The adventures or misadventures of trying to maintain the multitude of WIPs in various forms of needlework, while maintaining life with my dear SO, four cats and three house rabbits.
I hope 2012 is treating everyone right so far. Me, I have had a great first two days. Got to leave work early both days. Last night we feasted on a side of prime rib roast beast. Today, sunny and 75F, I met Duane at my connecting bus stop to have dinner out. Back home forty-five minutes before I was scheduled to leave to work.
Last year started off pretty well. Looking back I noticed I posted on the 2nd then. Last year, we had a clutch of new baby birds and I was nervous about them surviving. Thirteen babies later, I can laugh at that.
Then starting on the 8th of January things started going down hill when Gabby Giffords was shot. I remained optimistic until Valentine's Day when we were both sick. Then I had to call an ambulance and send Duane to the hospital. Those who read and kept me grounded back then will remember things were pretty touch and go for a while. Some of you called me Super Woman, though my cape was torn, my tights had a run and I think I broke a heel. Who knew you could bring bunnies to the ICU?
After forty-five days, we moved on to the nursing home/rehab center which brought many more challenges. Finally, after three months, he came home. More challenges over the summer. We almost lost our Dammit Bunny (world's smallest Led Zeppelin fan.) He's back to his old spunky ways, by the way.
In August, trying to be thankful ad-mist chaos, I wrote a post and got some advice to freeze my curse. After which, things quickly got worse and immediately turned around for the better. Working full-time for the first time in almost twelve years has came with it's own set of challenges. (that last post gets many Google hits from some weird people)
Babies were born, twice. A very tense Christmas. It was tiring year right to the very end. My late ex-MIL used to say whatever your doing on midnight New Years is what you'll be mostly doing the rest of the year. I was sleeping. As tiring as last year was, I could use a year of mostly sleeping. I won't wish for it though. If you've read this blog for very long, you know what a peculiar sense of humor the Universe has when it comes to me and wishing things.
Through it all some knitting was finished.
Some spinning too.
The birds got a mansion to live in.
Lessons learned this year were lessons I had learned long ago, but are now more deeply ingrained. Treasure good friends. New friends that come along at the right time, old friends and friends who you have never met in person but are just as special. I would not have made it through this year without friends. Be happy for the day you have, especially if you have what you need for that day. Even if the it looks like your world might come crashing down tomorrow. Very often, tomorrow will take care of itself.
Finally, I'll leave you with a couple sappy videos. I'm going back to my knitting. I'm making myself a pair of socks. Would you believe I don't have a pair of hand knit socks for myself?
They're safe finally. My daughter and the baby are with an old friend from the old neighborhood. More on that later. My oldest granddaughter is with her father until Wednesday afternoon and he will bring her back to my daughter.
Saturday morning, I sat here with my coffee thinking about what to do next. I searched out the National Abuse Hotline. Called and told them the situation. They gave me the number for her local shelter. I gave it to her.
She wasn't able to call them until Sunday night. The mother called her over when dinner was ready. Had her make a plate and go back to the cold trailer by herself. That's when I got her to call. The shelter called the police to go get her. The police refused to take her. First because she didn't have a car seat for the 7 yr old. Then the excuse was because CPS was involved and told her to call her caseworker.
They made the boyfriend turn the furnace on and told him to get food in the place. Of course, he turned it back off the next morning.
CPS didn't open until this morning. Her worker told her that they couldn't do anything until that woman gave her a written eviction notice. This is the message I got on FB from my daughter as I was walking in the door to work. We both were flipping out.
On my first break, something told me to just call her and not bother with FB. My daughter told me our old friend from the old neighborhood was there and they were waiting for the police to get the baby for them. The friend lived across from us for years when both our kids were little. I hadn't spoken to her in 14 years until Friday night. She lives near my daughter.
They had to go directly to court. The judge granted my daughter temporary custody of the baby until January 3rd when they go back to court. I highly doubt anything will be decided then. He also told the boyfriend's mother she could file for custody of the baby.
That woman, who claims to care so much for that baby, gave my daughter only a couple outfits, a few diapers and one can of formula. Claims she doesn't know where the WIC checks are to get more.
Everything is back at the two trailers and my daughter doubts she will get any of their stuff back. She thinks they are probably destroying her things and throwing them out, as I type this.
She used the $75.00 in three gift certificates I sent them for Christmas, for necessities to get through the next couple days. I told her I would put some more money on the Wal-mart gift cards Friday morning when I get paid again.
Even though I know she's safe and my friend won't let anything happen to her. I don't feel safe. I feel like I'm still waiting for something to happen. Overwhelmed with what all that is going to be needed.
This has certainly been an annus horribilis for us. Would you think I'm crazy if I told you I have panic attacks as I leave for work every morning, worrying about what might happen to any of us? There is still four days left to this year.
I've been so stressed with broken fridges, work and my daughter I forgot to tell you, my youngest son's wife had a son on December 14th. All he had that morning was a disposable camera and no money to get the pictures developed. For Christmas, I sent them a digital camera.
Jacob Jr is the spitting image of his Dad when he was born.
Jake Sr. with Jake Jr.
Mom & Jake Jr.
Uncle Avery (my oldest son) & Jake Jr.
Grandpa & Jake Jr.
Yet another of Jake Jr.
Oh my goodness. Can you stand the cute or what? I wish I was in NY right now for many reasons.
Thanks for stopping and your comments on my past few posts. Next update, how a great planned failed. But for now, just enjoy the cute.
This Christmas, I have new story about my life in Crazy Town. If you're on FB, you read the brief story and know how it ends.
This morning I got up, chatted with my daughter on FB and knitted on my mother's socks. Then I took the bus to the grocery store, which I thought would be a mad house. The bus arrived on time. It being a Saturday and Christmas Eve made that a bit strange. Not many people at the grocery and I got into an empty cashier line. Or rather no line. As I'm unloading my groceries, a man asks me if I would use his Fry's card so he could get the points to buy gas. No big deal, I don't have a car, not going to use the points. So I swipe his store card instead of my own. Wish him a Merry Christmas.
I had too much to carry back on the bus. So, I called the Yellow Cab. It's only a mile and a half cab ride, usually. Queue the creepy music. Things had been going too smoothly. First call, I realize I had given the dispatch the wrong number to my cell. So, I call them back to give them the right number. They say, they have cab #1601 on it's way. I make a mental note of the number.
Cab shows up. I pull the grocery cart up to the back. He just pops the trunk, but doesn't get out to help me put my groceries in the back. I thought it a bit strange, but ok. I check the number on the cab, #1601. Put my stuff in the trunk and get into the car. He asks me the address and takes off.
I look up at the meter and it was $4.50. The flag drop is supposed to be $2.50. I question this. He said he started the fare when he popped the trunk. That's not right. The cab drivers have never done that to me. I pull out my cell phone and call the company right there.
While I'm on the phone with the cab company, we get close to my address. I tell him to slow down he's at my address. He steps on the gas and floors it. He drives another two miles, with me in the back of cab on the phone with dispatch. "Your driver just flew by my house and didn't stop. He's not even turning around to go back. Oh my God, what is he doing trying to kidnap me?"
For all I knew he was going to take me to Mexico. We were headed south. It wasn't until I got back and in the apartment that I remembered that I had my tazer in my pocket the whole time. Hell, I could have finally tested the thing. (Just joking. I would have if he had kept going.)
After two miles, he finally turns around and heads back. Dispatch says, "I don't know what the hell he's doing. Look it's only a mile or two from the grocery store to your home, don't pay him more than $6.00. He's obviously just driving around trying to run up the fare."
I only have a ten and one. I call Duane to see if he has a five. He almost drives by the place a second time. Duane doesn't have a five but meets me in the parking lot. I ask the driver if he has ones because there is no way I'm paying any more than $6.00 for that bit of BS. He has the meter racked up to over $12.00. He tells me to keep it and pops the trunk.
I'm so anxious to get away from that crazy cabbie, I just grab the bags that I see. I didn't notice that the bag with the Jaegger gift box had slid to the back of the trunk. I get in the house and go through the stuff. Where's the Jaegger? Damn, I must have left it in the trunk.
Duane tells me to call the cab company and report it. They try to call him on the radio and he won't respond. They take my number and say they will call me back. We wait over a half hour. I call them back. They say he's still not responding to the radio and they don't have his number to call him. I tell them, we're calling the police.
I'm still shook up by the whole experience, so Duane calls and talks to the police. We wait an hour. I'm chatting with my daughter, trying to keep her spirits up, clean the litter box. We are out of litter. Duane is trying to put up the cat tree. You know an ordinary evening here in crazy town. We wonder aloud when the police will come. I put my coat to head out to the CVS for cat litter. Just as I step out the door, the lady officer is standing there.
I recant my story to her. She tells me they have another officer headed to the cab driver's house to get my stuff. She asks was he trying to steal my stuff. I said, no, I don't think he knows it's back there. She asked if he didn't understand English. I said, "He knew enough English to say, "I dropped the flag when I popped the trunk and that is your fare."
Well, she goes out and talks on her radio. Comes back in and asks me to wait to go to the CVS for a bit. She's going back to her car and will wait to hear from her partner. Duane has me try to help him put the cat tree up. My head is pounding. (It's a cheap piece of you know what and is still lying in pieces in the middle of the floor. Duane will nail the thing together tomorrow.) I check outside every once in a while to make sure she is still in the parking lot.
Then the knock comes at the door. She is standing there with a male officer holding my bag with Jaegger. The male officer said the cabbie tried to tell him he's usually an airport cab and that is how they do things at the airport. Both of the officers thought he was full of you know what. They said I need to write a written complaint to the company. Hope I don't run into anymore crazy cabbies in the future.
While I start to write this post, I step outside for a breath of um, fresh air for a minute. I came back in, sat down and phone rang. It was my friend that had taken me back and forth to the hospital and nursing home, takes us shopping every two weeks. Last Sunday, I bought her a gift certificate for Grandmother's Spinning Wheel for a Christmas present. She bought me a big ball of merino spinning fiber and hung the bag on my door knob outside. She must have saw me out there. She was in a rush, headed to Cali to see her father.
Regarding my daughter. It breaks my heart knowing she's in that trailer in NY with no heat, no food. She's getting sick. She told me the CPS supervisor called her after I had talked to the supervisor, yesterday. The supervisor told her she wished her the best of luck and that she would let the case worker know what was going on when she came back from vacation. Can you believe that crap?? (Read yesterday's post if you haven't yet.)
I'm not saying there aren't any good social workers out there. Lest someone flame me that they're sister-in-law is a social worker and goes out of the way to help people. I'm sure there must be a few good ones somewhere. It's just I've yet to meet one. It would be kinda like spotting a unicorn.
Anyway, I have a plan. It's a good plan. Duane says it's a good plan. I can't say what it is. We don't need the wrong people to get wind of the plan. I will tell you once everyone is safe.
Finally, everyone's favorite World's Smallest Zeppelin Fan, Mr. Dammit Bunny Chewer (formerly of the Rochester Chewers).
