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.