Still here..

and goofy as ever!

I had this really great post that I was going to do for today. It involved some really odd tombstones and great sky and was accompanied by pictures. However, when I uploaded the pics in my camera, they weren't there. Now I know they were there at one time, because I sat in the car and looked at them to make sure I got what I wanted. But now they are nowhere to be found..although the one I accidentally took of the front of my tshirt is there. Weird, eh? I'll have to try again later in the week.

So, instead I'll paste some text from an email I just sent to the Kandahar guy and crew. Because I'm too tired to write it all again. So there.

Here ya go!

t's been a rather goofy day here. I had several projects going at once. I'd brought home some work that I wanted to have done before Monday. But it makes me crazy if I mess with it too long (all numbers, and I am so not a number person) so I'd take breaks. and during them, I was either trying to move a double bed mattress and foundation to the garage (it will eventually go out for bulky trash pickup) or painting the legs on an old dinette table. One of those from the 50's with the formica top and chrome legs. Unfortunately the legs were a mess but I found some bright shiny spray paint and hopefully since I scrubbed them really well and primed them too, the paint will stick. That went pretty smoothly. It's supposed to come in the house but uhhhh, I don't think I can get it in. So will have to ask for volunteers tomorrow at work. The idea is that this unused bedroom will be a good sewing/project/hang out sort of room. It will be so nice to make a mess and not have to pick it all up before I am through.

Getting the mattress out was a bit trickier. I wrapped it in heavy plastic so it would slide easier. And cut little slits so I could hang on to those carrying bands. But my 'wingspan' isn't quite long enough so I could really only manage one end at a time. Thought I'd take a moment's rest when I was about half way through and leaned it against the door frame. Alas, the mattress decided to lean the other way and bonked me in the head; knocking my glasses off and sending the cats who were supervising off in all directions. Didn't hurt me or the glasses but it was pretty funny!

No real fiber stuff to show. I am knitting a little sweater for one of my bears. Mainly because knitting a little sweater isn't as scary as attempting a big one. And since lately I have the attention span of a gnat, that's about all I can manage. Hopefully I can be a bit more focused in the coming week, but I wouldn't want to bet money on it.

What have you been doing for fun??

Susan's Sunday

I think Sunday is becoming my favorite day of the week. Somehow either Saturday is busy with errands and chores, or else I'm so tired I sleep too much. But Sunday...ahhh it's a nice day.

I worked outside in the front yard for awhile this morning. Mostly trimming and cutting back the lantana that is preparing to take over the world. So much needs to be done and now I have a plan. Using a book on tape as a time measure, I've discovered that I can work for about an hour and a half in the early morning before it's too hot and before I tump over. So, if I did that every day, the yard would be in much better shape and so would I. There is only one problem...work. I just don't think I can manage heading out there at 6 AM and then coming in by 7:30 to do a real fast breakfast/bath/get dressed and leave for work. It's true. I need to be able to retire :-). Ummm if only logic worked that way.

I do have a completed project to show you. The bag with beads. Beaded bag. Whatever. It was a kit from Halcyon yarn, and I had exactly enough beads! Actually there was one extra and it broke. I was unable to get my ribbon through the accent beads they sent, and these will someday be switched out for something more appropriate. But here ya go. And what, pray tell, am I storing inside? Uhhh clean underwear? I really had no idea what I was going to do with it, or what I would put in it but it needed some 'stuffing' for it's photo op. Now, looking at the picture, I wish I'd stuffed it taller instead of squatty. Oh well..maybe next time. I really had fun with it and now want to make something else that has beads involved.



Specs: Beaded Bag Kit from Halcyon

including Jaggerspun wool which I really loved working with but no little about.

Needles: Size 5 CP bamboo and bright magenta metal needles for K2K parts.

I also made a dog bed today but it's nothing to write home about although at least it's better than the worn out one it's replacing.

And now I shall return to knitting a little square, which I'm told will later be turned into a little rabbit. Magic?

Naked Ladies

Got your attention? They're in my front yard..and no they aren't human. I'm always surprised when they bloom because I can never remember where they are. There are a couple coming up right in the middle of some shrubs too.





And yes, the grass needs mowing. The whole yard needs probably about 2 weeks of attention, at least 8 hours a day. I get really enthused about working out there when I'm at work. But somehow, when I get home and it's hot and muggy and the skeeters are dive bombing me, I lose that enthusiasm and hope for an early freeze.

It's been a good week here. My friend and coworker Jackie gave me a really good excuse for going to Hobby Lobby. Also visited was Petsmart and a huge Walmart where we acted like real yokels as we gazed in astonishment at all the stuff we don't have in our store :-). An evening of shopping (needle felting needles,cat food and a yummy salad kit for me)was topped off with ice cream and sprinkled with tons of laughter and good conversation. I was delighted to realize we never talked about work. Although she's not a knitter and has no desire to be one, she is a crafter and delights in making her home a wondrous place.

Today all of the usual Saturday morning things were done early and then I changed out a wall plug. Somehow part of the plastic just broke off and it looked most pitiful. Probably old age hit it. The new plug went in easily and I'm always so pleased when everything is back in the wall, lights are working and I'm still alive!

I just took a break and spent it staring at a chair. I have this channel back chair that's seen much better days. There's a broken spring that extends below the seat. And well, the fabric is..it's old and worn and just icky. I can't get a slipcover that will fit it, and yesterday my friend Jackie just about convinced me that we can re-upholster it. Despite it's rather severe looking shape, it's extremely comfortable if you want to actually sit UP as opposed to slumping down on the love seat. Now I have to get up courage and try to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up. And what a lovely (?) way to spend a day...kicked back and staring at a chair.

And the beaded part of my little bag is done and the decreases for the bottom are started. It's been fun to do although I think if I make another one, I'll try to convert it to knitting in the round instead of a flat piece that must be joined. I did need purling practice though. It's been a long time since I've done rows of it. Now if I could just figure out why I need a little knitted bag with beads on it.

What plans do you have for the weekend??

What's Rich?

Sunday evening after watching Miss Marple solve another crime, I was treated to an unexpected pleasure. In the 30 minutes left until 10 pm, there was a program called The Queen Family. According to the link they are traditional music icons. I'm not overly fond of current country music. I don't hate it. It's just, for the most part, not something I look for. But traditional...bluegrass, blues, acoustic..oh yeah. The older the better. And this little program had some amazing music. And really interesting people.

But something I heard (and have heard many times before) has been working in my brain. One of the women said something like 'We were poor. But everyone we knew were poor so we didn't know it.'

Growing up as I did in a small Ohio village to start with and then in a small predominately farming town in Oklahoma, I certainly wasn't rich. The earlier years may have been financially easier..I'm not sure. My daddy worked, my mom stayed home. But he was often ill for long periods of time and then died when I was going into 5th grade. After that Mama went back to work and we got on with life.

I always had good food and was pretty spoiled I think. However, the must-haves of my teen age years didn't cost much. Very few of my peers had their own vehicles..and then they were older cars that they had worked on. There were a few rich kids...they lived in 'ranch style' houses! *G*

Each school year I chose fabric and patterns for 3 outfits which my mom made. Hopefully, I hadn't totally outgrown the clothes from the year before..but that didn't often happen. I got one new pants outfit. I was hard to fit even then so these tended to end up being Christmas gifts and I'd better take care of them cause there wasn't going to be another one until the following year.

My friends and I traded clothes. And my friends were of all financial ranges so sometimes you got to wear really cool stuff!

We did all the usual stuff..played until dark thirty when we were young, and chased boys and girls as we got older. Our outside influences were American Bandstand *G*, or maybe movies.

I never really dreamed of being rich...and didn't realize until I was much older what a struggle my mom had in holding us together.

But here's the point of this wandering soliloquy. I hear about welfare moms repeating the process because that is what they know. And I believe that to be true.

I wonder though if having so much information available today on how the 'other half' lives is a good thing. Is it a good thing that young people can know that you can make a better (if dangerous)living as a drug dealer as you can a teacher? And, if it's imperative that you have an iPod and an Xbox and the right shoes (that cost a LOT) and you're not wealthy..what are you going to do? Save up? By the time that happens the cool thing has come out with a new model that costs more. Is it so important that you mug someone for their shoes or their gold teeth? Who made it that important? Advertising agencies? Ourselves?

Haha! This post really wasn't going to be about money. It had a whole other focus but my brain obviously went off on a tangent. And now it's time to get my butt in gear and get ready for work. I'll make a note of the tangent and post about it later.

Cleaning and Cats

After putting up the new light fixture and changing out the bulbs in the other one, I realized that the utility room needed some serious tidying. There were odd paint bottles in the cat food bin along with 2 hard drives (how DO you get them to disappear?)The workbench had all sorts of clutter. So under the supervision of the cats, I got busy. Dave's cat has a lovely knitted afghan in a window sill with a view. My guys prefer the workbench which is part of the reason it doesn't get used as such any more. Another reason is that in the winter, it's cold out here and in the summer it's hot! It's really a converted porch (that's about to fall in, but I try to ignore that part) and I think the insulation is quite lacking. You should see the lovely blanket that hangs over the glass doors in the winter! Oh..I'm so classy!

Ramen Noodle Yarn & Explanation

Keep scrolling down. After individual posts with just a picture there is a post. For some reason, when I add a pic, once it's added instead of showing up like a picture, it shows up and row upon row of html, which is a b*tch to move to it's proper place. and now..the photo

Brown Felt

Felted Leaf

A For-Real Post

Saturday was a mish-mash day. A bit of house cleaning. A bit of laundry. A bit of home maintenance (if changing out florescent bulbs and hanging a new fixture on it's chains in the utility room count). A couple of errands. Some reading, a small nap. Some frogging and some real fun.

Only 2 errands..the library and the postoffice. New books to read and listen; package for my Yarn in a Teacup person mailed. All July bills sent off. (of course, the first August bill arrived yesterday also :-O

I'll spare you pics of the utility room lights, and move right along.

It seems I rarely have something completed to show; so that was a goal this week. However, I wasn't pleased with how the beads on the beaded bag looked. I'm sure some could do it and it would look super, but mine were rather unwieldy. So I decided to try Fluffy Knitter Deb's way. Frogging commenced and once I'd got myself back to that part of the bag, I decided I was hungry and needed a sandwich. I'm knitting it on CP bamboo str8 needles. The kind that have actual little knobs on the end. Which was apparently extremely intriguing to Hershey. Besides, obviously I wanted this off the needles. Instead of just nibbling on it, he took it out...and then sort of tugged and walked all over it I think. So..what to do but create.....Ramen Noodle Yarn! Scarily enough it really was the right thing to do. Those beads had to come completely off. He knew more than I did! Removing the beads really str8nd the yarn a lot so it's begun again but I'll spare you 5 rows of stockinette. Maybe later today I'll have something to show on that front.

Moving right along. I had some wool white felt. I wanted brown. I cannot remember why, but dying was fun. I soaked the felt in vinegar water for awhile and then saturated it with brown dye made from some generic sort of Wilton color. A rich brown. After it soaked awhile, I nuked it a couple of times with a rest between and shazamm, brown felt. I love the mottled look of it. Now if I could remember what I was going to do with it. I just know it was on my list for shopping outside. Brown wool felt. Hmmm. The oddest thing though was that there was a bit of dye left in the Pyrex..and, it had become green! I guess I need to read up on color! I know I've seen women with greenish brown hair. Wonder if they used icing color?

And last but not least, a leaf. I'd read in a new Interweave magazine on Felting about cookie-cutter needle felting so I really wanted to try it. In the pic it sort of looks all one color but in reality it's more mixedy up. I took tiny bits of roving in two colors, pulling them apart until sometimes there were only two uhh hairs?? And alternating the colors and sort of just tossing them in a little box, fluffing occasionally. It was sooooooo fun! And then using the cookie cutter as a sort of mold, started felting. The only thing I didn't care about was sticking myself. Now I want to see if I can just make a little sheet of fiber..no mold. Just a square, and then use the cookie cutter as a pattern to cut it out. And I wish I had some coppery colored pearl cotton..I could make some veins for it. I'm sure they have some at Michaels *G*..but I'm really trying to not spend a lot of money and there's no way I can go there and walk out with one skein of pearl cotton. So, I've dressed myself in bummy clothes to make it less likely that I'll go walking out the door. And maybe I should post a sign that my gas went up 20 cents a gallon last week.

Late in the afternoon, I sat outside on the porch swing for awhile until the skeeters found me. It was very warm but not miserable. And, for a change, very quiet. All the lawn mowers had gone back to their spaces. People must have arrived at where they were going because there was little traffic. And so, I sat there reading with only the sounds of the locusts to keep me company. It was sooo lovely.

Anyway, more fun coming up on this last day of the weekend. What are y'all doing?

Well...bad word! When I upload a pic, I get only html words..and no way of moving it. I'll try posting them one at a time all by themselves.

More about Me

I saw this over at Sheri's and thought it would be a fun thing to do while the oatmeal cooked. It's a long test..took me all the way through breakfast! But at least it didn't tell me I belonged in Slytherin! And I'm in such good company. ~~~waves at Sheri!

The sorting hat says that I belong in Hufflepuff!

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same."

Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Digory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament.

 

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Another Test

I saw this over at Sara's and although I probably should have waited until I wasn't yawning my head off, I took it. And look how cute I turned out!

Your Score: The Otter

Here's your results! Your spirit animal has a Nobility ranking of 11 out of 18.

Your spirit animal is the otter. Playful, curious and fun animals, they are truly the start of what can be considered a noble creature. Otters are good at figuring things out, and make great friends. You are lucky to have one as a spirit animal. Otters are fairly rare as spirit animals.

***Wondering how this animal was chosen for you? These questions were carefully thought out to see how important you hold certain virtues such as: humanism, self-knowledge, rationalism, the love of freedom and other somewhat Hellenic ideals. Some of the questions were very subtle. Your score was then matched with an animal of corresponding nobility. However, you shouldn't think this was a right/wrong sort of test, but more of an idealistic values test. It's ok to not hold these values, you'll just get an animal spirit of lower stature if you do!***

Link: The What is Your Spirit Animal Test written by on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

~~Hey now, you're an all star..

get your game on. Play!~~~ Oh sorry, I was singing. I watched that new tv show The Singing Bee tonight. I had so much fun. And, if I'd been brave and actually on the show I could have won some money. I love to sing! And I can't sing worth a flip. I can't remember what I need to go do, but I can remember song lyrics that nobody needs to know. So I had a great time watching the show and trying to help the contestants. Although I'm not too good with more recent songs.

I don't think I'll try to knit anything that requires counting next week when it's on though. But I caught the mistake in time, frogged back and now have one repeat (4 rows) on my little beaded bag done. One thing about frogging back when there's beads on that row...you don't have to move them all down. They are just about in the right place.

And, more excitement. I had to go to W*mart tonight for eye drops. In my store, across from the drugs is a section that I guess you would call seasonal. It's been a place to find lime green plastic glasses and such but now....are you ready??? School supplies! OMG how I love school supplies and/or office supplies. New crayons and folders and notebooks and pencil cases (good for holding dpns). Glue sticks in bulk packages. Highlighters. Rulers and compasses. All good things to me. I did weaken but I only got a new folder and new crayons. The crayons will go to work. From time to time we have little ones (kids or grandkids) come visit at work and my crayons disappeared. They were in pretty bad shape and I probably, in some moment of needing space and organization, tossed them. I didn't realize they were gone until they were needed for one of my young friends the other day. But now that's remedied and ...I had a good excuse for purchasing them. Even more fun would be to go to Staples and check out school supplies there, as well as all the nifty office stuff. Can one become a collector of sticky pads?

And, it didn't rain after the sun came up! It rained in the night I'm told, but I slept through that. And now it's time to go sleep again. Good night, sleep tight.

Dear Commenters,

If you commented yesterday, I responded in the comment box. Unfortunately I am unable to also respond by email. I scooped the litter boxes and took a bath and still one of the emails was loading. I can understand. Sometimes I have a hard time getting going in the mornings too. But I didn't want you to feel ignored.

And now for news. Guess what? It's raining! hahaha, here we go again. Started yesterday afternoon and it looks like most of the week is going to be rainy, at least part of the time. It rained really hard just west of here...rained normally here...and then started pouring again as it moved east. I haven't checked the basement. I'll just be like Scarlett and think about it tomorrow. Maybe.

On the knitting scene, some actually got done. I've finished the eyelet row and a few more rows of stockinette and tonight I'll actually get to knit in a few of those beads that up until now have been more of an annoyance than anything else. I did spend a bit of time trying to figure out how you could do an Icord with a spiral of beads around it. I decided I didn't have a clue and turned my book on tape back on *G*

Ohhhh I forgot to say that I've ordered some more books and they are on sale. I saw a link to this place on Mason-Dixon Knitting and off I went. I am in love with all things Rowan, although I've never knitted one of their patterns. Perhaps what I love are the photos and the general *feeling*. Ethereal Britain is far way from red dirt. And at these prices, I can actually enjoy the books. I got A Season's Tale, the one pictured at the top of this page, as well as Denim People and that book about knitting for kids and their bears. I have no little ones to knit for, but I do have a bear who is tired of waiting on the summer sweater that I'm making up as I go.

But now, as a long-ago friend used to say, I must away. Time to get ready for work. Not much left to do as lunch is packed. Oh wait...I guess I should change from a housecoat. And maybe do something with my wet hair.

Duh..with an excuse.

I just noticed this morning that although I made a space, I left out the picture of my treat from Barnes and Noble.
But I have an excuse. Ann says I am a ..

and Ann is always right....Right? *G* And this Rockin' Girl Blogger was so busy rocking out that she forgot to insert the photo.

I'm to tag 5 other people. So, I'll tag Laura, Katya, Zoe, Kirsten and Vicki.

Is There a Prize?

If none of the numbers on your lottery ticket are even part way close to the winners? I thought not. But it was 7-7-07 and 7 is my favorite number so I thought it worth a try. I guess, though, that having a totally sunny day for the first time in forever was enough good luck.

I celebrated the sun by going shopping after the usual errands were done. It was rather odd to just leave whenever I felt like it instead of trying to dodge rainstorms.

I was on a mission though. I had a trunkful of stuff to drop off at the thrift shop ran by the no-kill rescue pet shelter place. And I wanted to buy some tea. I signed up for the Yarn In A Teacup swap and I thought it would be nice to include some tea. Now, I drink a lot of tea but almost all of it comes from the grocery. I do NOT have much tea knowledge. I trust my chai and the ones made by Celestial Seasonings, and then local tea for iced tea. However, I had discovered that there was a tea shop in the City. So, off I went.

A Time for Tea was in a strip mall but quite nice inside. Lots of people enjoying a summer afternoon lunch...or maybe a fancy tea. And tea to purchase?? Ohhhh my yes. Lots and lots of teas...none of which I had a clue about. So, I went by the name. The lady that rang me up said it is very good. But what was she going to say? "It tastes like poop?" So, blogless Kate, that's all the clue you will get. *G*

And since gas prices went up almost a dime/gallon in a couple of days, it was important that I do other things since I was already there.

Hobby Lobby was kind enough to have a small package of roving (I'm thinking up a needle felting thing).

Then,Barnes and Noble provided me with iced chai, a new Simply Knitting magazine with little sheepy needle protectors and this..



Yum! I can't remember what it was called but it was worth every cent.

And then I went to the yarn store. It was good to see one person that I hadn't seen since last summer. Everyone was all agog about knitting the Mystery Shawl and as it was the day for the Saturday afternoon knit-in, it was quite busy getting tables set up etc. And then the owner's new granddaughter came to visit. At the advanced age of 12 days she wasn't really impressed, but her older brothers were so funny as they competed at helping take care of her.

And then it was time to come home to the little red dirt house. Time to kick back and look at the new magazine. And time to go to bed early. Shopping can be tiring.

This morning was about yard work until I was ready to tump over. And there's tons more to do. All the rain has made everything..but especially the weeds...grow and grow and grow. A soaky bath and a long nap somewhat revived me. And a supper of fresh corn on the cob, cucumbers/onions, tomatoes and cottage cheese helped too. But I'm thinking that the rest of the evening is going to be rather low-key. Yesterday's mail brought a kit to knit a beaded bag. I think I shall go string some beads.

See yas!

Happy Independence Day

Hi and here's hoping you've had just a lovely and fun filled holiday. Or, perhaps a long nap! I've had the last 2 days off..well Tuesday and today and it's been busy although not quite what I had planned.

Crossing things off the list:

Make 19 neck coolers for Sprite's guys. Done.

Actually I made 21...you remember? I sometimes can't count worth a damn. Actually one of the extras was planned as I had to get a different brand of water crystals and wasn't sure how much to use. So one was a beta cooler and will be mine. The other extra one was just there. And then today, I read in a magazine a note from a grandmother who was asking for cards and stuff for her g'son in Afghanistan. So he'll get the other one. Along with some treats that won't fit in the box for Danny and crew.

And that was all that was on the list. A great 2 days of nothing that had to be done. That is, until I took some stuff to the basement yesterday and discovered that some of the 12+ inches of rain that we've had made its way in somehow. It takes a really long time to suck up much water one gallon at a time. Every 3 gallons that were dumped into the bucket had to be carried upstairs to dump so I've gotten a lot more exercise than I'd planned. And I spent some time on the pity potty, but everything is pretty much dry now..and the sun shined yesterday AND today. It did rain for awhile this afternoon but didn't last long. And I'm ever so tired but smiling.

I'm thinking that going back to work can be a good thing *G*