The Victorian Brown Coat

It's been a long while

2010-01-25T03:59:00.000-08:00

Holy Blogland Batman!!!

It has been a very long time since my last blog entry. I can't even say that I've had a valid reason why. I think mostly it has been because I just didn't want to be writing all the negative things that I have been feeling; and there has been a lot of it.

To make a very long story short, my stepfather moved out and now lives in Washington near my stepsister. Mom and he are in middle of a divorce. I can't say that I'm surprised, but I may still be in shock. He moved out at the end of October.

I am now working graveyard at the hotel. I get 30 hours a week now. This is good because I now can help pay bills. Our house is up for sale, but when our realtor did the caravan with Caldwell Banker, we found that we are asking 40k to much and if we sell the house for what they think it should and would sell for, we would be what is called upside down. That means that we'd still owe money on the loan after close of escrow. It also means that we'd still owe our realtor her fees etc.

So, we are in a pickle. We are trying to make the payments, but it is hard. The payments are more than 2/3rds what mom makes a month and then we still have utilities, gas and food. My little bit that I'm able to give isn't much, but it is something.

I am going to stop here and finish later. I feel like I am getting more negative as I write. I want to be able to stay positive in my writing.

Moving

2009-04-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

I've thought long and hard about it. I'm not real happy about eblogger. I have used it off and on several times and just found that I didn't like it so much. So, this past week I moved everything over to another site.

The Victorian Brown Coat

I like the controls wordpress has to offer. There is one of my friends in particular who should consider looking into wordpress. She will have to really work at learning the controls in the dashboard, but I think she would like the ability to block certain visitors etc. much better. Anyway, I hope to see all of my readers over at the new site.

Thanks.

A long week

2009-03-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it is Sunday. I feel like last week still isn't over. It was a long stressful week. I did have one really good day though, I went up to Hayfork with Ted. I took some photos, sad to say it, but the best photo was of an outhouse. Hahaha! If you want to see that pic it is here at Deviant Art.

I also took some pix of the blossoms on out peach trees. They are located here at AC.

I was called into work last Sunday. Found out that my boss had been fired, or rather forced to resign. Uhm... yeah, that's new. So, after 4 weeks of not working, I got to spend 2 hours by myself. Boy, did I have a day.

I didn't get called in at all for the rest of the week, but then I got the new schedule. Now, normally I would have ignored it and just been disappointed, but I found that Ande had 8 days in a row off and I was not scheduled to work any of those. Can I begin to tell you how pissed off I am? Anyway, so I called and made an appointment to meet the new guy. Turns out, he's only going to be there for about a week longer, so there was really nothing he could do for me except pass it on. So, I still don't know if I really have a job or not. It sucks. I've been applying elsewhere, but still no bites.

Yesterday, Saturday I worked a split shift. The first half of my shift was with Lisa. She is such a nice girl. She might be calling me this week to do a photo shoot with her and at least one of her dogs. Anyway, after working 4 hours I drove home. Waited 3 hours and went back to work. I worked with Rick for the second part of my shift. You know, if he wasn't my supervisor, I'd probably really like him. He's a good guy. Anyway, he finally got my password and loggin fixed. Yay! How long have I worked there? Yes, next week will be 8 months.

After work, I was pretty wound up and didn't want to go home. I needed to go sign the clipboard at Winco, so I stopped in there. Ted was working so I waited the 10 minutes for his shift to end. We sat in my car for more than an hour chatting. I found him to be in a good mood, always a good thing. We chatted about my day, his day and our differing cats. It was nice, I wish it could have lasted longer.

We are talking about going camping next month. I hope we can. I like being with him a lot. He's a good person.

To top this all off, mom has been sick all week. Life is bad enough when I get sick, but when she gets sick, it is hell. Anyway, so today I went outside and took some pix of our lilacs since they are blooming. I got some nice shots out of it. I'm going to have to start taking small trips around and about to take pix. I need to have a strong body of work to sell.

If anyone has any ideas for things to take pix of, that you think would sell, please let me know. I'd be happy to scoot out there and take a pic of whatever it is.

Note: I've already taken pix of:
1. Sundial Bridge
2. Shasta Dam
3. Whiskeytown Falls
4. Peach tree blooms
5. 1937 Chevy Pick-up
6. Lilac Blooms
7. My cats

Plan to take pix of:
1. Cascade Theatre with lights on.
2. Kool April Nights car show in April
3. ???

Soft Lips Giveaway

2009-03-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

Mommies With Cents has another giveaway. She has a review and givaway of Softlips brand lipbalm.

Tales Of Despereaux

2009-03-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Go over to Moms With Cents Now! At her site you can enter to win a copy of Tales of Despereaux after reading her review of the movie.

Wanna Jugar with Migo?

2009-03-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Wanna Jugar with Migo?

The clickable link above will lead you to a wonderful blog that just happens to be giving away a book. I have a friend with an adopted son who is latino. Unfortunately they do not speak spanish. They would like to learn and are hoping that their son will learn once he is in school. He's only two. The book that this site is offering as a givaway looks like it would help them get started on it. Hmmm... I may have to purchase this book if I can't win it for them.

A Barefooted Givaway

2009-03-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

Over at Stay At Home Mom the blog writer is having a birthday. In honor of her own birthday, she is having a givaway. Any item under 25 bucks at barefootbooks.com.

Soap, no I didn't make it.

2009-03-22T09:46:00.001-07:00

A few days ago I gave in to the temptation and ordered some soap from Lime and Violets' Happy Housewife line. It didn't take long and a package was at my door. Yesterday as a matter of fact.

This is it, wrapped in black paper. I was not expecting that, its kinda cool.

Oh! She wrapped it in bubble wrap to keep it safe! Very surprised! Anticipation is killing me, I can smell my pretty soap through the packaging!

And here it is. Milk, Honey and Lavender. I love the smell of lavender. I have lavender planted all over my yard as a matter of fact.

To my surprise, Miss Violet also included a sample. Unfortunately she did not lable it, so I have no idea what kind it is. It kinda has a chocolate smell with some kind of exotic scent. I looked through her site and all I could find that looked and sounded like this was something called scorpion. I don't think that, that is what this is.

So, I have tried the sample. The second I got it wet to produce a lather in a washcloth, it completely lost its fragrance and well, smelled just like lye/lard soap. I think this is the process that she uses, so I don't really have a problem with it, but it was disappointing that the exotic fragrance didn't stay. Though I do know that she is substituting the lard with olive oil. That is the same process I used to use, so I don't understand why the scent went away in her soap.

This morning, I gave the sample soap a second try. The dried soap had its smell back, but the second I got it wet, it was back to the lard smell again. You know that smell I'm talking about, the old ivory soap had that smell. I still used it and I do feel clean, just scent free. I was bummed.

I'm hoping that the lavender soap won't do the same thing, but I have a feeling it will. For now it is in my sock drawer making my socks smell like lavender. I'll leave it there for a while I guess.

Gardening is fun, hard work

2009-03-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we aren't done with the daylillies yet. The spot where mom is digging a trench to put them in isn't being very cooperative. The rocks are more than I want to even think about right now. Yes, I do have a photo...

See all those rocks? Well, that isn't all of them. Those only came from the first few inches, for the daylillies, we need to go 6 inches down. Sucks really. My poor mom is doing the most of the work with this one. I just don't have the energy or strength to do it. I do try to help though, while she is digging and prying I will pick out the rocks and toss them in a pile.

Yep, that is mom working away while Don sits there petting his cat. Yes, the animal hating man has a cat that is his. Don't let that fool you, if something happened to her, he would not take her to the vet. No, Don does not help with the yard work. He does take all the credit for it though. Jerk!

Mom and I do 90% of all the yard work around here. The only time Don helps is when trees have been cut and he doesn't want to wait for us to get around to it. LOL!

I'll have to take some shots of what we've done so far so that when its Spring and everything is green, you'll be able to see the differences.

Knitting... I haven't been knitting on anything this week. I have poison oak on my hands and arms. It really sucks big time. If I go out and work in the yard, I start to sweat and it just makes it worse. So, after finishing the one planting today, I've stopped working out there. When mom gets home, I might try to do some work again, but I don't know if I'm going to be much help. I'd like to get some more work done today. For one, I'd like to get the Irish Moss planted.

I think I better get out there and take some pix. Oh wait, Don has the cat trap set up. Dang it, I can't go out there and work. The Ogre is cranky as it is, I don't need him getting any more pissed off at me. I guess on that note, I will wait for mom to get home, that way it will be her fault the cats aren't taking the bait.

Home Sweet Home?

2009-03-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

Well, my trip to Konocti Harbor worked out. I really was surprised to find I liked the roomy's grand daughter. She's a very inteligent young woman. I spent the last half of my second day there with her. She was really nice. I should have asked her where she got her necklace pendent sooner and maybe had her come with me. Dang it!

Mom and I spent Saturday morning recovering, but then we started working in the yard. We got 20 Cannas planted and a trench dug for some of the daylillies in the courtyard behind the stone patio. I realized then that we needed to buy mulch to amend our soil. Soil... Ha! We have rock and clay not soil. Anyway, so Sunday we ran to Lowe's to pick up mulch. Go figure, we came home with: 1 big bag of mulch; 1 Blood Orange Tree (I already have one, but it hasn't produced fruit in 4 years) 3 Azealias, 4 Tam Junipers, 1 Frasure Photinia, 1 Irish Heather with purple blossums and a flat of Irish Moss.

Our plan: The Blood Orange will be planted near my older one to the rear of our house; the 3 Azealias will be added to our courtyard and 3 Rose of Sharons moved out; the 4 Tam Junipers are going to be put on the hillside on the right of our driveway past the mailbox; the Photinia needs to be nursed back into life, so it doesn't have a place yet, but if it lives, we are planning on building a living fence along the side pasture; the Irish Heather is going to be planted on the hillside opisite the juniper near the steps that lead to the water meter. Which, is also below the cannas that were planted on Saturday. The flat of Irish Moss is going to be devided to fill in gaps around the stepping stones in our courtyard.

Now about my blood orange tree. The first year I had it, it had fruit, but has not bloomed or produced anything since. It is in a huge pot so that I could move it closer to the house if it got to cold. I don't think it likes being in the pot, so this weekend, I plan to plant it with the new one in hopes that next year it will produce fruit.

We are thinking about removing the fencing the seperates the side pasture from our front yard. This will incorporate it with the front yard and we will be able to smooth things out and make it all more unified. As it stands, the side pasture doesn't even look like it belongs to us. Granted, it is a very seperate half acre of land that at one time could have been sold seperate from the rest of our property. Our lovely and greedy neighbor tried to get the sellers to sell them the half acre when we went into escrow. Thank goodness we had escrow first, but then, we wouldn't have bought the place if they'd sold the half acre seperate, its the best part of the nearly 5 acres.

We have a small orchard on one side of the half acre, I want to put lawn in between the rows and have a mini golf course. I'm sure Don would like it too, but he doesn't want to deal with the work involved in making that happen. I'd like to see it happen though, so I guess it will be up to me.

So, if anyone sees Photinia go on sale at Lowe's or Home Depot, please, please let me know. We need about 50 plants in the 1 gallon size, so we don't want to pay more than $3.99 for them.

Well, my brain is fried, I'll write more tomorrow.

Okay, to busy

2009-03-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am to busy. I may not be getting hours at work, but I am still a busy beaver. I am leaving today for Konocti Harbor with mom. She has meetings she has to attend Friday all day, so we have to scoot down there today.

I guess mom had sent an email asking her roomy if it was okay if I came along. The roomy replied today stating that yeah it was okay and that she was bringing her Grand-daughter along. Excuse me.... mom had the courtesy to ask, this lady has now not asked twice in a row. Mom wants to tell her that it isn't okay with her, but since I am coming, she isn't going to say anything this time.

There probably won't be a next time since I snore pretty badly. They are going to be miserable. Oh well, that is the chance you take when you room with someone else and bring your teenage grand kid with you.

Karma!

Anyway, the reason I am going is because the weather is going to be nice and I need to get some photography done. I need to do lots and lots of photography. I need to push my business a bit.

I spent hours and hours with Stacy and Kyle last night working on my website. I really hate to not have it up and running yet, but I finally have a background that I like, now I just need to build a banner that I will like. I know, that is a tall order isn't it.

I've stopped knitting on the Woodsman Ted socks. They are at a point where I need to measure them against Ted's feet. Yes, they are named after the person I am knitting them for. Anyway, so I started working on another pair for me. I am hoping to practice with patterns for the socks I will be knitting for Joshua.

The socks I am working on now are called Dragon Scales. I'll post a pic once I am further along with them.

Well, I better get back to packing. Lates.

Shoot me now

2009-03-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Well, after the last couple days of working in the yard I have made myself sick. I have strong allergies to grass and most pollens. So, as punishment for all my hard work yesterday, I am sick now.

I have managed to do some knitting on the Woodsman Ted socks though. I have found that even though the 2 hanks of yarn were the same dye lot, they are very different in hue. I am having to break the yarn and switch hanks every inch or so. It is a drag, but it is working to help blend the different yarns. I'm not saying that I'm not irritated about it, but really, there isn't much I can do about it at this point.

Man, I wanna lay down.

My AC Profile

2009-03-08T20:21:00.001-07:00

Patricia Graves's Content Producer Page - Associated Content

http://www.associatedcontent.comuser/431523/patricia_graves.html

Another yardwork day.

2009-03-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well, last night I did manage to work on the Woodsman Ted socks. I've got an inch into the toe done. The increases aren't done yet though. I'll be glad when I get past those.

Don helped me get the weed whacker going before leaving to run some errands. Before I could get done, the dang thing ran out of string. What the heck!?! So, I am covered in green mess waiting for Don to come home, and or mom to call because she's ready for me to come get her. I am not going to change my clothes for that. I want to get the weeds off the fence before it gets any worse. One thing about having horses, never had to worry about weeds growing on the fence, they ate everything down before it became a problem. This year the neighbor is going to have to week whack his side too. LOL! He got rid of his goats and we got rid of the horses.

I'd love to get some angora goats, but then I'd have to figure out how to get rid of all the weeds that produce burs. Meh, nevermind.

Well, Don just got home, so I guess it is time to get back to work.

Didn't go as planned

2009-03-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

So, I didn't get any more planting done. Don and I went and got gas for the mowers. So, when I finished using the riding mower in the areas that the rider could go, I ended up using this push mower thing kinda like the DR Trimmer, but smaller. Let me tell you, it beats the hell out of you. What it is, is a weed wacker on wheels. You have to push and pull it to cut weeds and grass that has grown to tall for lawn mowers etc. Suposedly you can even cut small sapling trees with it. I must say, the strings that you put on it to cut with looks like they could do just that, but I've also noticed that they wear out pretty fast.

So, after a few hours of that, I am beaten. I don't think I could dig a hole for trees even if it were life or death.

Before I could get into the shower, I stupidly mentioned to Don that the toilet in my bathroom was constantly running.... Well, we ended up at Lowe's. Not only did we get a new rubber valve, but a new seat. The old one had broken one of the little leg things that hold it up from the bowl. Anyway, so after we fixed the toilet, Don says, "Don't tell your mother, lets see if she notices it." I replied, "I really doubt she'll ever notice." He chuckled.

So, now it is nearly 9:00 pm and I'm watching a DVD. Its called The 10th Kingdom. I believe it was a tv mini series quite a long time ago. Anyway, so I'm watching it.

I've taken some Advil, I can tell already that I am going to be in a lot of pain by tomorrow. My allergies are going nuts from the grass/weed cutting. I wonder if Benedryl will mix okay with Advil?

Planting trees

2009-03-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Today started pretty well. It was 58 degrees in the house this morning, so I built a fire. Now it is warmer, almost to warm.

While I waited for it to warm up outside, I worked in knitting the Woodsman Ted socks. They are going to be very nice socks. Once I've got a couple inches done, I'll post pix.

Once the weather warmed up outside, I went out and planted 4 trees while done did some chipping with his golf net. He has 26 balls that he chips into a net from about 30 feet or more.

Funny, when mom isn't home, Don and I get along so much better. We either ignore each other or we find something in common to talk about. I guess we are constantly battling for her attention, anyway that is what Stacy says. I mostly think she is right.

Now, I'm having a rest. I have 3 more trees to plant, but I just don't think I am going to get to them today. Michael, my step-brother, brought us 10 tulip trees that he dug up from his yard. Since we really like that kind of tree, it was a nice surprise to receive them. He says he has more when we are ready for them, but I just don't know where to put them, if he does bring us more.

I also have about 30+ daylillies to plant, 24 cannas, and 12 agapanthus. I am not sure where I am going to put them all, but I am going to try to get them all near where we have existing water lines. Granted, with our recent drought that we are having, there may not be any water to give these plants. Though, if I have to, I will stop the tub drain and save my shower water to give to the plants. And, on the days I don't work, I'll even give up showers to water the plants. As it is, we are using less water anyway, because mom gets her showers at the gym after she works out. Hmmm.... we could start using paper plates to reduce water usage, but that goes into paper use... Meh, screw the rest of the planet, I want water for my garden.

This all pales to the fact that I am now 3 weeks without hours at work with no explination. I am planning on calling the big boss to make an appointment to discuss why this is happening to me. Three weeks is just to long to go without hours. To top it off, my last check was only 4 hours. 4 hours isn't even enough money to cover gas, let alone any other living expenses. If it weren't such a small world, I'd go stand out on a corner somewhere with a cardboard sign. I've heard that they make nearly $700.00 a day just standing there. That just blows my mind.

A friend who is a security guard chased off 2 women who pulled their cardboard signs out of the back of a jaguar. He watched them go out near the corner of Hiltop and Cypress, then when someone started to give them money, he spoke up about their nice car. The charitable person suddenly wasn't so charitable and snatched their money back before driving away. When the girls became angry, he made them leave the premises. He saw them again later, but I don't remember the rest of the story. The point is, they were driving a 60k plus car. Holy Crappola!!!

I wonder if I drove down to Chico or someplace, if anyone would recognize me? Granted, in these economic times, I'm probably spend 30 in gas to get there and back, but only make 10 bucks. Though, I could make a photography trip out of it to help cut the cost. Go early in the morning, take my pix, then go find a corner to stand at that is far enough away from my car that I wouldn't get caught like those 2 girls did. My luck, I'd get arrested.

Sad Dragons are Done

2009-03-06T23:13:00.000-08:00

Yup, the Sad Dragon socks are done. Yay!! This is them on my new sock blockers after being washed. I can't wait until they are dry and I can wear them.

I've already cast on the next pair of socks. They are in the Woodsman colorway of a Knitpicks.com yarn called Imagination. These socks are for Ted. Once they are done, I will move on to Joshua's socks and if Cathy gets her tracing sent to me, I'll start hers after that.

My Sad Dragons

2009-03-05T12:33:00.001-08:00

So, here are the pix of my socks with the heel completed. Yay! I am so happy to be past that point.

I couldn't help myself, I had to put them on my sock blockers to see how they looked. I am so pleased with them now.

Finished the heels!

2009-03-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

Yes, the title says it all. I have finished the heels of my Sad Dragon socks. Now all I have is the leg portion and cuff. Yay!!! I'm more than half way done. Though, with these socks, I plan to make them taller than the first pair.

I haven't taken new photos yet. I plan to do that tomorrow in the daylight. Granted, there won't be that much more light since it will be cloudy and rainy, but it will be better than night time.

I'm really excited about nearing the end of these socks. They will be my second pair ever. And, they will not be my last. I am going to start Ted's socks right away after finishing these. I would like to think that if I really got going, I could knit a pair of socks a month.... I have more than enough sock yarn to knit a pair a month. As a matter of fact, I have enough to knit two pair a month.

Once Ted's socks are done, I plan to start Joshua's socks. Joshua's are going to be my first pair of socks with a bit of a pattern knit into them. I'm really excited about that. LOL!

Anyway, just wanted to post an update on the Sad Dragons.

Night.

BMFA Loot!

2009-03-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, here are my Blue Moon Fiber Arts: Socks That Rock purchases from Stitches West 2009. All the yarn is lightweight superwash merino.

This is Alley-oop. I really liked the way the yellow turns golden against the purples and blues of this yarn. This one was a second day purchase.

Bejewelled was also a second day purchase. I am so glad I got it. The first day it just didn't catch my eye because I was to annoyed that they didn't bring a bunch of colors that were on my shopping list. I got over that the second day.

Dragon Dance is a first day purchase. The reds and oranges really caught my eye. It was actually on my shopping list though. It is one of three that was on my list that they actually had there. Mind you, there were fifteen on the list that I wanted. No, I wasn't going to buy that many, but those were the ones that I wanted the most.

Jabberwocky could not be passed up on the second day. I've always liked the poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. So, it made sense that I'd want this yarn even if I already did like the colors.

Jubilation is one that Joshua picked for his choices for socks. I like it so much that I'm either going to have to buy a second hank of it, or I'm going to ask him if he'd rather I ordered Rauen which was his first choice, but they did not have it.

Lenore's photos just did not turn out well. Lenore is part of the Raven Clan series. She is over-dyed with black, so you can still see color showing through. I just have a hard time with dark colors and my photography. It didn't help that the lighting is bad and it was at night. I think I'll try to get better photos of her once the rain stops and the sun comes out.

Love, Love was a new color that they introduced for the month of February. I'd been eyeing it online all month. So, clearly this was a first day purchase as well.

If I'd had more money, I'm sure I would have bought a lot more from them, but I just couldn't do it. And, now that I've actually seen and touched what their yarn is like, I can order online and feel much better about it. I do plan to order more, but not until I can really afford to be paying $20.00 a hank. Granted, that one hank equals hours and hours of intertainment for me as I knit it, and the end result is a pair of socks that I can give away as a gift, or keep for myself.

Most of these hanks are for me, but Joshua gets Jubilation and I'm thinking about Bejewelled for mom.

Stitches West Booty!

2009-03-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

This is the yarn and extras that I brought home from Stitches West 2009. I don't know how I did it, but I stayed under budget, but only by a few bucks. I would have been over budget if Stacy had not paid for half the hotel and gas.

7 of the hanks of yarn are Blue Moon Fiber Arts: Socks that Rock. I am hoping that next year I will be able to afford more. Yes, I said more. At $20.00 a hank, I could only get 7 and that really is a lot, but I would have liked to have gotten more.

Though, now that I truly know what Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn is like, I can freely order it online without worry. So, maybe next year, I won't have to buy from Blue Moon Fiber Arts at all. That would actually mean that I'd be able to spend money on more of the indy dyers that were there.

2009-03-02T19:10:00.001-08:00

Well mom is home too now. So much for working on the photos of the yarn.

2009-03-02T17:36:00.000-08:00

When I got home today after visiting Walgreens and Petsmart, this is what was in my mail box. It is yarn that I had ordered from an Indy dyer just before leaving for Stitches West this last week.

The yarn was wrapped in silver with a pretty black and white ribbon. The back of the note had a personal message to me.

And this is what was inside the silver paper. The yarn is called Alice in Wonderland. It is inspired by the colors of Alice's dress and the black ribbon in her hair.

A look at the yarn with a white background. The silver paper gave it a slightly different look.

A much closer look reveals a saturated blue. It is a bit darker than Alice's dress really would be, but that is okay. I like it dark. Makes me think a bit about the Resident Evil series, since Alice is loosely based on the Alice in Wonderland's Alice.

One last shot of the yarn close up. I can't wait to knit something with this. It has to wait until I get Ted's, Joshua's and Cathy's socks done first though.

A bad day

2009-03-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

Today hasn't been a very good day for me. I am fluish and while at Petsmart, I saw a white boxer puppy. I've been crying off and on since.

I also went to Walgreens to pick up my prints of Jasmin. I had filled one of my memory cards to capacity, so I had them burn all the photos to cd for me. It is easier than burning them myself.

While at Walgreens, I found that the Easter stuff is already out. Found some Spiderman head eggs. Yes, I bought a package. The were only $1.99 and I wanted them. Did they make me feel better. For about 5 seconds.

When I got home, the mail had arrived and the Alice in Wonderland sock yarn came. Distracted me for a few minutes. Not long enough though. It sucks. I took some photos of it already, so I will upload them later. I also want to upload some of the Stitches photos too, so that will come later.

The thera flu is kicking in. Need to lay down.

God I'm tired!

2009-03-02T01:25:00.000-08:00

So, we got home last night in one piece. I'm exhausted, beaten and cranky. I was unfortunately cranky to Stacy. I feel really bad for it and hope that she can forgive me. I hate it when I'm cranky.

I have been cranky all day today. I've lost a long fight with my cell phone. I am going to have to ask for help at the Verizon store, but not until this exhaustion subsides. Don't want to be cranky with them at all.

I've posted pix of all the pretty yarns I bought. Stacy asked me if I had buyers remorse. No, no I don't, but I wish I hadn't spent so much money. One of the yarn's I bought, I kinda wish I hadn't, I like the photos I got from it, but I'm not sure I'm going to like knitting with it.

Well, I think I need to be in bed. I really should have gone to bed hours ago, but I'm just away. oh well.

2009-02-27T15:49:00.001-08:00

I am so pooped. Stitches West is amazing. We haven't finished yet. We have a little less than half to go. I am so ready for a nap.

2009-02-26T20:04:00.001-08:00

Okay testing the new phone. So far so good.

New Phone!!!!

2009-02-26T19:31:00.001-08:00

I got a new phone today. I got the Blackberry Storm. I am hoping that I will be able to learn how to use it quickly. I'll try to take a pic of it tomorrow once we are at Stitches and having fun. If not, once we are at the hotel and settled down for the night, I'll want to take pix of my purchases anyway.

Oh! My phone had full internet on it. Yes, that means my email and everything is on it. My poor thumb is never going to get better. Oh well, all for technology right?

Packing for Stitches West 2009

2009-02-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have begun to pack for tomorrow. Stacy and I are going to Stitches West in the morning. I am supposed to be at her house at 5:30 in the morning, so I have to be up at 4:45 am so that I can get showered and ready. It has been a very long time since I got up that early in the morning. Its gonna be rough. I'm gonna set the timer on my coffee pot, so I'll have fresh coffee when I'm ready to leave.

I've been trying to get the heel done on my Sad Dragon socks. not quite there. I want to have the heel done before I leave so that way I don't have to worry about working on it at stitches. I know, it sounds silly, but there is a reason for it. I have a very short attention span. I am afraid that if I don't have the heel done, I'll mess it up while I'm there.

On that note, I need to get moving.

2009-02-26T09:33:00.001-08:00

This is a test. Blogging via cell phone texting. That way, I can update from my phone from anywhere.

Dragon Tears Socks, yes Sad Dragons

2009-02-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

Well, here they are. My socks just before starting the heel. I have since started the heel gusset, so once that is done, I will post another photo. I'm trying to get the heel done this week so that I'll be past the heel at Stitches West 2009!!

Little knitting quiz

2009-02-24T09:57:00.001-08:00

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinet stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
Knitting to make money – anyway I tried to.
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Household items: dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...
knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars
Knitting items for a wedding
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
JewelryKnitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom – never again, the socks would have fit king kong
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Say it again

2009-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm saying it again... Stitches West 2009!!!!! Yay!!!!! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am. I know that Stacy is super excited too. This will be her first trip without Kyle and Sean both. Anyway, I think it is. I think she said something about that. Man, my memory and listening skills are down the drain right now.

I don't have Versatility or my Sad Dragon socks done. I wanted them done for Stitches, but it just isn't going to happen. Oh well.

At least I will get to go to Stitches this year. Unlike previous years.

On another note. Jasmin is home and recovering nicely from her surgery. She's been scratching at herself a lot lately, so today she got her first flea and tick collar. She's not happy about it, but she will get over it. I'm hoping that this will also prevent anyone from taking her. The last cat we had spayed vanished two weeks after the fact. She came back for about a day and then was gone. I think someone took her into their home, she got out for a day and then they managed to get her back in again. So, Jasmin is stuck in the house for the next 10 days to make sure she sticks around, and to give her shaved belly a chance to grow back so maybe the neighbors won't take her on us because they can see she's been spayed. Jerks!

And mentioning surgery, Ted's dad is recovering from foot surgery. They cut into one of his toes to reshape it and take off calcium, and another toe they broke it to reset it. He was developing hammer toes. OUCH!! Ted tells me that his dad is bored out of his mind and is stuck sitting in the recliner with nothing to do. Poor guy. I really feel for him, my first knee surgery left me in bed and bored for a long time. It stinks!

Well, I better get moving. I have to go down to our barn and try to find a rubbermaid tote that had a lot of my negatives in it. Joy!

Stitches West 2009!!!

2009-02-19T21:45:00.000-08:00

In one week, Stacy and I will be heading off to Stitches West 2009. I am so excited I can almost smell the yarns that I want to see. I can almost feel the yarn in my hands. I can also see a maxed out credit card. Oh well.

In preperation for the trip, I plan to start putting lotion on my hands and arms. I am suffering a bought of dry skin right now and I don't want to be touching yarn with my dry skin.

It looks like I might get my Sad Dragon socks done before Stitches, which would be really cool. That way I could start Ted's socks and have them on the needles while we are at Stitches.

Have I said how excited I am that we are going to Stitches West 2009? Oh... yeah, I guess I did. You see, I really wanted to go to Stitches West 2008, but I couldn't afford it back then at all. I was driving an explorer that only got 14 miles to the gallon and I didn't have a job, so I wouldn't have been able to buy any yarn anyway. So, this year Stitches West 2009 is actually a reality and I'm just so excited.

After Stacy and I get back from Stitches West 2009, I plan to start putting away $55.00 a month for Stitches West 2010. I want to be able to attend the full whammy. You see, Stitches West isn't just about yarn and shopping. There are knitting, crochet, spinning and weaving classes. There is a banquet and a fashion show. I want to do it all. Oh, and those that sign up for classes get to shop at Stitches a day early for a few hours. I have heard the vendors offer special discounts for those that are taking classes at Stitches West. I am a little bummed that Stacy and I could not afford to take classes this year, but maybe next. I know I am going to be planning for it.

So, Stitches West 2009 is really only exciting to those that love yarn and the craft of creating something from string.

Soooo, in honor of Stitches West 2009, I will give an 8x10 print of your choosing from my deviant art gallery to the first person to comment on this blog with the correct number of times I say "Stitches West 2009".

My Deviant art gallery is HERE. If you tell me how many times I've said Stitches West 2009 correctly I will send you a message asking for your mailing address so that I can send you a print.

Stitches West 2009 countdown.... 7 days 6 hours and 41 minutes..... Yay!!!

Where's the Knitting?

2009-02-19T13:33:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I haven't been blogging about my knitting lately. It has been more about my photography and personal life. Not that knitting isn't personal. It isn't a business, it is a hobby that I love. Plus, I'm able to give the finished product away as gifts. Mentioning gifts, I need to get started on Ted's socks soon.

I am still working on my Sad Dragon socks. They are coming right along, but because I've had a thumb bothering me for a few weeks, I stopped knitting for a couple days. It feels better today, so I am hoping that I will be able to knit comfortably at our knitting meeting today. I will be bringing my Sad Dragon socks with me. I would like to have them finished soon. Hopefully by the end of next week.

Versatility hasn't been touched much at all since I started it. I feel bad. I wanted it done, but again, my right thumb just didn't want to hold a needle let alone let me knit. Its been ugly.

Maybe I'll work on it tonight after the knit2gether meeting.

Photography Plug

2009-02-18T14:12:00.001-08:00

Patricia Graves's Content Producer Page - Associated Content

http://www.associatedcontent.comuser/431523/patricia_graves.html

Jasmin is at the Vet

2009-02-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

We took Jasmin to the vet this morning. She is getting spayed. The poor baby. She has been in heat for 4 days now. I thought it was supposed to be 2-3 days.

To top this off.... Spaying and Neutering does not control the feral population.

Okay, maybe I need to clarify that statement. It is not a statement I believe in, but one that the County Animal Shelter believes in.

Again, some clarification. Let me start this story at the beginning.

Several months ago I was walking around the side of our house to feed my horse Asahm. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small white ball of fluff dart behind our a/c unit. I knew mom was coming out, so I yelled for her to get a towel. She brought out a large beach towel which we were able to toss over the kitten. As mom tried to carry the ball of fluff into the house, she got scratched and bitten. We had caught one of the feral cats that live in our barn. I figure she was the last in a trail of kittens following their mother. When I came around the corner, I figure she was so scared she ran the wrong way.

We put her in the bathtub for the first couple days, she was so small she couldn't get out of it. Once she was bigger, Ted (gotta love Ted) brought a watermelon crate from work to put her in. We all worked with her to tame her. She has been an indoor kitty with daytime outdoor privledges for several months now. A few days ago, she started howling and rubbing her body all over the carpet, us, the walls, and the furniture. She even tried to get my neutered male cat Bubba to help her. Hahaha!!! Anyway....

So, yesterday, we went to the County Animal Shelter to get a coupon from them for $20.00 off the price for spaying a cat. When we got to talking with them, they tell us that spaying and neutering the feral cats does not help. That they have to be euthinized. This sucks. I want to know why they think that.... Well, really, we asked. They said that it is about more than the feral cats. It is about the wildlife populations, and that if you are feeding feral cats, if one of those feral cats bites someone, you are responsible for any medical bills that would come from it. Holy Crappola!

My stepdad feeds about a half a dozen feral cats or more. Each year there is a new litter. The mother cat that dominates the barn, runs off her previous years litter, but some of them try to stick around. Then we get the neighbor's cats coming around, and the neigbor's barn cats coming around. Oh and did I mention that people dump their unwanted cats out, out here?

Now, I'm sure you are wondering why we don't trap these cats and take them to the shelter. Well, three times we have set a trap, three times we have caught animals that were not cats. The first catch wasn't so bad, it was a raccoon. We were able to let him out pretty easily. The next catch, well that was a skunk. Yes, you read that right, we caught a big, mean and very angery skunk. We couldn't get near the trap without him spraying at us. We called animal control, they said let it out, or kill it. It took us a day or two, but we found someone to kill it for us. Just so you know, when skunks are killed, everything in their scent sacs releases when they die. It ruined our metal trap. When we bought a new one, we tried again, this time we set the trap in the barn where my step-dad feeds the cats. Yes, we caught another skunk. This one did not spray and we were able to let him out. No, we haven't tried to catch any of the cats since.

Okay.... I've lost track, what was I really talking about? Oh right, the whole euthanizing thing. I am so against this. If the cats have been spayed or neutered, what is the big deal? You are ending a cylce by preventing more cats, so once the altered cats die, that is the end, there won't be any more. I just can't see killing a cat once it is already there, especially if you are willing to take the time to alter it, feed it and take care of it.

At the shelter they said that Shasta County is having a "huge" stray cat problem, well gee, if it didn't cost so much to get your cat altered, there might not be a problem. So, I don't blame the owners nearly as much as the vets. If it was cheaper to get your cat altered, then maybe people could afford to get them altered. One of the ladies at the shelter even had the nerve to say that the girls need to be fixed before the boys. What the heck!?! I'm sorry, but it is equally important to get them all fixed. If you have a male cat, it is your duty to get him neutered. If he isn't neutered, then he is part of the feral cat problem. When he is outside, he can get to all the unspayed female feral cats. If you ask me, all males should be fixed first. Granted, I plan to get my girls taken care of first so that the neighbor's unaltered cats won't get to them. So, okay maybe I do see their point now. Until everyone gets their cats altered, we are stuck making sure the girls are taken care of first. Okay I get it. Until everyone gets on the wagon to alter their pets, we are stuck spaying the girls first. Although, if everyone altered all their pets, it wouldn't matter which order they were done in, because they would all be altered. Oh for a perfect world where everyone took care of their..... wait, wouldn't everyone take care of their responsability to their pets if it was cheaper?

Okay, that settles it, I blame the vetrinarians for our feral cat population. If they would lower their fees, we'd all get our cats altered and there would not be a problem. I give up and I'm sure you are tired of me rambling on.

Life is Crazy Sometimes

2009-02-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

I'm not joking, it really is crazy right now.

1. Someone from my best friend's past turned up and made some nasty comments. I'm not sure how this person found her again. I'm really afraid that she found her via me, but my friend is sure that is not how she did it. I still feel really bad. Its not right that this person has to go out of her way to be mean to my friend.

2. Stacy has purchased a domain name and purchased web hosting with which I will be sharing a part of the cost, so that I can also have my own domain name and site. I'm very excited about this, because it might actually drum up some business for me. I really need to start earning money. Though, with the weather that we are having, I wouldn't be able to do any quality shoots. Dang it!

3. My boyfriend is finally sending signals I can understand. You see, he is not an affectionate man. He doesn't hold hands, doesn't kiss much, nadda. So, when he attempted to show affection Saturday after our Valentines meal, it surprised me a lot. But, because of this, I have a better understanding of some of the things he has said and done lately.

You see, a couple weeks ago, he took me with him to look at houses and seemed to want my opinion. We spoke mostly in terms of "his" house, but every now and then it seemed like he was saying "our" home. I brushed it off, but now I'm not sure. There have been other things that he has said and done that make me wonder.

When we first started hanging out again, we did have a long discussion about what we thought went wrong with our relationship in the past and we came to similar conclusions and ideas. We agreed that some of our problems came from being only children and not being taught to share even when we didn't want to share. We just didn't have to. We also both realized that we each like a certain amount of alone time and in the past, we tended to not leave room for that. Now that we know what we were doing wrong, and both understand that it isn't because we don't love each other, it seems like maybe this time it will work. Now I'm sure you all are asking, does she love this guy, she doesn't talk like she does. Well, to be honest, I've always loved him. I just thought that I couldn't have him and I couldn't understand why. Now I get what was going on.

You see, he was adopted. He has fear of commitment issues. It isn't that he cannot commit, it is that he thinks no one else can. So, no matter how many times I tell him I love him, he thinks that it is only a matter of time before I leave him. To bad we didn't figure this out years ago, maybe we would have stayed together and a few of the things that have happened to me, would not. Hindsight is always 20/20 though.

4. Work has cut my hours down to 4 a week. If that isn't a sign that they want to be rid of me, I don't know what is. Anyway, so I have been applying for other work, but so far I have not been successful. Two of the jobs are still listed, so I don't think they've started interviews yet. I'm hoping they will call this week or next. I would like to start a new job soon, or know that another job is there for me. Then I can quit the one I've got without worries.

So, my life is kinda odd right now. Haven't a clue why, but it is. That's okay though. We learn from diversity right?

Whirligig

2009-02-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

Today, as I watched Stacy's son while she was getting a hair cut, I thought of a word that isn't used so often anymore. Whirligig. Now, why do you suppose we don't use that word anymore? I love the way it sounds. Maybe it is because things aren't made with gears and dials anymore. Steam isn't used to power things much either. Maybe too, this is why I am so fascinated with Steam Punk. Not to many people like Steam Punk around here though, so I don't get to see to much of it. Just online.

The new Interweave Press Knits magazine came in the mail today. There are a couple patterns that I'd like to try. We shall see.

I haven't gotten very far in my latest knitting projects. I worked on the socks at the knitting meeting yesterday, but I haven't been working on Versatility. I need to get it done before Stitches. I want to get buttons for it at Stitches. I know, that sounds crazy, but there is going to be a button dealer at Stitches and since I need 16 shank buttons for it, I want to be able to get them there. I am hoping to find something that looks steam punk, but not over the top. And.... there we are, back to whirligig.

Trying to be a photographer is hard business

2009-02-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

I have two cites I should share with you all.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/431523/patricia_graves.html
This one is kinda weird. They claim to advertise your work and you get paid for a certain amount of clicks/views of your work. So, if you could please pay me a visit over there and look at all the photos, I'd greatly appreciate it.

http://photogirl72.deviantart.com/gallery/
This one is my deviant art account. You can order prints of my work through this cite, but if you email me, I can give you a much better price. The cite gets a huge commission from the sales, so if you want something let me know instead.

On another note, I have been working on my second pair of socks. They are coming along a lot better than the first pair. Once I finish them, I am going to start Ted's new pair. Then once I get Cathy's tracing, I'll start her's. She'll really like the color I got for her.

I've posted a question on ravelry about a scarf called versatility. I'm hoping someone will answer soon. You see, in the pattern, it talks about the main scarf and then to enlarge the end product there is a "panel" that you knit, but the instructions do not tell you how to attach it.

What the heck?!?!

2009-02-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm not sure what the heck is going on. Yesterday I was a happy clam hanging out with Ted. We went and looked at manufactured homes, then we drove up to Shasta Dam to look at the water levels. That was very ugly. The water is scary low. I know people around here are freaking out about where our water is going to come from, but they have all forgotten that we do not own Shasta Lake, we just get to use it for recreation.

We also went to see a friend of the family. Chatted with him for an hour before going to dinner. He paid this time, it was a good dinner, but my tummy was very unhappy. After dinner, we went back to his house and stared at his new fish for a long time. We watched a DVD with his parents called Hancock. I liked it, but I think I would have liked it better in the theater.

Anyway, I got a full day of mixed signals. What is it with me and men who give mixed signals? So, either the full day of the crap, or the rain today has brought me into a bought of depression. I did a quite a bit of crying last night too, so I just don't know what the heck is going on. Maybe it is about to be that time of the month?

I've really had enough of men. I do not mean to say that I am going to switch, but I'm just not looking to be with anyone anymore. I'll just be the crazy cat lady. And the crazy dog lady who knits for everyone even when they don't appreciate it.

Mentioning knitting, I got the toes started on my next pair of socks. I'll take a couple pix today and post them. Ted also let me trace his foot and measure the circumference of his foot as well. I'll be able to knit a better pair of socks for him. Funny, someone who can incite so much confusion in me also gets socks from me. Odd!

First Pair of Socks and another

2009-02-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

So, I've finished my first pair of socks. Yes, that is them on my feet. Yay! There are some mistakes, all are learning curve mistakes, so the next pair of socks should be just fine.

Mentioning next pair of socks... This is the yarn I will be using. It is from and indy dyer called YarnChef. The colorway is called Dragon's Tears. After these socks, I plan to knit my mom a pair and a few of my friends. So, if you want socks from me, you need to trace your foot, and mark where your ankle bone is. Also, measure the cercumferance of the ball of your foot. That way they won't be to tight around your foot.

Photography vs. Knitting

2009-02-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

http://photogirl72.deviantart.com/

Yes, that link up there means that I have started a deviant art account. I am going to try to start getting my name out there. My plan....

1. Take the day tomorrow to photograph things around town.
2. Every day that I do not work at the hotel, I will upload at least one new photo.
3. At least 3 times a week, I will go out and take photos.
4. I will not allow myself to knit unless I have completed above tasks first.
5. I will post to deviant art, before flickr, twitter, plurk, ravelry, or this blog.
6. I will post to deviant art before working on my "Wreck This Journal."

On the knitting note, I am on the rib cuff section of my socks. I am hoping that I can finish them tonight, but I don't know. If I don't finish them today, then I will tomorrow after I go out to take some pix. No, I haven't taken a new pic of the socks, but I will just as soon as I finish them.

Not a lot going on

2009-01-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to say today. I'm tired. Did some yard work. I planted one of the two lilac bushes we bought, mowed part of the field and that is about all.

Anyway, I have knit2gether tomorrow, that should brighten my day. I like hanging out with Stacy and the others. Hell, I really have found that I like hanging out with Stacy and Kyle. Even Sean. Sean can be acting up and I still like the little booger. It has to be because he's so freaking cute and sweet when he's being good. LOL!

I never thought I'd find someone that I could call my best friend like Cathy. When Cathy moved away, my list of friends became incredibly short. You might be thinking... how can one person make that big of a difference, but it is because at the time, I only had one best friend and she was it. Now I have two best friends. Cathy and Stacy. I wish I could see Cathy even half as much as I get to see Stacy, but she lives in a totally different state now. It so SUCKS!!

Anyway, I haven't had a local best friend since. I've had some relatively close friends, but not like Cathy and Stacy. Thank you Stacy for asking me to come to a knitting group, or rather restarting yours. LOL!

Okay.... I'm wathcing 16 Candles right now. Man I loved that movie back in the day.

My Rockstar Socks!

2009-01-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

Well, this is where I was at last week. I'm a little further now that Stacy got me into the heel. I can't wait until they are done!!!

And here they are on my feet the same day. This was the same day I went to Stacy's to get my lesson on turning the heel. Thank you Stacy!!!!

I am very excited about these socks. I am totally addicted to sock yarn now. LOL!

Blackberry Vodka

2009-01-21T10:32:00.001-08:00

So, I'm making more vodka. Well, actually, I buy the vodka and add fruit to it, so I'm not really making vodka, the vodka is already made. Last time I made it with Raspberries, this time... Blackberries! This batch is Joshua's very late Christmas gift.

This is what the Vodka looks like after I've given it a shake. I am supposed to gently shake it every week until it is time to strain the fruit out. I don't drink Vodka, to me it tastes and smells like rubbing alcohol. I know, it isn't supposed to be that way, but every brand that I've tried has been the same.

Since I am going to Santa Clara at the end of February, I am hoping that Joshua will be able to meet us on the way down or on the way home so that I can give it to him.

Knitting Socks

2009-01-14T13:45:00.001-08:00

A side view of my socks. These are going faster than I thought they would. I will never try to knit socks one at a time ever again. These are going row by row at the same time on the same needles. Much better.

The yarn that I am using for these socks was the sock blank I ordered from knitpicks.com. Then at a dye party with Stacy, I dyed the bare yarn to these colors. It was a lot of fun and I have actually bought another blank so that Stacy and I can have another dye party. But, we are going to Stitches West first.

After Stitches West, I want to order a couple more sock blanks so that I can dye more than one. I have plans for socks.... So, for those that want socks from me, you need to stand on a peice of paper large enough to trace around your foot and then draw a line across the spot where the front of your leg meets the top of your foot. Cathy, this is a hint for you. LOL!

I forgot to mention....

2009-01-08T04:42:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention that I am going to.......

Stitches West!!!!!

Stacy and I are in agreement. I've made the reservations for the hotel, we are going!!!!!! And, it all started with her saying just a few words and finding out that we could manage to go on the cheap.

It has been to long

2009-01-08T02:03:00.000-08:00

So, where do I begin?

First, Tyler, our beloved boxer passed away this year. Actually, I should say last year. We said good-bye to Tyler two weeks before Christmas.

Oddly enough, I bought a new car the very next weekend. I wish he could have gone for at least one ride in it before leaving us, but clearly it was not meant to be.

Also, I have been knitting frantically, trying to finish some last minute gifts. Granted, what I am working on now is not a gift, but I plan to finish it soon, and go back to gifts. I have last years gifts to finish up and I want to start this years gifts before Summer.

This weekend I find myself photographing a 50th wedding anniversary party. I have never liked doing events even though I do tend to do well at them. I'm just not a social person and I have trouble selling myself as a photographer. I know at least one of my readers will start screaming at me for this because she has a wall full of my work that is beautiful. I don't know why I am so hard on myself.

To be totally honest, I prefer taking pictures of animals and mountains, not people. My people shots tend to look like candid photos not very portraity. They want me to take pictures of the couples as they enter the building. I am so afraid that they are going to look like DMV mug shots. I am going to go do some practice shots tomorrow and put bits of tape on the floor to mark where I want my tripod to stand when we come back the next day.

I haven't asked, but I plan to discuss having a very small table set up nearby with a digital frame with some of my work flashing away. I also want to have a small stack of my business cards there as well. I didn't list it on Stacy's blog, but one of my New Years life changes is to start selling myself as a photographer no matter how much I hate it. I have to get started. It is time to grow up and be the photographer I've always wanted to be.

So, instead of knitting like I'd planned while I am sitting here at work, I am busily setting up what photos I want to put in the frame. I also thought about bringing one of my portfolios, but that is mostly art photos and they aren't the kind of photos you bring to a 50th anniversary. My damn fetish for cemeteries just backfired on me. Damn it!!!

I do want to start building a better portfolio, one that regular people would be more interested in. So, another goal for this year.

Well, I need to get back to sorting my photos, lates.

Dating and whatnot

2008-11-19T03:46:00.000-08:00

Well, Ted and I went to see the new 007 movie. It was actually really good, but I found that the ending seemed to be unfinished. I liked it though.

After the movie, we had dinner at Logan's. Yum! Love steak. Then we just hung out for a few hours. He invited me to go to Reno with him to visit with friends, but I had to decline. I am sitting here at work now wishing I was there in Reno with him. They really aren't in Reno, they are in a small town just east of there, but I can't remember the name of it.

We went to Petsmart as well. I needed to pick up a food/feeder for Jasmin. While I am house/dog sitting for the next month, I can't go home to give her fresh food every day, so to save mom from having to do it, I got a dispenser for her to use.

It was hard to say goodnight at the end of the night. I like being with Ted a lot. He's always been a good friend and a good boyfriend. Don't know what we are now. Somewhere in between maybe?

The cold weather has been really hard on me this season. My knee is killing me and it has taxed my other knee, so now both hurt pretty badly.

Well, gotta run and get some work done.

More photos to share....

2008-11-13T01:08:00.001-08:00

This is the first animal photo I took with the new camera. Bubba was just sitting in the front yard in front of one of the lavender shrubs. He picks the most bizarre places to nap. Silly cat. Cathy... remember the tiny scrawny cat in the carrier when I left OK? Well, this is him now.

This is Jasmin, but we are thinking she is a he, so we are just calling it Jazz for now. I think she/he is starting kitty puberty so we should know the actual sex soon. I really was hoping it was a girl, but I have a feeling its a boy. It even looks like a boy now....

Emma curls up into the tiniest balls I have ever seen. She looks like a little dog in this photo, but really she is a big coonhound. She only curls up like this when I don't build a fire for a day and let the house get a little chilly. Normally she stretches out to hog the whole bed. Granted, if you try to get in the bed with her, she stands up, looks offended and jumps down to go sleep on a couch in the living room.

Same dog, Emma. She is starting to show grey around the face. I am a little worried about her. Her owners tell me that she has cancer and it is only a matter of time. I pray that she doesn't go on my watch. I don't want to have to call them with the bad news and I don't want to see it. It will be hard enough with my own dog, let alone a dog I sit for and have become attached to.

And, here is Charlie I'm A Girl, known to most as just Charlie. This beautiful chocolate lab likes to follow other dogs outside and eat their fresh warm poop. And yes, she will then come in the house and burp in your face if you let her. Vile, disgusting dog. Oh and heaven forbid she get excited after eating the poop buffet, she will vomit. So freaking gross.

This is the bloom of Oak Root Fungus. Yes, basically they are mushrooms. Really, mushrooms are the bloom of the fungus that is growing under the ground. Anyway, the sky was really overcast and it had been raining off and on all the day before. I am not sure that I like the focus range of this photo. I am hoping that the fungus will still be there when I go house/dog sit this weekend. I want to bring my tripod and try to play with the apertures and stuff. I personally like a broad focal point so that everything in the photo is in focus to the eye, but for some reason the automatic settings on this new camera just don't allow for that unless you don't use the flash. This really bugs me to no end. There is no reason why I shouldn't be able to have total focus and still use the flash. This is going to bug me until I figure out how to adjust the settings.

My friend in Oklahoma is doing some faux stained glass painting. So far, what she has done is amazing. If you go to my profile page she is Questionably Worthwhile. Anyway, she has some pix posted of her work. You will see that she has a ton of talent in the horse department. I can't wait to see what else she comes up with.

My other friend has been feeling the need to clean and purge her home. I totally sympathize. I have a storage shed and a house full of stuff. I really need to roll up my sleeves and do some heavy cleaning and purging myself.

Well, I need to be working on my 3500 words for today, so I'm done gabbing for now.

To much to talk about

2008-11-12T05:21:00.000-08:00

I just have to much to say today and to little time. My shift is almost over. Just an hour to go. Yay!!! I am really tired today. Didn't sleep well yesterday. Go figure! I finally checked my voicemail though. I had 12 freaking messages. Holy cell phone Batman!

These are the cameras that I am retiring. The lenses on the left actually fit the new camera so they show up again in the next pic.

And, this is the new camera. Yes, that is the lens from one of the older cameras on it. The lens on the right is the one that actually came with the camera. I have finally made it to the digital era. And, not just the point and shoot variety. Yay!!!!

I've already taken quite a few photos with it. Very happy! I haven't played around with the settings that much, but I'm getting there. I am going to practice with it this weekend while sitting the doggies. I'm hoping I can get Bart out of his shell and take some pix of him. He's a cute, but very scared chihuahua that will actually bite if he doesn't trust you. Apparently I lost his trust this last time, but he hadn't seen me in a while and I don't think he was expecting me to not let him have the run of the house. Poor little guy. Anyway, he's a cute dog, just needs a ton of love.

I also want to try to get some good pix of the doe and her twins this time. She will come up to me and let me pet her, but her twins are very skittish, which is a very good thing.

Ted called and said that he got his deer tag and his antelope tag filled. I don't know if he is back yet or not though. I'll have to call him tonight and see.

NaNoWriMo is kicking my butt hard. I now have to write 3500 words a day to stay on track. Sucks to be me. I'm hoping to change that this weekend while I am dog sitting. I think I can crank out 5k words a day while there, that will reduce my overall load.

Well, I need to get off the computer, I'll write more and share more tonight.

NaNoWriMo

2008-10-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again.... Yes, it is time for NaNoWriMo. Am I excited? Yes, I am. Will I finish this year just as I finished last year? Yes I will. 50,000 words in 30 days. It can be done. It is only 1667 words a day. Yes, I can do that. I did it last year.

I am still writing on the same novel. It will be truly finished with this nano effort. Yay!!!!

After it is complete I am going to have it self published via lulu.com and send a copy to Cathy to have her start the editing process. From her it will be sent to Joshua and then my friends, Stacy and Kyle will be able to get there hands on it. I am so excited that I have such good friends that are willing to do this for me. I promise guys, there will be a thank you in the book and stuff. You will be thought of as I finish this novel and when it is finally published, you guys will get your own first additions.

I am still mourning giving up Asahm. I hated to do it, but at the same time I do feel freer than I was. I don't have to worry about who is going to feed him when I am to sick to get out of bed or when I've stayed out to late.

Next weekend I am getting a new camera. I am tired of the stupid point and shoot camera that I've been suffering with. I am a photographer for crying out loud! So, I am getting a digital SLR that I can actually use my old lenses with. Yes, you read that right. The lenses that I have for my old 35 mm SLR will fit on this camera. Yay! This gives me two months to learn the ins and outs of a new camera before I have to do a shoot for a wedding anniversary party in January. I am also supposed to be doing a shoot at the end of November, but that one is for my own benefit and Ted's. It will also help me to get used to the camera before January.

Funny how life tends to run in circles. At one time many years ago, I wanted to write, then I wanted to be a photographer, then I wanted to combine the two and have a book of poetry with my photos. As I sit here I think about that and wonder if my life is leading me to finishing that original plan.

So..... suddenly my priorities are changing.

well....

2008-09-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

My xbox 360 still isn't here!!!! I ordered it on the 22nd of August and it still isn't here! I ordered it from a seller on Amazon.com. I only got standard shipping because I'm cheap, so they have until the 16th of September to get it here. I am so not happy. Amazon says that I have to wait 3 days after that to file my claim against the seller. Ugh! I have sent 10 emails to the seller now. He said he would send me a tracking number on the 26th, but he never did. I've been sending him emails, almost daily since then and not one single reply.

I want my xbox!

Our kitchen is progressing though. The countertops will be in on Wednesday and the appliances soon after. So exciting to have a kitchen again. We also bought a huge, huge, huge bbq. Granted, that thing has its own story to tell, but not today. Living through it yesterday was bad enough.

Friday night I went to scarletpurl's house and we played on her xbox 360 until 3:30 am. She was so tired by the time I left. Poor baby. We were playing Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise. Such a great game. I have my own xbox live user account too. It is Browncoat72. Someone already had the plain Browncoat. Yes, I tried.

On Satureday, we spent 3 hours at the skate park. My cousin's oldest son had a compitition. He did alright. He doesn't like the Redding park that well, so it is hard for him to adjust. He says he will do better at the Anderson park, so we shall see. LOL!

I've been slacking in the knitting department. I'm pretty tired of Ted's socks. Don't want to work on them any more at all. I really need to be working on them now really. I even took the them with me to scarletpurl's house. Did I work on them... nope.

A new Kitchen for Us!!! Woot!

2008-08-30T17:59:00.001-07:00

Our new cabinets!!! They are far lighter than what we had before. We went with a light oak. Real oak, not that cheap pressed wood crap. The wall you see on the left didn't have any cabinets, and the fridge was at the end of that wall where you can see the side of what is now a pantry. In the center is an island that will be 4x4 ft when the counters are on with space to eat sitting on short bar stools. The empty space you see in the back is where the stove and microwave hood will be.

The new tile going down on our kitchen floor is travertine. It is a stone, but I have no idea where it comes from, or anything. Okay, now I've looked it up. A decade ago, Italy had a monopoly on travertine sales, but now it is coming from Turkey, Mexico, Peru and the USA. It is a calcium carbonate deposit from water. I love wikipedia!!!

Ho Hum

2008-08-27T02:29:00.000-07:00

So, I'm at work. I have half the audit done. I realized after I'd already closed that section out and cannot go back, that I used the previous days numbers not todays. Arg! I wish that I had the passwords to go back and do a redo! They should give the auditors those passwords. Seriously!!!

I hope it doesn't mess up the home office part of the audit, but I think it will. Oh well. Its my mess up, I'll just have to let the gm know about it, so it can be dealt with.

I haven't been doing any knitting, writing or much of anything. Mostly I've been dinking around on the net and sleeping. I feel so tired all the time. I think it is mostly because working two graveyard shifts and then the rest of the week I am a day time person, it throws my system off really badly.

My cousin Jeron tells me that he got a sponsorship for his skateboarding. I'm very proud of the little booger!!! He's 12 years old and really seems to like skating. Who knows, maybe he will be the next skateboarding star!

The 1st paycheck!

2008-08-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've pretty much already spent my first paycheck! Damn it!!!!

I've paid a bill, smog check, auto reg and......

I ordered an Xbox 360 with a 20gig harddrive!!!!

Yes, that is a video game console! I haven't had a new one of those in a long time. I still have my first generation playstation 2. You know, the fat one.

I also ordered Viva Pinata as my first game.

I can't wait til they get here!!!!!

Working graveyard after a funeral

2008-08-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

Well, at 2:00 pm today was the funeral/burial of my uncle Jack. He was 85 years old. There was an honor guard and they did the gun salute with a trumpet playing taps. I bawled my eyes out.

I tried to get some sleep afterwards, but it just didn't happen very well. I ended up going to work in the same clothes I went to the funeral in. It was odd.

Work was okay, but I still can't get the audit to balance. I just don't get it. Even with other people helping it isn't balancing, so I know that it isn't me, but still it looks bad. Granted, it is only my third week and not all of my time has been spent working on the audit stuff. I hope it gets better soon.

Big news

2008-07-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have big news. Katrina, Asahm's previous owner will be taking him back this Fall. I am taking the Brothers Poo to Joshua's mom. That means I'll only have my fish, Tyler, and my 2 cats, Bubba and Jasmin. Talk about downsizing my herd.

I am going to Stacy's house tomorrow to do some dyeing of yarn. She ordered sock blanks from knitpicks.com. One is for me, for my birthday. Yay! I am so excited. It will be really fun to see what we come up with. Thank you Stacy for opening your home to us, to do this. Just remember it was your idea to do this. ;)

I talked to Mr. D about his socks. He thought where I was at looked good. He also thinks they are going to fit. Later, I am going to make him try the sock on to make sure.

Ravelry.com the knitting forum I visit a lot, well, practically live on is doing Ravelympics. It is where you start a knitting project during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and then you have to finish the project by the end of the closing ceremonies. I am entered into 3 different events. I have the Hat Dash where I will be making the Jayne Cobb hat from Firefly; WIP Wrestling where I will be finishing my Hermione hat I started last year and never finished and the Caribbean Clapotis I started a month ago; finally I am in Pets pommel horse where I will be making some felted toys for Jasmin. It sounds like I have planned a lot, but the felted toys will take less than a day and if I knuckled down, the Hermione hat could be finished in a day. That leaves the Jayne hat and the Caribbean Clapotis to finish by the end. I'm not sure if I can do it, but I'll try.

I will knit

2008-07-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, when the mail came today, I was not expecting to have a package in the mail. It was from Yarnchef. It came in a white safety envelope with this inside.

Note, it looks like food wrapped up to go.

This is so amazing! Not only did I get some amazingly beautiful sock yarn, but she sent a recipe card, a stitch marker, a sample of another of her yarns and her business card. Just WOW!

I am so excited about this yarn. It think it will make a really pretty set of socks. I have to finish Mr.D's socks first, and all the Ravelympics projects I will be doing during the Olympics. One of those is my Caribbean Clapotis. I want it done!

Video games and knitting

2008-07-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

So, mom and I went to see Hermin's Hermits last night. They were fantastic even if the audience wasn't.

I brought along my knitting. Mr.D's socks are growing slowly. I did get some done last night, but they dimmed the lights so low during the show that I couldn't see to knit much during performance time.

When I went to Hailey's dads house to sit her, we sat and talked until he left for work. Then Hailey and I played on the computer until 1:00 am. Man was she tired. LOL!

I'm home now and playing two games on myspace. (Myspace is the Devil) I have been playing Mobsters and Heroes like crazy. Even to the point of not getting much knitting done. Dang it!

Herman's Hermits

2008-07-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

I won tickets to see Herman's Hermits tonight. Yay!

I also have to sit Hailey tonight and the following 2 nights. Her dad works graveyard at the hospital and couldn't get the entire month off.

I plan to bring Mr.D's socks with me to work on. I'm also going to bring some roving to felt some cat toys.

The scarf

2008-07-21T14:07:00.001-07:00

I've frogged the first scarf I was knitting for Cathy and I've started this one. You may think they look the same, but instead of having 3 cables, it now only had 2. I felt the 3 cabled one was just going to be to wide to be comfortable for Cathy. And, right now, she needs a scarf that is going to be cozy, comfortable, comforting... Well, you get the picture. LOL!

I keep looking at my Seascape stole, but I can't get Jasmin to leave me alone if I'm working on it, so I'm just going to try to get this scarf done and then move on to MrD's socks. I already said that, didn't I? Oh well.

I've been listening to Lime n Violet's old podcasts. Just love those girls. I've also been listening to Emmylou Harris. I've always loved her voice, but never bought a cd. Well, my good friend Sonya sent me Wrecking Ball. It is from 1995 and I've wanted it since then, just never managed to get it. Thanks to Sonya, I now have it, and I've put it in the itunes, so I don't have to worry about scratching the cd, ever. lol.

Anyway...

Its Done!!!!!!

2008-07-21T08:57:00.001-07:00

So, I finally knuckled down and finished Ande's Laptop Case. I really, really hope she likes it.

I have started working on Cathy's cabled scarf again. I want her scarf to be the next thing that I finish then Mr.D's socks. Her birthday comes up before his first cold weather hunting trip, so I am hoping that I've made the right choice. Cathy's scarf shouldn't take that long though. She isn't asking for a great big long thing, so all is good. Granted, I'm having to modify the pattern a little, so I may be making it more complicated than it needs to be. We shall see.

Jasmin keeps attacking my Seascape knitting, so I am going to put it away and only work on it during the Knit2gether meetings.

It's almost finished!!!!!

2008-07-20T15:52:00.001-07:00

Well, this is Ande's nearly finished Laptop Case. I've stitched up the side and bottom, so from here I just needed to toss it in the washer with hot water and shoes. Which I've actually done already. The bag is outside drying as I write this.

Knitting and more remodel madness

2008-07-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I went to my Knit2gether meeting yesterday. I stopped by Stacy's house to loan her my ball winder.

Argh!!! I just got one of those phone calls, you know, the one about my auto warranty expiring?!?!?! OMG! The guy had the nerve to ask me what year my car was, I said I wanted the harassing calls to stop because they have been coming twice a week and that I didn't think he could help me since my two cars are a 97 and an 89. He totally ignored the harassing call part and asked, "So, you don't want a warranty for your 97?" WTF?!?! So, I said, no, its an eleven year old car, I just want my number taken off the calling list and my address off the mailing list and I hung up. Talk about totally ignoring me.

Okay, back to knitting.

I talked with Stacy and her husband Kyle for a few minutes, I think I spaced off on them a couple times. I never realized how short Stacy was. She said she was 5'1" I think, but I guess I just didn't believe her. LOL! Sean, their son is absolutely adorable. I'm pretty sure he knows it too.

I got to Yaks Koffee early even with standing around talking with them for a bit. I set up my laptop and knitting before ordering Quiche Loraine and a cherry lemon aid. A half our after the normal start time Kerry came in. She has had a very rough couple weeks and hasn't been able to come.

We talked and she caught me up with everything that had been going on. The poor thing. Her Abyssinian kitty had 4 kittens after a $1000 vet bill. 3 of the 4 had to be c-sectioned out. The poor kitty. Turns out, her hips were just to narrow to have kittens. All the kittens are fine now and she is a good momma.

We talked and knit for quite a long time when I realized it was after 7pm and the newbie had not shown up yet. Don't know what is up with that, but anyway. Kelly and I left at 8 something, and I tried out my new handsfree device on the way home. It works better than the ear-piece I had before. It hangs from my visor instead of my ear. I don't know if I like it or not still, but it is better than the one Verizon Wireless sold me months ago.

While talking with Kelly, I worked on my Seascape stole. It was the first time I had worked on it since last weeks meeting. I think it has become my meeting knitting because I just have to many things that I need to work in instead of it. I haven't finished the pink laptop case for Ande yet. I can only seem to get a couple inches done a day and yesterday, I didn't work on it at all. If I knuckled down, I could probably finish it today, but I don't know. It doesn't help that Jasmin grabs the yarn all the time and wants to play.

I've decided that I am going to frog Cathy's scarf and start over. I found a pattern that is very similar to the one I was using, but it is narrower and looks just a bit better. I think she will be happier with it in the end.

Ted's socks.... I haven't touched them in ages. I want to finish Cathy's scarf first, then I will work on his socks. Joshua bought me a chart that tells me in inches how much knitting I have to do for each shoe size imaginable, so things are going to go much smoother now. Yay!!! Thank you Joshua!!!!

Stacy bought a sock/yarn blank for my birthday!!! We are going to have a yarn dying party soon, so that will be fun!!!

Not much else to say, I'm being kicked off the computer by mom. We still only have internet on one computer, so I'm stuck.

Hi ho, hi ho, off to knit I go....

2008-07-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

So, this is my progress so far with Ande's laptop case. Yes it looks really wide, but it will be folded in half and sewn together. Then it will be felted which makes it shrink by about 1/3rd. I am really dreading working on this thing today. I still need to add about 8 inches to it before I can sew it up. I wanted it finished yesterday, but I just couldn't bring myself to work on it more than a few minutes at a time. Oh well.

I also have found that I keep thinking about working on my Seascape Stole and the Caribbean Clapotis. I haven't worked on either in a week. Bummer.

Ted's socks haven't been touched in several weeks. I just need to get Ande's case done. I think once it is done, I will be more inclined to work on the socks.

I knit, therefore.....

2008-07-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't been working on to much knitting this weekend. We've gutted our kitchen and we had tickets to Dancing with the Stars Shasta County style. My nephew was one of the professional dancers. He lost, but not by any fault of his own. The star he got though a fantastic writer, made herself not so well liked and lost her column for the paper over it. I personally loved her, but things happen.

Anyway, so today I picked up my needles and continued my work on Ande's pink laptop case. I've put two sets of stripes in it to try to break up some of the pink, but the pink yarn is killing me. Not only is the yarn a dreadful shade of hot pink, but the yarn itself is very rough. I'd hate to have someone make any kind of clothing out of this yarn. It sucks. So, I'm just a little past the halfway mark.

I'm now watching old episodes of West Wing from the first season. We have all the seasons on DVD, but I like the first two seasons best.

Seascape and the dang case

2008-07-10T14:51:00.001-07:00

So, this is the update. I've gotten a few more rows done. The kitten really keeps me from getting much knitting done. The stinker! Mentioning Jasmin, I hear her crying, she wants to be walked to this room. She is so afraid of Tyler, my boxer that she won't go from room to room by herself. It doesn't help that he likes to plant himself in the doorways so she would have to get really close to him to leave the room. Poor kitty.

I've been only doing a couple rows of this stole at a time and then going back to Ande's laptop case. I am so sick of her case, I don't want to work on it anymore, but she knows I'm making it and she needs it.

Plurking it baby!

2008-07-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

http://plurk.com/redeemByURL?from_uid=2765035&check=-858943374&s=1

I have been bitten by the Plurk bug! It is a cool timeline based chat blog thingy!

Whales Road Seascape and the forgotten Case

2008-07-09T09:10:00.001-07:00

I know it doesn't look like much, but that is the beginnings of the Seascape Stole designed by Kieran Foley. This is my second attempt at this stole. My first one was in red yarn that just didn't go with the pattern. Also, I had misread the chart a bit and since Kieran himself was kind enough to let us in the ravelry group know how the stitches were really supposed to be, I am knitting it the right way this time with an wonderful yarn. Malabrigo Lace 100% baby Merino. The colorway is called Whales Road, that is why I've named this stole Whales Road Seascape. I know, not very imaginative of me.

I am going to try to get 10 rows of the stole done today, then go back to working on Ande's Laptop case. I am so sick of it.... I think it is the pink making me crazy. I've never really been that big of a fan of pink, and this thing is pretty obnoxious.

My Caribbean Claoptis is calling my name as well, but I have told myself that I cannot work on it at all until Ande's case is done! Plus, I still have Ted's socks to work on. Oh geez, no wonder I never get anything done!

Ande's Laptop Case...

2008-07-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I've managed to get a little further on the laptop case. I've also added a trapped stripe to it, just so it isn't so plain. I'm thinking about adding another one so that there will be one stripe set on each side of the bag. This bag is just like the case I made for Samira, the stripes are vertical. So, really you are looking at this bag sideways. lol.

Malabrigo Yarn

2008-07-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

OMG!!! My yarn I ordered to knit the Seascape stole came in the mail today! Squeeeee!!!!!!!!!

This is Malabrigo Lace in Whales Road. Isn't it purdy???

I can't wait to get started on knitting Seascape with this!!! it is gonna be so pretty!

Knitting and a gutted kitchen

2008-07-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

I am so tired of Ande's laptop case. It is solid pink and boring.... I am only about 1/8 of the way done. Grrrr!

On an exciting, OMG note. Our kitchen was gutted today. Our oven, stove, dishwasher and all of the cabinets are gone. Mom and I will be going to pick flooring tomorrow. Unfortunately we will be getting linoleum. We wanted tile, but because we have a raised floor, the tiles cannot flex with the subfloor and will crack. Anyway, that is what we have been told. One of my projects for tomorrow is to call Tile City and find out. The more we talk about it, the more we want tile, we just don't know if we can have it or not.

Also, I have to make a few other calls. Joy.

Jasmin is still so small and light that when she stood on Samira's keys, nothing happened. LOL! Maybe she wanted to help mommy.

She sacked out after long minutes of playing. LOL!!!

Tale of two Movies

2008-07-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

This, is a tale. A tale of two movies.

Yesterday, Ted and I met at Movies 8 to see Kung-fu Panda with Jack Black playing Poe the overweight Panda. It was a really cute movie. One that I will buy when it comes out on DVD. As we were leaving the theater, Ted pointed at the Wanted movie poster and said he was thinking about going to see it later that night and asked if I wanted to. I was all for it!

So, at 10:00 pm we sat in Movies 8 yet again watching Wanted. It was very different. It was like watching a comic book come to life. Ted and I really liked the movie. I have a feeling I will be purchasing it as well.

Now, yes there was a few hours in the day before the first movie, and yes, I did do a little knitting, but not a lot. I wish I had done more. I am woefully behind on Ande's laptop case. After the first movie, I did not get any knitting done at all. Oh! Wait! I got one row done. Who knows, maybe what is really going on is that I'm knitting so fast you can't see me. LOL!

I really wanted to get Ande's case done so that I could get back to my Caribbean Clapotis.

Oh well. I will have tons of time to knit in August. I'll be house/dog sitting for 2 1/2, so I should be able to get a lot done then.

Knitting a scarf with lost yarn.

2008-07-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so, I'm supposed to be knitting a scarf for my best friend. I've lost the yarn! I know it must be in my house somewhere, I just can't seem to find it. I am hoping that it will turn up this week. I can't believe I've completely lost the yarn. The damn scarf is only 1/5 done!!!

So, this weekend will be spent going through some boxes I packed up a couple weeks ago. I have a feeling I packed the yarn up thinking that I would be unpacking that same box... I know weird and silly of me.

Meanwhile, I am just trying to work on Ande's laptop case. I need to get it done soon because I ordered new yarn for the Seascape pattern. I know that I will want to start the Seascape Stole as soon as the yarn arrives even if I don't have Ande's case done. So, my goal for the next couple days is to just knit. It must get done!

Knitting in Igo

2008-07-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the smoke in Igo is bad, but I'm here house/dog sitting. I like sitting for these people because they are nice and I just love the dogs. So, what do I do while I am here? I knit.

Today I am working on a laptop case for my friend Ande. She really likes bright colors and pink. I couldn't find a lot of bright colored, feltable yarn, so I went with a solid pink. This way, I'll be able to add a pocket to the side of the case for her cables, etc. without having to try to match up stripes.

I am hoping to have it done in a couple days. That way I can give it to her and get back to working on my Caribbean Clapotis. I'd rather be working on it, but I need to get other things done first.

Knitting and more knitting

2008-06-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is my new laptop Samira and her new case that I knit and felted. I made this one for myself because I am planning to make one for Ande, and I needed to do a practice run first.

This is the start of another Clapotis shawl. I am using lace weight yarn, but using two strands at the same time. This way, it is thick enough to get just about the right weight and gauge.

Jasmin

2008-06-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I know it isn't knitting related, but friends asked if my kitten, Jasmin had a tail because in all her previous photos, it was hidden.

Jasmin seems to be interested in the Chinchilla cage, not the chins. When they move around, she only briefly looks at them.

This is the first time that she jumped up onto something. She looked around from this new vantage point for a really long time. I have a feeling she is going to be a climber later.

I have no idea what she is seeing in this one. She would run back and forth across the room if I made the slightest movements. Silly girl.

do you suppose she knows that her kitty litter is in that green tub and the blue bag? LOL!

Okay, Stacy and Carol, does this satisfy your questions about where her tail is? LOL!!!

Laptop Case

2008-06-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

I've been working on redoing the laptop case. So far, so good. I like it better now. It will look a lot better too. The right and wrong sides are clearly defined this time, whereas last time it was hard to tell.

This is my first attempt at the Laptop case. It just didn't look or feel right to me.

The second attempt at this case feels like it is knitting up much faster and it looks tremendously better. I would never have thought there could be such a big difference, but there is.

I know, the pic came out a little blurry. You can still see the striping looks better though, and that is what I was wanting to show anyway. LOL!

New Blog

2008-06-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I've started a new blog. I keep not getting my cite payment in on time, and they freeze the account on me. With my finances the way they are, I can't pay my bill, the money has to go into my gas tank. Grrr!

Anyway, I will write more later, I just wanted to get this started.