What was THAT all about?

or, "Something funny happened on the way to Blogger."

I was commenting on Susan's site, Red Dirt Knitter, when we were hit with a brownout. Odd, huh? Obviously, everything is fine. I'm thinking it was the cookies overloading the oven's circuitry.

What? Cookies? Why yes, the apple-cranberry cookies are done, the gingerbread is cooling for tomorrow's roll and cookie cutter dance. There's several more on the list, peppermint meringues, tropical cookies, something with orange, shortbread cranberry, and so on.

Dad's Christmas is coming along slowly but surely. I've not broke away to knit anything else, since there is a ever looming deadline. The shawl for my cousin is longer/wider, yes. It's a break for my eyes from the constant black of Dad's present.

Fry and I went shopping at Gordman's today. They had a buy five, get one free, which I'd not paid attention to, so I sent Fry off to get a free thing. She picked out a lovely necklace for me! Isn't that sweet? It's a heart shaped ruby surrounded by diamond baguettes. Most of the things she buys me are red, roses, or teddy bears. Isn't that the sweetest thing? Sadly, she was in a terrible snit the rest of the evening because I didn't hop to and get her a cell phone. I can NOT see the need for an 11 year old to have a cell phone. She's either at school or with one of her parents. Once she starts hanging out seriously with her friends, we'll see.

Anything done on the house? Not really. Laundry, dishes, cleaning in general. Most of my time has been spent scouring Kansas City for Dutch processed cocoa. No, Hershey's won't do, the recipe calls for Dutch, so that's what I must buy.

Another thing is, we've all rebooted our diets. We're following the YOU: On a Diet thing and it's wonderful. Odd, too, because it seems like I'm eating all the time. I usually don't eat until after noon, say, around three pm. The snacks are easy to fix, usually, and the desserts are really good. No counting of any kind. I liked South Beach, but like this better.

Dad's gift is calling me to get busy. In the meantime, I must tease my younger sister by talking smack about her: Smack. Smackity smack smack, Toppa. Smackita smackeeta, smacko. Smacka-lacka smacksmoo. Smacksmack, smackola, smack.

Wowwwwww.

Ok, as soon as I get the tile backsplash replaced and the walls painted, I'm posting a picture of the results.

The counters are better than I thought they'd be. Much better. Holy moly. Gorgeous. Click on the picture to see the countertops installed in a home. Not ours, not until I get the pictures developed. The sink, garbage disposal, and dishwasher are all in place, and WORK! Yay! No leaks, everything has a shut off valve for the water, and it's nice and clean under there.

My husband and I made a great team. I'd start the nuts and bolts, and he'd tighten up everything. The kitchen sink is the hardest, next up are the guest, master, and Fry's bathroom counters. There are three vanity counters and four sinks to do. Nothing has a shutoff valve, so that's going to be fun. Plus, three of the faucets are soldered to the copper tubing. Oh boy.

The secret to any good plumbing job is plumber's tape. Don't leave home without it. Putty is ok, and good for sealing that ring around the drain, but it's the tape that does the trick.







On to the good stuff! Finally, a shawl good enough for my cousin. I'm using three skeins of Lion's Brand Trendsetter's Dune knockoff mixed with an eyelash yarn. Not a fun furry yarn, but a true 'lashy' yarn.








Whenever I go to www.virtualyarns.com, this sweater always makes me yearn for its pattern. I love it. There are some other patterns I adore, but the Medieval draws me in every time. Blue or red? Whichever, I love them both. While I'm not fond of blue, (a nice way to put it) in this, it's ok.






Finally, I broke down and bought me a pre-Christmas present. This came in the mail today. You have to have the book to do any of the patterns, the prices are without book, so... I wanted to see if Virtual Yarn's yarns were as good as they looked. This picture does NOT do them justice.










Pebble beach is much prettier in real life. A lot more blue, too. But then there's flashes of red and yellow. Very lovely. It's 100% superwash wool, three ply.



Then, because I also needed to see what the two ply is like, here we have Mara. A very royal blue. A bit heathered, too.

I ordered the Pebble beach because I wanted to see what the color looked like, and the Mara because I'm leaning towards the Medieval in blue. The blue contrasts much more with the yellowish (more like wheat) than the red. www.elann.com 's Peruvian wool and Jaimeson & Smith's DK compare in the color and heft of the yarn. I happen to have a lot of the Peruvian in the stash already... Maybe I should mix and match? Maybe get started knitting TODAY? LOL! I'll knit a few more inches on my father's Christmas, a few more on my cousin's, THEN get busy reading the Medieval pattern. It's so cold out, I NEED a new sweater, right?

I'm going to ignore the purple cardigan and grey sweater for about 10 minutes, then set them out. I'll have to knock out a few rows, just to keep them from 'feeling' neglected. :)

Flowers and plumbing

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

You have a sunny disposition and are normally one of the first to show up for the party. You don't need too much attention from the host once you get there as you are more than capable of making yourself seen and heard.


I stole this from Susan at Red Dirt Knitter! It's lovely to see what flower a person is, don't you think? C'mon, Mom, take the test. You know you want to. ;)

Quick update, then I must go to bed.

Last night, we put in shut off valves here in the kitchen. There's no leaks, no one had their feelings hurt, and no one threw a fit. (To family who know me too well: I know! Weird, huh?) Skin was broken, though. It's not a true DIY if no blood is shed.

My hands hurt from the removal of the kitchen sink. Hubs and I traded off on the wrenching of the wrench. Plus, that old sink is made of lead. Good NESS! We couldn't get a grip to pull it from the countertop. Then, remembering all the 350lb leg presses I used to do, I pushed up the sink from the bottom and voila! Everything is ready for the new countertops tomorrow morning. Yay!

How about a do-over on question 8?

Just sayin'.

You are The Devil

Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession

The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Ok, if we back it up and change #8 from "In a world ruled by me" to "In a world where people are nicer, we get this. Whew!

You are the World

Completion, Good Reward.

The World is the final card of the Major Arcana, and as such represents saturnian energies, time, and completion.

The World card pictures a dancer in a Yoni (sometimes made of laurel leaves). The Yoni symbolizes the great Mother, the cervix through which everything is born, and also the doorway to the next life after death. It is indicative of a complete circle. Everything is finally coming together, successfully and at last. You will get that Ph.D. you've been working for years to complete, graduate at long last, marry after a long engagement, or finish that huge project. This card is not for little ends, but for big ones, important ones, ones that come with well earned cheers and acknowledgements. Your hard work, knowledge, wisdom, patience, etc, will absolutely pay-off; you've done everything right.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

No one wants to end up like this:

Happy Thanksgiving '06!

Oh my gosh! I've been negligent.

Ok, have I mentioned Chuck? The knitting group on Sundays have heard of him. It seems Mom and Dad's cat Audine had a kitten she didn't want and didn't take care of. Mom called Little Goopa, the cat expert, who helped them nurse the kitten to health. He is named Chuck, and loves my Dad. My father is not a cat in the house person, but Chuck has managed to 'cute' his way inside. One night, while I was talking my Mom's ear off, Chuck fell asleep on Dad's Spongebob socks. Clearly, Chuck needs a Kitty Pi Bed. And now, he has one. It's a more masculine version, black to match him, and no foo foo eyelash yarn. Right now, it's drying after being felted to death.

Everyone's Christmas is done, excluding my Dad's. Once I decide on a yarn, I change my mind. Can I get a pair of socks knitted before December 1st? Maybe, probably, I'm sure as long as they're not knitted on 0US needles. :D

The cold is getting better, hugs to anyone who was concerned. I'm sure Nyquil's stock will go back down to normal. I still have coughs when I laugh, but not bad.

The bathroom counters are at Home Depot, waiting for me to pick up. The kitchen countertops will be installed on Tuesday. Am I excited? Oh yeah! Doing the plumbing myself isn't going to be the best, but everything will look nice before being flooded. (Kidding)

I'm going to HAVE to get a digital camera that can handle being dropped. Seriously.

The NaNoWriMo, while no longer an option, has spawned another goal. I'd like to finish the novel by the end of the year. It might be pushed to the end of January, maybe.

Dumb and Dumber is on. Fry and I are laughing, of course. It's not a Thanksgiving movie, but there IS snow in it. Just right for the Christmas mood.

House of Cough and Fog

Sick. Tired. Sick and tired. Tired of sick and tired.

This is the one cold/flu I get during the year. Right during 'that' time, too, such fun. Whatever scrap of motivation to do anything has been fevered right outta me. Because I'm sick so rarely, of course I think I'm at death's door. Keeping the dishes done, the trash bagged, and the laundry somewhat caught up are major accomplishments. You'd think I'd revel in the computer game and knitting time, but I'm not even up for that.

Countertops are being made, the guy at Carpet Corner needs to get back to me about the floor's cost, and the roof guys dropped off the shingles and things today. Which means I need to find a place to park tomorrow, somewhere quieter than the constant hammering on the roof. Sadly, I won't be able to leave until they put up the plywood, since the stuff is blocking me in.

Fry gets to stay with her Aunt Toppa this weekend, and both girls are excited. They're both a lot alike, which is fun. Little sister, round two.

More later, maybe when the various 'Quils I've taken wear off. :) I think I need another nap.

Running Amok

I have spoken: Enough of the dead animals already. Was it Claude, our sweet cat? Was it Pinky, our male Betta fish? Or was it the frog who'd taken up residence in the pond skimmer?

It was the frog. Our pump was really noisy. Yeah, you already know where I'm going with this. Gagarama. Let's just say the pump, although clean, is still noisy. The pond is cleaner, but not clean. I dunno. I want to dump it all out and have a do-over. It's pretty big and it's pretty cold out there. Something to do on a lovely spring day, don't you think?

Last night was a Knit a Scarf class, today was Beginning Knitting. Not only that, but Fry had a singing program, I had to return some floor samples, and had to stop by Walmart for class supplies, since the students had cleaned me out the night before. I get a little red "How to Knit" book there, since it's a dollar cheaper than anywhere else. Plus, I also like to supply gift bags for the kits. I'd not been to Wal-mart in so long, they'd moved things around. Ordinarily, I'd be fine with it, but I woke up with a headache and didn't want to think.

NaNoWriMo is going slooooow. Nothing yesterday, due to the lovely weather, and nothing today due to headache and not being home. Tomorrow, while the Husband is doing a Veteran's Day color guard, and Fry is busy with her room-Nintendo-Playstation-Television, I'll settle down for a write-a-thon. Sunday, I'm going to the SSK, since the group is now split into Saturday and Sunday meets. Which, is really cool, because some can go on Saturday and some can go on Sunday. It's good for everyone, especially us versatile ones who can pick a day and go. What I'll do is go on Saturday one week and Sunday the next.

Friday Fun:
Star Trek Personality Test Results: ENTJ

This test says you are an ENTJ (Extrovert, Intuitive, Thinker, Judger).* In Star Trek, you share a basic personality configuration with the characters of Q and Quark.



"If you can't stand a little bloody nose, maybe you should go back and hide under your bed." - Q

Qualities

People like you are generally creative with a global perspective, full of energy, larger than life, and ready to take charge. You're friendly, but strong-willed and driven to show your skills and expertise to others. You enjoy praise, but you're more interested in a direct and fair appraisal of your work. You admire others for their competence, consistency, and honesty. You are sometimes a little too outspoken in your opinions of others, but you return consideration for kindness.

You're very organized, quick, and productive. You're a confident strategic thinker and work best when you're full of purpose. If something is necessary to your goal, you will do it regardless of danger or disgust. This can lead to occasionally rash action on your part.

You can't stand wasting time with people who won't get to the point, but you respond instantly to creative thinking and logical explanations.

Goals

Your primary goal in life is demonstrating your competence and making important things happen. Your reward is being given large, important projects to plan and manage.

Work

Your position must involve the ability to control your work. You absolutely cannot stand being micro-managed. You're good at making plans, but unlike many others, you're also good at following through on those plans. You're also good at delegating responsibility, though your own resolution and determination may leave you unprepared when others flake out. You need to be careful not to make everything a "do or die."

Relationships

You are warm and giving and caring, and friends and lovers will enjoy the way you listen and learn from your relationships. You can scare people off when they are unfortunate enough to cross you, and you sometimes perceive a challenge where none exists. You may have sacrificed more than one relationship to accomplish something, even when such sacrifice wasn't actually required.

Your tendency to focus too much on achieving goals can destroy tenderness and intimacy. You need forgiving friends and a mate who can remind you of needs and goals outside the immediate task. Since you tend to think large, you can overlook basic, everyday necessities.

Jobs

Good careers for your type include being a chief executive officer, network integration specialist, all-being master of time/space/dimension, management consultant politician, real estate developer, marketing executive, bartender, and judge.

Is it naptime, yet?

When a mom has yet to take the first life-giving slurp of coffee, she does NOT want to hear, "Mom? What are these brown things on Squeeky? They look like bugs."

While I don't know what they were, I do know that Squeeky is on the back deck, waiting for burial. Oh joy.

After a shower and lunch, I'll take care of all the outdoors stuff. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be gorgeous days, perfect for planting bulbs and dead rodents. I'll also 'get' to clean out the pond. Makes raking leaves look good, don't you think?

Speaking of looking good, Chelle, who always looks good, has a birthday today! I didn't know about it until Monday, and she's recently moved, so sadly, there's no card for her. Instead, I'm giving her a birthday shout out on my blog. (Hilarious from a middle-aged chick, don'tcha think?) Chelle is a doll, a sweetheart of a person. She's high energy, charming, and always a blast to be around. I'm thrilled to call her a friend. I'm even more thrilled she calls ME a friend. :D If anyone gets a chance, run over to Hanging by a Thin Thread and wish her happy birthday.

Want to know a secret? I'm in the National Novel Written in a Month thing this year. I've spent the first 7 days racking my brain for a good story to write, but couldn't get this one out of my head. A novelist is SUPPOSED to start with a blank page, but... I want to finish this one. I'm sorry, but THIS is the story I want to write and I'm tired of ignoring it. If you click here, it should bring up my author's page, which gives my current word count and an excerpt. The nice thing is, the first four thousand words are better than I remembered.

I didn't have enough to do, with classes, Christmas knitting, remodeling, that I need to write a 50000 word novel. It's 'only' 200 pages, and as often and as long as I post, should be a piece of cake for me. There are daily word count goals, nothing too horrible. Currently, if I can type 2100 words a day, I'm good. 8 pages a day sound like and is a lot, but, the story has been in my brain for a couple of years, now. I just need to type it out.

Say it isn't so!

OMG! K-Fed and Brittney broke up?! Who would have ever thought it?!

Catty Alert: She's still not as trashy as her future ex-husband. Both her kids are legitimate AND have the same father. Brittney will never be as low as K-Fed on the trailer park yardstick. The yardstick goes from "Jerry Springer has you on speeddial" to "You're only slumming it for the kitch factor" level, by the way.


On to lovely politics. For my Missouri friends: Did y'all know about the minimum wage increase request? Plus, the yes or no to let non-profits and veterans organizations NOT pay property tax? No one thought to protest the new charge for fire safety inspections, those charges based on square footage? Stem cells and higher cigarettes stole the show. Of course the minimum wage needs increasing, but should we let churches and other organizations not pay their property tax? They already don't pay income taxes, and I think they get out of paying sales tax. The 'veterans' is there to throw voters. You can't vote against something with the word 'veterans' in it, that's anti-American! If an organization currently pays property tax, they shouldn't be allowed to weasle out of it. Next, the fire safety inspection money would go to the fire departments. Um, since when is public safety a profit center? Isn't this why we pay sales, city, and state tax? Never mind the unending calls from the associations of police, state troopers, firemen, and any other public servants, all calling with their hands out for our money.

Let's move away from politics and onto dead animals. When one is in a marriage, and one is the 'farm' person, that farm person is expected to deal with the dead things laying around. Not that dead animals lie scattered around our house. (It IS lie, isn't it? They lie there, but I didn't lay them there, right?) Squeeky III is in the laundry room, in, yes, a shoebox, waiting for services later. To be fair, Hubby was at an old fogey's meeting tonight and missed all the fun. If I were truly evil, I wouldn't have warned him of the dead rodent on the clothes washer. Something else that's good, Squeeky's grave will be easy to dig. With Squeeky I, the ground was frozen solid. Hubby, of course, didn't deal with the carcass, being 'on vacation' in Kuwait. The only bad thing is, the weather is way too warm to be happy about a corpse in the house. Squeeky I could have stayed in the garage until spring thaw, no such luck for Squeeky III.

Fry took this latest death hard, but not nearly as bad as Squeeky I or Herbie's passing. Squeeky II, in case anyone wonders, died within hours of bringing him home. Not much attachment there.

Yes, knitting has been done. Not a lot, what with voting, returning items at Home Depot, and tearing off tile in the kitchen. I'm working on... MOM'S Christmas gift! Whatever could it be? I can't tell, although I do know she'll like it. Why? Because she's my Mom! I'm her favorite kid, just like my other sisters. :D

The Yarn Stops Here

I think I might have to give the yarn buying a rest. Hubby came home from drill yesterday, and while we were at the Olive Garden celebrating his birthday, I mentioned the Knitcraft's great yarn sale. Since Fry was there, she gleefully told him how much I'd bought, earning me a wince from him. It wasn't THAT much. :P The boy needs a new pair of socks, just so he'll know I love him.

Nothing fits. Oh yeah, of course not my clothes, that's a given after all the pumpkin pie in the past month. No, I'm talking about light bulbs, 36 cabinet and drawer pulls, and our gorgeous new window blinds. Anyone who's see our kitchen bay windows, tell me, don't you think they're MORE than 29" long? Wouldn't any sane, rational human being know this? For some idiotic reason, I wrote 29" instead of 62" Was I thinking 59"? Surely not 92"? Was I under a migraine's influence? Who knows? At least with the recessed light bulbs, they look the same, just bigger. Plus, the cabinet handles, aren't they supposed to be a standard size? I wanted THOSE pulls and they totally don't fit. What crap.

Two down, two to go. The two sisters' Christmas presents are done, now it's the parents that need theirs. When I make something, I'm always nervous. What if they don't like it? I always think happy thoughts about the giftee while knitting, plus, if it's something they wear, like a sweater, I give it a hug before wrapping it away for gifting.

I'll need to get a little further in the Christmas knitting before committing myself, but here's a couple of charities I'm wanting to cast on and support. First is Norma's Red Scarf Project. I did this last year and had fun with it. Even better? They DON'T want the scarves before January. Thus, this is a great project if you get tired of knitting the same thing. I usually have a big needle and a small needle project going at the same time, just to keep the hand cramps away. Small needle is my purple cardigan, big needle is the Christmas surprise. Even bigger will be a shawl for my cousin, since I'm sure she's bitter by now. She'd admired one I'd made my Mom, and I'd not made something cousin-worthy since. I'm also thinking I need to make her kids some mittens as well. Two of them are Fry's age, while the baby girl is younger. They're all girls, so it'll be fun to find yarns girlish without being girly.

Oh, the other charity project is Caps to the Capitol. While I don't think it'll change our President's mind about helping babies in third world countries, it'll help me to know I did something good. What would I rather have, all this scrap yarn in my stash, or sending my knitted up scraps to a tiny baby needing warmth? Easy choice, huh? It would be nice to commit to a cap a day. Sounds like a good time to sketch up a goal list, huh? ;)

Insert Cute Title Here

Or, "Too stupid to realize that they had been called stupid."

I like it that Keith Olberman has the intelligence and eloquence to say what needs saying. He does this without making fun of the physically ill, calling people traitors, or otherwise demeaning those who don't agree with his point of view.

Countdown with Keith Olberman.

Here's a non-video version.

Then Kerry added more to the frey on the Don Imus show. He makes a lot of sense, whatever party he calls his.

I've watched the video, read the transcript, and have an opinion. (Surprise, huh???) Our administration is focusing on the trivial, and yes, I call a botched joke trivial, when there's so much else to handle. Has no one else ever said something the wrong way? No one ever twisted their words or dangle a participle and had it come out horribly? I'd like to think that it's only the super-brilliant people who do, since I'm rather good at saying the wrong thing but totally meaning the right way. I'm forever calling my Mom and saying, "You know when I said X-Y-Z? I didn't mean x-Y-z, but X-y-z." She always knows what I meant, and I'm thinking our current administration knows what Kerry meant, too.

Here's a newsbit that my Mom (all-knowing and wise beyond all our years put together) had told me about long ago. It's where our President is using Christians as a way to further his own agenda. If I were a true Christian, I'd be highly insulted. Our President thinks that Christians will blindly follow anyone their preacher advocates. He uses religion as a way to manipulate and turns people's faith in his favor. He might actually believe the 'God stuff' he spouts, but then again, he might not. If he's a true believer, then great! I'm glad it works for him. If not, I think Shakespeare said it best, "The devil hath power to quote scripture to suit his own purpose." Does this mean our leader is the devil? No, it means even the most evil can find evil in what is supposed to be good.

Here's video of the worst of the worst of campaign ads. Do they work for the general masses? I know that if I see a nasty ad, I tend to vote for the other guy. Especially so if they don't stoop to the newly lowered level.

In other news, you never really know how messy your house is until a stranger comes over and takes digital pictures of it. Oh joy, huh? That's the negative. The positive is now the counter top measurements have been taken. Next step, installation in around three weeks. :D Just in time for Thanksgiving! Which reminds me, I have no idea what we're doing for Thanksgiving. It'll be something, but I don't know if there'll be driving involved (read: mass quantities of knitting time), or major housecleaning. Either way, I don't care. It's all good for me.

Speaking of knitting, I signed up for Blue Moon Fiber Art's sock club for 2007. It's really pricy, but I love their stuff. Plus, I'll have money from knitting classes to spend on it, too. In fact, I'm teaching a class tonight at Parkville, called Advanced Knitting. Should be fun. Usually is.

Is it just me, or is the politics thing getting old?

What I'm really dreading is the automatic phone calls. Who decided this was a good idea? I hate rushing to the phone only to hear a taped message. If anything, it makes voting for the candidate a horrible idea. I'm not into encouraging bad behavior.

Sadly, you know the Republicans are sucking eggs when our Commander In Chief is dragging the gay marriage issue outta his butt. Winter fuel prices, ending our current war, preventing another terrorist-funded disaster, and respecting the nation's right to privacy while also keeping tabs on anti-American groups have all been huge issues for our government. Families struggling between food and winter warmth, hundreds of people dying in a war over 'possible' WMD's, the joke and money pit that is our Homeland Security, and the joy of knowing someone is listening in on me and my husband's conversation while he's in service overseas are all not as important as limiting the rights of those having the nerve to be gay.

To me, once the big issues are taken care of, then let's worry about how to limit the rights of others. How to punish those who aren't like everyone else. Gay is ok, obviously, and of course fat people are, too, to pick on. Sadly for those who enjoy this, there are actual laws against 'punishing' any other types of 'different' people. (intensely cranky sarcasm)

No fretting allowed. We just had a chocolate taste test, and I'm drinking 4 oz of red wine. Roto Rooter for the arteries and veins. Yes! Hershey's lost the taste test, with the worst being Ghiradelli's. In the front were Perugina and Lindt. Europeans don't care if you use real cream, it's worth it. Whatever bad or cranky mood I may have by all the slurs and mud in the election, it's all being swabbed away by flaviniods. That, and my family being home and carving pumpkins in the garage.

Hiccup!

Ok, I started a post around noon today, then ran off to SS&K knit group today.

I've been way busy lately and tomorrow will be wonderful. Carol and I, along with her two friends Susan, went to a Speaking of Women's Health conference yesterday. Lots of fun and rather odd to be at a girls only event. I'm used to sci-fi and computer conferences with an almost all male attendance. Some parts were a bit too gooey girly, but overall it was really fun. Plus, the goodies passed out were worth everything. Makeups, skin lotions, health screenings (oh so bad on my part), and hair color made it fun. We even got free socks.

That little snail above is a liar. Sadly, I'm a bit higher in the weight, if you can call 9-10lbs a bit. The body fat is hideous, as you can imagine. The cholesterol, even including the all you can eat shrimp event the night before at Red Lobster, and that I wasn't fasting, was a horrible 254. Blood pressure was surprisingly good at 138/83. Considering I was sitting next to and anticipating needles, that's not bad. :D

Countertops are ordered for all the countertopped rooms, which is good. I'm currently peeling wallpaper in the kitchen, always fun. We also have a new kitchen sink and it's lovely, too.

Ok, here's our flooring so far. It's from this website. The colors below for the slate are the same name. Tells ya how different cameras work differently. In real life, this is much prettier and matches our counters much better than shown below. On the website, this is Natural Slate.


Here is the shade of wood laminate tiles we want to use. In real life, they're a bit darker, plus, the photo doesn't show how textured this is. We wanted wood, but in the kitchen and bathrooms? I didn't want to take the chance on water damage. On the website, this is Hand Scraped.


What do we want to do with both wood AND slate? This! We really love this and want it in every room on the main floor excluding the living room. I'm certain about this choice. :)



I have emails and comments to address, but... with all the fretting about the kitchen and roof options, the conference, today's knit group, I'm pooped! It's not any of the above, just the driving. Most of the driving has been either in rush hour or in rain. I'm looking forward to doing nothing but cleaning tomorrow.

Decisions, knitting, and the last of the tooth stuff

This is what I wish our kitchen and laundry room looked like, only with black appliances. Such loveliness. We're probably going with tile in the laundry and bathrooms, Hubs wants wood floors in the dining room and I'm fighting him on that, since the room already has a lot of wood in it. He also would like wood floors all through the kitchen and most of the main floor, but then, carpet IS warm, and newer carpet would be easier to clean. We've been budgeting for a while, so now we just need to make some decisions. Maybe I'll go to Home Depot and Lowes today, just to look at samples. Although, I've looked at so much and at so many magazines, my eyes are crossed. The library at Weston was giving away their KC Homes magazines, plus some other home ones, and I've already torn out what I like from there. I should just combine the clippings, look at the resources, and be done with it.
Maybe for the countertops? I don't know. Everyone at knit group the week before liked this with the colors already in the house. The paint colors stay the same, no changing. I'm not redoing what I've already done. Bleh.

Here's a non-scanned picture of the slate. I like it, but not the border shown. Right now, I want the big tiles for the floor and/or the little tiles for the backsplash. The only thing is they're real slate and will have to be sealed. Plus, I'm not so sure I can do it myself. I'll have to tell my beloved to pay the man already and leave me out of the tile thing.

Here's all our samples scanned in. The scanner's fluorecent light makes everything a bit yellowish. The yellow paint sample is really a warm creamy color. It's the base color for everything and isn't going to change. Everything else is totally up in the air. The nice thing is, all our cabinetry is great, the appliances are super, and I have the paint already. The kitchen is just getting a facelift with the counters, floors, and backsplash. Hubby has a handyman friend we're having help out with it. There's also the basement troubles, molding sheetrock from prior termite feasts, that needs fixing. Since it IS in the basement, next to the bar, I don't think anyone will be sober enough to know we did it ourselves. Ha!

Aren't these pretty?! They're clean, too, and I'm wearing them to the class I'm teaching tonight. I'm such a showoff, but hey, they're DONE! Yay! I can't blog about other things, because they're Christmas presents. Some of my family reads this, so... I can't wait to show off what I've done for them, though. The items are turning out better than I'd expected. :D

We went to Hub's parents over the weekend and had fun hanging out with them. Then, yesterday, I had the dental appointment. I didn't scream OR cry, better than the last time, for sure. Only three shots, too. Last time, my jaw muscles hurt, this time, it's my neck. Ah well, ibuprophen is my friend.

48 Things You Could Care Less About
1. FIRST NAME? Laura
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I don't think so, Mom just liked the name. So do I, for that matter.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Last week after the dentist, but it wasn't a cry, but leaky eyes.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I would if I could read it. Shoulda been a doctor.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Ham.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Ha! Have you seen my yarn stash? I'd love me and hang out over here all the time, trying to con the yarn away. Seriously, though, I'd be my friend because I'd know while I'm non-intrusive to the point of being neglectful, I also would never intentionally say something to cause a moment of hurt feelings. It takes a lot of poking to make me mean, and even then, I'll feel bad about it if I retaliate.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? This is it! See the handwriting thing above.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes! Mom fought the doc and the Mom won.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Ha! No. This is as good as it gets.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Grape Nuts.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope!
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I do, right up until needles are involved. Then I sprout feathers and turn into a chicken.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Right now, I'm craving Pumpkin. Otherwise, I love anything with crunchies or fruits in it. Butter brickle, peanut butter crunch, black cherry, all those. I never turn away ice cream, which explains why my clothes are shrinking.
14. SHOE SIZE? 7
5. RED OR PINK? Red
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I talk too much. I hate that.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grandparents and uncles. Everyone else is a phone call away.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Um, how about just post your own answers on your own blog. The blogless are free to email and I'll post here, if you like. :P
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? What I wore to bed last night, grey shirt, black gauchos, white socks.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? A chocolate chip last night as a reward for finishing a row.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The space heater and computer fan hums.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Supposedly, Sky Blue, but I think their test is flawed.
23. FAVORITE SMELL? My daughter's hair.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Yikes! The librarian helping with my Nov 2nd class.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their smell.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Of course. Even though I never win her contests and am highly bitter about it, she's still pretty cool and a brilliant photographer.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Diet Pepsi.
28. FAVORITE SPORT? I don't know. :P Never thought about it, really.
29. EYE COLOR? Greenish brown.
30. HAT SIZE? No idea.
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Of course I do. Have since 1979.
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Mexican, seafood, Chinese, Italian, in that order. I love American foods, but love the exotics, too.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings all the way.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer.
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Lots of both. Even if they're only Hershey's.
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Tiramisu cheesecake.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I dunno.
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? More I dunno.
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Retarded, easy to walk away from ones, like, Scandinavian Phrasebook, Cool Careers for Dummies, A Gathering of Lace (probably overdue at the library), Make Your House Clean Itself.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? A wrist rest and what looks like a smudge of chocolate.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? My Family on DVD, Law & Order CI and SVU, news, last half of a South Park.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The front door opening with a crash, things being tossed on the floor, and a "Hi Mom!" from a starving Fry. That, and the garage door opening, then the laundry and kitchen doors, and a "Hello!" from 'the man'.
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles, even though the Stones are pretty cool.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Rome, Italy.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? My ability to write long blog posts about nothing.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Oklahoma
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? No one, I stole it from January One.

Woe could be me, but it's not.

A funny thing happened on the way to a post. Blogger is being a bear and not letting me put up pictures. Grr. I've tried the three at once, then one at a time, and nothing works. I really hate that, because it's not like I'm loading 5 pictures at a time several times a day. My Simply Lacy socks are done and on my feet, and you'll just have to take my word for it. There's some other socks needing mending, and a few Christmas things to knit up as well.

So anyway...

There's going to be a knock-down dragout tomorrow when Fry gets off the bus and she doesn't even know it, yet. The Sims 2: Pets is arriving sometime tomorrow. Sadly, our computer chair has wheels, so she can pull me away from the keyboard. Happily, the mouse is wireless. Let's just SEE her pry it from my clawed up hand. It'll be like us fighting over the last Diet Pepsi on Christmas Eve. No stores are open the next couple of days, then, so the fight is a bad one. ;) Noogies, half-Nelsons, wet Willies, Indian sunburns, it's obviously NOT pretty.

What will actually happen is, I'll play the game just to get her a cool little pet store set up in her own neighborhood. Then, when she's home, I'll have her a drink and snack ready, and tell her she needs to play Sims without letting her in on the news. Her bedtime is 9pm, so I'll get the computer again, then.

Why have I not been blogging? Well, I'd been cleaning, seeing the gals at the Sit, Sip, and Knit, signing up for the Studio's knitting retreat (but haven't reserved the rooms just yet), falling down the stairs a little bit, and having my mouth given the jack o'lantern treatment by the dentist.

What was that, you say? Falling down the stairs? Why yes, I did a little bit. I was telling Fry something, standing on what I thought was the second from the bottom stair, then stepped back onto what I thought was the main floor but was really air. Usually, I'm much better at catching myself, but down I went. My foot, knee, and hand hurt. The fun thing was, my Hubs was on the phone to his parents, hung up really fast, and ran over to assist. Sweet, but not so sweet when he called them back later and had me tell them what happened. Not in a mean way, but in a hear it from the horse's mouth sort of way. His mom and I commiserated over how fun it was to be put on the spot and having to admit one's gracelessness. My toe, already dodgy from a childhood horse tank incident, is the only thing feeling the pain, still. I'll pause here to let my Mom finish laughing over the 'incident'. Let's just say that a child should not flail around in a horse tank full of water when said child is a goof. I was going to type 'blithering idiot', but I'm not an idiot. Blithering, yes, idiot, no.

So anyway, the worst bruises are the two on my hiney cheeks. Yes, I know, TMI. They're from bumping into corners and cabinet door handles while running around the house cleaning, painting, and all that. Obviously, I'm not used to this much 'junk' in my trunk or I wouldn't keep whomping it on various obstacles.

Whew. Now, let's go on to yesterday's agony and embarrassment. I'm sure my dentist loves me, especially when I squall out during the deadening shots. Four of them, some of which HAD to be in my cheekbone, and none of them painless. At least they weren't in the palette, those hurt more than anything. He came at me with the needle before I was numb good from the goo, and I squawked, "Not dead yet! Not dead!" I still wasn't dead even after he waited a couple more seconds (but I'm not bitter), so I'm gargling with super strength Anbisol on Monday when I get to go back to have the scaling done on the left side. Yes, I'll drool, but then, that's so much better than the screaming, don't you think? The above website would have you believe that just by brushing and flossing, a person can avoid gum disease. Not true. When I had braces, I brushed and flossed after every meal, avoided food in between meals because it meant more 'tooth' time, and for what? My teeth were perfect, maybe a cavity from the braces, but the gums? They're measured on a 1 to 5 scale, from good to bad, and the best I ever did were some ones, some twos, but mostly threes. I'd waited a couple of years between cleanings, which is why this one was so bad, and will be again on Monday. The best thing was, Fry was home from a stomach flu (oh soooo bad), and Hubs came home to make sure everyone had chicken soup and 7-up. They both hugged on me, particularly since my eyes wouldn't stop watering. I wasn't crying, just had watery eyes. Even now, my teeth are great, the bad tooth doesn't hurt, but the jaw muscles ache like crazy. Tension is a bad thing sometimes.

We were all expecting me to get a root canal, but the scaling fixed the tooth. Hubs was saying all this pain from one shot, and I replied, no, from four. Then, the scraping under the gum line. He and Fry have cavity prone teeth, but fantastic gums, I have the reverse. Too bad for Fry she didn't get the good teeth AND good gums.

I could go into the whole thing about how I've noticed (as have other brainer types) that circulatory problems and periodontal problems seem to be related. The gums warn you for later in life. Maybe they're on the same gene. It's probably time for me to consider heart health instead of using my 'youth' as an excuse to be lazy. ;)

Something fun and true today:

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.


Take this quiz



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Fry Day and new stuff.

Wow! I love my appliances. Mary was right about the noise, the dishwasher is more than I'm used to, but then, I'm used to nothing. Ha! Fry asked to be the first to use it, so she got to load it.

Maybe I'll cook on the stove tomorrow. We had pizza delivery tonight, just to keep everything nice until the Hubs comes home. He's working Bingo night at the Knights of Columbus. Poor guy has Army Reserve tomorrow, too, so it'll be us girls at the Sit, Sip, and Knit tomorrow.

Wow! Lots of comments! I'll answer them all here. The tooth is fine, painful a bit, but fine. The dentist wants me to come back Tuesday to have it closely looked at, plus get half my teeth cleaned. Top or bottom? No, the right side of the mouth and then the left. The dentist mumbled something about 'root canal' which Hubs has assured me sounds worse than what it is. He's had a few. He and Fry have cavities, I have gum problems. Seems the pained tooth has had trauma. I'd bumped it hard a few times while chewing, of all things. I know, I thought, "Wow, dumb butt, chew much in your life?" So we will see Tuesday if I need the dreaded root canal or if the antibiotic will help. The dentist said my Midrin for the headaches will work if the tooth is killing me. I usually take just one with the antibiotic, which is nice. By the time the ibuprophen wears off, it's time for the other pill.

Carol, you amaze me at how little you get by with cooking. I'm totally impressed, but then, I do like cooking every so often. :D The natives around here insist upon it. I can't wait until the countertops, flooring and tile backsplashes are replaced, too. Fry is having difficulty accepting the changes. I'm like, "Hon, the wallpaper is PLAID, and the tiles are WHITE. Plus, kitchen carpet? Uggg. The counters are ok, but as vanilla as a person could get. We've tried including her in on the changes, but she's not wanting to change anything, of course. Oh well! Too bad so sad for her!

Mary, I can't tell you how often I've got my hiney in a bind from speedreading and not paying attention. I'd just thought my writing was unclear, and maybe it was. :P When are you moving, have you picked out colors for the old house? My offer for color hunting still stands.

Susan, I totally understand the bonding reference. I can't deal with Mom's gas stove. Gas leaks worry me. It's silly, I know. All the holiday cooking, done on a new stove!! I'm thrilled.

There's been yarn in the mail, beads in the mail, and even wood flooring samples in the mail. I'll have to share all that later, since the man of the house needs the computer. He rarely does, so I can share. :P

It's in the mail! Oh joy!

I've ordered the first two seasons of My Family from BBC America and they've shipped today. If we enjoy this half as much as we have Alien Nation and My Name Is Earl, there'll be much laughter in the house. We had Toppa watch some of Earl over the weekend and she didn't make a fool of herself with laughing. I try to be cool about it, but tend to laugh my hiney off at Earl and My Family. I've grown up with so much great comedy in my life, it's tough for a show to make me laugh until tears. Usually, the tears are from repressed laughter because I want to hear the next line instead of laughing through it.

My Family - That's Just Weird & Scary.

Nick is my favorite. In the film below, you'll see one of the reasons why.

My Family - How to humiliate your father.

My favorite clip.

How did they DO it?

The ancient peoples, the ones born before novicane, I mean. Oh. My. God. I have a tooth that's been hurting since yesterday morning and a wicked fear of dentists with needles. My dearly beloved went out last night and found me three kinds of gum numbz. They all work ok, but of course wear off. I do have an appointment tomorrow at 2:30, so I'm hoping by this time tomorrow, I'll be fine.

So what's happened in the past week to keep me from blogging? Finishing up the laundry room. I keep dragging family members in there to look at the beauty. It's the same creamy yellow as the foyer. Also, yesterday the washer arrived. Joy oh joy! Mary, I have tried to felt something already. I had to, you know. It works ok. The washer barrel is bigger than the prior one, and even though the new washer has an agitator, the barrel is so big there's no friction. I think the item would felt faster if I'd put jeans in there, too. I've almost worn out the washer from doing laundry today and especially yesterday. It's wonderful. If you're going to get a new washer, be sure to get the matching dryer. Not that I'm being anal or anything, but I've noticed the dryer has to struggle a bit, the washer holding more.

It's not just the washer that's entering the building. With Chelle, and now Mary moving, (Jen moved a few months ago), plus touring all the Staley Farms houses this weekend... I would LOVE a new house. There would be nothing better than moving into somewhere nice that I don't have to fix. But then, what would I do all day? Ha! What's the next best thing? New appliances! Yay! Technically, the possessed dishwasher is the only thing that needs replacing. If I did that, the stove and microwave, both in here since 1988, would look scruffy. With the gift cards and discounts, we decided to splurge on all three. The fridge is still good so far, knock on wood.






I love the microwave we picked. It's not as big, but then we don't use our microwave that much. Warming up leftovers, defrosting meats, and popcorn is about as good as it gets.




I don't know how dinner will go down on Friday. To cook or not to cook? Tis nobler to leave the glass topped stove clean, or to prove the need for a wonderful new range? What should I do?? ;)









Last and most important is the dishwasher. For the past several years, I'VE been the dishwasher, the current one being possessed. When a washer turns on spontaneously AND with the door unlatched, it's possessed. I had to unplug it to turn it off. I know, freaky. Spooky model is GE's 2200, the hopefully non-possessed is the GE 4000.




Jen, we agree with the faux wood. We'd been looking at the wood floors available at Home Depot, but they're just not the real thing. I think we're going to wait and save up for the good stuff. New floors, new countertops and sinks, and new tile in the house will turn our house into a new place. Susan, I've managed to knit a couple of rows in the past week. I wanted to get the kitchen painted before the new appliances arrived. Not going to happen. Still, I love that new house smell in the laundry room.

Chelle, are you going to be at SS&K on Saturday? I'm wondering if we shouldn't solidify the plans for the Knitter's retreat. Too bad Camie Vog and Susan couldn't attend (Hint hint that they should.) I didn't even consider the event might fill up. Yikes!

Now I need to swab some numbz-it on the Tooth and check everyone else's blogs.

Fryday Eve, aka, Thursday

Didn't blog about the washer, did I? Our beloved washer died a bit. More like spin disabled. I've researched them and ordered one today. It'll get here on Tuesday sometime. I don't have a life, so of course I can wait at home all day for them. Yes, I could have used the pickup to get it home myself, but... I couldn't be all smug and think "I'd have done a better job," if they goof up the installation.

In the meantime, I thought this would be an excellent time to paint the laundry room. We're not going to be wild and crazy, it's the same yellowish creamy color as the foyer and part of the kitchen. Tomorrow will be fun, teaching a socks class with paint still on my hands and hopefully not in my hair. Fry said, "Boy, Mom! Your hair sure is white!" I retorted, "Look closer," and laughed when she laughed.

This weekend is sure to be action packed. Hubs is going to do inventory at the bank for one of his clubs in the morning. I'll get him to drop off what I've baked for the American Legion bake sale, because the rough wool awaits me at Cottage Fiber's sale from 10-12 at the same time. Don't NEED the rough wool, since the last time I was there, I bought some black roving, a lovely pinky stuff that matches the booties and hat Flakey wore, and some deep jeweltone roving like some I'd bought before at the same place.

Then, we'll regroup with Toppa and go on the Parade of Homes Tour. Ooooo, we love model homes. All three of us, Hub, me, and Fry love the models. I'm thinking for Fry, it's future homes, and for Hub and I, it's the cleanness. The new appliances are very cool, too. I have a list of what I want replaced in the kitchen. After I'm done painting in here, we're getting them. In the meantime, we're paying special attention to kitchen flooring and counter tops. A lot of the newer homes are going for the granite counters and wood floors, but I'm not so sure. Two of my talents are spilling and staining, so we'll need something easy to clean. Plus, we'll get to hang out with Toppa! We've not had a chance to do that in a quite a while. :)

There's a Chemo Cap knit in I want to go to on Sunday. I've not called, yet, so my request to join in maybe a bit frosty. We'll see. If not, I'll finish the laundry room. This involves moving the washer and dryer to the other side of the room, always a good test of my fitness.

Speaking of that, I'd like to lose down a bit for the knitter's retreat. If the lap pool is still there, it'd be a good incentive to wear my jeans and still be able to breathe. I have a lot of knitting business paperwork stuff to do tomorrow, one of which will be signing up for the retreat. Plus, since my fingers will be the only parts of me not sore from cleaning and painting, I can answer emails. :D

I stole these from Susan at Red Dirt Knitter today. But not in a bad way.

You Belong in Summer

Energetic, creative, and very curious about the world... You're not going to let anything hold you back, especially a cold day. Whether you're chilling out at the beach or partying all night, you live for the warm weather.

What Season Are You?

You Are an Excellent Cook

You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. (and a lot of people upchucking, ha ha ha!) It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire...

Are You A Good Cook?

See? I need a new stove, professional quality.

You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from. And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi. Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics... Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

It's been how long?

Ding dong, the headache is gone!

Finally, huh?

We had a great time today. We went to Oktoberfest, having bratwurst, beer (just me), and funnel cake. The fest was pretty small, from what I've been used to. Still, we had a great time watching Fry ride the carnival rides. There was also a great quilt show, and I'll have to post more on that later.

Afterward, we saw that the Parade of Homes was still going on, so we ran over to Staley Farms to see their latest houses. Some of them are huge! Never mind the money, I think of the time spent cleaning. Yikes! Of course someone could hire a cleaning service, but still. The great part about going is seeing what improvements we can apply to our own home.

As nice as the houses were, they didn't come close to the house we saw yesterday on the way to the Sit, Sip, & Knit. There's a home down the road we love. It has a wrought-iron fence and a huge pond in front. It sits back from the road on a bit of acreage. It was on the market for 1.5 million, and has since sold. In the backyard, there's a swimming pool and koi pond with a waterfall. When Fry and I drove by on our way to a quick stop at Walmart, I saw the 'estate sale' sign. We screeched to a stop, then HAD to go in. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Huge, too. A lot like the homes we saw today. I have to wonder, what does a person do with all that acreage INSIDE the house? Plus, forget about doing any painting yourself. It would take a team to do anything around there. It was a shame, though. The pool was a bit greenish, and their pond looked worse than mine! I've not worked on our pond in a while, so, yeah, I need to fix it up before winter. This whole week is going to be hot to not so hot, giving me a good chance to knock out those tasks.

I'd called the Hubs about the estate sale, mostly to let him know we can go inside the home. While Fry and I had lunch with the girls, he did his errands which included picking up my contacts and his developed film at Walmart. That, and seeing the house were what he did. I asked him to check out the two weedwackers there, and lo! He found one for $15. Yay!

Between the three of us, we had a great weekend. For next weekend, we're planning on seeing more houses on the parade, PLUS, there's a knit event on Sunday. From 1-5pm, is the annual Chemo Cap knit at Knit-wit in Olathe. After that, on Monday, from 6:30-8:30pm, is a charity knit at Yarn Shop & More in Overland Park.

The BIG news is that The Studio is having a Knitter's retreat. I am so going and really hope everyone in the SSK group will, too. I need to call or go by the Elms and see how many people fit in a suite. I want to sign up this minute! Such fun. :) A resort full of people sharing the same language of woolly things. No one has to ask, "Did you make that?" when seeing a beautiful and unique sweater. With our group, it'll be a great slumber party

"Boss, da brain, da brain!"

Yes, stupid headache. I can see why ancient man drilled holes in the skull to relieve the pressure. On Thursday, I'll be back to normal. No snickers from the peanut gallery, ok? Either the headache will go away, or the Relpax will arrive in the mail.

I'll answer emails and such later, when up isn't down, north isn't south, and right isn't left. :)

For the love of all that's holy, DON'T wake him up!!!

From Slate.com:

Chinese doctors performed the world's first documented penis transplant. An unexplained accident left the patient with a "small stump," unable to urinate properly or have sex. Doctors gave him the penis of a brain-dead man whose parents agreed to donate it. Good news: After 10 days, he could "urinate smoothly" and showed no signs of tissue rejection. Bad news: After two weeks, "because of the wife's psychological rejection as well as the swollen shape of the transplanted penis," the organ "regretfully had to be cut off." Upbeat conclusion: We're figuring out the human body. Skeptical conclusion: We still have no clue about the human mind.

His WIFE rejected the organ? Next thing you'll know, there'll be penis farms and catalogs. PeniBay.com is next, I'm sure. I don't even want to know what sort of spam I'll get over this. Still, it's worth it.

What about the donor? What if the doctors are wrong about him being brain-dead? I mean, look at the whole Terri Shiavo can of worms. Can you imagine the poor guy asking his parents "You did WHAT? I NEEDED that!"

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll answer Maenwyn's comment to the prior post. Since she pointed out I was wrong concerning the pagan/occult thing, my ears closed and have just now opened back up. Me? Wrong? Nawwww! Surely you jest.

In Which I Wax Pissy

First the nice stuff: Class was fun, yesterday, as I said. We had a good time, I think, and everyone learned something. My learning was, I learned to avoid invisible cast ons. Not that I'll never do one, just that I'm avoiding them.

I'm not leaving the house today. Not going to, and not even knitting needles being half off at Hobby Lobby is going to sway me. Why? One day this week, while going to Hyvee to drop off deposits (our bank is in there) and picking up some crab salad, some idiot left their cart out. Was it a windy day? Yes it was. Did it hit the pickup? Yes it did. Did I curse at the top of my lungs? Sailors would have cried in pain at my language. I sincerely hope that whoever left the cart heard me and was afraid. They needed to be. Every single time I go into a cart-bearing store, I drag one of those mudderfudders in. Like an idiot, I'm saving some jerk who doesn't deserve its car from the beautiful scrape I now have.

You'd think the rock hitting my windshield yesterday and putting in a spider-like crack in it would further enrage me, but no. That was an accident. No one drove over a rock to kick it up to damage whoever was behind. The crack is the size of a quarter and we're already researching dent and ding places.

If you have enough energy to grocery shop, dragging your feeble carcass through the store for all those sugar laden snacks, then you have enough energy to put your f'ing cart up, all right? The life you save will be your own.

A couple of other things that struck me as not right.

First of all is that Gay Senator. I watched his interview on Oprah, shilling his new book and showing off his boyfriend. I have no problem with him being gay, none with him being in office, none with him wanting to hide his orientation because it IS rough to go against the grain. There's not even a problem with him falling in love with a guy and slipping up. The way it sounded, it was the first time he'd ever done what he really wanted. Well, ok, I can understand.

What does bother me about this whole thing is the guy has now found God. I think he has, at least, because every other sentence had the word God in it. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, but the fact the guy had adulterous relationships all through his marriages IS a bad thing. Especially since he's written a book and his profiting from the scandal. We're supposed to overlook his affairs because he's gay. It's ok because he wasn't 'doing' women. Ummm hmmm. Bottom line is he made a promise to forsake all others, not to forsake only women. Next, it'll be ok for men to have affairs with women because, poor things, they're male lesbeanns. (Misspelled intentionally. For some reason, spammers think I'm totally not hetero and have male equipment that resembles little smokie wieners. Let's not add to that with a web reference to me, mmmkay?)

While we're on politics, lets go to Planned Parenthood. I'm on their mailing list. Can a person be pro life and pro choice? Sure! I don't think anyone should be forced into carrying a child, it's such a personal thing. But, I also don't think abortion should be a form of casual birth control. For me, it's one of those "In Case Of Emergency" things, not one of those, "I ran out of condoms, I'll get an abortion if I need it later." The birth control pill was invented by a Catholic doctor, trying to help overgrown and poverty stricken families. He ended up being very bitter over the Vatican's rejection of his efforts and I don't blame him. I think women ought to have free access to any form of birth control, just like men do. The pharmacists who refuse to carry the Pill should take condoms and other contraceptives off their shelf. Don't half-ass your beliefs, otherwise, it's discrimination.

Oddly enough, that isn't the rant. Who is the group most opposed to a woman's right to choose how her body is used in reproduction? Conservative Christians. That's neither good or bad, just the way it is. So when I get an email from Planned Parenthood titled "Release the Goddess within", I cringe. Sure enough, inside is a fundraiser (still ok), with vendors, talking about releasing your own inner goddess, inviting all goddesses and those who love them, and offering free tarot and palm readings.

Sigh. How will this paganistic event go over with the conservatives? "Turd in a punchbowl" comes to mind. No wonder these two are at odds. One group is quoting scripture while the other is dancing around a bonfire. The conservatives strike me as the most closed minded of the two groups, and they'll never be convinced to let women choose for themselves if Planned Parenthood takes a paganistic approach. Once you mention anything remotely related to New Age, the Christians' ears snap shut. Which is to be expected. Part of being human is not wanting to hear that you're wrong, and they do happen to be human. Neither side is all wrong or all right. Still, if Planned Parenthood wants to make actual inroads to a woman's right to birth control, they need to learn the conservative's language.

In other news... My mailman is a staunch conspiracy theorist. I'm sure he wins the "Most Likely To Go Postal" award every year. The nice thing is he likes me. Whew, huh? I'm sure he'd approve of my wonderings. ;) I'm thinking, the president's family is big oil. Venezuela produces a lot of oil. Could it be that our leader has somehow got their leader to talk smack about him? Think about it. The administration isn't saying anything about the trash talk, not wanting to dignify the comments with a retort, while all the Democrats are defending our own guy. Only Americans can call the president an idiot alcoholic? Um, yeah. Gas prices are lower and the Dems are defending him, so he's an ok guy? I'm sorry, go sell 'crazy' somewhere else. My memory, while notoriously bad, does go back longer than two weeks. Try again.

Told you I was pissy. Could it be the black of what I'm currently knitting rubbing off and making me look like my hands mine coal? Probably. ;)

Blogger is supposed to be out, now, but let's try anyway

Oh my gosh! I'm so tired from class today. Yeah, it wasn't bad or anything, but stressfull, anyway. Why? Well, it was Intermediate Knitting at Lee's Summit. They already have a great group meeting there once a month, so they're true intermediates.

I'll post more later, after Blogger does the upgrade/server maintenance today.

A Lot Has Happened Since Thursday

I don't think the snail up above is going to move until I move. We're doing a family stroll around the neighborhood every evening, so I'm hoping for results that I know I won't see. Not pessimistic, just realistic.

I've opened a new post at least twice, then someone needed the computer and I let them bump me off. Fry, Hubs, one of them. The dress, classes, wrapping up some sewing UFOs, decluttering the sewing stuff, all kept me busy. I stopped by C&C (a mostly cross stitch store that carries some yarn) on Thursday, then went to Stitch Knitch yesterday in search of the elusive Regia 5033. I ended up ordering it from Stitch Knitch, since they're so nice. I've got everything I need for the girls in my family a Christmas gift.

Also, there's been no posts because I don't know how to say this. Every morning, I look out of the bathroom window to check on Herbie. Saturday, I noticed Herbie's food overturned. This didn't look good. I went to his coop, and all there was left was a bunch of feathers. When something has got a chicken, sometimes that's all that IS left. Not so in this case. I found Herbie under the river birch, where some cat had drug him. We forgot to tell him when a cat asks you over for dinner, say NO. Fry was pretty soggy all day, and still very sad the next. Everyone fussing over her Pilgrim dress lifted her spirits. She and her dad went on an outing Saturday afternoon while I taught class in Parkville, then, I dealt with the chicken.

Sometimes, women's lib bites. We're still not treated equally, and when all is said and done, we still have to do the grossest stuff around the house. Herbie stayed together very well as I wrapped him in the fleece and put him in a shoebox. Happily, Fry watches "My Name Is Earl", too, so when I explained away my giggles by saying "The episode where Randy finds Crackers," she understood. Here are the quotes I thought of every time I saw the shoebox.

Randy finds a shoebox buried in the garden

Randy: Hey look Earl, somebody buried a pair of shoes.
Earl: Randy, hold on!
Randy: Aah! It’s a cat’s skeleton! I should name him Crackers after our cat that used to sleep in the street.

Then later:

Randy: (to Earl)Number 67, ran over crackers. What kind of crackers did you run over? Saltines? Did it make a crunchy sound?

It's not cool to giggle at a chicken's funeral. Fry was saying, "I'm going to miss him, his little face, his little beak," to which I thought, "his little drumstick, battered and baked."

Clearly, I'm a finalist in the "Most Insensitive Mother" contest. Poor baby, she was really distraught. I did refrain from fixing anything chicken for dinner. I'm looking forward to taking down the coop and storing it for the next chicken, she's wanting to turn it into a shrine. Um, no.

I want to thank everyone for the suggestions, they were good ones and will probably be used for the next chicken.

Oh! I did start the second lacy sock, second verse same as the first, and will post pictures once I get to the heel. That may take a while, since I'd rather hit a comfort level on the Christmas knits before working on my own things. Toppa, Fry, Hubs and I are all going to the SSK this Saturday. Some are lured by the food and coffee, others by the internet connection. I, of course, am there for the great company and sheer fun. :)

Friday will be much more fun.

Really it will. There'll be action, excitement, and pictures. Cat pictures, chicken pictures, all sorts of great bandwidth suckers.

In a nutshell,
Tuesday: Peeling wallpaper in the kitchen, general decluttering.
Wednesday: Shopping for weedeater parts/new weedeater, and beginning a sewing project.
Thursday: Teaching class (beginning knitting, very fun!), and cutting fabric.

Yes, very exciting if you love to yawn.

Fry wants to wear a Pilgrim dress to the Sons of the American Revolution event. One of the other Children of the American Revolution kids will be wearing colonial so Fry needs to, too. This dress will be simpler than the one for confirmation. No lining or scalloped edges. Lots of fabric, though. Yikes!

Have I ever mentioned I never took Home Ec? After the chicken coop fiasco, I'm ashamed to admit I took farm ed, instead. Not to worry, Wednesday, I found better posts for the chicken coop. Goals are, dress done on Saturday, coop on Sunday.

Does anyone know how to keep a chicken warm in the winter? I'm not bringing Herbie into the house, and I can't find a pattern for a chicken sweater. He does have his own blanket, a fleece remnant from Joann's. I'm thinking of knitting him one, too, an acrylic and easily washable.

Let's Go Here, And Here, But Not There.

First of all, wouldn't it be nice to have Madrid bans too-thin models from catwalk apply to your own self? Sigh. And not in an I've-had-a-dread-issue-or-disease way, either. In a "Yes, I eat lots of cheesey goodness and NEVER exercise," way.

Simply Lacey Sock part two is on the needles! I've not only got to, but past the part where I had to rip all out last Saturday. I'll do a lot to keep from undoing all I've done, but the mistakes were too much. The sock is going faster now, and I'm hoping to be finished before I started.

Where we don't want to boldy go.

The whole 9-11 thing makes me cranky. Of course it does, since so many innocents died, right? Sure, that's one reason. The main one, really. Another is Bin Laden is jumping up and down, going "Over here! Over here! I did it, I'm proud I did it and I'll do it again. Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, you can't catch me!"

We've lost more people in Iraq, who had nothing to do with 9-11, than we did on that horrible one day. Sure, they had an evil dictator for a leader, one who listened in on their conversations, made decisions unilaterally, and imprisoned people without due process, but he was their leader. Since they couldn't elect him out of office, the ones who didn't want to live under his regime, who wanted to be ruled by America, are now called Iraqi-Americans. What did the 41000-46000 Iraqi casualties in the war specifically do against the US and Allies, again? Get in the way of profits, I guess.

They're not us, so we don't care, right? If they die, there's more for us.

See? We didn't want to go there. Sarcasm just doesn't translate well in the written word. If I'm wrong, by all means, don't let me live in ignorace. Comment away. Links lead to support of all statements. While my ass is cute, I don't like to talk out of it. Much.

It's Quiz Time!

I stole this from Camie Vog, who is at Perfect Blue Buildings on my Blogroll.

Katharine Hepburn
You scored 21% grit, 23% wit, 47% flair, and 16% class!
You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.



My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on grit

You scored higher than 99% on wit

You scored higher than 99% on flair

You scored higher than 99% on class

Link: The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

So, am I to deduce that not many 40+ females took this test? Ha!

Blogs without many pictures are horrible and boring, aren't they? I'll have to change that. Probably tomorrow, since I'd already gone to Michael's, Target, and talked to Mom since starting the post and I want this done already.

I wasn't paying attention (what a shock!!) and Trekking along is done! I'm NOT done with the pair. One, yes, but not two. As much as I'm razzing Carol about finishing her toes, I should at least start the second socks, right?

In the meantime, the grey sweater is slowly growing, and the purple cardigan is on tonight's knitting agenda. Hubs is at Army Reserve tonight, but will be coming home, yay! I thought it was a camp over weekend drill, so any time with him is good time. I'll get picture happy later and show off all the stuff he brought us.

He and I, because we're goofy and stuck in the 80's, love Hard Rock Cafe. Did he bring back Hard Rock t-shirts from South Korea? OF course he did. It's silly, but we go out of our way on trips to get a shirt from the Cafe. Some of the Hard Rocks, we went to together, some while apart. Fry loves them, too, which is funny. Very retro of her, don't you think?

Cute Fry story: She loves to have one of her parents to herself. Because of Hubs being away for so long, when he had to run errands one day this week, she encouraged me to stay home with a, "Oh, you don't need to go with us, Mom. Stay home and rest, take a break." Hubs, on the other hand, missed me too, so he vetoed that.

She's going to have her nose out of joint for a while. It seems my baby sister Goopa is wanting knitted items, per my Mom. Ummm hmmm. When I cast on, Fry will mosy by, assuming it's for her. If my family members want knits for Christmas, now is a very good time to let me know type, style, color. Before I go crazy and sign up for any more Knit A Longs.

Yes, those are angels you're hearing

My new DSL modem is here! Oh yay! Call me, "Spoiled Rotten". DSL rocks. Insto-net.

Of course, in my rush to catch up on other bloggers, knit and otherwise, I've not got a lot done. Oooops. Oh well. The bed is made, dishes are soaking, and I ate lunch.

I know. Some days I shoot for perfection. Others, I'd settle for sub-human. ;)


::this is the part where I can't sit still for any longer and run around, cleaning::


Dang! It's already 4:00pm! I took a bit of a detour, feeding the cat, folding clothes, filling up the ponds.

Did anyone notice Project Spectrum is done? Whew! I miss the color of the month, but like the idea of falling behind and no pressure. Just in time for Christmas knitting, if I do anything in the gift area, anyway.

Sliding into home!

The final mits entry:

I can't live, if living is without you...

Our DSL modem died while we were gone. I know. Tragedy. I told ATT it was their fault they had me spoiled rotten to the speed. It's not T1, but still. I'm totally NOT going with a Time Warner cable package. The last time our cable went out, I'd called Time Warner and they said they'd send someone out in a week. So, if the cable went out and I had a package deal of landline phone, internet, and TV, all of the above would be out for a week? You got it! So there's no way I'm going without all three, if nothing else for safety reasons. During tornado season, that's not an option.

What's going to be fun is my neighbors seeing my pale and bloated body stagger outside, blinded by the sun, because there's no reason to be glued to the computer.

Yeah, I exaggerate. I also get Fry all to myself tomorrow. Serious playtime. We should clean, especially the miraculously reappearing carpet stain. Isn't that what the first day of school is for? The Mom cleans the wreckage from the long weekend?

A brief update on the Fiber Fest and Hannibal Missouri. Great! There was fiber, sheep, and I got to see my future spinning wheel in the flesh wood. We toured Mark Twain's childhood stomping grounds and beloved Hubs called from South Korea. Good times, good times. ;) There'll be pictures of all this when a) they're developed, and b) when the new modem is hooked up.

What do I need?

All right. You see it in the title. What do I need? Not yarn, I have plenty of that. I went to the Bait and Switch store this morning. There wasn't a thousand balls of yarn, before or after I was there.

I love comments, by the way. 99% of them are positive, and the rest are just helpful. :D The horrible ones don't get past the verification process, happily.

Let's slap some Friday fun around first.

You scored as SG-1 (Stargate). You are versatile and diverse in your thinking. You have an open mind to that which seems highly unlikely and accept it with a bit of humor. Now if only aliens would stop trying to take over your body. SG-1 (Stargate) 81% Moya (Farscape) 75% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 75% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 69% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 63% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 63% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 56% Serenity (Firefly) 44% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 44% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 44% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 38% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 25% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

Tomorrow is the World Fiber fest. Yay! Even if there's only one puny sheep and a couple of moulty rabbits, we're running around Hannibal, MO. Fry and I both are big fans of Mark Twain's, and Carol has information on the area, too. I can't wait! We're leaving tomorrow morning, after I set the burglar alarm. :D

So. What do I need? To pack, check animals, eat dinner, and clean house a bit. Maybe that'll shake my bit of blues.