Where things stand

In a lot of areas of my life :)

I'm settling into a routine, of work vs. home. Strangely, I'm finding that I'm accomplishing more around the house now that I'm working.... Before, I tended to procrastinate a lot. You know, I don't have to do such-and-such today, because I have all day tomorrow... Well, since I've been working, I find it hard to just sit around... I always have to be doing something. So, even though a lot of it seems like "puttering", I am getting a lot done. The house is getting tidier. Slowly - I'm still not home as often as I used to be, but I'm doing more when I'm here.

I finished knitting the sweater. A while ago, now... but with other things on my mind, I didn't get around to posting a picture.

I'm working now on a vest for me... sometimes, my back gets a bit chilled at work - and I'm not too fond of sweaters as such. So, I found a vest pattern on Knitty, that uses up scrap yarn. Great idea - and instead of scrap yarn, I picked up one ball each of a few yarns I have been wanting to try... Of course, what did I forget? Well, if you make something with lots of different colours and stripes, you have lots of ends to weave in. :( I *will* finish this thing - I've knit all but the arm bands and neck band, which get picked up, once all the ends are woven in! So, it is not too far from being finished. Really....

I'm also trying to get busy on the KAL's I've joined.

Pattern diet? Well.... Ok, so the plan was, that I would try not to get all excited about a new pattern, run out and buy yarn, and end up with a ton of UFO's because I would put aside what I was doing to start something new. So, what have I done so far? Well, I'm still saving some of the daily free patterns. Not all of them, only some. I'm looking at them really hard, though, first - they must be unique, or really intriguing. I'm also going through the patterns I've saved in the past, and deleting any that I'm realistically not going to make. At least, that way, I'm working toward a balance of saved patterns - that is, I might have a few new ones, but I've dumped some old ones, so the collection hasn't really grown by much.

Library books - well, some of them were placed on hold before '08, just had to wait forever to get them. But they, too, are being held up to critical standards before I do anything with them.

Patterns seen at work - the hardest one. Especially as part of my job is to become familiar with the books and leaflets, so I can help customers. I picked up the four Barbara Walker Treasuries. These are not technically patterns - that is, there isn't a specific project to do in them. Well, mostly - there is one that has some suggestions of finished items in it - fourth, I believe it is. But mostly, the books are reference. So, they sort of don't count. I've also now got the Donna Druchunas Kitty Knits book. I want to make pretty much every pattern in that book. Fantastic book. Great book. I'm very impressed. But, I must stop myself, slow down, and get busy on finishing the KAL's and socks I"m working on. Not to mention all those nasty ends.... Oh, and I bought a book of sweater patterns, but it gets to be exempt. There is a kitty pattern in it. Same with the sock pattern booklet. Kitty patterns again...

Adjustments to the family - we're adjusting. We all miss Spud. Bear has made some interesting changes - he's a bit more assertive about some things. After all, he's now "alpha pet". I am still amazed that of all the cats I've ever known or heard of, that these two girls haven't ever made an attempt to put the dogs in their place... Most cats rise above dogs in the home very quickly - but these two - they always seemed to be content to be in their place according to age... As in, Spud used to be alpha pet, then Bear, then Mica, then Ashleigh. Now, Bear is at the top, and the girls are together below him. Mica is still above Ash, but not by much - they are more or less equal - and get along wonderfully. Odd time, the play might get a bit rough, but never more than a hiss or hit, then they are snuggled up washing each other. Anyway - I thought, since Mica was always like Spud's "puppy", that she would miss Spud the most. Yes, she does seem to have grieved in her own way, but the one who still is looking for Spud is Ashleigh. The youngest...

Two weeks later, and Ash is still running to the door or window, looking and meowing for Spud - she is still chirping in hope when Bear's collar jingles a bit, or his nails scrape on the floor the way Spud used to.... She is also being very "needy" with cuddles from Mommy and Daddy.

Of course, we humans miss Spud, too...

Weather has been nasty - super cold. And this winter, for the first time since we've lived in the house we're in (12 years) we've had frozen problems. First, the "stack pipe". This is a vent system for the plumbing - if it isn't working properly, you can't get proper suction to flush the toilet. We thought the toilet was plugged, but it was frozen up on the roof. Thankfully, the plumber we called didn't try to rip us off in any way - just asked for ten bucks for his time to stop in. But, there isn't much we can do about it, unless we want to try to figure out a way to go on a slippery roof, and try things like pouring boiling water down the pipe.... We just try to double flush, or just keep the lid down, and when it warms up a little, (relatively speaking) it works proper again. Not really a big deal - it *does* flush, just very slowly, and sometimes all the paper doesn't go all the way on the first flush.... (sorry - probably too much information).

Besides that, our water pipe in the basement froze. The first time, we weren't sure what happened. A call to the water works people, and within half an hour, we had water back. Had to heat the pipe gently. Then, to prevent re-freezing, leave a tap on slow, or dripping, to keep the water flowing. We did that for a few days- the temps improved. Then, it froze again. Thawed it, kept the water dripping - then I forgot to leave it drip when I went to work one day last week. Thawed it again.... then, the other night, even though the tap was dripping - it froze AGAIN!! Thawed again....

I'm nervous that one of these times, the pipe will burst.... Not looking forward to that. Keeping fingers crossed that it doesn't happen.

Oh, well - the weather seems to have broken - we've had two to three weeks of nearly forty below weather, high winds/windchills. Even when the temps got up some, the wind was very bitter.... A few years ago, we had about three days of minus fifty - only minus forty for a high temp, never mind the wind!!! But at least, it only lasted a few days. This year, it has been going on for a few weeks. Really. Yes, ok, we had a day in those weeks that wasn't bad - thawed the stack pipe - but mostly it has been super cold. Yuck. But, we're supposed to get warm (relatively speaking) weather for the next several days....

Keeping fingers crossed....

All in all - this has been a bad winter. Yes, I got a great job. Yes, I have a new dryer and a new fridge, and a new living room floor. But, we lost a dog, had a ton of expense on our truck, had to do some maintenance on the house, had difficulty with delivery of one of the appliances, and - hey, those appliances weren't exactly free either, lol.

Summer has to be better, right? And spring should be here soon, shouldn't it? :)

Rest In Peace

Spud.

May 1/2/3, 1994 - February 7, 2008

Peacefully, in her sleep, on blankets loving arranged for her by "Mom" and "Dad", our beloved friend and companion crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.

From the time she entered our lives, Spud taught us many things about life, about living, about loving. The trust she showed us, the willingness to do anything for us, made us feel very special. Her "joie de vie", especially her love of "going camping" was a joy to behold. Her dislike of water did not stop her from enjoying canoe rides with Daddy - she would nap in the boat while he fished on the river. Her ability to be a "Mommy" herself - she was spayed, yet she was such a loving and giving dog - there wasn't a cat or a child she didn't care for or show concern over. I have many fond memories of her, making friends with cats, playing with cats, loving cats - especially her "puppy", Mica. Somehow, she shared a special bond with Mica, who I'm sure will also miss "Momma Spud".

Children were also important to Spud. Many a time, if there was a baby or young child around, Spud would hover - if the child cried, Spud was right there, poking her nose in, licking the child, worrying about him/her. There wasn't a mean bone in that dog's body, and she wouldn't hurt a fly. One of our favourite sayings was "Spud loves everybody, and everybody loves Spud". It truly described her.

Sadly, though, as with all creatures, Spud got old. Her body began failing her; arthritis made walking difficult. We knew the time was coming. In her last few days, standing was becoming more of a challenge to her. We knew it was time to say goodbye, As arrangements were being made, however, she chose to go on her own terms, just as she always lived. At around 9:30 pm, very peacefully, Spud crossed over the Rainbow Bridge to be with past family/friends, Lobo, Roxy, Bone, and Si. She will be missed by those of us left to mourn her - family and many friends, both two and four legged.

We love you, and we will miss you. There will never be another like you, Spud.

Love, Mom, Dad, Bear, Mica, and Ashleigh (as well as Auntie Joan and Cousin Casey).

(picture taken around 9 pm)

Cuts into my time....

Boy oh boy... I'm sure having a lot of time cutters these days.

I mean, I know, lots of people have full time jobs, and still manage to keep up. Me? Well, I'm obsessive about so much, that I have way more than I can handle going on in my life. That, and the part where I didn't really expect to get a job...

I mean, I was fortunate in that getting a job was not a priority/mustdo/crucial type thing - we *could* manage - but having a part time job definitely takes a lot of pressure off. Like, we were able to keep bills paid, food in the fridge, etc. But if something came up - major vehicle repairs, etc., then it got hard.... Belts had to be tightened, adjustments made, etc. So, having this job had been great.

However, because it wasn't a priority - well, in some ways, I wasn't prepared. The house wasn't in "perfect" order. But, since it is a part time job, well - no big deal. I can work on it on my days off. Of course, I forgot to allow for other little things... like, shopping day. I was in a routine of going shopping on the same morning every week... no good if I worked that day. But that is ok, I'm flexible.... of course, if I only had a week's worth of groceries in the house, but was working three days in a row.... meant a few stops on the way home for "emergency supplies" until shopping day... which threw a bit of confusion into what I still needed to buy... Then, there is laundry day. Fortunately, planning to get a new dryer at about the same time as I started working helped - even though things didn't work out totally as planned - so that my work schedule and going to the laundramat don't clash. Again - if I need clean clothes to go to work - well, I can get them washed and dried in the early hours of the morning before I leave now.

What I'm trying to say, is, that I'm still working on making adjustments on efficient use of time!! I'm getting better at it...

Then, of course, was the general upheaval of getting the new fridge, and the new floor. And trying to get back to "normal" now that they are done.

So - I have to priorize my efforts and my time. I still like to get on the 'puter in the mornings...check my email, check Ravelry (which seems to be slowing down some, so that helps), and sadly, the blog is suffering...

Updates: I am almost finished knitting the sweater for DH. Well, technically, I'm finished knitting it - have one more seam to do. The long ones - the sleeves are in place, now I do the side seam, which also extends along the sleeve...

I started knitting a vest for me. As well as started a poncho for me. I also have the socks to get finished.... And the patterns to write up. In fact, that is really what I should be doing today. Typing out a sock pattern. or two... and writing up a "lesson plan" for a workshop. Need to get that info done quick, so it can be scheduled in.

Maybe I'll do that tomorrow...

I've also knitted some scarves. Dh has had to get rides home from work from a friend, on the days when I work. This person mentioned getting cold while riding his power toboggan ("Skidoo") across the lake for ice fishing. DH suggested that he ask me to make him a scarf instead of trying to buy one.... (don't you just love it when you are volunteered for stuff? LOL - not that I mind - he's a friend, and he is doing us a favour giving DH the rides home)

So, I made him a scarf. He loves it... in fact, his wife mentioned that she gets cold out on the lake, too... So, I made her one, too. And, since I've been thinking about replacing my long scarf, I bought yarn to make scarves for DH and I. Well, Dh needs to keep warm when he is out with the snow blower in the yard... lol....

I didn't take pics of the gift scarves, but will take pics of the ones I make for family. I'm using the same colours and pattern.

What else? The pattern diet. I'm not doing too badly. I'm thinking twice about the patterns I see that I like for free on the net. I did save some. I also went through the folder I stored them in, and looked again - after a "cooling off" period. Deleted a few. Also, I've been trying to go through the ones I've saved in the past. Deleted some of them, too.

Bought one book from work - a little book, called "Vogue Knitting On The Go" - they are a series - "Shawls". Couldn't resist... there was a pattern for a sheep shawl. Some other interesting ones, too....

Cat patterns are exempt, so I needn't tell you about those ones. .

Because of the scarves (pattern for those arrived in my house in December, btw - I was thinking about maybe using the pattern for gifts for next year anyway) I didn't get as much other knitting (stash or UFO type) done as I would have liked. Which explains why it is taking me so long to knit the sweater. I've made the sweater before, and the last time, it only took me a few days. Then again, I wasn't working, and the house wasn't quite such a disaster....

So, anyway - that's an update for now. I'm not working as many days in February, so I should be able to get things caught up some around here. Both on the house, and on the blog!! But for today - I'm indulging myself. It's my birffday :)