Where have I been???

Besides busy, that is...

It has been crazy.... trying to put my house back together after all that has happened....

Moving all sorts of boxes around in the basement, so that an old dead dryer could come out, and a new dryer could come in. What a disaster that turned into.... First off, I have a small basement, with a small staircase...so I had to buy a dryer that would fit. Then I had to deal with idiot delivery guys who insisted the dryer wouldn't fit, and I'll swear that they purposely made it more difficult than it needed to be... I mean, really, I took the old dryer out on my own, and the new one was the same measurements as the old one, but they couldn't get it in. Then, the place I bought it from ensured me that part of the delivery process involved them making sure the appliance was put in place, and plugged in, and ready to go. Because of the fact that the dryer arrived slightly damaged (it has a dent in the side) I had agreed to keep it (it is going into a basement, not on display somewhere) as long as it worked fine, I wanted to be sure that I was going to have that information, before the delivery guys left, so that if it didn't work, they could take it back right then and there. Well, the bozos got it into the basement, and when I said, "All right, it needs to stand on those bricks, they right away said they didn't install it, they didn't level it, they didn't do any of that. I told them that I'd been assured they did, and they're response was it wasnt' their job to level etc. I said I didn't care about that, but it needed to be plugged in to ensure it worked - they said they wouldn't - that it wasnt' their job.

Ultimately, the end result was, that I threw them out of my house, and I informed the store that they just lost a fridge sale, too...

Anyway - Turns out, that truthfully, I don't much like this dryer. Yes, it dries clothes. It does work. And the idiot store *did* rebate me some money for the dent.... though it took a month for that to happen. (I paid cash for the dryer - when the initial problems of it not being delivered started, I said I wanted my cash back, they said policy was call 800 number, wait for checque....I really kind of wish I'd gone ahead and done that afterall) So, what I'm getting at, is that because the main feature I looked at when I bought the thing was dimensions, I really hadn't bothered with getting all excited about features etc. (why fall in love with a dryer's features if I can't get it into my house?) So, now that I have it, I am not too fussy on the features. Oh, well - maybe I'll win the lottery one day, and I'll be able to buy a new house, that a nice dryer will fit. But I guarentee there is one major Canadian Dept. store that will never see another penny from me.

Which brings me to the second major thing - I was planning to buy a new fridge. I'd looked at one when I looked for the dryer - knew what I wanted, all that. But after the dryer fiasco, I knew I'd go elsewhere. Just happened to look at a flyer/advertisement paper from a furniture store - appliances from two major brands would be on boxing week sale, manufacturer would pay sales taxes.... I saved a good three hundred dollars on the exact same fridge.

The delivery guys from the furniture store were pleasant, polite, accomodating, nice, made sure the fridge was in place, plugged in, and we were happy with it.... All the things that the other idiots were not.

BUT - it also meant that I spent some time unloading and cleaning an old fridge, not to mention, restocking a new fridge.... and the clearing of pathways for the delivery, and the cleaning quickly of floor and wall....

Plus, we'd planned to do the floor. (I know, I kind of have mentioned this stuff in a few posts before, but I'm giving you more detail now...) So, we had the living room half packed up - though trying to keep it looking livable for Christmas.... Then it was, pack the last of it, find somewhere to put all the stuff/boxes/furniture, so we could pull up a carpet and put down laminate flooring. Which didn't go quite as smoothly as it should/could have, but still does qualify as a do-it-yourself project. It really isn't that hard to do - as long as you have a square room with a level floor to do it in. We don't have a square room, and we found out we didn't have a level floor - amazing what a carpet can fool you into thinking.... Yes, we knew it slanted a little. But didn't know that one corner took a real nose-dive. But, that's OK - we placed big pieces of furniture on the worst spots... lol.

Then, we needed to make a few adaptations to the baseboard - so we couldn't totally put the room back together until that was done.

SO. All of that was accomplished while I was/am still getting used to having a job, as well as keeping up with the usual day-to-day living. Doing laundry, grocery shopping, caring for the critters, cooking and cleaning, and then trying to find energy and time to knit and blog.... guess what was the lowest priority, lol?

Of course, now I'm going to do a bit of catch up.

I have been knitting - though with all the other crap going on, I had to put all the lace KAL's on the back burner (and in boxes) so I'm really no further along on them than the last time I posted pics of them. I really want to get them finished, since I've also joined several new shawl/lace KAL's that have started or are about to start. I need my needles so I can start the new ones!!

I haven't been able to meet any of my knitting stash challenges for the month of January - I havn't knit anything from stash yet, other than the sweaters that I started before the first. As for not collecting new patterns, or buying new yarn.... well, I have drastically cut down on saving free patterns from the daily websites. I have really thought about them, rather than "oo, that's pretty" So I haven't got as many saved from this year.

I've only bought a little bit of new yarn - though for projects that were in planning before - namely for the KAL's that are starting. Since I signed up for them before 2008, they were/are exempt from the pattern diet... Oh, and even though I've saved some new patterns, I haven't bought new yarn for them, so that "honeymoon" feeling of, "Oo, pretty - hit save - run to store for yarn" hasn't happened...which is where most of my stash issues had come from in the past...

Anyway - I'm working on a sweater for DH: Have back and front finished, three needle bind off at the shoulders to join them, and am working on the sleeves.

Of course, you can see that I have a lot of help....

I also started a project for me, called a Poncho Sweater. It is a turtle neck poncho, with a cable pattern, and sleeves. I am most impressed by the sleeve idea. Especially as the cuffs have a little "thumb hole" in them - so not only does the poncho stay put, and keep your arms warm, but the sleeves will stay put!!!

Since the DH sweater had gotten to the neck decreases, and is now at the sleeve increases, it really needs a bit more concentration than I can give it taking it to work for my lunch break knitting... so I had started the poncho, since it starts from the neck down.... I had to knit a simple 1X1 rib for 9 inches in the round....

I measured it the other day - it is 9 and a half inches....

I'm going to have to dig through and unpack a few more boxes and get a sock that I can work on at lunch time....

And, I had to start a new project.... DH mentioned that one of the guys he works with, whom we consider a friend as well, said he needed a decent scarf... Since this is the guy who DH usually gets a ride home with on the days I'm working, DH suggested that he ask me to make him one... I thought about one of the scarves that we have at work - so I took DH there yesterday, showed him the demo scarf, and we bought the yarn. I should have it finished by the time he goes to work Monday :) No pic just yet - I only started it last night, lol. Though, I could have taken a progress shot, I suppose...

So. That is where I've been, and what I've been doing. Now, I should get off this machine, and get the rest of the boxes of WIP's and WIM-stash unpacked... :)

What's going on for 2008

Christmas season this year wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly good, either...

I think I mentioned some of the vehicle trouble we had at the beginning of December...then there was a fiasco with getting my new dryer, then we had planned to tear up the carpet and put in laminate floor in the livingroom over Christmas time, since we'd both be on holidays, then we ended up getting a fridge, so the floor got delayed until the end...I'm writing to you from a nice clean tidy desk in a room that is full of boxes and furniture squashed to one end...

The floor is finished, but the restoration of the furniture and "stuff" to what passes for normal is going to be a slow process - I'll be working a lot for the next little bit, 'cause there is a sale going on...

Anyway - I also started knitting a sweater for DH - not to mention all the socks on needles that need to be found and finished (they are in boxes and bags around the room) and the lace that I need to finish, and the new lace KAL's that are starting now.... Need to find the yarn for them - also packed for the renovations....

BUT - I *can* share a couple pics:

The sweater back - I'm also almost half way up the front. Using Patons Decor, and the "Mock Turtleneck" pattern from Lionbrand.

And the dogs on the new floor :)

I'll try to keep up, and upload some more stuff tomorrow or the next day or so - but I'll be very busy trying to get my home back to normal, while working super hard (Ram is having their big sale starting today!)

Oh, and my son turns 30 today!!!!