Monday, December 13, 2010

Ribbitty Ribbit Ribbit

...squeak squeak squeak...

We're into the residual cough/rough voice/no voice part of this doggone cold.

The sore throat comes and goes.

I'm so full of tea and water, etc I slosh when I walk.

Honey leaves in 8 hours (his time of course) to catch his first plane.

That reminds me...need to sign up for flight status thingies so I'll know if he's delayed on the way here.

Wishing I could have taken care of a few things this weekend...like laundry, grocery shopping, etc. Oh well. The grocery store is right across the street and I can last a few more days before I absolutely HAVE to do laundry. :)

Ms Cow did have her Spa time last night. She had a lovely "bubbelee baff" and is now all clean and pretty to meet Cow at the airport tomorrow.

Wish I could say the same...sigh.

After 2 years apart, I don't think Honey will care that I have grey roots... I know I don't give a hoot about it right now. :)

Sunday, December 12, 2010

2 days to Honey

...and here I sit with the worst cold ever.

Had lots I wanted to do this weekend. Well, that didn't happen cos I've been mostly in bed whining to myself since Friday night.

Stuffed up nose - check.
Very sore throat - check.
Headache - check.
Fever - not check.

No fever means no flu, right?

The cough is starting and the froggy voice is here.

Not good timing my body dearest...not good timing at all...

I've been drinking mint tea, eating oranges, etc etc etc, and resting up a storm.

Feeling a bit better, so it's been working.

Off to go rest again. Been up since before the butt crack of dawn thanks to the sore throat. A nice hot steamy shower took care of all that for a bit.

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Almost Honey Time

I have been neglecting my poor little blog.

Not because of Facebook, or Twitter, or any other of those thingies.

I just haven't gotten around to taking the time to write anything.

When I do have a quiet moment where I could possibly write something, I just don't feel like sitting in front of a computer typing my thoughts key by key.

Honey arrives for his visit one week from TODAY!

I am excited and nervous and blah blah blah.

We haven't seen each other for two years (2 yrs!!!).

We don't have any big fancy plans. The only plan is to spend as much time together as possible.

That's the only plan we really need.

Saturday, November 06, 2010

Gee...almost a month between posts!

Hey, I'm on a roll...

Sorry no postie. I've been really busy at work. On a computer and sitting all day equals total aversion to sitting down in front of a computer at night.

I've been sitting, but not with the computer.

I've done a few rows of knitting here and there. I've been reading. I've been listening to someone else read (books on CD anyone?). I've been playing Xbox (yes, I do). Mostly tho, I've been collapsing on the couch after dinner and falling asleep.

I've started a Pilates class on Wednesdays at noon. Unfortunately I'll have to stop that after this month. I just can't keep up with it financially. I am going to get 2 good months out of it, so hopefully can continue on my own.

Been on the bike a few times.

I voted. Ms Cow wrote in Cow for Parks and Grasses Boss. Wonder what the vote counters thought of that. :)

Found a great hairdresser. Got great new color, went bold on a new, shorter cut. Lost a great hairdresser. Went back for great new color and to maintain cut. Color worked, cut, not so much.

Growing out hair...and will most likely go back to coloring my own hair again. I can color my own hair in an hour as opposed to 3 hours at the salon. And will still save money over getting it done at a school. As for cuts, I can go to the corner and get a quick trim for $10 with a coupon. Bim bam, I'm outta there! No more wasting an entire Saturday morning or afternoon sitting in a chair smelling chemicals for 4 hours.

It was good while it lasted. The salon folks were very friendly and really listened to what I wanted to do with my hair. I just can't do it any more. Sigh.

I really do like my new cut, but it's a pain. It grows out way too quickly. I can't pull it back and still look nice - it takes about 8 clips to hold it back cos it's so thick. I look like I was having something done at the salon and had to leave in a hurry.

If I leave it down, I get hot. Really hot. Especially when riding my bike. It's like wearing a really really thick woolly hat that dips down over the back of my neck. All the time.

No thanks. I like the option of either putting it up or wearing it down or wearing it half up or whatever.

So I'm going to let it grow back. I miss my biking braids too. :)

Went thru an episode of Kitty not sleeping and MEOWING all night long. Is why I've been so damn tired. No sleep will do that to you. She's sleeping again now, but I'm still not. Sigh. I'm getting better but I swear I still hear her MEOWING even tho she's sound asleep at the end of the bed.

I've been trying to organize and get rid of about half of what I've got in this place before Honey and Cow arrive. Less than 40 days now and the place is not quite where I'd like it to be. I've got lots of things that need to go away and now need to find a way to get them away.

Getting a few items from a very generous friend that need new homes and I really could use here, so need to get back to work. They are arriving tomorrow.

Before I forget again...

Happy Biking Anniversary to me and my pretty pretty bike. Three years last month (Oct 16th) and still going strong. Really wish I could get myself in your saddle a lot more often.

Time to sort, organize and pack up give-aways!

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Can't believe it's already October again! Was going to make some awareness jewelry and accessories and donate the profits (I say this every year), and I've gone and missed my opportunity once again...

Sigh.

However....

Today, Trek Bicycle Dealers all over the US and Canada (eh!) sponsored 10-mile Awareness Rides.

There were no rides in my area, so I've decided to dedicate my ride with Spencer today as an Awareness Ride in my own way. :)

We just got back from riding round trip to downtown Walnut Creek, with a short break for cold refreshments, rest and some window shopping.

It's just under 10-miles round trip, so there you go. My quasi-10 mile Awareness Ride.

If you have the time, are so inclined, and are feeling charitable, please donate to your favorite Breast Cancer Charity...or ANY charity. I'm sure whatever you give today will be appreciated.

Thanks!!!

...and now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to rest on the couch. (aka "nap")

Monday, September 27, 2010

How many days?

...77 days til Honey and Cow arrive. Squeeee!!!

Ms Cow and I are very excited and working very hard to make things, sort things and get rid of things.

We're busy! :)

Tomorrow I'm off to a work thing for the day. I love it that it's in my home town (esp since it starts at 8am)...but...it's been pushing 100F for the last few days here. I haven't even looked to see what the high was today. Honestly, I don't really want to know.

Sigh...it's been pretty toasty in the whole area, so I really don't think going to the North Bay or over to San Francisco would even help heat-wise.

I'm just glad the venue where I'll be is air-conditioned. :)

I'm trying very hard right now not to fall asleep. I worked very hard this weekend at home, and was very busy all day at work (it was HOT in the warehouse).

I really need to do some laundry, but I just can't get myself up and at it. I really wish I had the machines right here in my apt...it wouldn't be such a chore to just pop things in and out when I needed something. I've got just what I need to get me through tomorrow, then I have no choice tomorrow night. Sigh.

Off to figure out when I need to catch the bus tomorrow and which bus I need to transfer to...

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Recommendations?

Hello out there...seems Bloglines has decided to stop offering their blog feeds service.

What do you guys use to read your fav blogs and such?

Any recommendations?

Lego Tardis

Cool.

Monday, September 13, 2010

When you start thinking of excuses...

...not to do something you love doing, it's time to stop.

What am I talking about? Knitting.

Not stopping knitting, just stopping knitting 2-socks-at-once toe up.

I know I was excited about it, I know there are others who just L.O.V.E. it. Honestly, I think it's the most wonderful thing since just plain Toe Up and Magic Loop.

(hanging head and sighing) I just can't do it. I can't get into a good enough rythym with it and God knows I've tried. And tried and tried and tried.

I started making excuses not to pull out my knitting on the train. Not too far out there if you consider that my ride is short and it took me the entire 25 min just to do one full round on each sock. About 10 minutes was spent untangling the yarn and cables. How do people DO this?!?

But then, I started making excuses not to knit on the socks at home, in the evening, when I was doing laundry or watching TV when I had plenty of time (so to speak - it's multitasking time, but time none-the-less). I started cleaning and sorting and organizing rather than knit.

You know it's bad when you'd rather clean than knit. Especially if I'd rather clean than knit. I'd rather do ANYTHING than clean.

The 40" size 1 square needle had to go.

Back came the size 1 bamboo dpns. Ahhh.... I'm back to enjoying knitting socks. They may be one at time, but they are getting done. I'm sticking to the toe-up thing tho, that I absolutely L.O.V.E., whether it's one-at-a-time or two-at-a-time.

Oh, and after taking apart the two socks, and after knitting for about 3 inches further on one of them, I discovered that they were probably too small. I looked at my calculations, the instructions for the calculations, the sock, and (sigh) something just didn't seem right. Asked Honey for his measurements again, redid the calculations (redid again) and sure enough...too small!

No worries tho...both socks frogged, yarn cakes remade, new larger socks started. I'm about at the same spot I was when I frogged the one I started with the other method. Knitting one at a time. :)

It's so much easier to knit on the train, and people really avoid sitting next to me again since I have a mini-porcupine in my lap. They seemed to like the bowl of spaghetti better (seriously, with all the cables, yarn, etc - it looked like spaghetti). Guess it didn't look so "dangerous".

Anyway, I knit cos I enjoy knitting. Doesn't matter what I make or how long it takes me to make it. I don't even care if I have to frog several times before I get it right. Just means I can knit even more. :)

At the rate I'm going, Honey's socks with be ready in no time flat - definitely way before he comes to visit. I might even have my pair AND Spence's pair done too - and we can be sock triplets cos I'm making them ALL out of the Knit Picks Time Traveler yarn! hee hee hee

Edited to add:

Just want to give a shout-out to Charles Voth, author of Design Your Own Toe Up Socks. I've knit every single pair of socks (5 pr complete) since I started knitting socks with his method of measurements and calculations and they come out perfect for the wearer every time. Follow the link and the tutorial is for sale in the right had column.

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Sorting thru the Chaos

Today Spence and I used a friend's car to haul a bunch of stuff off to the Thrift Store.

A b.u.n.c.h. of stuff!

We filled up the car...boxes, baskets, little shelves, bags. It felt absolutely wondermos to get rid of it all.

After, we headed off to IKEA to pick up a few things to organize Spencer's closet. We're doing a major rearrange and clear out in his room. We actually just walked out of that place with just a few items - and some hot dogs after at the snack bar. :)

A quick stop at work to pick up some more boxes (for packing up stuff for donation of course) and then it was home.

Last trip of the day was back to my friend's place to drop off the car and here we sit. Tired out, but full on artichoke ravioli.

Tomorrow, we're off on the bikes for a training ride. We're doing this in a few weekends. I've done 5 mile rides and 10 mile rides...I should be able to do this ride. I'll find out soon enough. If I can't make the training rides, I won't push myself to do the full ride. I really want to do it tho and Spence wants to come along too. Maybe even get his riding buddies to come along as well.

It really looks like fun and I hope the weather cooperates. Hope Summer doesn't decide to settle in the valley on that particular weekend. :)

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Sigh...

The cat luxuriates in an apartment cooled by an A/C.

I'm at work in a non-A/C warehouse where I will be baking by 2:30pm.

Fair?

Don't think so.

But...I am glad that she will be comfortable and not baking. Me? I can always go sit out in the boss's car and turn on the A/C for a bit.

Kitty? If the A/C wasn't on, she'd be stuck in a hot apartment.

...and we can't have that.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

New label category...Squee Worthy.

Honey and Cow are coming to visit over the Holidays. For. 4. weeks.

C'mon December!!!!

Definitely SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Conversation with a Cow

First of all I'd like to explain something... Ms Cow's 'talking' style. Combine a small voice, lolCats speak, an attitude and a slight Chicago accent...and there ya go.

On the way home from work yesterday, Ms Cow and I had this conversation.

Ms Cow (MC): Oh my, she nots gonna likes dat.

Me: Who's not going to like what?!?

MC: da Queen!

Me: What in the world are you talking about?

MC: you didn't see da big words next to the place where the cars goes fast?

Me: Huh?

MC: dere! DERE!!!!

Me: oh...the billboard next to the highway...

MC: YES!! Dat ting. Dat BIG ting.

Me: It just said "Tattoo Expo at the Cow Palace". What's the big deal?

MC: Dat's not right. Exposing all dem tattoos in fronts of da Queen.

Me: Um...the Queen won't be there Ms Cow.

MC: Yes she will. Is da Palace of Cows, right?

Me: Ummm

MC: Dat's where da Queen of Cows lives!

Me: ummmmmm

MC: Yous just can't goes in dere exposing your tattoos to Her Majesty da Queen Cow. She's vewi sensitives about dat sort of ting. She will not bees amuses.

Me: Ummm...Ms Cow?

MC: yah

Me: I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there is no Queen Cow that lives at the Cow Palace.

MC: What?!?!?!?!

Me: It's just a big building and it just happens to have a name that has the word Cow and the word Palace in it.

MC: Dat's not right. Queens always lives in Palaces.

Me: I'm sure they do, but this big building isn't a palace, it's just a big, big building where lots of people go to have big meetings and expos.

MC: I hopes you not going to drags me dere den. I don't wants to see no tattoos exposing.

Me: Don't worry, I don't either.

MC: Good. Can we go when dey are done exposing dere tattoos?

Me: We can go when there is a big meeting that we want to go to...ok?

MC: OKs...I still don't believes you about dere not being a Queen dere...I has to see for myselfs.

Me: OK, but we're not going there until there is something we'd like to see. Next Spring will be the Flower Show. You'd like that, wouldn't you?

MC: Noms! Yes, I'd likes dat vewi vewi much! Da Royel Gardens will haz lots of good flowerses and grasses to noms!!!

Me: Sigh. (hand to head...)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Culinary experiments...

Not done by us of course, but Spencer and I have been visiting local street food "establishments" lately.

Jon's Street Eats and Chairman Bao's Bun Truck

Both yummy yummy!

Jon's is on Facebook and I'm sure Bao's has a web-site. Google is your friend. :)

Last week I saw the "Seoul on Wheels" truck go by (Korean BBQ of course) and there is "The Falafel Truck" and tons of other taco, burrito and what-not trucks cruisin' thru Emeryville.

Oh, and don't forget the "CupKate's" truck. Cupcakes on wheels. I have yet to make it when they are just down the street, but someday I will. Sure hope they are as good as everyone on Facebook says they are...

Gratuitous knitting content: Waiting for a 40" square circular to arrive. Tried the 2-at-a-time method on the 2 16" square circs I have and it's just not working out. I mean, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the whole idea, it's just that I'm not using the right means to do it. It's spaghetti, not a knitting project. They should arrive soon. In the meantime, Honey's Dr. Who socks are on hold cos I just can't handle the cable and yarn and needle points mess without wanting to chuck it all out the train door. Honey is expecting socks, so that wouldn't be a good thing for me to do. :)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

On a knitting roll....

I can't seem to stop knitting. Ever since my wrist has been mostly recovered (it's pretty much 100% now unless I do something stupid...ummm), I can't put the needles down.

Well, that's not completely true, as I have put the needles down on my Juliette Sweater. Funny thing is, I stopped knitting on it because it's summer and it's a sweater and there's quite a bit of it now and it makes me hot to knit it.

But...it's acting like winter here and it's chilly at night and I really should pick it up and knit on it because then I'll have it all ready to wear once Fall is here.

But...I can't do that because I am obsessed with knitting socks. I started about May-ish and I've done 2 pair since then (which is good for me). Just finished my first pair of the "Dr Who Socks" as I've been calling them as I'm using Knit Picks' Time Traveler Felici yarn. No photos yet because they are still in the camera.

Next up on the needles is another few small projects - special gifts for a special little lady - that I can't talk about because then the cat will be out of the bag. First gift will be knit on dpns, second one will be knit using the new 2-at-a-time-toe-up method from my new book. Trying something new - yay!

After that are socks, socks, and more socks with the new method. They are the perfect projects for the daily commute. I even cast off a sock while standing at the shuttle stop yesterday after work! Wish I had a photo, but I was the only person at the stop.

I'm geeking out excited about the new method because I have the hardest time getting things to match up on the socks when I do them one at time. Is the foot the same length? Am I starting the gussett at the same point? Is the leg the same? At worst, the socks I have done so far will be a few rows off - not noticable differences to anyone unless they're going to sit and count row by row. I'm really tired of stopping my knitting to compare one sock to the other, so yeah. Bring on the 2-at-a-time.

Ok, enough geeking out. Photos soon.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Monday, July 26, 2010

It's almost the end of the month...

...the birthday month...and the shopping...oh my goodness the shopping...

I spent my Amazon gift card in a New York minute (thanks G!) and ordered a book I have had on my wish list for about 4 years (!!!!), and another that I found and thought I'd like (Ms Cow requested it actually).

A small shopping spree at The Yarn Boutique in Lafayette, CA happened the weekend after my birthday. The owner was there the day I went and she was very very helpful. The store is very small and PACKED to the ceiling, so don't bring kids or carts or strollers or wheelchairs if you go. I could barely walk round in there and kept knocking stuff over. I got 3 different kinds of sock yarn and another set of square circulars. We also had a good chat about the yarn I won at the SF Ravelry Meet-up in May. She gave me a few suggestions about patterns I should look up - all free. :) She's made them before and really liked the results and said my yarns should work well.

I couldn't stay there long tho as my wool allergies started up...high concentration of wool fumes in the wee tiny shop. :)

Lunch came after, then a trip to the hair colorist. Ask for Jesse, he rocks - maybe that cos he's the head instructor for coloring... :) If you're curious, the number is 925-937-2011. Tell him Donna the knitter sent you. They are very accomodating as far as appointments go and the prices are very reasonable - Ms Troi says they can do that because the Academy tuition pays the rent, the rest is just a service to the local 'hood.

And if that wasn't enuf...I hit Target and Ross before I FINALLY headed home.

There has been a wee bit of internet shopping since then...very small amount of beads, some more yarn and needles (not b-day stuff tho as it's for gift projects) and a few books from the my book swap club. One for me and one for Spence for a school reading project. I just LOVE the swap club!

It really was like Christmas in July around the Chaos this year. Not only was it very COLD out, I just kept getting delivery after delivery. :)

Spencer and I will decide some day what we will do to celebrate our b-days again. On our actual days, it was so freakin' hot that we didn't do much of anything. So I promised him, we'd wait til summer was over and do something special together.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Happy Birthday to me!

OK, so I thought I had figured out something to count for my birthday.

I thought it would be clever to count down the minutes to my actual time of birth so long ago...

But then that would entail 47 monotonous posts.

There are tons of minutes in the day, but I don't feel like wasting any of them doing post after post after post.

Then I thought, I'll just put them all in one but that would be totally b.0.r.i.n.g. and how the heck would I organize it?

So I'm writing this all to tell you I was born at 8:39am 47 years ago...and I'm setting this to auto post so that I can get it all precise-like and now I can go relax for the night.

I'm going to go knit for 47 minutes. The first Dr Who sock is complete and I've already cast on and finished the toe of it's quasi-twin.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Yawn

I'm tired and should really be getting ready for bed. Instead, I'm about to pay bills. Argle.

I'm calling my hair dude tomorrow to schedule time for next Saturday. Grey must go!

I played way too much xbox today and I don't care. Unfortunately, my wrist does. D'oh!

My kitchen is a wreck. I'll deal with it tomorrow.

Spain won the World Cup. Tha tha tha-tha-tha (look up Katherine Tate and The Interpreter - hilarious)

Evil Thorn Season has started. My Beastly Tires are ready. Bring it.

Lance, dude, you shoulda just stayed retired - gone out while you were ahead. Now you're just another biker back in the pack.

I'm trying to think of what to use to count off my age on Thursday. Don't know if I have that much of anything. Sigh.

Maybe I'll just ignore my birthday. Kinda leaning in that direction already anyway.

I just had to check the calendar to make sure my b-day really was on Thursday.

Maybe I'll just count the brain cells I have left. Maybe I'll just go to bed and save the bills for tomorrow.

Sigh.

Friday, July 02, 2010

Hi!!!!!

Hello out there!

I'm still here.

I'm knitting.

I'm working.

I'm aging.

It's my b-day month. Tell me I look 30 and I'll be your BFF.

Mom's socks are done and blocked. Need to weave in the ends and send it off with a few other things.

Looking forward to a quiet Holiday weekend. Is there such a thing?

Friday, June 25, 2010

Birthday Boy...

...no longer. Spencer is now a "young man".

My young man is now 16 - as of 6:49am this morning - I swear, I woke up in the middle of the night with labor pains to mark this momentous occassion.

Seems like just yesterday that I took my first look at the wriggling baby who wrapped his long, tiny fingers round my one big finger in the delivery room.

Now he's pushing 5'10", is about 160lbs and wearing size 11 shoes.

No photos today cos I'm a totally lame mother. We went out to breakfast this morning before I headed off to work and he went off to spent the day with his best buddies. I took a photo of our burritos, but not my newly driving 16 yr old son.

Sigh.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Sigh...

It is official.

Spencer and I just spent 1.5 hours at the local DMV office getting his driver's permit. As long as he follows the zillion and one rules they attach to it, he's a legal driver.

In 2 days he turns 16.

I...am old.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Summer...

Well here we are...Summer.

Mom's b-day, Spencer's b-day, my b-day... plus all sorts of other things going on.

Spencer starts his First. Job. Ever. on June 28th.

Can he really be turning 16?!? Good Grief!

He's very excited, I'm feeling so old...am not looking forward to turning 47 next month.

Freakin 47. Figured I should get all my aging angst out of the way for the next few years so that when I turn 50 I can do so without flipping out. We'll see in 3 years. :)

Almost done with Mom's b-day socks. If you are my friend on Facebook, they are my secret project. Mom's b-day was back on June 4th, and it's about to be about a zillion degrees hot where they live, but yes, I'm knitting her a pair of socks - and they are late. Just shut it.

My Sis reads the blog, but Mom doesn't go near the computer, and Sis already isn't saying anything to Mom about the socks, so it's safe to post here.

Have a few other things I've been making for her and my Sis, so will send those off with the socks. The Socks should be done in the next few days. Hope I remember to take photos of all this stuff before I send it all off - I get excited to finish things and mail them and then realize I didn't take photos! D'oh!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Train spotting...

Left-handed knitter on the train,
Knitting fast and true.
I looked up, you smiled at me,
I smiled right back at you!

Ah, the knowing smile of a fellow knitter that says "We got it right don't we - best thing to do on the train."

I've finished all sorts of books and now I'm all booked out. Time to knock out some small knitty projects while I ride on the train. I've never actually knit over the summer (wool + heat + me = ugh), so we'll see how long I can keep this up. It's not officially summer yet, but the temp yesterday in my neck of the woods was 97F. It's back down to the 80's this week, so there will surely be plenty of knitting.

Oh yeah, Disc 1 and Time Traveler yarn, both delivered on Saturday. Watched the dvd and the yarn is on the shelf and readily available for petting. :)

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Time Lord Craziness...

Gah. OK, so the yarn didn't show up yesterday, but should be here any day. I can live with that...not like I'm going to drop everything and start on Dr Who socks as soon as it shows up. I'll probably just fondle the balls for a few days and wish for my sanity back as I rub them together.

Heh.

What I can't believe I did was mess up my Netflix queue. Two discs of the last special with hottie David Tennant as the Dr. I get the usual shipment notice in the email yesterday. Disc 2 is due to arrive on Wed.

Whuh?!? Disc 2? I haven't gotten Disc 1 yet. Wtf?

Quick check of the queue shows I put disc 2 before disc 1. Sigh. Going to take a few days of sending Disc 2 back, getting Disc 1 and then adding Disc 2 back to the queue.

Yeah, the "Ins and Outs of being me".

Sigh.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Time Lord Obsessed

OK, so I've been really busy about the Chaos, at work (this job thing really wears me out - in a good way tho), Kublacon (another year down) and just the daily ins and outs of being me.

Still trying to recover from Kublacon - there are photos to be taken and items to be added to the shop.

Posts to be written about Kublacon, what I've been making, the fact that my wrist is recovered enough to knit with small needles again, happenings about town, things seen, Spencer's doings, etc.

Meanwhile, the latest Knitpicks catalog pops into my mailbox. Damn them, they always seem to arrive when I'm at my weakest...

Anyone else notice the "Time Traveler" self-striping sock yarn? Love the description!

Anyway again....6 balls later...ordered during a particularly weak moment during Kublacon weekend....on their way to be delivered today to the Chaos. I've also stocked up my Netflix queue with a bunch of Dr. Who episodes, old and new, so that I may knit away whilst watching. :)

I had an idea to knit a neverending scarf, but it will have to be quite thin in order to take advantage of the stripes. I like thickish scarves, so nah. I think I'll stick to socks. I know of 3 Dr. Who fans who would appreciate a Tom Baker-esque pair of socks and 6 balls is the perfect amount for that. :)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Still here...

...been working hard, taking care of personal stuff and finally...FINALLY!!! making things to sell at the Kublacon Flea Mkt this Friday.

This Friday!!! Seems like just yesterday that we all signed up - and that was back in January...

Oh well, excitement reigns here in the Chaos as armies are prepared, stray mini-dudes are painted, dice are made into pretty, shiny things.

I need to take photos. And print stickers. And go over my setup. And...and...and...

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Lunch with a friend

Yesterday, Ms AmpuTeeHee and I met for lunch. You can read about it there and see a photo of my yummy burger.

And oooh, it was good. Hit the spot. Don't normally go for the beef burger (I prefer turkey) and the fries, but every now and then the body just craves it.

I'm not very good with measuring portions (I eyeball it), keeping a food journal, or counting calories, etc. I DO pay attention to what's in my food, what I eat, how much of it I eat, and how my body reacts to whatever it is I'm eating. I let myself indulge a craving (within reason) every so often, cos I can't do "you CAN'T" have this or that or the other thing. Just makes me want it even more, and then I give in and go overboard.

Add all that "monitoring" to riding my bike to the train station when it's not raining, and you get.....

drum roll...

....10 lbs lost since I started my new job. YAY!

I am happy about that...very happy. The planets are aligning as far as getting myself to a healthy place, so I'm going with it. I know that's a lot for me (just me, no one else) to lose in 1 month. I also know that going forward, the weight might not come off as easily. I'm ok with all that. I'm on pretty good speaking terms with my body, so I know what it can do and how far I can push it. When it pushes back, I listen.

In the meantime, clothes are fitting better, even shoes. It's a good feeling.

I don't care what the scale says, or what the clothing tag says. Just feeling comfortable is nice.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Sending vibes today...

...to a good friend and her hubby who are in the middle bringing a new life into the world.

Can't wait to see the new little one...better get knitting!!!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

It rained again this morning...

...but nevermind. The sun is trying to shine, I saw a rainbow on the way to the bus stop this morning and I've lost weight.

Trying to focus on the positive as there are so many things now that could possibly be negative in my current brain-fried state of mind.

My body needs a rest. Rain threatened this morning, so I didn't ride. If I can't give my body a rest during the night (sleeping issues again), I can at least give it a break during the day every so often.

Job Update: The job is going well as can be for a newbie who has never ever ever done this before. Ever.

KublaCon Update: Still suffering from the worst case of creating block yet. KublaCon is 4.5 weeks away. I've got a flea market table. I've got NUTTIN' to sell people. N.O.T.H.I.N.G.

What I do have is a bead stash that has been culled, arranged, rearranged and rearranged again. Time to stop "playing" with the pretty, shiny beads and make something. Seriously.

Every weekend until KublaCon and a few after it are full. Busy busy busy.

I miss sleeping in. I really really really do. Really.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Peppered out...

OK, so I just had the soup for dinner. It was good and filling and yum. Only problem? Got a bit heavy-handed on the pepper and spices. I'd say one less tsp of the "21 Spice" stuff and grind in a bit less pepper. Other than that, I'd add more zucchini, more carrots and probably more of something else I have yet to think of...

So, if any of you can suggest any other veggies that would be yummy in a soup besides what's in the recipe and what I've added already, please let me know.

Oh, and I'd add more water.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Someone's in my kitchen cooking all day...

...oh yeah, that would be me!

Started off today with a short ride to the farmer's market down the street. Note to self, drag your bum out earlier and you won't have to dig and dig for the few really good veggies that are left.

Anyways, got some fresh ingredients for some healthy veggie soup. Healthy as in not so full of sodium, but still tasty. I've tried just about every low-sodium canned soup out there and have yet to find one that I like, so I decided to try my hand at making my own. I was channel surfing last night and came upon the Dr. Oz show and lo and behold, they were talking about a healthy veggie soup that this woman made that helped her lose weight. I thought I'd give it a try. Don't care whether it helps me lose weight, but being that I am currently obsessed with finding a tasty low-sodium soup, well, there you go.

Since I wanted it low-sodium, I substituted 4 tsp. of Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute spice mix (no salt in it that I could find in the ingredients) for the 4 cubes of chicken bouillon (which is way too salty for me). It still has an hour to cook, but so far, the broth tastes good.

I added zucchini and cut back on the celery and cabbage cos we don't like those too much here in the Chaos. Also, the cans of Plum Tomatoes at TJ's are a bit smaller than needed, so put in all of the two rather than waste the extra, so now it's a bit more. I believe I also cut back to 3 cans of water instead of four.

I'm going to make some Mexican Star pasta later (since I'm using my pasta pot to cook the soup) and will add that if I want to make more of a meal out of it. It's an uber chunky veggie soup, which is what we like here. And oh boy does it smell GOOD. My turn to fill up the hallway with the smell of what I'm cooking. Hee hee.

The only problem I have is...how to store it all? Not sure if I have enough containers....I'm pretty sure I'll be using them ALL...sigh.

Can't wait to take this to work for lunch!!!!!

Friday, April 23, 2010

A Good Day

Woke up extremely tired this morning. Promise not to whine about getting old, etc tho.

Weighed myself last night and saw the little red thingy pointing at a smaller number. Hmmmm....weighed myself this morning and saw the little red thingy pointy to an even smaller number.

I knew I had probably lost a few pounds as I have been eating sensibly/healthy and riding my bike almost every day. The biggest clue is how baggy my jeans are...I had to dig out my belt.

It may sound like I've lost a lot, but it's only been a few lbs. I'm happy tho as the baggy pants bit tells the bigger story. Things are shifting, I'm gaining muscle, etc etc. If I could only stop having to bundle up so much, you could actually see my curves trying to reappear.

It's fascinating watching my body react to what I've been doing. It changes almost daily.

And that's a very good thing.

The temptations are extreme tho. Spence made the most awesome lemon bars I've ever tasted last night. He's going to a community service thing today and baked them (from scratch no less) to take along. I'll post a photo and a link to the recipe sometime this weekend.

OMG they were good, but I only had a few little bites. Good thing he took them out of the house!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Yawn!

Not cos I'm bored, but because I'm tired.

Antonella and I did most of what we planned for Saturday. We got out to the Art Show, the Bead Shop, the other stores on the way home.

What we didn't do was make anything. We were out running about from 11am until 4:30pm and pretty much wore ourselves out. We got to my place, I made dinner, she "shopped" in my bead stash and that was pretty much the end of that. We even went to sleep early!

We're going to have to try and get together for jewelry making on another weekend. The next time, we're not going out beforehand!

We came home with some cool stuff from all the places we went - and were very well behaved at the bead store (not very much wallet abuse at all!).

I have more energy after work now - that only means I sit on the couch, but don't fall asleep. Hah. Last night while on the couch, I culled my bead stash. And part of my fabric stash. Tonight I'm going to try and get some stuff made for KublaCon. Dunno tho, as I'm biking off to Kohl's for some shopping. This is the last day I can use my Kohl's bucks so I don't want to lose that $20 coupon I got a few weekends ago. Plus I've got a $20 store credit and also will be retunring something. Hopefully I can spend it all tonight as I don't get to Kohl's very often.

After all that (it's a long ride home - with potentially full paniers), I just might sit on the couch and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Drive by Update...

Still adjusting to the work routine. Getting quicker on my rides to BART, but they still wear me out. Just wish it wasn't so darn cold in the mornings still...

Haven't done much crafting/knitting -wise. With all this coming home and falling asleep on the couch after work, things have gotten rather cluttered and creativity-stifling.

For a few nights this week, I have been putting things away and so on, so I should be able to get back to all my projects soon. This weekend as a matter of fact.

This weekend is a busy one. Antonella and I are off to San Francisco for a friend's Art Showing, some bead store blitzing (mostly of our wallets, I'm sure) and a stop off at our fav stores on the way home if we're still standing by then (and if we have anything left in those poor abused wallets).

Then we're off to my place for a girl's-night-in-crafting. I've been teaching Antonella how to make jewelry, so we're going to make some stuff for ourselves, then she's agreed to help me get some work done on some things for KublaCon.

There will be my 30min Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner, some snackage, and prob some instant viewing on Xbox while we work.

A full day!

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Been busy...

...working.

Yes, you read that right. I'm employed again! As of April 1st - and no, it's not an April Fool's joke. It's for real.

It's going to take a while to get back into "working mode". You know, the whole having to get up early, make myself human, and then commute thing.

I've been riding my bike to BART every day, so I'm tired at the end of the day.

I'll be ok tho...the steady paycheck will help me adjust. :)

Starting major production on stuff for the KublaCon Flea Market, still knitting on my Juliet (had to take a break for the wrist), bought yarn for the mystery baby gift, still have yarn left to make more beanies (taking a break from that too).

Things are going back to what they used to be (uber chaotic), but part of me likes that...and the "old lady" part of me will eventually get back into the swing of things.

Now I just need to stay away from the damn Xbox...I downloaded a game and was on until 3:30am Sunday morning.

No more starting a game at midnight...

Monday, March 29, 2010

Getting my English on...

OK, so I'm trying Xbox LIVE for a month and after just a few hours I am hooked. More specifically, I'm hooked on the "Instant Movie" feature.

This weekend I popped the entire first 5 seasons of MI-5 into the "instant" queue and started watching. Picked up the Juliet pattern and my 3 giant balls of bulky English yarn and started it up.

This yarn is soft and squishy and totally YUMMY-licious...I want to put hundreds of balls of this stuff in a room and just dive in...THAT's how yummy it is... The description is so spot on when it says: It’s a conversation piece in itself, and it sure gives you lots of great colour to feast your eyes on. No one can walk past this yarn without looking twice.

I'll post photos of my balls soon, I'm just too busy squishing and fondling and totally enjoying the experience of knitting with this yarn too much right now to share it. And the pattern is knitting up quite easily. Thanks to AmpuT for knitting up such a gorgeous Juliet. I saw it while she was knitting it and then the finished sweater in person. omg. As soon as I saw it, I just knew this English yarn was perfect for it. And now after so long (over a year) I am finally picking up the needles and knitting one for myself.

Oh, and I really want to know what the deal is with these English balls. I knit and knit and knit and they don't look any smaller than when I started. Are they magical? Are they like Mary Poppins' Carpet Bag? Do they just have that much more in them than US yarn balls? I don't know, but I'm loving those English balls. I don't remember how much I paid for them, but they were worth every pence.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Actual Knitting!!!!! With Photos!!!!!!

Been knitting a lot since I decided my wrist was recovered enough to start trying again - I think I started the double-knit beanie about a month ago.

So far: one double-knit beanie for Spencer,



one regular knit beanie for Spencer,



one set of wrist warmers and matching sort of cowl for myself.



Not nearly enough yarn left for the cowl, so it's a sort of neck warming thingy that can also be used as a headband/ear warmer sort of thing.



Two multi-colored (brown and several shades of green) balls of Lana Grossa something or other picked up during a browse thru the clearance wall at ImagiKnit after One-Sock-A-Month Club way back a long time ago.

Silly poses yes, but had to get the wrist warmers and the neck thingy all in one...much better than the "Oh my! What's a knitter to do?!?" pose..



Doesn't seem like much for those of you knitters who have 10 projects in progress and crank out tons of knitted items a year, but it is so very very much for me who has not be able to knit for so long.

I'm a new knitter all over again.

Oh, and I've been doing all this "freestyle". No patterns, just grab the needles and yarn and go! I love it. Can't tell you how liberating it is...creativity-wise.

Love it love it LOVE IT!!!!

And all of this just in time for the warm weather.

Oh, and did I mention the double-knit beanie is too big? Hoping a run thru the washer and dryer will set the stitches a bit and it'll come out a bit smaller. It's not wool, so there will be no shrinkage cos of that...maybe I should use COLD water? ha ha ha

It's some acrylic yarn I bought while Spence and I visited Honey, summer of 2008. Spencer picked it out. It's driving me crazy. Love the colors and all, but it's 3 magic balls of yarn. I knit and knit and knit and I still seem to have the same amount I started with...seems like I'll be knitting up a few more single knit beanies out of it. I can crank those out in a few nights knitting. By the time the balls are finished tho, I know I'll be tired of green, grey, and rust. Good thing there are no more colors like that around here.

Next project is a baby something for my friend Cherry - her little one (girl!! Yay!!!) is due in May I believe. I won't say what it is here as she reads this... I did ask colors and what kind of yarn and all and I think I may have found just the right stuff. I'm going to try and use worsted weight yarn as knitting with larger sized needles feels the best right now.

Still have to be careful with the "new" wrist, so that's why I'm sticking to the larger sized needles. A few more months and I should be able to start knitting on some socks. Surprisingly, I have quite the collection of sock yarn...don't know how all those skanks came into my possession, but there they are...and my size 0 (or are they 1's?!?) square circular needles are waiting for me to grab them by the shafts and caress them with fingers and yarn. Can't wait! Those things are like buttah in my hands. I bought those at Stitches West 2009. I wonder, do they come in dpns too?!?!?

Off to try out my one month trial of Xbox 360 LIVE. Saved off some "instant" movies to watch and might just try my hand at Call of Duty - World at War. Watch out Spence, Mama's got a brand new gun (controller). While I watch a movie, I guess I can whip out an English ball or two and get started on yet another beanie. He doesn't want a scarf and scarves take too long for my current instant knitting gratification mood.

No-blog-Rachel...I'm BACK!!!!

Monday, March 01, 2010

Actually got some knitting time in...

Well now that the Olympics are over, I've started up knitting on Spencer's beanie.

I actually picked it up on Saturday. I pulled my back on Friday, so couldn't do much at all. Knitting and reading were about the only things I could manage on Saturday, so there you go.

I knit a good 2 inches or so on it during the afternoon and evening in between getting up and walking and stretching and reading bouts.

Would have much rather been out doing something else. Like going to a good friends' 50th b-day party. Yeah, I missed a big one. Sigh.

Still feeling sore and smelling of Tiger Balm - I'm using the patch version on my back - it's done wonders, but the smell...oi... It wouldn't be too bad, but I'm sensitive nose-allergy-wise to some of the ingredients. Luckily, they are in small quantities and I've been able to deal. Small price to pay for the back to feel better.

Life back to "normal" round here I guess. As normal as it gets here in the Chaos.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Did you see that?!?

OK, so I wasn't at all tired tonight and stayed up (obviously, it is 12:20am) to watch the end of the Ice Dancing competition.

First off, congrats to the Canadians for winning the Gold. Oh...Canadaaa...eh!

Finally saw my first medal ceremony. Did you see the sweater coats that the medal bearers were wearing?

W.A.N.T.

That is all...

Edited to add: After trolling just a few seconds in Ravelry, I found this...which led to this...I REALLY W.A.N.T. now that I got a better view of the sweater coats... Look at the size of those custom made needles. I bet you could make that sweater with a few yarns held together and a giant Tunisian Crochet hook.

Now to learn how to shape Tunisian Crochet...maybe for next winter. I've got other things to concentrate on right now - Kublacon anyone?

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Can't Blog now, watching Olympics

My days are filled with doing not much - I just don't feel like it. I am managing to get some stuff done from little bursts of energy or the urge to clean or organize something. Alas, nothing big enough to tackle the start of my Spring Cleaning jag that I mentioned a while back. There is supposedly rain starting tomorrow, so we'll see if that gets me in the mood I need to dive into the kitchen deep cleaning scenario. I'm getting close...I can feel it!

In the meantime, it's time for dinner and then...oh crap...it's either Bones or Olympics. We'll have to see what the Olympics offers tonight. I'm not into the ice skating anymore, so if that is on tonight, it's Bones until 9pm then we'll see what the Olympics has to offer.

Last night was exciting with the downhill and the half pipe and the speed skating.

Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to be knitting on Spencer's beanie while I'm watching. Pah. Have not even touched it in weeks. I don't even remember where I put it. Very hard to knit on it when he comes home from school in a sweat (he rides his bikebikebike to BART). Like he'll be wearing it!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

More Cunning Plans...

OK, so I end up taking a 4 hour nap today. 4 hours! Totally did not see that coming, but I went to rest for a few moments and....4 hours later... Anyway, my body obviously needed it cos I was OUT!

While running here and there in the car, I loaded up on mega size containers of laundry detergent, rice, and some other staples. Stopped in at shops I wouldn't normally go to on the bus and picked up several other small crafting items necessary for the Kublacon Master Plan. Decided I should make the bus effort every so often cos that store has some things the other usual craft store doesn't.

On the way from one store to another, I stopped over at an old favorite charity shop. Mainly to see if they were still open. They are...and even better yet, they have free pick up! All is not lost with the two chairs after all. Best part is...if you have a big item for them to pick up, they will take smaller boxed items as well. Booyah!

Bottom line, I've got some work to do. I think I'm going to blitz the rest of the boxes in the living room over the next week and then see what I've got for donation. Give them a call and go from there. Might need to wait a bit to call and finish going thru everything. I'll have to see how much I get after this first pass and if I'm will to live with all the donations sitting in my living room for a few weeks.

Dude...you've been living with the damn boxes in there for a very long time, but at least the donation boxes will GO AWAY with minimal effort once you call. ALL AT ONCE!!

Oh. Right. D'oh!

:)

Best laid plans, blah blah blah

Well, the conference didn't go as well as we planned and there has been a business setback. My friend is carrying on though and pushing forward, etc. He's not one for giving in and this is his dream, so onward!

Ms Cow was a fantastic navigator by the way...even thru fog!!!

It has been nice having the car, altho it is very tiring to drive (and drive so much too) after not driving in a long time. I am worn out from yesterday. Drove Spence into SF today all the way to school and picked up his bike while I was there...more lots of driving...this time in traffic.

So on to the best laid plans. I don't seem to be the superwoman I used to be. My big plans to take the two chairs off to the charity shop just fell thru. I can't lift the damn things, so there is no way I'm going to be able to get them down the stairs and into a car. I'll have to have some help with that. I'll just have to borrow the car over the weekend when Spencer can help me. In the mean time, I've given up on even taking anything. I don't have enuf for a car load without the chairs. To be honest, it doesn't even fill up the cart. Sigh. Can't lift the heavy boxes either, so taking anything to the charity shop for donation is out for today.

I'll have a bit of a rest and then go do some running about...I have several things that need to be done that would take forever if done by bus, so having the car is not going to go to waste. I was going to try and fit in the errands and the donation run, so now I can just relax and take my time. I'll pick up Spencer from BART and we'll most likely take a run down to In 'n Out for some yummy burgers. We only go to In n Out during Kublacon cos I've got a rental car and there is one by the hotel where it's held, so this will be a bit of a treat for us. Altho I must confess that when I first picked up the car on Tuesday night, Antonella and I stopped in for dinner. :)

Oh yeah, almost forgot, the dice beads came the other day. The silver and gold medal ones are awesome, the skulls are a bit bigger than I thought they would be, and the "white" dice beads are actually "grey". They'll be some emails to the seller about that. I have a feeling I'll be sending them back. I need WHITE. These just look the color of dingy socks. Yuk!

I've gotten several other "new" things to help me make stuff and give me instructions/ideas for Kublacon items, so I need to get going on it!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

See ya later...

I've got the use of a car for the next 2 days.

Tomorrow I go to Sacramento to a conference - standing in for my friend who is starting his own business.

The next day, I will be loading the car up with a few heavy boxes and some chairs to take for donation. I asked, he said sure no prob, so I'm going to be getting rid of some major stuff. As much big and heavy stuff as I can! Might as well. No way I'm gonna take any heavy boxes the usual way via bus!

Spencer will be getting rides to and from BART as well. I think on Thursday I'll actually be driving in to SF to pick him and his bike up after school so he can have it here for the weekend.

Time for bed, I've got to be at the Sac Convention Center at 8am, so it's a VERY early start for me and Ms Cow. She insists on coming. Anyway, she's my navigator, so if we get lost, it's HER fault. hahahahaha!

Thursday, February 04, 2010

The rain finally came...

Lots of updates...

Spencer is enjoying the new school. He's actually getting homework! And he loves the fact that he has a locker. It's the little things that make us happy. :)

Had my last surgery follow-up with the wrist doc. I am FREEEE...to do whatever I damn well please. He says everything looks great, my range of motion is excellent, my strength is pretty much "that" close to being 100% and he doesn't want to see me again. :o) I still haven't done any heavy lifting, but thankfully, no heavy lifting has been required. It still gets worn out if I overdo things though, so I do still need to be careful.

My friend who was waiting for licenses and stuff for his business is now "this" close to getting them. There has been much movement there in the last few days and some political intervention even. :o)

I have found a new supplier for dice beads! I am so excited I can't even tell you! At our first Kublacon 4 years ago, I bought a wee box full of mini dice beads (200 in the box). I've been making things off and on for the last few years and now I am running out. This year, I decided to go ahead and get a Kublacon Flea Market spot for the Friday night of the convention when I signed us up this past week. I am very excited. I have been drawing things out, making lists, collecting up supplies for several months now and now it's time to start cranking some stuff out. Most all of these designs and ideas have included dice beads...and PANIC! I needed more.

After trying to get some from various game shops (where I got them in the first place), I was very discouraged as they are not sold anymore. Last night I got a revelation and checked on Etsy and Artfire. Both sites have shops that sell not only hand crafted things, but supplies for hand crafters as well. SHAZAAAM! Next thing I know I'm ordering metal dice in silver and gold colors, and regular white dice beads, small red skulls and some little bells. I got a little bit of all of it and if they work in my designs and stuff, then I can order bigger batches. The gold and silver will really make my jewelry designs look awesome!

I have one rosary to make this week (jade and silver - it is going to be purty!), and then it is time to get crankin' on Kublacon stuff. Spence and I have made a huge list of things that would possibly be good sellers at a gamer convention so now it's time to make patterns and get the assembly line going! Yayyyyyy!!!!

Oh, and I'm back to sorting thru stuff here in the Chaos and took 2 cart loads of stuff to the charity shop this week!

My future is filled with sorting, spring cleaning (I'm starting in the kitchen), and making stuff.

Oh, and Spencer's beanie is finally on it's final start. I think this is the one. No more frogging!

Monday, February 01, 2010

Got any cheese with that whine?

As a matter of fact, no, I don't.

And that's why I'm a whiny cranky pants today.

This whole weekend was just one shopping fail after another.

Saturday we biked over to the farmer's market for some of our favorite chipotle cheddar cheese. The vendor wasn't there, so...no cheese for us...one week. We head off to Safeway for some stuff and Spencer pops into McCallou's looking for a beanie - he comes out with 2. Grr.

Yesterday, I talked Antonella into running off with me to the Ashby BART flea market. We were on the hunt for interesting beads and bead findings. Neither one of the two vendors who sell things like that and are usually at the flea market were there. Not many vendors were, but that's beside the point.

Antonella consoled herself with two cool rings and a pair of very pretty earrings.

I got nuttin'. Grrr.

We went off to downtown Berkeley for lunch and a stab at getting some more dice beads. At least the pizza was most excellent.

Like I was telling her on the way home. Once I get it in my mind that I am going out for a specific item, I get very disappointed when I don't get it and no matter what I look at, nothing seems appealing. And when I have an entire weekend of not getting, well...crankiness ensues.

I am in a rainy mood. The weather dudes say that more is on the way.

Bring it.

Friday, January 22, 2010

A Happening!

For everyone whose prayed, kept their fingers crossed and sent good mojo vibes for Spencer getting into a school of our choosing...


It's happened!!! He'll be going to a school that was top of our list for transfers. It seems like it's taken forever, but it is finally over.

We're all very excited and happy and very relieved that we are all finally out of limbo with the whole school thing.

Keep your fingers crossed now for a job for me and some other random important things that need to go well.

YAY!

PS...the wrist continues to heal...it is coming along great!!!! YAY!!!!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

#570 Where we stop counting posts.

Cos of course now the post counter is behaving. As soon as I stop tho, it'll take 3 more months to get to 580.

Anyway...


Fingers crossed everyone, things are happening.

Lots of things all at once, all of which could be good.

I'll fill you in next week with the outcomes.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

#569 It's a Miracle!

Hey Everyone!

I made something! *I* made something!

Hee hee...

Yesterday morning was a bit of an adventure... Taking Spencer to go get xrays in the middle of a deluge, a stop after at the groc store and hardware store and a long walk home in the rain...

Don't worry, Spencer is OK. He hurt his wrist, but nothing is broken, it is just a sprain.

Anyway, we were both soaked to the skin. So after drying off, hanging up everything to dry, climbing into our warm jammies and several cups of tea and some snacks...I couldn't keep my eyes open.

So off to nap I went...and I had a dream about something wonderful...

Last night, I made my dream come true.

I started with this....leftover beads from Antonella's necklace and a bracelet chain.



It turned into this...



...and ended up as this...



I call this the "Foreign Bracelet".

The "main" beads are from England, there is an Eiffel Tower Charm, an English Phone Booth Charm, and some sort of Asian Charms with Chinese characters on them (I think it's Chinese).

Anyway, I love it! It was fun to make - pain free even! It took me several hours, but only because I searched through everything bead related that I have to find just the right pieces to add - just ask Antonella, I've got a lot of stuff!

So there you go...I made something. I love it.

TA-DA!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

I think this is #568...Someone's been making somthing...

...unfortunately, it wasn't me.

Feast your eyes upon my friend Antonella's first adventure in making jewelry.



She was over one day and spotted a necklace in one of my English (as in "from England") jewelry magazines.

She decided she had to have it. So I says, "I'll find out where to get the beads and then we'll make it."

So after a few emails, I found them at Bijou Beads. We ordered and well, here you are...

...one Italian version of an English necklace.

She is very proud of herself...as well she should be - it looks pretty much like the necklace in the magazine.

She added a few beads and also switched things up a little, oh, and added a little purple dangle bead at the back by the clasp.

I won't say how long it took for us to work on it, but she did 95% of the work herself after some quick instruction from me. It was a good Saturday night last night and now she's got some killer bragging rights. She can't wait to go back to work on Tuesday and show it off.

She was kinda ticked that tomorrow is a holiday and she's got off - but only cos she can't show off her handiwork! hee hee hee

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

# 567 Where she continues to do nothing...

...and I'm still not "doing" all that much.

I did manage to go out for a bike ride with Spencer on Sunday which was wonderful. I really missed being out on Puff.

I still haven't done laundry...it has been two weeks. REALLY need to do laundry. I guess I'll attempt to do some tomorrow. Need the undies.

Tonight, I did dishes and made dinner for the first time all on my own.

And now my hand aches.

It's getting better and better every day, and I'm getting further and further every day before it signals - HEY! Cut it out.

Spencer and I have finally sat down and discussed the color scheme for his new beanie. I'm excited to start swatching (yes, I'm going to swatch) tomorrow. This yarn is double knit and I normally knit with the one that's a bit thicker than that. It's been so long since I've done anything yarn related that I can't even remember what the hell it's called! GAH. Anyway, need to swatch to figure out how many stitches need to go round his head. Can't wait.

Got a very uplifting email from the parent volunteer coordinator from Spencer's old school. I've been in a downer mood lately and this brought me up a bit. She sent me a photo of the current 8th grade class's production of MacBeth. They are all wearing costumes I made about 4 years ago or so for the school Renaisance Faire. It was good to see my handiwork - still at work. :) Silly me was afraid that they wouldn't last the day back then.

Damn I'm good with a needle.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Post 566...out come the stitches

OK, so maybe I won't be showing the photos I took today. Nasty!

Anyway, I've been released for "moderate" activities.

In other words, remember you are still healing and don't do anything stupid!

hahaha

It's going to be hard not to get carried away as I am used to doing stuff all the time. Even sitting on the couch watching tv, I'm "doing" something. Crafting, sorting, folding laundry, whatever.

I am looking forward to doing something else now besides, watching TV or reading. I just have to be a bit careful still. At least I can get it wet now and can wash my hair with 2 hands now. I've been a site these last 10 days, let me tell you. hahaha

Anyway, I'm sure the curious among you want to know...well, what the hell was it besides a bump on your wrist that hurt like hell?

Here's the official mumbo jumbo: benign leiomyoma

English translation: "nerve acting" tumor (which means it hurt like hell) on my muscle that also happens to be non-cancerous.

OK, so the doc originally said that the chance of it being a tumor of any kind was pretty slim.

And it was a tumor.

Go figure.

I'm going to buy some lottery tix.

Knitting needles, here I come.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

The 565th Post...2 more days

I don't go back to the doc until Friday morning. I can't wait.

My hand gets stronger every day, but there are still limitations - of course. I now find myself "forgetting" I'm not supposed to use it cos it's feeling so much better.

I am reminded with a few twinges of pain.

Gah.

Meantime, it still itches every so often.

I've been gathering photos since the beginning, and once I get back to normal I might post a few. Don't worry, I won't post any graphic ones, but you just know I have to take them. Altho I have to be honest, I really don't think anything is going to be very gross. Sometimes I don't believe anything was done.

Why?

It doesn't really hurt.

There was no pain immediately after the surgery.

None.

I haven't taken any of the pain killers the doc made me get.

I haven't even taken any advil.

Seriously.

Did he even do anything?!?

I can't wait until Friday morning when the bandage comes off and I get to actually see the stitches and the incision and hear all the gory details. :)