Who Knew?

Who knew that I would still be here after a whole year? Yep, today is my first blogiversary. Much has happened over the last year, besides being another year older.

Gypsy clearly believes that there has been enough computer time, bring on the cuppy-cakes!

One of the best things to happen this last year is to become part of this knitting blogland. Not only have I made many new friends, but have actually had the opportunity to meet a few them in person. If you get the chance to meet a fellow blogger, do it. They are every bit as nice, clever and fun to be with as they are on line!

I'd have to say the most inconvenient award goes to being laid-off. I do miss having a job, but I don't miss working for that company. I keep on job-hunting, so something is bound to come up, sooner or later!

The sock (and I) were taken out to dinner Friday night. I thought it was mighty convenient of the restaurant to supply props for sock pictures. DH said if I took one more picture of the sock he was leaving us both there. Now one would think that this was quite muggle-ish, but he did mention both of us...

There has been fibery goodness this last weekend. I went to Knit One Scrapbook Too for a sale and came away with some sock yarn and another 11" Addi size 0. Another stop was at the Artistry in Thread event at the local museum. It was a nice shopping event, but to be honest, I was really expecting there to be more textile exhibits. All was not lost, as some hand-dyed merino-tencel from Winderwood Farms had to come home with me.

The previously mentioned sock has been completed. It is the ridged feather pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks (Charlene Schurch). I tried a new toe this time...since there were 66 stitches, I chose to decrease 6 times, evenly spaced around the toe. This makes a nice round toe for my short, wide little feet. I've even started the second one.

The daffodils took another beating earlier this week. Thankfully, not quite as crushing as the last time. We were saved, get this, by warmer air from Canada!

Fresh Air

My seasonal job brought me all the way up to the lake shore today (Lake Ontario). It had finally stopped raining and had even warmed up a bit. I came around the corner saw this:

Ahh, fresh air, windswept tree and a waterscape.

Obviously, a much better smelling scene than my home at the moment.

As near as we can tell, Gypsy startled one of these nocturnal creatures the other night, causing it to spray in the general direction of our house. The breeze blew the scent cloud over Gypsy, then to our garage and then into the house.

For those of you who live in areas where there are no skunks, count your blessings. If you have never smelled their odor, it is one of the nastiest, most obnoxious, pervasive smells known to mankind. Again, count your blessings.

We have deskunked Gypsy (which was much easier than you would think). We opened all the windows yesterday (a chilly proposition...only 40 F). What I wouldn't give for a few nice, warm breezy days! I was out for awhile yesterday and noticed that my car smelled like skunk, so I ran it through a carwash. We have sprayed couches, chairs, floors, curtains and air with various scent-removing products.

The house still smells like skunk. Not as strong as it was, but it still smells. So tell me something? Why can't the air freshener people come up with something that smells better than skunk and lasts as long?

Another Tuesday

I'm telling y'all, Tuesdays are days that are just meant to be difficult. Again, today was no exception, but there were some good bits.

I went off to my seasonal job, got to the designated neighborhood and started estimating. After about 1/2 dozen or so, I noticed that I was running out of some supplies, only had 1/4 tank of gas and was very, very hungry. Normally, I just run off and do all the estimates and come back to the shop. Nope, not today. I go back to the shop, get supplies, fill the tank (both me and the truck) and return. Not very efficient, but we can handle that.

I heard a somewhat new song today on the radio: Ticks from Brad Paisley. It's so random that it just made my day!

Also, while traveling around, I found these: Alert! We may be about to be invaded by pastel-colored dinosaurs or maybe just very large chickens!

Here's the other reason why Tuesdays are not a good day. Last night (about the time that it might as well be Tuesday, rather than Monday), DH and I were sitting in the living room. Suddenly, we both start wrinkling our noses, simultaneously saying "Where's Gypsy?". In a moment of panic, we discover she is outside. We were much relieved to discover that she was not the source (or receiver) of the stench. However, it appears that a wayward breeze brought eau-de-skunk into our garage/house and it. is. still. here.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all of you! Rather than show you the rather large amount of candy, that none of us really need, but all want, I thought I'd show you a few other goodies.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been selling off quite a few items on ebay that have been laying around here gathering dust and/or taking up room. I do, sometimes, actually buy stuff on ebay. DH brought home this really nice green and clear glass bowl last year from an auction. When I brought it out for spring (I often rotate glass for the seasons and holidays), it just seemed a bit empty. Ebay to the rescue...I found this little glass fish. He is the finest little fish to have...doesn't eat much and is very, very clean!

Another find were these nifty martini glasses. I looked all over the place earlier this year for some nice glasses and could only find some that had some really, really long stems on them. They were very nice, but those stems just really got in the way. Since it snowed today, has snowed for the last 3 days and looks like there's snow in the forecast for the next 3-4 days, it seemed appropriate to put something in them tonight. I mix a pretty good Cosmopolitan, if I say so myself!

Speaking of snow, what's up with that? It's the middle of April! I gave this some thought today. I imagine that people from milder climates actually find that there are actually 4 more-or-less equally spaced seasons. In this area, the growing season (last frost to first frost) is approximately 4 months long (sometimes 3-1/2 months). Snow from mid-October to mid-April this season adds up to 6 months, add 4 months of growing season (which may or may not be summerlike) and get 10 months. That leaves 1 month each for spring and fall. This is clearly not very evenly distributed. You've got to admire the hardiness of plants that can go from completely frozen and snow covered to blooming in the space of a month.

Believe it or not, there has been some knitting going on around here. I finished these socks last night, another pair of Trekking. I had a serious case of SSS to the point where I thought about frogging them completely just to reknit them using a stitch pattern to break up the stripes.

Awhile back I promised pictures of another finished object and then didn't get around to it. Stuff happens. At any rate, this is the Emma sweater from KnitPicks. I fell in love with the pattern, happened to have enough handspun (Ashland Bay Sandlewood) and starting knitting on it as soon as the pattern showed up in my in box. The KnitPicks folk are very quick. The only changes I would make if I knit it again (and I probably will) would be to do a 3-needle cast off or something like on the shoulders for a bit more sturdiness in that area and to make it a bit longer. I'm going to run a bit of clear elastic across the shoulder seam area which should pull that together nicely.

Spring?

Earlier this week, the spring weather was just delightful. You really wanted to be outside in the sunshine. Bubba sunned himself and Gypsy showed off her "summer do".

I did a bit of garden clean-up, including putting some round-up on a particularly invasive perennial. I gave some thought to what to plant and where to plant it. There's lots of time for that; we don't plant annuals around here until the last weekend in May and even that's a bit risky.

My favorite daffodils were coming along nicely and just beginning to open up. Yesterday, the weather was forecast to change back to winter, so I picked a bouquet of them. They opened up nicely once inside.

I wish I had picked every last one of them because this is what they looked like today. Damn, why did they have to be right this time?

WTF?!?!

Just to give a little background, there is a local advertising paper that has a column called "Gotta Vent" in it. This week, someone had written in how disturbed they were to observe something changing their baby in a restaurant. I must admit my first reaction was who would do such a thing and that they must be making it up.

Well, I sure hope that we saw the same person (and that there are not 2 of them in the area) today. We were in a reasonably nice restaurant this afternoon enjoying a nice beer and burger when, to my disbelief, a gentleman (and I use the term loosely) a couple of tables away proceeded to put his baby on the window ledge and change her diaper in the dining room. Not only that, but he chose to set his baby back in her high chair, finish his meal and left the debris on the ledge for another 10 minutes or so before eventually getting up and taking it somewhere.

Now a baby is a delightful little creature, but there is a time and place for everything. In my book, he should have taken her to the restroom or out to the family vehicle and changed her there (and washing up would be nice, too).

I thought about bringing this to the attention of the manager, but, when you think about it, what was he/she going to be able to do? Give us a discount? It wasn't the restaurant's fault. Throw the other party out? There were 5 other children (who were reasonably well-behaved) and at least 9 other adults in that party.

What did we do? Nothing. We paid our bill, left and continue to be mind-boggled that there are actually people that do such things in public. Oh, and the kicker...this was not an uneducated boob...he had already announced loud enough for us to hear that he had applied for positions teaching English and coaching sports at local school districts.

Tuesdays

I've mentioned it before, but there's just something about Tuesdays. I've never been fond of the day; for me, it often seems like the most awkward (and sometimes crappy) stuff happens on Tuesday. Today was no exception.

To start, DD wanted company to go downtown to observe a court trial for one of her classes. No problem. We get there, find a spot to park in the garage (dark, dreary place that is), go through security, only to find that there are no active trials at this time. I guess we're going to try again Thursday.

Later in the day, I went out again. I ran some errands and they all went smoothly. I should have known something was up. The last item on the agenda was an interview for a long-term contract position that I actually know how to do all but one item on their job description (and that was not a big item). I feel like I blew the entire interview. It appears that I lost my mind somewhere on the way there. DH says it sounded like I really did pretty well when I explained all the parts of the interview and the test they gave me, but I still feel like I blew it. Sigh.

After dinner, I enjoyed lovely cup of coffee. Maybe it should say "No Workee, No Coffee"?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Paddy's to everyone. OK, I'm a day late, but why not celebrate for the whole weekend? I figure it's a pretty good weekend that involves corned beef, cabbage, spinning and planning future projects. The weather, however, was definitely not of the Irish variety. Classic March for around here, though: about 8 inches of snow. I really felt sorry for those participating in the parade downtown. Today at least looks nicer outside, but there's a wicked cold wind blowing. Earlier in the month , I made this pair of Fetching mitts from Knitty, assuming that the weather wasn't going to be particularly springlike for awhile. At least they're green.

While reviewing Meg Swansen's Knitting for a potential pattern for Jane, I rediscovered the Mimbres Vest. This is a pattern that I just love the looks of, but hadn't decided on the yarn yet. Last year sometime, I spun this lovely blend from Nistock Farms. Robin's fiber is always nice; I regard her as a "can't go wrong" supplier. Now I just need to go stash diving to find a good white to go along, spin it and then start knitting.


Bubba has decided that it was a good day to pose nicely in the window. Gypsy has gone snow-plowing again. I finally saw what she does to get this snowy. It appears that she hears something under the snow that she wants, shoves her nose into the ground and just plows ahead. This also explains how she often comes in with a scraped up nose, too. Silly dog.

A Few Signs of Spring

I wouldn't consider it full Spring yet; I do know better, but there are a few signs.

There is much snow melt, signifying the beginning of the spring mud season. Considering the amount of rain we had before the ground froze, it's probably going to be an exceptionally muddy one. My only job prospect starts tomorrow. It is a temporary job estimating for a lawn care company. From the looks of my yard, I'd better invest in something knee-high and waterproof!

These geese were one of many flocks flying past. They all seem to be heading in a westerly direction and I'm not at all sure what that means...neutral weather?

There are a few sprouts of crocuses (or is that crocii?), some chives and my favorite, daffodils. Why are daffodils my favorite? Well, no matter what the Mother Nature throws at them, they multiply and bloom for me, year after year, and nothing eats them. These little green sprouts may not be much to look at, but the first ones are just so welcome to see!
In my wandering around today enjoying the balmy day, I found this stray flower. I have no idea what it is; I didn't plant it on purpose; it must have hitched a ride with a clump of day lilies.









Since it was so nice out today, I did what any northerner would do...hang out the quilts and blankets to air out. Not only that, but I washed and dried the sheets outside, too. Now there's a smell that just can't be bottled...line-dried sheets!

Enough Already

Yep, it's officially that time of year. The time of year when most everybody is sick of winter. It's been wet, snowy, icy, windy, cold in what seems like a never-ending cycle.

Job hunting is kind of like a never-ending winter: searching ads, filling out applications, strewing resumes around like confetti. You rarely ever get a response from anyone.

When you do, sometimes it's worse than no response. One company called me in an all-fired hurry to set up an interview, only to call back an hour later...oh, well, I guess you're not as qualified we thought, never mind. Thanks, that really did a lot for my confidence. At another, I had two interviews, cleared the drug, background and physical tests, then get told that the job is on hold. Couldn't you have told me that earlier in the process?

Like this wind-blown cardinal, I sure hope that the seasons are finally changing and that my luck will change with them.

A Sign of Spring

Well, it snowed again today, there's supposed to be record cold tonight, but there are signs of spring: Spring Knitty!

I think I must make Tahoe, yet another great pattern to add to my growing list. Thanks, Amy.

DeFeet of Cuteness

There are lots of somewhat discouraging things that I could post about tonight, but I'm not going to. I'm beginning to think that there may be something to this whole Mercury in retrograde thing.

What am I going to post about? How about "DeFeet of Cuteness"; a wonderful subject suggested by La of JenLa. There are lots of mighty cute feet around here, the largest of the 4-legged variety belong to Gypsy:










They are really big feet, with or without snow!













Other feet include Trouble's...sometimes decorously crossed in front of her and sometimes just begging to be tickled!

Bubba seems to have forgotten to tuck his little foot in. Although between the size of him and the size of the box, you'd think there would be more hanging out than just one little foot!

A Pretty Good Week

For the most part, it's been a pretty good week around here. It hasn't snowed as much and we even found the driveway under about 10 inches of hard-packed snow and ice. That took a quite a bit of chipping and lots of help from a few milder, sunny days. The mild days put an extra spring in Gypsy's step and even Bubba was glad to be outside for a change.

I finished a project almost on time. I made this scarf for Mom for her birthday last week and got it to her Friday; it was actually finished the day after her birthday. It is Argosy, from the last issue of Knitty. I'm telling y'all, it is always worth checking Knitty for an interesting pattern!

Do you think I cut it close enough for the amount of yarn needed?

There are some other finished projects that I'll try to take some decent pictures of in the daylight.

DD is slowly recovering from having her wisdom teeth (all 4 of them) liberated from her jaws. She's certainly not 100% yet, but she can talk again, wants to eat a bit and is starting to make jokes again. She even went out on her own for the first time today.

Today, I spent the day at the computer. I paid bills, did the income taxes for both the Feds and New York state, e-filed them, and filed FAFSA and NYS financial aid forms for 2007. Goodness, what a grim way to spend the day, but at least it's done for another year! Or at least another month as far as the bills are concerned.

Tonight, it is snowing again. Gypsy came in much, much whiter than this. She says that she's trying to be the same color as Bear. Bear is a standard poodle that, sadly, lives too far away to be her playmate.

There Comes a Day

In the fall, when the days become shorter and shorter, the temperatures start to head down and lake effect snow becomes part of the weather forecast, we think about the winter to come. Is it going to be an easy winter, or one of those that goes down in the record books for truly grim? Once it gets below say, 40 F or so, we feel chilled and go looking for the woolly bits that get us through the cold season. Very few actually remember to make sure that we have shovels (sometimes they wear out) or that other snow removal equipment is up and running. We save that for the first "real" snow of over 6 inches or so.

Once winter sets in for good, which was quite late this year, we hunker down and deal with it. You wouldn't dream of leaving the house without gloves, mittens, hat, scarf and boots. Even if you are driving somewhere, all those items are in the car, just in case. The snow brush/scraper is always within reach to unbury the car. Many well-prepared people add jumper cables, salt/gravel, chains, shovels to the trunk. Even if you don't need them yourself, you might need the stuff to help someone else.

There are long stretches, weeks even, where it snows every day. You may not see the sun for weeks. It's often very cloudy around here. There are storms; there is wind; it is cold. It is a daily struggle to get to work, to the store, to the mailbox.

Sooner or later, every winter, there comes a day that seems quite nice. The sun is shining, there isn't much wind, you find yourself wandering around with your coat unzipped, no hat, no mittens, no scarf, and the window part way down while driving around. You say to yourself, hey, it's really nice outside, even warm. Then you look at the thermometer and find that it is 20F (-7C). Today was that day.

It's About Time!

Well, I've got to say that it's about time we had a snowstorm. I think this one was a bit over-publicized. Yes, we've had over a foot of snow; yes, it's quite cold and yes, there's been some blowing/drifting. However, I've seen worse over the years. I don't know if it's because the media just has to make such a big deal over everything or if we're just out of practice with this, up-til-now mild winter. Gypsy says that it's about time I left the blankie on the couch for her!

At any rate, this was a good day to be home. I meant to spend the day at the desk, doing things like guild membership updates, organize this month's bills and do the taxes. What did I do instead? Laundry and this:

Nice looking, eh? I decided to boycott getting expensive cards for my family on Valentine's Day and treat ourselves to cheesecake.

DD sure needed a little treat for the day. Every public school and college in the area was closed, except hers. Not only did she have to drive through the less-than-ideal conditions, but she was reminded that water (or diet coke) expands, or in this case, explodes, when frozen. Should've listened up in science class, kiddo!

Sweater Progress

I've just been plugging along around here. I review job postings, ignore housework and go to the post office every other day or so to support what I'm calling the world's slowest garage sale (aka EBay). We're actually doing pretty well selling off an accumulation of vintage stuff, tools and what have you.

It wasn't snowing much and was a bit warmer today (20F, -7C) so Gypsy and I went off to the park after the Post Office run today. Most trails weren't really accessible, so it was a short walk, but good to get out for a bit anyway.

You would think that I would be turning out millions of yards of yarn and almost as many knitting projects with all this spare time on my hands lately, but I seem to be self-rationing. There is slow progress on the sweater. The lapels and border are in seed stitch, which takes me longer to knit anyway. There's also the small problem of this cat who appears to be in love with my sweater.

What is it about February? I'm already sick of it and it's only the 7th. There are many, many places that are much colder than here and many near here that are getting pounded with snow to the tune of 3-6 feet over last weekend (and it's still snowing in the lake effect areas). Yes, measuring snow in feet, for those of you doing metrics...call it 1-2 meters. Kind of boggles the mind, doesn't it?

By the time I was able to get the camera, much of the snow had melted off of Gypsy, the snowydale...she was completely covered across her head and back.

There is progress on the sweater that I'm knitting. At this point, I'm just putting all my faith in the designer. It just doesn't seem like there's going to be enough frontage for the boobage. I think I've thought of a solution, if needed. She was completely and wonderfully spot on for the sleeves, so there is a reason for that faith.

I continue to be quite fond of gadgets and this is one of my current favorites. You see, I like to drink those fancy, flavored coffees now and then. DH says that "those" coffees contaminate the coffee maker. Voila, problem solved.

Happy Groundhog Day!

To be honest, why do we think that having 6 more weeks of winter (or not) is any kind of forecast? Around here, we're lucky if winter is over (ish) by the middle of April, which is 10 weeks away. Let's face it, the whole Groundhog Day thing is really just for fun. People do think up the oddest things to do to pass the time during the winter. Other odd activities might include ice fishing, polar bear dips and golf (yes, I have actually participated in a very snowy golf tournament). Anywho, Punxsutawny Phil says there's going to be an early spring.

To celebrate the day it seemed like a good idea to make banana bread. It was and there were two loaves; it goes fast in this house.

In other news, I've started a sweater. Actually it's well along, body done up to sleeves, one sleeve done, the other underway. More on it later when it looks more like a sweater.