Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

We got a little snow last weekend here in the big MN. We received about 16” at my house. The Baby went out today to play it today.

She is getting big and she is really cute.

I finished all the knitting for the In-laws X-mas presents. They are in the mail and should get there before Saturday. However, I do not have the rest of the gifts on my list done. I should have The Girl’s hat done (I am not worried about that), but I do not have The Hub’s present bought and I will not get anything done by Saturday. So tomorrow I will have to go shopping and see what I can find. The Girl’s Boyfriend wanted a scarf and I doubt I will be able to knit that by X-mas either. Not sure what to do about that problem. The Girl was fighting with him last week and I sort of hoped that they would breakup so I would not have to worry about it, but that did not happen. I guess that is a good thing since I do sort of like him.

I have been watching crappy holiday movies. I have always wondered why they appeal to people since they are really predictable and shallow. But I think perhaps it is because they all seem to have some stranger show up and solve the main characters problems. Who wouldn’t want someone come in and make life perfect? Look, your kids are suddenly perfect, you meet your soul mate, you get a lovely home etc and you don’t have to do ANYTHING, just believe in miracles. Really, for life to change, you have to DO something to make it change. I think that is the reason I love The Christmas Carol. Scrooge actually has to do the work himself. The Sprits show him what is happening around him, but it is up to him to decide if he is going to change.

Well, I really should be knitting on The Girl’s present instead of blogging… 

Where have you been? Where are you going?

Look what I found on line, a place to chart where you have been. I have been to more than 1/2 of the states in the USA...

visited 29 states (58%)
Create your own visited map of The United States
I will say, that it looks weird to have been to all those states in the West and not Nevada or Utah. I have been at the airport in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, but I am not counting airports, only if I have actually entered the state. So I counting places I have driven through, mainly because I have to stop and pee on a regular basis and figure I had to get out in most of them. I honestly could not remember if I had ever been to Michgan... the rest I am confident about having been there or not.

But I have not been really anywhere else.

visited 7 states (3.11%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Other news
Things have been pretty crappy here. The Girl was sick and then her car brokedown and the holidays are upon us and I have no money. If you are interested in buying some of my yarn, I am selling some on Ravelry. I am trying to raise enough to buy a Christmas present for The Hub and some of my co-workers. I am almost there, I just need a few more sales.

I have been knitting some presents and have my MIL & FIL gifts done.

Here are some bed socks for my MIL. It is the same pattern as last year, just different yarn. It is what she wanted.

Here are some fingerless gloves for my FIL. He did not say what he wanted, but I figured he could use these and they would match the hat I knit him last year. 

Crazy Daze

So… Things have been crazy, in the sort of depressing way.


November has been unseasonably warm, which is always a bummer. However, it is supposed to start snowing tonight and continue on and off until Wednesday. I hope this is true; a little snow sure would cheer me up.

The Girl has been sick (actual disease sick) with various things the last couple of weeks. The latest was a kidney infection. She had to go in several times until she finally found an antibiotic that worked. She is feeling better and is actually getting up (willingly!) and going to school. Apparently, going to school is better than feeling like you are dying!

Knitting has been slow because I have been feeling down and tired. I have 2 fingers to do on my FIL gloves and they will be done. I need to get it done this weekend so I can move on to my MILs socks. The Hub lost his fingerless at Ikea. It makes me sad because if really liked them and I don’t know if I have it in me to make another pair.

I am really not looking forward to Xmas this year. Normally, it is my favorite time of year, but this year, I have no money and I don’t know if I can knit something for everyone…

The Baby is doing well. She said her first full length sentence last week… “I’m not tired.” She was responding to grandpa’s inquiry as to why she was not napping. And the other night she was mooching food off of me and said, “Nother bite of pizza.” She does love to eat, particularly cheese and cheese related foods. And green beans… she loves green beans.

No photos today, but if I can figure out how to embed video, I might put up some video of The Baby. She is too damn cute. (She can also say “Come on down”. She loves the Price is Right, what can I say?)

What’s New With You?

Not much is new here. The camera did show up, but The Girl had crushed it in her backpack. So the screen is broken, so you can take pictures, but you cannot see what they are before you download them. This is not that big of deal, but you cannot adjust any of the settings on the camera since they all show up on the screen. 

However, I do have a photo to show. I knit this tam for a co-workers friend. I think it turned out quite nice.

I have knit several hats in the last month and now I am starting on X-mas presents. I am currently knitting some fingerless gloves for my FIL. He has never actually shown any interest in fingerless gloves; in fact, I don’t think I have ever seen him wear gloves at all. But he does a lot of stuff for the church (outside) and I thought it would be nice for him to have something that he could use his fingers and still keep his hands warm. We will see how it goes.

My MIL wants another pair of bed socks, so I will make those next. They are easy since they are made with bigger yarn.

The Hub and I have been looking at beds. It is one of those things that really suck to shop for because all the salespeople are extra clingy. It is not like I am going to carry the damn mattress out of the store in my pocket. Go away and let me lie on them and see which ones I like for Pete’s sake! Sheesh… Anyway, we were going to upgrade to a queen bed, but we would have to buy a new frame and quite honestly, the thought of paying $75 for something to just set the bed on was more than I could bear. So we are going with another full bed. We found one we liked and it will be delivered on Friday. It will be so nice to sleep on something that does not make springy noise and is soft.

I will let you know how it goes.

Other than that, not much going on here. I have been working. The Girl has been sick. The Baby can count to 10 and knows what noises several animals (including a monkey and a javelina) make. She is very smart! She is going to be a monkey for Halloween. I promise to post a picture of her here. 

I Got a Wife and Kids in Baltimore Jack

Actually, I don’t, but I have heard this Springsteen song several times this week and decided to use it as my blog title.

It has been a crazy week. On the 1^st day of school, The Girl blew a tire on her car, luckily she had a full sized spare and she was driving around on that until we had time to get her set up to get a new tire. Unfortunately, on Thursday she left the house and called about 5 minutes later in tears to tell us that a different tire was flat and when she filled it with air, it was leaking badly. Since she had a court date in the afternoon (regarding child support) she was going to miss school in the afternoon anyway we had to call the school and tell them she was going to miss the whole day. And we had to go with to drop off her car to get the tires replaced. While it was there, the tire place called and said that the rear brakes were shot (there was only 2% of the pad left). So we had to get that fixed as well. God I hate cars…

Then, the sink in the bathroom clogged up and we had to call the plumber since we could not get to the clog ourselves.

Work has been crazy because we started a sale this week. I have found that the worst days at work are when people come in big bunches. The people are not necessarily with one another, but it is almost like everyone waits outside until one person goes in and then they all follow. It just gets to be so busy that you worry that someone will feel that they are being neglected.

I have been knitting some socks with some great yarn we now have in the shop called Land O Lace Steffi. It is wonderful and the colors rock.

I have no photos because The Girl took the camera to school on the 1^st day of school and I have not seen it since.

There are days when I think it might be nice to take a wrong turn and just keep going… 

Lots Of News

A few weeks ago I dropped off my sweater at the Fair. It was a Tuesday morning and I walked right in with it and handed it over. It is fun to go to the Fairgrounds right before the Fair opens. You see all the activity of people readying their booths… unloading trucks, washing down the building, fixing any damage that might have occurred over the previous 12 months. It is just cool to see all the action without the crowds.

Anyway, yesterday we (The Hub, The Baby and me) went to the Fair. There were not huge crowds but it was pretty hot. And here is what I saw when I went looking about the Creative Activities building…

Yes, boys and girls, that is a Red Ribbon you see on my sweater. I won 2^nd place in the kid’s colorwork sweater category. I was ecstatic! Seriously, this is the 1^st yoke sweater I have ever knit and I designed myself. So to get 2^nd place is huge in my book. The 1^st place winner’s sweater was outstanding so I a good with coming in 2^nd.

The rest of the day at the Fair was good. We did not see all the stuff we normally do because we had The Baby with and she started to get really tired by the end. She did love seeing the cows, pigs and sheep. She had some malt, funnel cake and cheese (her favorite). Overall, it was a fabulous day at the Fair!

The same day I dropped off my sweater at the Fair, I had a job interview at a local major corporation. As I sat in the lobby listening to lite jazz, I watched men leaving for the day. They were all wearing khakis, every one of them … I realized that I hate khakis. I hate business casual. I hate that men can throw on a golf shirt and khakis and be considered “professional”. Really the only professional that should be dressing that way is a golfer. The interview with the HR person went fine, but the purchasing manager did not seem impressed with me. Not that I really cared, by the time I was called in for the interviews, I knew that I really did not want to go back to the corporate world. I will sell everything I own to survive if it means no more lite jazz and khakis. 

Luckily, the next Monday I was offered a full time position at the shop and I accepted. I was so happy. I will not become rich working there, but I am happier than I have been in a long, long time (work wise). They respect my ideas and they actually care what happens to me. I realized one day that knitting is one of the few things in my life that I am good at and I love to do.

Speaking of knitting, I have some photos of recently completed projects.

 

This is a tam I made for the shop. 

Here is a hat I made for The Baby. I added a pompom after this photo was taken. 

Here is my needlepoint box I did. 

To Sleep Perchance To Dream

I have not been sleeping well. It has been very hot in the MN lately, which affects me greatly. AND my bed is on its last legs, the springs are broken and they poke at me causing me to wake up several times a night. The lack of sleep is starting to affect my mood. I have been feeling very down lately. I feel crabby and sad and like a total failure. I just don’t know what to do about it. I feel like selling everything I own and running away. This is never a good sign.

On the knitting front, I am almost done with my sweater for the Fair. I am on the yoke and it is looking pretty good (if I say so myself). I did have to change my original design because when I did not like it when I started knitting it. Last night I was working on it and realized I had made a mistake in the yoke pattern. I was able to drop the stitch down to the row with the wrong color and fix it and this was after I had drank a couple of glasses of wine. So I guess I am okay at this knitting thing…

I still do not have a camera, so no pictures yet. You will just have to image a really cute black toddler sweater with corrugated ribbing in purple, red, yellow and green.

The Baby has started to walk. She decided last week that it was the thing to do and just stood up and walked. She is just the funniest baby. She is getting so big. She has started learning body parts and the other day she was standing around saying “Toe, Toe, Toe” in a deep voice. It was very funny.

Inception (Movie Review)

A couple of weeks ago I saw Inception. Before I get too far into this review, I should revel that I dislike Leonardo DiCaprio. He just bugs me to no end and normally I just do not go to his movies. Overall it is a pretty good movie. It is really well constructed, which is saying something since a lot of it takes place in the subconscious. The special effects are amazing and the acting is okay. The story is fine, but not really deep or meaningful. It was worth seeing in the theater just because it is a big movie and the effects would be lost on a smaller screen. So I am giving it 3 out of 4 knitting needles. 

Death By Monkeys

Last Sunday The Hub and I went to see Toy Story 3 (not in 3D). It was very good. It was a cute movie with a lot of heart. It also has the underling story of what happens to toys when they are no longer needed. It was a good bookend to the Toy Story trilogy. Of course, the animation is fantastic (I expect no less from Pixar). There is a scene that is quite intense and there was a little kid crying in the theater, so it may not be appropriate for all kids. The short in the beginning is really odd and well not very interesting. I think they were experimenting with the animation, but I do not think it worked over all. However, the movie is worth seeing and I am giving it 3 ¼ knitting needles.

Knitting Knews

Okay, I have not been knitting very much. I have stuff to finish up for work and I have a sweater to knit for the Fair. It is July 3^rd and I have not started with my Fair project. Well, that is not totally true… I have the yarn and I know what I am going to do, I just need to plan it all out. We will see if I am able to do it.

Needlepoint News

I am almost finished with my trick or treat needlepoint canvas. I do think I mentioned in my last posting that I have started to do needlepoint as well. I finished my Scotland ornament and sent it off to be finished and I received back my 1^st project. I needlepointed a heart canvas and had it put into a box. If I could find my camera I would post a picture.

Other News

I survived the visit from the in-laws, although it was a very long week. And my MIL developed a Urinary Tract Infection and a cold so she was out of commission for a couple of days.

Today, The Hub and I went and picked raspberries. We picked 6 pounds. It was a great day to be out in the field, it was warm, but breezy. I am not sure what I am going to do with them yet, but I think most will just be eaten.

I missed strawberries this year. June was so busy I just did not get down there. They said that they might have a “get what you can day” either Monday or Tuesday just to finish off the season. Hopefully it will be Tuesday and I can go get some berries anyway.

Well, that is about all the news I have today. I hope you have a safe and happy 4^th of July!

In Laws

My in-laws arrived last night.  I have been dreading this visit more than I can say. They are nice, but my MIL is very judgey. I don’t even think she knows she does it quite honestly, but she has this look that just shows what she is thinking. She worries a lot so I think that is part of it. I cannot tell her that whatever happens, things will work out, eventually.

Not that my mom is any better. She is up from AZ for a while, I do not know how long since she has not bothered to tell me. Anyway, she called to make an appointment for us to come down and see her next weekend. It made The Girl so angry that her grandma would not come up to see her and The Baby that she refuses to talk to her. It is just crazy.

In other news, I have taken up needlepoint. It is very, very dangerous. I had done some needlepoint when I was in high school, but nothing quiet so complicated. Anyway, I have been working on needlepoint stuff instead of knitting. I have only knit 2979.8 yards this year. I have knit more, just not finished it. I have been doing a lot for the shop and I just really want to knit something for me...

I have misplaced my camera, so no pictures of anything. Sorry.

Sad Days Indeed

Yesterday I we had to put down our little dog. She was starting to have trouble getting around the house and remembering to go outside to potty. It was just time.

Good bye baby-dog… you will be missed.

Now we just have cats. I have to assume that will have to be that way until The Girl and The Baby move out. Although that is not going to be anytime soon. The Girl is pretty resigned that she is not going to pass this semester and will have to go to summer school and the fall term and graduate in December. We will have to see. She is going to be the death of me…

Dead Jedis

I hate the movie Return of the Jedi. There are two reasons for this: 1) to quote Hurley from Lost “Ewoks suck, Dude.” 2) At the end of the movie the victors are having a party and Luke Skywalker looks over and sees the ghosts of Obi-wan, Yoda, and Darth (aka Dad) standing there smiling and waving. It is just stupid.

Lost ended this week. I was extremely disappointed with the ending. The fact that the “Sideways world” was just some generic spiritual purgatory where the Losties were all waiting so they could go to the great hereafter together was just lame. Really, it all comes down to religious crap? Bah! It was Return of the Jedi all over again. God, can’t dead people just stay dead. I would have been really happy without the sideways world and just having it end with Jack saving the Island and seeing his friends jet off to safety and closing his eye. And maybe a few more answers instead of happy-go-lucky dead folks. Anyway, the more I think about it the madder I get, so I will not be discussing Lost any more.

I Promise to Blog More Often

So I went to the Dentist this week. I know, I know, I haven’t blogged in months and I start by talking about the Dentist! WTF? Don’t worry, I will make my excuses and give a big update. Anyway, my DDS now has a digital x-ray machine. The thing you bite down on has a cord coming out of it that leads right to the computer and all the pictures just download right away. It was really cool, but it made me feel old. I remember when I was a kid and they would send me into a different room and put the big lead vest on me, leave the room and take an x-ray. They do not even put the lead vest on anymore… which means either the x-ray technology has improved so it is not as much of a risk OR my dentist doesn’t care if I get bombarded with radiation. I am hoping it is the first one.

What has been going on for the last several months?

I have been working at the yarn shop. It has been going well. It is the best place I have ever worked. They want me to get together a plan of what I would need in order to start working there full time. I know that long term I could not really support my family working there, but I really want to stay there because I love it. Maybe if my husband gets a job I can to do it. We will have to see what happens.

I have been doing some knitting. Here are a couple of things I have created since I last blogged…

This is a hat made from Lost themed yarn (Polar Bear in the Jungle). It is a pattern a made up using Barbara Walker Treasury.

Here is a hat I made for my nephew…

Here is a wrap I made for the shop… The yarn was a pain to work with, but I think it looks good.

And here is a sneak peek at next month’s 3K perk in the shop. I designed it myself!

I done a few other things, but I think this is enough for now.

Life has been chaotic. The Girl has been driving me crazy. Last week she took off because people were calling her names on the Internet. God she is frustrating. I do not know what we are going to do with her. She brought home a kitten.

Here is a picture of it.

Looks cute, but it is a crazy kitten. It runs around like a manic causing nothing but trouble.

The Baby is doing well. We had a bit of a scare a few weeks ago. She developed a weird rash and her doctor did not know what it was, so we were sent to a dermatologist, who did not know what it was, so they sent us to Mayo. In the end it was determined to be Incontinentia pigmenti. 

It is not life threatening, It is just a genetic defect that is passed from mother to daughter. It is very rare and everywhere we went every doctor had to come in and stare at her. It was very uncomfortable. However, it is good to know she will be okay.  She is a great baby. She loves to share food with me. She loves watermelon and graham crackers. Oh and Brie and crackers. She is hilarious.

I promise to try to blog more diligently. I made the discovery that in fact I used to write my posts during meetings at work and then post them during lunch at work. Since I do not have meetings and an actual lunch break any more, I have been not been blogging. Even though I have thought about blogging on many occasions. I hope that counts for something.

See you on the other side… 

That Dog IS Crazy

Sorry for the serious lack of blogging as of late. I do not have a good excuse, just pure and utter laziness. To atone for the error of my ways, I am going to post a link to the namesake of this post at the end. Just a hint of what it is… it was on TV Land back in the 90’s.

I have been knitting.

Look, I made a monster for the Shop. 

It is from a kit that we will be carrying eventually, but the yarn maker does not have any of the yarn ready so it is going to be like 12 weeks before they come in. The color way is called Zombie BBQ. It was easy and fun to knit. I loved the yarn. I am going to buy one of the kits when they come in so I can make one for The Baby.

I also knit a jacket for The Baby. It is too cute and she looks like a little polar baby. It was not too bad to knit. However, weaving in the ends of the “fur” was very painful. 

Currently I am knitting a lacy cowl (the pattern calls it a smoke ring) as part of the Ravelympics. Basically, I casted on during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and I have until closing ceremonies to finish. I however hope to get it done by the end of this weekend so I can knit 2 things for the competition.

Weirdest Damn Funeral I've Ever Been To

So we are 3 episodes into the new season of Lost and I have not written anything about it. I am sorry… I am going to jot down a few of my thoughts now.

The best line of last night’s episode (see this section’s title) was delivered by Lapidus (of course). He is great…

I have mixed feelings about the “sideway flashes”. On one hand they are entertaining and it is good to see that some good things are happening to our Losties. However, I do not quite know the point of them. Is it a dream? Is it what could have happened if they had made different choices? Is it actually the true reality and the Island stuff is a dream? The writers have been adamant that they are not an alternative reality. However, if the time break occurred in 1977 with Jughead going off, how did Ben get off? Or Ethan? I don’t know… it just does not add up. The Island (as seen in the 1^st flash sideways) was underwater and Dharmaville had been built so that would fit with a 1977 time break. Unless the writers are saying that by changing the time line in ‘77 would change things before ’77, which seems odd. How would that work? I do think that the time lines will merge back together and the Island will win… but I have been wrong before.

There has been some talk that Jacob is a bad guy and Smoky is the good guy. I do not buy this, mainly because anyone who can scare the bejesus out of Richard cannot be a good person. I do not know if Sawyer is buying into Smokey’s story, but I do think he is sick of the Island and just does not care. I feel so bad for Sawyer, he loved Juliet so much and I think it was truly the first time in his life that he was happy. Poor Sawyer.

Sayid – I think he is infected with whatever changed Ben from sweet little kid to psychopath. I think Sayid will not make it to the end of the show… sigh… However, you would think that someone who spent many years torturing people could take a little of he was dishing out. Although, the hot poker was really cruel. 

The Little Kid in the forest from last night’s episode: I do not think it was Jacob or Aaron (two theories I have heard) I actually think that he is the rule maker or enforcer. Smokey knows he is in trouble and he wants to get out of Dodge before The Kid catches up to him and punishes him.

That is all I have for now. I will try to be more consistent in my postings.

As Promised: Crazy Dog 

I Have No Dreams Left To Dream

My Vikings have lost their chance to play in the Super Bowl. I cannot describe how depressing this turn of events is for me. You need to understand that one of the things I want to experience before I die is to see the Vikings in the Super Bowl, I don’t even care if they win, I just want to see them there. Is that asking too much? I really truly believed that this would be the year to see them in the Big Game. Alas, it was not to be… Damn Saints.

In more pleasant news, I am a permanent employee at the yarn shop now. Which is cool, but it is still part time. Hopefully, that will change before I run out of unemployment. I am still looking for a real job, but I am really not finding anything that appeals to me… okay, I did send my resume into Disney Corp because they are looking for a buyer and well, who doesn’t want to work for The Mouse?

I have been knitting a parka for The Baby. I have no photos yet, but I am on the hood, so I am in the home stretch. Once I finish the hood, I just need to sew the pieces together and then add the “fur”. I think it is going to be really cute.

The Girl is 18 now. We went to the bank and transferred all of her money into her name and now she officially has more money than me. Ain’t life funny?  She is back together with The Ex. We will see how long it lasts since they are both really temperamental. The Baby has had a cold and sounds bad, but is looking better today. Yesterday she slept a lot.

I promise to have photos next time…

I am a Mystery Wedge

I took a test and that was the conclusion… I am most like the mystery wedge on Wheel of Fortune. Who knew?! I feel so mysterious. Maybe I will bankrupt you or make you rich… who knows!

So, there has been drama here. The Girl has Bell’s palsy. It is not as bad as it sounds… half of her face is paralyzed. An infected nerve causes it. It is temporary, but she has been acting like it is a going to end her life. She got in a fight with her friend and her Ex on Saturday and that did not help her mood.

On the upside, she has her driver’s license and her own car last Friday so I can actually use MY car whenever I want. It is terribly exciting.

We bought her a 2003 VW Jetta. It is quite cute, but it was a pain to buy it. Okay, it was not really the buying that was the problem, but rather the getting it ready for us to take. It had a small battery in it because they take out the full size battery so no one will steal the radio (actually this was a weird explanation, but it is what they told us). Now, with VW, their radios have a code that needs to be imputed to make it work once you have removed it from the power source, so that had to be done. Also, the dipstick was broken, so I told them to replace it. SO when we bought the car, they said it would take about 15-20 minutes to get all this done. We waited and waited and waited… Finally, the sales guy came back in and said they were having problems with the radio. It might take a little while to get it going. After we had sat in the sales guy’s office for more than 2 hours, they figured out that the radio that was in the car did not work and they took the radio out of another Jetta they had on the lot and were going to try to get that going. It was suggested we leave for about an hour and an half and it should be good to go. When we came back, the radio still did not work, the sales guy said he would give us a $150 credit for the radio installer next door and we could pick out a new radio. At this point we were completed worn out and said fine. We had gotten there at about 12:30 pm and it was now going on 5:00 pm.  The funny part… The Girl got the radio to work that night! What a bunch of maroons! They suggested that we get all the service done there, but I cannot image entrusting them with actual repair work on it. We have a guy she can go to who only does German cars.

Otherwise, things are okay. My husband had a birthday and I handled it poorly and made him crabby. I did take him out to lunch at our favorite restaurant, Vincent, the day before his birthday, but we did not do anything special on his birthday. I felt very bad that I made him so cranky. And of course if he is cranky, The Girl is cranky.

I have done some knitting. I knit this little bear for The Baby.

It is odd, but she does like playing with it, so I consider it a success. I will use a different pattern for my next teddy, this one was just too fiddly and there was too much seaming.

This is the beginning of my Snowman Army.

That’s right. You had better look out because by next Christmas I will have a complete army and I will take over the world! Mawhah-hah-hah!!!

Or, I will just make them into ornaments and give them to people.

One or the other... 

Happy New Year

I know I am a little late, but well, it is still a new year, so there…

I rung in the New Year the way I always do… watching TV (TCM’s “Thin Man” marathon) and trying to stay up until midnight (which I did).

I have long since given up real resolutions, however I do have knitting resolutions.

1. I want to knit a 10K this year. I am not going to have the same restriction of not buying more yarn, but since I am not really working, I do not have much money for it anyway.

2. I want to learn how to do double knitting. This is 2-sided knitting, it is double thickness and both sides are right sides. It can be reversible.

3. I want to knit 2 adult sweaters and probably a couple of kid sweaters too.

4. I am going to work on Christmas presents early!! I plan on knitting advent & Christmas ornaments.

That’s about it.

So far this year, I have finished 3 hats. Here are some photos.

Pretty impressive, huh?