Fiber Arts Friday

Not much progress on the knitting front.  Really, not much progress on any front.

This is how far I got on the sleeve at Duane's Dr.'s appointment this morning.   I don't know if I thought I was some sort of a speed knitter or I thought I would be spending the day there, as I believed that I could finish the sleeves this morning.  It ended up almost being the latter, but I was so annoyed with all the inconsiderate delays of our time, I couldn't concentrate on knitting.  Hopefully, I can get the sleeves finished and a hat by Monday, so I can mail it off to my daughter in time before the 7th.  That's when she goes in for a c-section.

I thought about posting pictures of the stuff I wish I could be working on.  Fun for you, maybe, but torture for me and I'm going through enough torture.

Just color me annoyed right today.  Two more shifts to go and then I have two days off.  I will get through it. (Trying to convince myself.)  Training is getting on my last nerve as the class is very laid back and many of my fellow trainees take advantage by talking while we're trying to learn and constantly go off topic.  The trainer is trying to keep it fun, but I'm not finding it very fun as I'm there to try to learn my job.  I will get through it.

Some people are over-sharing their personal information during class.  Annoying.  Some things I just don't care to know about.  Yes, I share my personal story on this here blog, but you choose to come read about it. Which I'm amazed and humbled at those of you who stop by.   Plus, I don't have to look at you for eight hours a day at my work.  There are things I will share with everyone around the globe, but however, not with my co-workers. Funny, isn't it.

Not much chance of them wanting to read my blog.  None of them do crafty things and they think I'm weird.

Duane says not worry that most of the learning takes place on the floor when I'm taking calls.  But, I want to learn what I need to learn now, and not after I'm on the phone with a customer sounding like a babbling idiot.  I will get through.  Two more nights of classroom, then we start on the phone training on Tuesday night.  I will get through.  It will get easier at some point.  Did I convince you?  Yeah, I'm still working on convincing me.

P.S. Hopefully this post made some sense.  I've had less than five hours of sleep and I'm off to work in a half hour.  PRAY. FOR. ME. .

P.P.S.  Thanks for stopping by and reading my incoherent ramblings.

Stop by Fiber Arts Friday, they probably have better stuff.

Second Verse Same As The First

Second day same as the first day, except I got a ride and didn't take the bus. Oh and no snake sightings. Damn.  More corporate speak, Power Points, high energy trainer and me yawning my head off by eight pm.

Instead of boring you to death with how I spend my afternoon/evenings and to distract you from the lack of any fibery content, I'm going to tell you a funny story.  I'm full of them.  Duane's heard all my stories hundreds of times.  Of course, we're together every day for nine years.  He tells me I need to get new stories.  Which I do, but then I tell him and then they're old by the next day, week, month, year.  So, I'm going to write them to you, to distract you from the fact that I'm seriously lacking the fiber content.  He will come by and read them.  So, actually, I'm retelling them to him too. That cracks me up. (Sorry, easily amused today. Corporate speak frying the brain cells.)

Anyway, we put this feeder up finally over the weekend.  We've had it for almost a year.  But I kept loosing the box of nectar or the feeder.  Yesterday, I noticed the hummers have found my feeder.  First two zoomed by my head and went for the feeder and zoomed off.  Then another one, zoom off.  Then another came and hovered around the bush near by.  I grabbed the camera, came back out and he seemed to have left.  Then suddenly he came up over the over side of the bush, seemed to look at me then went to the feeder.  I actually got a picture of him.  That's not the funny story.

Back in 99, I lived in a complex that was set in the woods.  Out back, I had a small wooden deck about 4 feet by 6 which I decorated with assorted plants, just like here.  A beautiful Blue Girl tea tree rose, (I won't tell the story about that plant because it ended in tears) a huge hibiscus, jasmine, gardenia, assorted hanging baskets and window boxes set on the wooden ledges.

One evening, after dinner, I'm out there watering my plants and talking to my neighbor who sitting on her deck enjoying my flowers.  She's severely allergic to flowers, but her deck was a safe enough distance that she enjoyed mine.  I walked out into the grassy area about six or ten feet away from my deck to admire the flowers, when I heard an awful loud, really loud buzzing in my ear.  Then I felt a sharp poke in the side of my head.

Oh my goodness, that a huge freaking BEE!  Side note, I'm really allergic to bees.  I might be all cool walking by a snake at night, but let me see a bee and I become an Olympic tri-athlete in a hurry.  Well, I'm running around, swatting at my head, "Shouting, it's a huge bee!  Help!! I'm being attacked by a mammoth bee!!"  That damn thing was chasing me, poking me in the head.

My neighbor is doubled over, shaking, she was laughing so hard. Tears running down her face. She said she almost wet herself watching me running around, slapping my head, waving my arms around, screaming like a crazy person.  She shouts, "Stop! It's just a hummingbird!"

I stopped, but that thing was still attacking me.  I'm still waving my arms around my head to get it to stop.  Back then, I had really dark red hair.  The sun had shone on my hair just right and it thought I was probably the biggest, tastiest flower it ever saw.   Many nights after that, I swear those little buggers were just waiting on me to come out.  Three or four of them, felt like a swarm, dive bombing me in the head.  I would have to run back inside and tie something around my head for protection.  I actually thought of sticking a cooking pot on my head for a protection helmet.

So why am I now trying to attract them to my patio?  You might have noticed in previous pictures of me on this here blog, my hair is no longer a bright, dark red.  Mostly it is various shades of grey and the rest the Tucson sun has bleached blonde.  I hope, I'm no longer a target.  I really do love hummingbirds, just not when they're attacking me.

The north western hummingbirds migrate this way in the winter, so I'm researching on how to attract them.  Thus I have a sad little hibiscus and some butterfly bush seedlings.  One site I read said, they drink the nectar to give them energy to catch bugs, their main meal.  To think of them as flying fly catchers.  That's another thing I don't like about it here.  It doesn't get very cold, so we have houseflies year round.  I tempted to invite the hummers inside for a real meal. Anything that eats bugs is a great friend to me.  I also got excited when I saw a tiny lizard hanging out in my planter.  Bug Eater!  He was gone when I came back with the camera.

To answer a question, Teresa asked about my new job.  What will my job be?  Well, I'm working for an international call center and their client is a national pharmacy chain that I'll be taking their phone calls and servicing their customers.  They make it seem like it has to be all top secret so that's all I'll say.  Except, we are supposed to promote the company for new hires.  If you  apply and put my name as a referrer, I get bonuses after you have worked there for various increments of time.  They have locations around the country US, plus various other countries and a work at home department (your computer and internet connection have to meet their requirements) (obviously mine did not).  So if you're interested, send me an e-mail and I'll tell you how to apply.

 It's said that you really have to work hard at getting fired from this company.  However, being seen on carpet with a cell phone or any recording device out and that's immediate termination.  We were all joking about taking a picture of the trainer standing by the pharmacy logo sign and posting it to Facebook. The trainer was mostly joking about it saying, you'll get us all fired.  I thought about "getting Dooced" just for saying I work there on this blog. For those that don't know, she's a now famous blogger for getting fired for blogging about her job.  Except since that's been done before, so chances are highly unlikely that I get rich and famous for being fired.

Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.  Hopefully my little story made you giggle or at least smile.  It's funnier when I tell it in person.

My Butt's A Draggin

Using this just for a nice picture.  Not like I can post a picture of work, or it will all end in tears.  Really it will.

First day went ok, kinda boring even though the trainer tried to make it fun.  Seriously, she must have had a serious caffeine overdose at some point in her life and has yet to come back down.

I think my trip to work might be more interesting than those eight and half hours of corporate brainwashing.  I don't think I mentioned this before, but that Thursday when I went in to do the paperwork and drug test, I met a classmate that lives on my side of town, only way far out.  I had mentioned I took the bus there, so when we left for the drug test she asked if she could give me a ride.  She's only lived here a few months, and was glad for some help to find the lab and I was glad for a ride.  I asked her if she would mind bringing me home at night so I wouldn't have to pay a cab and I would pitch in for gas.  Anyway, she gave her number but when I tried calling it I got a fast busy signal.  So, I hoped she would be there last night.

I don't know why I was so nervous about starting this job.  It got worse the closer the time came.  By the time I was sitting at the second bus stop, I was literally trembling like a dog sitting in the vets office.  It was twenty minutes til the next bus, so I knit and tried to figure it out.  Most of my jobs have been temp agency jobs because I liked it that way.  It couldn't be that it's a new situation. Agency work is all new situations, all the time.

Maybe it's because there have been so many changes this year, I feel like I'm spinning round and round. First Duane's changing work schedule, then the him in the hospital, then nursing home, finally back home, then the boarder, then no boarder, now a job with a changing schedule. Whew.  Did you see that? I just went spinning across the room like a top.

I looked at the time and it was a minute before the bus was to arrive, so I put the knitting away.  Checked the time again, a minute after.  Then I worried I was so deep in thought, did the bus pass right by me and I didn't notice?  So here I am checking time every 30 seconds, worrying about the bus.  It did finally show up seven minutes late.

When I got off the bus across town, I notice dark purple clouds with lightening over the mountains not far away.  We are surrounding by mountains.  Tucson is basically a basin.  A friend of friend is a pilot and I was told that he said when he lands in Tucson, he feels like he's being sucked into a black hole.  Not too far off, there buddy.

I wished I had the camera with me to take a picture of the rain coming down on the mountain. Very pretty when in a bus, on standing on my patio.  Except, I have to walk a little over a mile and I was worried about a downpour on me. Then having to sit soaking wet in the cold air conditioning for the next eight hours.  It's mostly open dessert on that side of town.   A sandstorm had kicked up which happens just before a rainstorm.  I had sand all blowing in my face during this long walk in the hot sun. But, I made it there, a little sandblasted and windblown but all parts were mostly dry and intact.  We could hear the downpour above about fifteen minutes after we were in the classroom.  Duane got tons of rain, a few hours later.

My new friend was there and she said she would give me a ride home.  Then the rest of the night was pretty much boring.  As I said, the trainer was over-enthusiastic.  Should she ever need a career change, I think she would make a great high impact aerobics instructor.  Even so, by nine I was yawning my head off.  By ten, I had a bad headache and my neck was getting painful.

The funniest part was when we were leaving.  As I mentioned, it's all open desert over there.  Duane has mentioned seeing critters, especially coming home at night or sundown.  I've always walked looking down at the ground, a good habit to have.  My new friend almost stepped on a snake walking through the parking lot. Within inches.  It was a little one, about two feet long.  I didn't hear any rattling, so I'm pretty sure it was a safe one.

I said, "Damn woman, you almost stepped on that snake."

She hadn't even noticed it and started screaming, "No, no!!!"

"Yes, you did. It's right there."

She's still screaming, "No, no!! I don't do snakes!! I hate this desert!!"

Then I said, "Damn, wish I had my camera with me.  A picture of that snake would have made great blog fodder."

She officially thinks I'm off my rocker.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help laughing.  It was like that Richard Pryor skit with snake.



I'm sure you know how RP is, so if you're sensitive to strong language don't play it.

Duane has lectured me about the critters down here, so I know to look for and expect them.  Besides, if you freak out and scream, that only alerts them to the fact you are there.

Tonight is going to be rough.  I woke up at 7:30 this morning to my bedroom ceiling leaking.  It's not like before.  But damn, I don't need this crap.  I called the manager and he's away from the complex for a few hours before he can get here.  He's concerned about what's going on up there, because as of Monday he gave the lady above until October 1st to find a new place to live.

My new friend insisted on picking up on her way in, so no long bus ride and walk.  We have five days classroom time, then five days training out on the floor.  Then I will get my semi-regular schedule, which should start any where from ten to noon and I will have to transition to getting up about six am.  I think it's pretty stupid to have training so late in the day, when people are winding down and getting tired.

Thanks for stopping by and all your encouraging comments.

WIP Wednesday

This looks more like baby boy sweater.  I'm knitting this at the three month size and flew threw the top half.  I'll knit the body during my bus ride.  Yarn is Pagewood Farms Yukon in Navajo colorway.

I've finally finished the body on the slow motion baby sweater.  This is just one size larger than the above sweater, not many more stitches but it has been growing in slow motion.  Just have to find my size 3 double points for the sleeves and it will be finished.  Then a little hat and some booties, hopefully they knit up faster, and I'll send it all off next Monday.

I'm using Henry's Attic petite cotton yarn that I had dyed awhile back.  All was going well until I got to the body and it pooled.  I know the baby won't care.  I'm afraid the father's family might look at it and think my daughter's mother is a bit of a freak.

Over the weekend, I was only able to get about halfway through the llama.  There's a ton of peddling to plying a two-ply laceweight.  Hopefully, I'm not to exhausted on my Sunday and Monday off to finish this.  I'll be walking about two miles a day to the bus stop then the bus stop to work that's a bunch of stepping too.

I'm writing this Tuesday morning, scheduled to post at midnight eastern time.  If I'm not to tired I'll post about how my first day at work was this morning (when you'll be reading this), so you can check back later today, if you're interested.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I'm up to this week.  I'm going to try to head over Tami's in the mornings to see what everyone else is up to.

First Day Of Kindergarten

Actually, it's the first day of my new job.  It sure feels like the first day of kindergarten as I am both excited and apprehensive.  Excited to get out the house yet then I remember I can't sit around in my nightgown watching Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers.  Oh wait, I'm regressing.

It's a means to an end, in that I will be able to save for the refresher course and get my nursing license.  As I haven't worked as a nurse in twelve years, I would want to take that course.  So much has changed in a decade, I'm sure.  Plus save for a down payment on a house.  I've always wanted to own my own home and I've been discouraged that at 45 I still don't have the one thing I've wanted.  Bad decisions and people in my life have been my downfall.

As you can see from the picture above, my roses are in full blown and still there.

My seedlings have all started to sprout except for the parsley.  The lid is supposed to come off now and the seedlings placed in the sun.  The parsley will just have to deal.  I suppose I'll give them just a couple hours in the sun every morning, so as not to burn them up.  It's still pretty hot, Saturday it was 105F/40+C.

The yellow/green crew have grown up.  Mama Myrtle on the far right, Tweety and Baby (they are mostly yellow with light yellow/green bodies) Norm/Norma, then Yertle on the left.  In the back left is Mr. Bird and Meanie.  In the far right, back perch is Junior taking a nap.  On the green perch at the top is Cassidy.  In a few weeks we'll be getting a big flight cage then the Mean Green Team will join up with the Bad Blue Crew from the other cage.   If you could see some the tricks they play on each other, I'm just glad I'm not a bird in either cage.

I didn't get very much done over the weekend.  Organizing didn't happen.  I believe I was afraid I would find a bunch of toys I might want to play with only to have to start work.  As it was, I spied two cross stitch pictures I wanted to work on when I moved a pile of fabric.  If you could see all the wips I have your eyes would bulge out.  I bet I could post a different wip picture every Wednesday for two years and not have to take a stitch.  Yes, I am that bad.

Speaking about wips, I'm going to write my WIPW post next and have it scheduled to post tonight at midnight eastern time.  You know, while I'm still at work.  Then hopefully tomorrow morning I'm not too exhausted to tell you all how my first day at kindergarten work was.

Thanks for stopping by.

FO & Fiber Arts Friday

My last free Friday, for who knows how long.  Next week I'll be working.  This FO has been technically finished for awhile.  However, I just skeined it off  my plying bobbin today.  The llama has been spun and I'm now plying.  The skein above is Tempted Fibers  merino/silk,  in colorway, can't remember, but I do have the tag around here somewhere.

This is part of the fiber that K brought to me in February when she came down for the day.  Since I have tons of handspun yarn, I told her I would spin it and give it back to her.  Hopefully, she'll be pleased with laceweight 909 yards approximately.  My goal was anything above 800 yards for the four ounces, as that is what millspun would be.  The llama should be finished this weekend.

While I was out this morning doing the boring shopping, cat food, cat litter and bird seed, we stopped at the yarn store that is conveniently on the way home.  The one on the left is another Pagewood Farms Yukon SW Merino/Bamboo/Nylon in the Navajo colorway and that one said, Baby Boy.  The other one on the right is K1C2 SW Merino/Nylon/Silk and it said Baby Boy.  When I got home I showed it to Duane and said, you know with the silk, maybe I should make my mother socks.

He said, he thinks it looks like it would make a nice small sweater to go with my new work tank top.  Except, I would need one more skein, at least.  I'm pretty sure they had another one or two and I've been trying to call them all day to see if they will hold it for a week or two.  While I was there, I heard them say the internet was out, so maybe that's why the phone keeps ringing.  Try again tomorrow and hopefully they still have it and will hold it.

My rose bud has decided to start to bloom.  I love them at this stage, just a bud starting to unfold.

The other one is thinking about it.  Let's see if they come up missing.  Hope not. Really hope not.

My bright pink geranium.

I'm feeling better today and organized the corner by my chair.  I've been wanting to do that since before Duane went in the hospital.  Of course, I organized it in my usual fashion by moving everything to the other side of the room. No picture, as all it is, is a blue tote with a few things on it.  Tomorrow, I will attempt the other side of the room and see how far I get.  Goodness knows where I'll move all that stuff over to.  Not the bedroom, I cleaned that last week.

For more Fiber and FO posts go to Wonder Why Gal and Tami's Amis.

Wishing For Fall

This is the time of year, is when I'm the most homesick. This will last until November when our temps cool down and it's snowing back home.  Last week during the Monsoon storms,  the temp cooled down to the low 90's are now back up to 102F today.  I'm feeling under the weather and would like a dreary raining day with some homemade chicken noodle soup on the stove and a cozy quilt.  Instead that blazing hot sun adds insult to injury.

My petunias that I planted last February are getting pretty leggy.  The ones that survived the summer scorch that is.  I don't know whether to cut them back, will they regrow and bush out?  Or do I just rip them out and plant new ones?  I like the way they trail the fence but the legginess bugs me.  I wouldn't have this problem back home, because the frost would have killed them by the time they look like this.

Two weeks ago, I bought some plants on sale at Home Depot.  My two foot tomato has a tiny tomato starting.  Some of the tomatoes will be for fried green tomatoes.  I can't find green tomatoes at the stores here, so I'll have to grow my own. How many times can you say tomatoes til it starts sounding funny?

I started some jalepeno plants from seed for Duane last month.  The sprouted pretty quick, but have been just staying the same for the past few weeks.  I wonder if the hot temps make things grow slower.

I think I might be boiling the hibiscus, literally.  I noticed this morning there was  water in the bottom tray of the pot and the leaves are starting to turn yellow.  I read not to use ceramic or clay pots down here as they heat up in the afternoon and will cook the plant roots.  This is a plastic pot, but I think I might have over-watered it (is that really possible in the desert? apparently) and am boiling the roots.  Less watering for the hibiscus, check.

Bright pink geranium, I picked up this week for some color.

The pink flower plant is called Vinca.  I hadn't heard of the plant before.  Vinca to me is the vine I used to plant in hanging baskets back home.  When I first saw these at Home Depot, I thought they were Impatients and was confused as why they were selling a shade/cool weather plant in the heat of July.  These Vincas like 8-10 hours of sun and warm temps.  I bought them in August when my planter had 12 hours of sunshine, but since Labor Day my planter gets no sun anymore.  I face the north and the sun has shifted to the south.

My rose with a gardenia in the back ground.  It's only slightly trying to bloom.  It's had three buds for two weeks now.  I'm a bit concerned about two of the buds when they bloom.  The stems are very long on these two and I worried some punk is going to come by and steal the flowers.

Monday, I bought this little green house to start some seeds.  There are heirloom tomato, cilantro, dill, parsley, butterfly bush and English lavender.  I took toothpicks and taped little labels to tell what is what.  The instructions said to put in a warm shady place.  That's my patio, I just hope it's not too warm and I'm not boiling my seeds.

Because there is no sun on my side, I haul all the plants in pots to my neighbor's patio across the way for a couple hours in the morning.  Then I stalk them through the window, worried that someone might decide to make off with them.  They just wave their little leaves back at me.  The French lady used to have things come up missing all the time, is the reason I worry.  We don't know if it's another tenant, or just someone passing through.

Progress is slowly happening on the baby sweater.  So sad, when my kids were little, I could knit one of these in a day.  I know I have a second skein around here somewhere for the sleeves and a hat, but I can't find it.  I guess I'll have to do some of the organizing I've been trying to avoid, to find it.

By eight oclock, I'm ready for bed.  This will be a problem next week, when I work until 11pm.  To try to stay awake, I've been spinning. Not too much left of the llama, then I can ply it.  K will have to let me know if she wants to make a trip down or I should I mail it off.  I go to bed at 11pm then wake up at 1am, up til 3:30am then it doesn't matter what time I go to bed, I'm always up by 8 am.


The sun is starting to set and temps are cooling off to the high 80's, it's time for me to go water the plants.  Except for Mr. Hibiscus, he's going to dry out for a couple days.

Thanks for stopping by.

WIP Wednesday

One week left to go.  My last week of freedom, then I start work.

Many other bloggers are posting what their reading with their knitting and I finally remembered to go get the books off my stand.  I need to get that baby sweater finished this week.

The first week of September, Kaleidoscope Yarns was donating 25% of purchases to the Vermont Foodbank after the hurricane.  As I needed some blue fingering weight superwash to make a sweater for my youngest's baby coming in November, I ordered a skein.  I love the state of Vermont and it felt like a win/win situation as I needed the yarn.  Except the skein looks nothing like that on the website.  It's Pagewood Farms Yukon 70% superwash merino wool 20% bamboo 10% nylon. 

It didn't say baby boy sweater to me, so I started a sock to see what it looks like knitted up.  Duane says it looks like tie dye to him.  I think it's looks like dye bottle barf.  It will become socks and I'll just have to go to one of our local shops later so I can see the yarn in person before I buy it. Yarn shopping, I'll have to make the sacrifice.

For light reading, I have Tender at The Bone by Ruth Reichl.  Funny book, and the characters are colorful.  I love books with characters that are colorful people.  Nothing will make me stop reading a book faster than cardboard characters. It's about her growing up around food in the 1960's.  The other book is Les Miserables.  That one will take me awhile.

I've been so busy the last couple weeks, so much I could have posted about but I was either too tired or too lazy when I had the time. It's the stupid Fibro.  I keep hoping to build my stamina, but it's not working out so well.   We had a week of evening rain that ended with a bang last Thursday.   Two years living here and finally we had a monsoon storm that impressed me.  That is the hail you see there.

I waited til the hail storm slowed down enough to take these pictures.  They were about half inch size hail stones.

Why yes, those are new plants in my planter.  I told you I had stuff to post, but am too damn lazy. My poor plants took a beating.  One of the plants is a two foot tomato plant that for some reason I didn't take a picture of.  I was really worried about it and was going to run out and get it, except Duane said that would be dangerous.  So, I stood in the screen door saying, "Be brave, little mater, be brave."

I finally have my patio looking almost the way I want it, but I'll save that for another post on another day.  This week, I plan to try to post almost every day til I head back to work.  It's the first time I've worked a job in seven years and I'm kinda anxious about that.

Last week, Nurse Rudee asked about the bird video, Do they sound like that all the time?  Well, most of the time, yes.  There are times when they are very quiet and I notice them being quiet more.  It's that mother's deaf ear I have turned on, so I don't notice them.  Except on Saturday nights, when I'm trying to watch my British shows, they are horrid little creatures.  I turn the tv up and they turn their little amps up.

For other blog links there is Yarn Along and Tami's WIPW.

WIP Wednesday

Sorry Nicole, I'm late this week.  (My daughter)  I was just too exhausted last night to post when I usually do. It's been a busy week.

I misplaced the baby sweater when the boarder moved in.  Just found it last week while I was rearranging the living room for the cat's chair.  I need to get this and other baby things finished pretty quick as my daughter will be having c-section on October 7th.  It's really nerve wracking being so far away, when she goes into the hospital.  I wasn't able to get to do anything with beads this weekend.  

Finally, I was able to order the sw bfl/nylon batts from Cupcake Fibers, that I've been wanting since before Duane went into the hospital.  Joan is super fast to send out.  I ordered it on Saturday morning and it was sitting in my mailbox on Monday morning.  I spun a bit of it on my third spindle for reporting purposes.  I would say it spins like butter, that is if one could spin butter.  Don't try spinning butter it will make a mess, get some lovely batts from Joan instead. 

 I need to finish up K's lama this week, so hopefully she can make a trip down from Phoenix. Meet Duane and visit with Dammit.  Less than ounce left, I've should have finished it long ago, but again, the confusion in the house with the boarder.  So glad he's out and life will get back some from of normal. 

Duane made his famous chili on Monday.  Tuesday, my daughter called saying her father lost the recipe for the chili.  There's the link Nicole.  Tell your father, I suggest he uses one can each of light and dark red kidney beans and one can black beans, plus a can of chopped tomatoes and don't forget the frozen corn.  Duane also adds cumin and that's not listed on the recipe.  I'm sure he put a comment on the blog when he reads this, so check back on the comments.  Tell your Dad also, I'll set aside the money for his bus fare down.  Anytime after Christmas, he wants to come down to get away from the nuthouse and cold, just let us know and we'll get him the bus ticket.  He'll have fun cooking and baking with Duane. 

Here's a little video I took of what our living room sounds like.  It's hard to hear the tv most of the time.  We turn the tv up and they turn their little amps up.  Attempted conversation has a lot of "wut?!"  Any day now, I expect the birds to shout, "Wut?!"

In the back, Junior is bugging Mama Myrtle for food.  He has no business doing this as he took a flight on Saturday.  Duane was taking the babies out of the box and Junior shot right out the door.  Just like Mr. Herbie did to me once.  Luckily, the cats were all sleeping when Junior flew into the dining room and tried to get out the window.  Myrtle and I think he's big enough to feed himself now.  I need to take a picture of the two youngest, our third set of identical twins.

Yesterday, was my first time posting consistently for a year, in all the years I've had this blog.  I should have posted something, but well, I suck.  What can I say? There is so much to post about, but I'll save it for tomorrow.

Duane Bought The Cats A Cozy Chair

I note that it does have a lack of cats.  They're currently guarding the bed.

It's been a busy week.  I'm exhausted on my second Friday.  Everyone else has been living a day behind because of the holiday, but because I'm weird, I've been living a day a head.  I thought Tuesday was Wednesday.  Then on Wednesday, I worried all day that it might be Thursday, because Thursday morning I had to be at the new job for paperwork.  Then yesterday, I kept thinking it was Friday.

Anyway, the chair.  Tuesday, we went up to the used furniture store to look at chairs.  Duane has been lacking a comfortable place to sit since we moved down here and left his recliner back in NY, as it was broken anyway.  The nursing home had promised to help get him a chair.  That fell through.  

It's a nice kid glove leather and I'm really worried the cats are going to scratch it up.  (I'm glaring back at you, Bootsie.)  Since, he's resigned to being a househusband, he really should have some place comfy to sit on cats.

This however, has led to a dilemma and much stomping around on my part.  What to do with the futon, that the Ravioli lady and her son broke, since it no longer fits in the room.  It wasn't even a year old when they broke it.  Stuff had to be moved around, and now the living room looks more like a yard sale than before.  I've long ago needed to organize my junk and now have about two weeks to get this accomplished.

Today, I'm going through a tote, and I come across some old Christmas gifts, Duane had received from his work awhile back.  It was a smelly candle and candy dish with the lid missing.  Which sent me on a tangent.

Me:  I really hope the department I'm working in doesn't have a Secret Santa gift exchange.

Duane: I don't remember any of the departments having any gift giving thing last year.

Me: It will be just my luck, this will be the year someone will want to start one.  It never fails.  I hate Secret Santa.

Duane: I don't mind them.

Me:  I've quit jobs because of mandatory Secret Santa exchanges.

Duane: I believe you have.

Then I went on about some have had an outrageous price like $50.00.  Hell, I don't even buy my spouse a gift that expensive.  Sometimes, $20.00 would be the most expensive gift I could afford for my kids and they cut into my kids Christmas budget.  I don't mind buying a gift if the price is reasonable and it's good year.  The thing I hate the most is the gift in return.  It's some junk, I don't want or need, but I keep it because it was the thought that counts.  Then years latter, I'm carrying around this piece of crap, I don't want, can't remember the person who gave it to me, all because I don't want to seem ungrateful.  (In my defense, I always found a new job before I quit the old one.  Mention Secret Santa and I start job hunting, same day.)

Duane:  You should blog about this.  This is stuff to blog to about.

Me: I know, I've had five posts worth of stuff go through my head this week.

Duane:  Do a rant a day.  So this is what your stomping around about.

Me: Sort of.  Really, I'm stomping around because I'm trying to organize this tote that I know my beads should be in there, but I can't find them.  It's all because the ceiling fell on my head.

Duane: Really?

Me: Yes, I was so disgusted with the plaster covering all my stuff, I just dumped it all into totes, and everything is a disorganized mess. But, I figured since I'm headed up to the bank, I would stop in the bead store and get some beads that would go with the missing beads.

Duane: Just go get yourself some new beads.

Which I did.  You'll have to come back to see what I'm going to do with them.

Sincerely yours,
From: going crazy in the desert.

WIP Wednesday

It's another gone by and it feels like a month.  Sadly, not much has been added to my shawl.

A few repeats were added to the border.  I should have more to show you next week. (crosses fingers)

No cross stitch this week.  PBS is having their telethon, so no Saturday night British Shows.  It's for three weeks.  I would be more apt to give them money if they left my British shows on and said, "Hey you, sitting in that rocking chair cross stitching."

I would look up.

"Yes, you. Is that a Mirabilia?"

I look around for the hidden camera.

"If you want to keep watching more of  these British shows every week, then send us some money."

Instead, they put on stuff I have no interest in and say, "If you want to see more programming like this, then send us money."  That's the only time they show that stuff is when they want money, and no I don't want to watch more of them.

I ordered Netflix.  Just have to figure out how to balance the laptop, pattern and stitching all on my lap.

After last weeks events, Duane and I sort of became a couple of vegetables.  The tremendous weights lifted, we were both exhausted.  I hate rollercoasters.  Only three times have I rode them and each time a frightening experience which it was said I could be heard screaming in terror all through the park.  That's what it feels like, I just stepped off the worst rollercoaster ride ever, and have been just staggering around in a daze.

This is the oldest baby bird.  Duane named him Yertle (hope I spelled it right) because his body is the deepest green blue.

At first this one was named Whitey.  Then his soft powder blue feathers came in.  He's looking more like his Dad, Mr. Bird.  Now, we call him Jr.

Until this evening, this baby was known as #3.  Tonight, Duane named him Normal or Norm for short.  Norma if it turns out to be a girl.

Number 4 looks like it's going to be yellow for the most part.  It has like two light green feathers in it's tail.  This one was named Tweety.

Number 5 doesn't have an official name yet.  I call it Baby.  Maybe that will be it's name, as it is the last one.

It was suggested I might sell some.  Not so much.  For one thing, I see parakeets for sale on Craigslist all the time, here.  I don't think they are big sellers.  Two, I had a bad experience when I had a ton of kittens I needed to find homes for.  One allowed their toddler to abuse the kitten and it died.  They tried to say I gave them a defective kitten and wanted another one.  I was just No. NO!! You don't let a two year treat a tiny kitten like a stuffed animal.  Another couple took two of my kittens and when the kittens grew up, they dropped them off at the pound.  A few other incidents happened.  Anyway, I'm a firm believer when a person takes on a pet it's for the life of the pet, unless circumstances happen beyond anyone's control.

So, I'll just remove the house when Baby is big enough.  I'll be the weirdo with 18 parakeets.  I can live with that.

Lastly.  SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!  I got a job!!! A real job!!  It was the one I couldn't say too much about, lest I jinx it.  The call came in today.  It's the same company Duane worked for.  Except he was with the department for a major internet provider.  They are putting me in with a national drugstore chain and will be paying for me to get my pharmacy tech licence.  I start at the end of September.

I pm'd a few people on FB.  I just didn't want to put it to my status just then and announce to the world.

The only thing that could top this week is if I take Duane up to the Shell station to get that lottery ticket, (We still haven't done that.) and he wins the Mega Million jackpot.  You know since he's faced odds that were greater than being struck by lightening this year.  Then he would have to come here and post, "I'm sorry but Denise can't come to the blog right now.  She fainted and I'm still trying to revive her."

Thanks for stopping by.

I have to add my celebration video for when I'm headed in the right direction. I wore this out when I graduated nursing school.