees", but here's my modest contribution. Hope the loop is not inappropriate. The pattern is Traveling Vine Cloth by Smariek Knits.
I'm also making a pair of socks for a certain young gentleman in my family, in baby cashmerino, working them both at the same time on one circular needle. I'm halfway through the gusset and I've only gotten lost once, so I feel pretty good about it! I'm using Stephanie Pearl-McFee's recipe in Knitting Rules! for a general guide.

Hello?

2007-07-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

Is anyone there?
I don't expect this to ever be a high-traffic blog, but if you read it at all I wish you would leave me a note to let me know you dropped by. If I've got Caller ID here, I haven't figured out yet how it works.
So, let me know, okay? Thanks!

Independence Day, plus four

2007-07-09T06:11:00.000-05:00

Since July 4 fell on Wednesday this year, I took two vacation days to make it a five-day weekend. My objectives; rest, knit, cut and install door trim in living room.

Overslept the morning of the Fourth and missed the parade. First day in three weeks without rain! Went to the park for festivities with grandson Theo and family, but the humidity really zapped me. I couldn't wait to get back into my air-conditioned house. (Sam has all the pictures of Theo and the Petting Zoo - if he'll share I'll plug in a couple here.)

I spent more time reading and napping than I intended this weekend. The first day I couldn't seem to stay awake to finish a chapter.

On the New Book shelf at the library, I discovered an exceptional new author, Craig Johnson. His protagonist is a county sheriff in Wyoming, and the character development and imagery are wonderful. I read his first two novels in this series, Cold Dish and Death without Company, and have his third on reserve at the library.
Also read two William Tapply novels; I have long enjoyed his Brady Coyne novels, and he recently started a new series with character Stoney Calhoun, an amnesiac with, of course, surprising talents. Reminds me a little of that John Doe TV series that was on a few years ago. Was it Meet John Doe?

Both of Tapply's series are set in Maine and include heavy doses of fly-fishing information. He does some non-fiction in that field, but that doesn't really interest me.

You may notice a trend here; I like mystery/adventure/crime novels, whatever you call them, but in my favorites the people seem real, and the location is at least as important as the characters and the plot. The best authors are the ones that can make me feel like I've been there. Tony Hillerman has shown me lots of Arizona and New Mexico; Dana Stabenow makes me want to visit Alaska. Author Nevada Barr's character, Anna Pigeon, is a US National Park Ranger, and each novel is high adventure in a different Park.

On a lighter note, I've been reading the knitting mysteries. I read Maggie Seaton's A Killer Stitch this week. I'm not really a fan of the yarn-and-cat mystery genre, but they are sometimes fun for a change. I like comic strips too.

I try to always have a book-on-CD in my car for reading-while-driving and often for reading-while-knitting on my lunch break. This week I finished Nevada Barr's High Country, set in Yellowstone Park, along with my SixSoxKAL Horcrux socks. Gotta get another CD book.

My finished Horcrux socks are shown at left; the color looks a little washed out in this picture; the darkest shades are actually a deep cranberry red.

I don't really like or even agree with the name for this pattern, because of its connotation. The zig-zag in the leg of the sock may represent Harry's Potter's lightning-bolt scar, which was inflicted in an attack by an evil wizard, but unless the scar or Harry himself is revealed to hold a part of that evil wizard or his soul, I don't think the name is appropriate for the sock pattern. I've read the Harry Potter books, but if the scar was identified as an actual horcrux, I missed that part. Which is always possible; I'm not one of the dedicated HP fans that keeps track of everthing. I just love a good story (see previous paragraphs).

I really enjoyed Tuesday night's Mystery Stole knit-in at GY; it's wonderful to see how many different ways these creative ladies interpret the same pattern. It's also encouraging to see my own progress compared to others using the same (insanely tiny) yarn. You can see a bit of the rose-colored yarn in the center left of the shot at left, attached to one of the twist-tie bead hooks that I made to insert my #10 clear glass seedbeads into my project.

Double-click on the picture so you can see what's there.

I also started two alternate knit projects so I can rest my mind and eyes with something easier than those tiny fuzzy stitches; one pair of socks (on one circular needle) and one washcloth.
I frogged the socks after four or five rows; they looked more like baby hats than socks.

I'm trying to find just the right project for this beautiful skein of Wooly Wonka merino, DK weight, that I won in Kim Gibson's recent online contest, but even on size 1 needles, socks it is not.

This picture shows all the goodies that Kim sent me for my silly answers to her silly questions. I was amazed at the amount and quality of the loot. Thanks again, Kim!

My washcloth projects are still up in the air; I started a garter-stitch border but haven't settled on a stitch pattern. This may visit the frog pond for a restart too. I usually find it is better to have something in mind before beginning(!). Freeform knitting has not yet found its place in my hands.

Saturday evening was another fun time at Gourmet Yarn's as yet nameless fiber arts get-together. I squeaked by once more without winning Margaret's Problem Child award, but also did not win a food prize with my contribution of mayo for David's burgers. Oh well, can't win 'em all! I did have one of those credit card accidents - I now have yarn for my SixSoxKAL Victorian Lace socks. And some different washcloth yarn, at least one of which is from the sale rack.

I finally pulled myself out of my torpor; I set up the miter saw to cut the trim for the doors in my living room. I cut the uprights and the crosspiece for the front door successfully - woohoo! Then I measured and cut the uprights for the door into the hall, stood them up for a look, and one side is too short. Apparently I ignored the Carpenter's Mantra: Measure Twice, Cut Once and cut the miter the wrong direction - it angles down from the point I marked, instead of up. This means another trip to Home Depot. Darn my overconfidence!

Daughter Sarah dragged me out of the house Sunday afternoon for a shopping trip. She knows how I hate shopping, so she forced/helped me to pick out some summer clothes. What would I do without her!

Random Thought

2007-06-27T02:19:00.000-05:00

Is it just a USA thing that newspeople now measure distance by football fields?

Summer Safari, June 10

2007-06-22T00:56:00.000-05:00

A Profusion of Wildlife:

Brilliant Safari Director:

Al Fresco Chef:

Intrepid Hunter:

There's a video clip that belongs here, but I'm having trouble finding how to add it in . . .

Aha! There it is!

How I Spent My Grandson's Birthday

2007-06-08T20:46:00.001-05:00

Our Theo was two years old yesterday, and I didn't even talk to him all day.

Early Thursday morning, I learned that sweet Aunt Thelma had passed away Sunday night, and her funeral service was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. (She wasn't really my aunt; she was my dad's cousin, but that's just too complicated.)

I read the email message from Donna just before I went to work at 8 am. After just a little thought, I left work at 9 am, topped off my gas tank, and drove up to Hutchinson, arriving just in time for the 1 pm service.

It was a very nice service at the funeral home, with a good turnout. Harlen and Thelma have accumulated many good friends along the years. There was a soloist - a little white-haired man - with a nice tenor voice.

After a prayer at the graveside, we went back to their church for a meal and conversation. A few of us (quite a few! there were 25 or more) went to Harlen's home. Their son ran a DVD photo slideshow from Harlen and Thelma's 70th anniversary celebration the previous week.
Seventy years, and they were still having fun together!

Here's a link to the funeral home and to Thelma's obituary and guest book. Her picture that you will see is from the anniversary party - she and Harlen were cutting the cake. They blocked out Harlen and the background to show Thelma in her pretty new pink dress.

I had mentioned to my Kansas-raised cousins that I needed to find a birthday gift for my friend Alice. On Ann and Lori's recommendation, I went to the Carriage Crossing in Yoder just south of "Hutch". It was nicer than I even imagined. I think I fell in love with the place when I touched the front door-- the handcrafted door with the clear beveled glass pieces separated by carved wood in the shape of a leafless tree, and the carved wooden woodworking tools decorating the lower panel of the door.

I think I looked at every item in the gift shop before I made a decision.

I found two little cast metal coathooks. Each had one bird, side view, with two hooks angled out from below the feet. Maybe cast iron, pretty heavy. I thought I would get one of them for Alice, whose birthday is today.

Then I thought I would get the other one for myself. They were really inexpensive. Then I thought I should give her both of them. I may not decide for sure until I wrap her gift--I still have a few hours.

I looked for something for Theo, but didn't find anything that seemed just right. Wonder if he would like a little bird to hold his favorite boots?

It was such a lovely place I thought the restaurant would have good pie, and that a slice of pie really would hit the spot with a hot cup of coffee. Then I realized I actually was getting a little hungry, so I ordered a roast beef sandwich (rather than a dinner - I was saving room for pie) with a cup of coffee, and then asked what kind of pie they have. My young waiter's eyes got real big and he said "We have a LOT" so to speed things up I just asked for blueberry.

I learned that they make about two dozen different kinds of pie every morning and forty or more on weekends. The bread for my sandwich was homemade, toasted just right, the beef was tender and flavorful, the tomatoes were ripe and red, the coffee was good - none of it could have been any better. Many thanks to Ann and Lori for telling me about this place!

I may just have to go back to try another variety of pie. It's only 200 miles from home.

It made me think of the movie 'Michael' and the scene in the restaurant, when they all ate pie and the angel Michael (John Travolta) told Dorothy (Andie MacDowell) it was time for her to sing. Remember?

My memory isn't really that good. I had to go look at www.imdb.com to get all the names right.

When I drove back toward the highway, with the late afternoon sun painting the green grass gold, I saw an Amish horse-drawn wagon approaching on a side road.

All things considered, I had a really good day. I hope Theo did too.

Mixed Blessings

2007-05-17T23:01:00.000-05:00

My last chick has left the nest and bought a house of her own. I'm very proud of her, but I told her older sister I felt a little sad to see her go. She cheered me up by reminding me, "You must have done SOMEthing right; she's leaving!"

I realized this morning that last night I had just spent the first night in my life in a house where no one else lives. Not my first night to be alone, but the first time ever to be in my own home with no one else in residence. No parent, no roommate, no spouse, no child, no pet. Just me.

Yep, just me, with a bathroom of my own. A washer and dryer of my own. A thermostat of my own.

Maybe I should call in the house keys from my grown-up kids so I can run around the house naked if I want to.

Happy Mothers Day!

2007-05-13T20:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, nobody had a plan for What To Do About Mothers Day.

From elder daughter: "Is anybody planning to do anything for all of us mothers in our family?" Me: "Have you talked to your siblings lately?" She: "Well, no . . ."

From middle-child: "Mothers Day is TOMORROW?!! Nobody's gonna get ANYthing!" (It's the week between paydays for him.) "What do you want?" Me: "A geranium?"

From younger daughter: "What do you want for Mothers Day?" Me: "Quality time?"

I went to the grocery store to pick up - I promise! - only two things, then decided I should make a backup plan in case the kids, with their dizzyingly busy lives, didn't talk to each other. Can't have anyone going off on a guilt trip, or me having a pity party. So I bought the makings for tacos and a fruit salad. Tried to call the younger daughter (she's the one who makes things happen) but only got her voice mail. Called the son and told him what I had done; he said he would call his sisters.

Younger daughter called me later, invited me to go to church with her this morning.
I resisted - "I can't wake up that early. I don't have anything to wear. I need to cook the tacos."
She insisted - "We'll go to the late service. I'll pick out your clothes. I'll help you cook when we get home."

She picked me up, made me pick out my own clothes. We heard a nice sermon about family relationships that brought tears to my eyes. Why did he only talk about husbands and wives when so many of us are alone? I wanted to leave but I toughed it out. Didn't want to embarrass this wonderful girl.

On the way back to my house, we picked up elder daughter, granddaughter, and the queso sauce and brownies they had made (Who knew?); stopped and picked up tortilla chips and Dr Peppers. We got to the house to find there was even MORE to the plotting behind my back; daughter-in-law was cooking and slicing and chopping and mixing while son added leaves to the table, set out the plates, and kept an eye on the grandson. Son-in-law came and joined us after he got off work, completing the crew.

We had a yummy meal and a lot of laughs. After we finished eating, the little one insisted we go out and "wing" - he really likes his Grammi's new porch swing. My granddaughter, age 15, actually let me show her my 1964 high school yearbook with the girls in bouffant hairdos and skirt and sweater sets and the boys with short haircuts and button-up shirts with the tails tucked into belted pants. She thought my cat's-eye glasses were weird.

After they went home, I sat in my porch swing and finished the heel on the sock I am knitting.

Thanks, kids! It was a great day. Happy Mothers Day, everyone!

How many Colorsburgs are there?

2007-05-10T20:31:00.000-05:00

I just had this off-the-wall thought about the coincidence of recent tragedies in towns whose names begin with a color and end with "-sburg". So, naturally, I googled "blacksburg knitting" and "greensburg ks knitting" and found that each city has a group accepting knitted squares with which to make afghans.Just in case you wanted to know, or have a yen to knit or crochet squares...

The Greensburg project has no color preference, but my brain says green for Greensburg:

http://specialstuff.typepad.com/sugar_bunny_boulevard/2007/05/rebuilding_gree.html

The Blacksburg project prefers Hokie school colors of maroon, burnt orange, black, and white:

http://mosaicyarnshop.blogspot.com/2007/04/mosaic-yarn-shop-is-asking-that-all.html

Don't pay the ransom, I escaped!

2007-05-09T21:32:00.000-05:00

I know, it's been a long time. It's my procrastination kicking in again. I think I should post something here, then I think I need to include a picture, but I don't have my camera handy, and my cellphone cam pix are just not really very good.

So, what have I accomplished since you last heard from me? Well, I haven't gone out and bought the materials I need for my door frames and baseboards, but I have made the measurements.

I filed my taxes. This is the first year since 1975 that life has been uncomplicated enough for me to do this without an accountant.

I put together the porch swing the kids got me for Christmas. I know, it's been a long time since Christmas, but the weather hasn't been nice enough to use a porch swing until recently. I picked a beautiful day in April

and got all the stuff out of the box

and put it all together.

Then I had to make sure it worked okay. Alice came over and we sat and swang and looked at the neighborhood. Even talked to some other neighbors who were outdoors. It was really nice; everyone should have one of these things!

It was really easy to do, especially compared to laying a floor. I didn't have to cut a single thing to make it fit together.

A much less pleasant task

was unstopping the tub drain, but I still got that heady feeling of wow-I-CAN-do-this-myself! Made me feel really good when one of the good ol' boys told me about paying eighty dollars to have someone else do it for him.

On a more fragrant note, I finally started a sock! I signed up for Susan's Horcrux Knitalong almost a month ago, and I have finally made some progress.

Just for the record, the yarn is J-Knits's hand-dyed Superwash Me - Light Sock merino wool, color "Massachusetts." The needles are KnitPicks double-points, US size 2.

I made a pair of these back in February, using Susan's Horcrux pattern for worsted-weight yarn. Those worked up more quickly - fatter yarn, fewer stitches.

That's probably not all my news, but I think I'll go enjoy my knitting for a while before I can keep my eyes open no longer. G'night!

A full week of birthday celebration!

2007-04-15T22:31:00.000-05:00

In the troublemakers' corner at the family-owned restaurant we like to call the South Bethany Country Club, there is a multi-generational assortment of characters that rotates through there most Saturday mornings for a meal or just coffee and always to touch base with each other. This has been going on for 30 some-odd years or so. We've been through a lot together.

Several of these individuals - we're not cohesive enough to be called a group - like to remember and recognize each others' birthdays. And because my kids and I couldn't manage to get together on the actual day, we agreed on 10:00 AM on Saturday. That worked out well, since it put my family group and my friends in the same place at the same time, and for some, for the same purpose.

My dear friends put a lot of thought into the gifts they brought me. Not expensive gifts, not the generic oh-this-will-work-for-anyone gifts. They know me, they know what I like, they know what I need. I love them all.

I feel a little sad for people who think they are too grown-up to celebrate their birthdays.

M-T-W-Th-F

2007-04-15T22:14:00.000-05:00

There's always so much to do after a vacation. So, it was just work work work as usual. Except for Wednesday, which was my birthday. My very excellent boss brought doughnuts and everyone had signed one of those tastelessly hilarious cards for me. I love it.
This is not just any birthday, this one is one of those very round numbers. The first digit has a very round aspect, and the last digit is absolutely round. The best part of that is that now I qualify for a Senior Discount at almost every place in town - except those hardnoses that insist you must be 62 or even 65. Can you believe some even ask for ID - as if we Baby Boomers would lie!

My friend Alice and I have been treating each other to birthday dinners for several years now, and we always try to choose a place where we'll both enjoy the meal. This time we decided to go to Golden Corral, where one can be totally satisfied on a wide variety of excellent food. The only downside, if it is one, is that there are so many foods that look so good. If I took only a tablespoonful of each item that appealed to me, I would have had three heaping platesful. They should furnish wheelbarrows to roll people out to their cars. Thanks, Alice!

Ketchup

2007-04-15T21:25:00.000-05:00

I know, it's been over a week since my last post. I didn't really think this blog was going to write itself, but I thought I could keep up better than this.

I'll try here to bring things up to date. That fifth day of vacation (Friday) I didn't get much done on the house. Thursday night I had picked up the Blue and Gold fundraiser stuff and hauled it home and crammed it in the second fridge, so Friday morning I got it all repackaged with names written on plastic grocery bags, loaded it into the car, and headed out to make deliveries.

Then my cellphone rang.

I got everything delivered, but then I went to pick up my son [this IS a blog, do I have to call him DS?] to take him to the doctor. He had started the day with a vision problem, which evolved into a severe headache with vomiting. Scared me--I've seen all those TV shows about brain tumors and strokes and macular degeneration, but I'm trying to be calm and cool and work on my knitting while I'm trying to hear through the door what the doctor is saying to him.
DDIL is being so cool - she went on to work like nothing abnormal was happening.
Apparently it was "just" a migraine headache. He's never had one before. Why now? He got his prescriptions filled and started feeling better, so we got to enjoy a lunch together at three in the afternoon.

I had to frog everything I had knit and reknit it later. I had so many mistakes.

I can't remember now what I did Saturday. I know I got some of the hall floor laid, because Sunday morning, while the rest of the world is in church, I got the hardest part of the whole thing finished. There is a reason they tell you to do the longest wall first. That goes triple when that longest wall has multiple doors and things in the way to keep you from having any leeway in lateral positioning while you've got the whole length pulled up at an angle to snap the new pieces in. It worked, though, so I'm pretty sure God still loves me. My whole family got to have Easter dinner at my "new" table in my "new" living room with the NEW floor.

The kids brought lasagna and salad and garlic bread and made my favorite cake in honor of my birthday (on Wednesday). Good thing there were no candles - I had no strength left after the floor episode.

How do you spell adorable grandson in blogese--DGS? He arrived in a cranky mood. Didn't want to sit in his highchair, didn't want to eat the bread his mom gave him (which is such a favorite with him she usually keeps it for last), just wanted to cry and say No No No. Then he took my fork and started eating lasagna out of my plate. We had so much fun with that, he forgot all about being a grouch.

How I Spent My Easter Vacation, Day Five

2007-04-07T22:51:00.000-05:00

I am blown away. I posted an item on OKCFreecycle Thursday night and had twenty-three responses by Friday evening. Said item was picked up Friday morning, making the recipient happy with the free item, and making me happy at recovering about 30 cubic feet of garage space.
Most of the day was taken up with errands and family stuff.
I got two courses of flooring laid, running from the living room down through the middle of the hallway. Measured and marked the cuts for the sides of the hallway.

How I Spent My Easter Vacation, Day Four

2007-04-06T00:07:00.000-05:00

Thursday morning: Today I learned how to uninstall carpet. I laid in the floor and, using a nice wide Phillips screwdriver and a carpenter's hammer, pried up the metal edge trim at the doorway (Ha! this little hall has SIX doors) and peeked under it. I know, I should have used a prybar but I couldn't remember where I put it and the screwdriver was right there. I was gentle with him, he's okay. Behind the trim I found tackstrip. I pried that up and peeled the carpet back as far as the next two doors; carpeted bedroom on one side, vinyl covered bathroom floor directly opposite.
Do you have any idea how much dust can hide under a carpet in twenty-some-odd years? I went and found a red bandana to wear cowboy-style over my nose and mouth.
Pried up metal edge at bathroom door, found and cut seam tape at bedroom door.
Have I told you how much I love my new utility knife? It is very very sharp and the handle is a beautimous red, and today I learned how to change the blade. Didn't even nick myself!
After cutting loose the carpet at three more doors (bedroom, bedroom, linen closet) and removing all the tackstrip, I sat on my rear the rest of the morning pulling staples out of the floor.
I forgot to mention rolling up the carpet and pad and hauling it outside, which brought up memories of every movie I have ever seen with a body rolled up in a carpet. In reality, that would be way too heavy for one person to carry. Just in case you ever needed to know that.

After a well-deserved lunch break and much meditation I decided that I really must paint those baseboards in the hall BEFORE installing any more floor. So, without procrastination (Me, I said that!) I pulled out my last Magic Sponge and cleaned from floor to as high as I can reach, got my brush, my bucket of white trim paint, and my roll-around stool, and painted all the baseboards plus all the trim about halfway up.

Don't panic - I promise I will paint it all the way up, but I really need to finish the floor before I run out of vacation! The trim will probably need a second coat. I'll sand it a little and then do that. It won't be hard to cover that small area of floor and tape it securely.
I don't know yet what color I want to paint the hall; something light, some color that makes an easy transition between living room and bedrooms. Trim will be white throughout the house, eventually. The ugly green will be no more!

I am Woman! Hear me ROAR!

No, my knees are not naked. You are looking at The Most Important Tools for installation of a laminate floor; knee-pads, rubber hammer, tapping block, and do-rag.

How I Spent My Easter Vacation, Day Three

2007-04-05T23:49:00.000-05:00

Wednesday: After a trip to the hardware store for a new rubber hammer and a pair of knee-pads (Money well spent!) plus a few other errands, I am almost all the way across the living room - only two and nine-tenths more rows to the east wall. Here, however, is a critical point, where the hallway door interrupts the south wall. I really want the new flooring to flow into the hall, with no seam or threshhold at this door. I am terrified, but determined to proceed.

I weighed myself today. Another four pounds gone! Sweat equity, indeed.

How I Spent My Easter Vacation, Day Two

2007-04-05T23:10:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: Up bright and early about ten o'clock, (I AM on vacation, remember?) had breakfast, got dressed, and went to work. Laid two rows of laminate before a lunch break, learned all kinds of difficult things about fitting pieces together. Made it about one-third of the way across the room before calling it a day. Decided I need a new rubber mallet because the crumbly head kept flying off. And leaving rubber crumbs everywhere.

How I Spent My Easter Vacation, Day One

2007-04-05T22:34:00.000-05:00

I took the week off so I could install my floor. I figured I'd knock it out in about three days, buy/cut/install the trim in the next day or two, and have the weekend to relax and catch up on knitting and TV.

It is working out almost to plan -

Day One, Monday: (you didn't think I would start before a relaxing weekend, did you?) I went through the garage and the shed, gathering the tools I needed. Evaluated the situation, went to Home Depot (the place where I spend all my money now instead of in the usual places) intending to buy one 14.4 volt battery and a fine-toothed blade for the circular saw and a couple of fine-toothed blades for my ancient jigsaw.

Fell in love with a battery-powered jigsaw, and started adding up the costs of same, plus battery (everything is 18 volt now) and charger, plus the 14.4 volt battery, plus the blades, and found that I could buy a whole new kit of power tools with charger and two batteries, and the blades, for almost the same amount. I spent the afternoon reading the instruction manuals. I love tools.

No visible work done on Monday.

More on my Home Makeover

2007-04-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

Before March was over, I spent another day up-and-down-the-ladder. It took me most of one day and two more trips to Home Depot, but I installed my ceiling fan all by myself! (I am on such an ego trip.)

April Fool!

2007-04-05T21:45:00.000-05:00

My April Fool's Day gag was pretty ho-hum; everybody that saw my "super-size knitting needles" is pretty much accustomed to seeing me trying things that are "different" - so nobody really suspected that they were anything other than what I said they were. Or does that mean my gag worked really well?
Anyhoo, my new "needles" are actually a pair of Molechasers. The idea is to insert four D batteries in each and plant them in the ground. They vibrate and emit an obnoxious buzz about every 15 seconds (like those pagers everyone had before cellphones took over the world) and they are supposed to drive away those little critters that are destroying the lawns in my neighborhood. Hope it works.

By the way, I frogged the scarf. I was beginning to like it, but those needles were just too awkward to manipulate.

my first posted picture

2007-04-01T19:02:00.000-05:00

I have been doing a little knitting in between my home improvement stuff. I got some fat needles the other day and started a simple scarf. Let's see if I can figure out how to plug a picture in here. The pen is for scale.

Looks like this works okay. I'll add some more soon.

WIP: Living Room Makeover

2007-04-01T12:12:00.000-05:00

My living room makeover started in late January. Most of the work is taking place on weekends, so progress is a little slow.

Before anything could happen, I had to empty the room. I gave away the seven-foot hide-a-bed and a largish side table, dismantled the entertainment system, moved the TV stand, bookshelf, exercise machine, and recliner into the middle of the room and draped them with old bedsheets for protection. No TV since January, except in my bedroom!

With the able help of my younger daughter, I stripped the cedar-shake paneling from the south wall and found that when we put that masterpiece up back in '79, we not only used finishing nails, we put a loop of glue behind each piece. That left a really interesting texture on the wall. We also ripped out the narrow baseboards, which were only on two walls anyway. Those would be a couple more long stories I won't go into just now.

In an amazing swap session, I gave away my big wooden dining room table and six matching chairs, plus two side chairs, and was given a smaller table (with two big leaves!) and six upholstered chairs with casters. My almost-new coffee table is now in the dining room, between the new Oyster White loveseat (still wrapped in plastic) and chair that I bought to replace the couch. All of that in the dining room leaves only a narrow path in which to maneuver. I have renamed the kitchen/dining room area "my single-wide."

February 2007:
A couple of nice young men came in and took down the disfunctional track light, scraped away the popcorn ceiling, patched the big hole where the chimney used to be, and hand-troweled texture onto the ceiling and the walls. Heavy on the south wall. Money well spent.

An electrician friend helped move the track light wire from its off-center position to the middle of the ceiling and install an outlet box with a support bar for a ceiling fan. Because I have a brave and brilliant and athletic daughter who is slender enough to crawl through my so-called attic, my electrician friend (who tried but could not fit his 6'4" body through that space) did not have to cut a BIG hole in my ceiling to do this. And now she knows how to install an outlet box with support bar. I patched the little hole (at the original wire position) and faked the texture with spackle.

March 2007:
I put two coats of latex enamel on the wood trim and on both sides of the closet door. Two coats of Kilz on the ceiling and one coat of Kilz (tinted for primer) on each wall, to restrain twenty-eight years of nicotine absorption. Two coats of ceiling white, one coat of Moody Blue on the north and west walls, two coats of Soft Serenity on the south and east walls.

That sounds so simple. Even peaceful. The words just don't bring up a mental picture of me *climbing up the ladder, painting three feet of ceiling/wall corner, climbing down the ladder, moving the ladder.*
Repeat from * to * about 96 times. Roller painting is, by comparison, a piece of cake.

Bonus: Between January and March, I lost ten pounds.

Fighting Inertia

2007-03-31T02:28:00.000-05:00

I have a little fear that when I get myself started on this blog it will run amok. Imagine a massive boulder resting peacefully at the top of an moderate incline, then someone comes along and gives it a little push. Nothing drastic. Just enough to knock it out of its complacency, and it will start rolling; slowly at first, then ever faster, running away with its growing momentum.

That sounds a lot like how I do all my other projects. Don't know how to start, don't know how to quit.

Since everyday life is, after all, an on-going project, it would be impractical to start at the beginning. I wish I had started in January of this year, but tomorrow it will be April already. How appropriate--I get to begin with April Fool's Day!

(Have you noticed what I'm doing? I can't seem to get started writing, but I'm doing a fine job of writing about how I can't start writing.)

Tomorrow, dear Scarlett, is another day. I'm going to pull an April Fool stunt tomorrow - one day early! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Brave New World

2007-03-29T20:37:00.000-05:00

Hello World!

This is my very first post to my very first web log.

I've been thinking about doing this for quite a while, and this seems like the right time.

Why, you ask?

There are a lot of things that go on in my life, and even if no one else is interested, I am. This seems like it could be a good place to write things down so I won't forget what I did when, and maybe even why and where and how.

Welcome to my world.