CATS and Dogs

Had a great time.  Loved spending the time with oldest GD.  We both enjoyed the show.

I was disappointed with the souvenir stand... I confess, a major factor in my going to the show a second time was to buy what I stupidly didn't last time.  I wanted to get a t-shirt and mug.  My biggest decision was going to be whether to get a t-shirt with the cast picture, or one with the title and eyes.  And, I was going to buy a souvenir program for GD.

Well, there were/are three shows.  Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening.  We were there quite early (I left lots of travel, traffic, parking, and crowd time - turns out, I over compensated, lol) so I managed to be first in line for purchases... I asked about the program - had already discovered they had no mugs :(.   Turned out that *ALL* they had were t-shirts (one style), toques, baseball caps, sunglasses, CD's, DVD's, and posters, *while supplies last* - the guy admitted they didn't have many of some of the stuff...  Well, I would have liked a DVD, but at $50, I just didn't have the cash with me (still needed to pay for parking).  GD got a pair of sunglasses instead of the non-existent program, and I got my t-shirt and a CD.  I almost didn't, but then thought I would kick myself for the next however long like I did the last time over the shirt and mug.  I can always pick up a DVD later via Chapters.

What struck me, though, was how the guy had said, they didn't have much of some of the items - - - This was "opening night".  I was first in line.  There were still all the other people, plus the next two shows....

Why did they not have more merchandise?

I'm just left shaking my head....

Otherwise, though, I was struck anew with what a gem we have in our city with our Concert Hall.  Well maintained, great acoustics, great visual appeal from the moment you walk in the door...

Now, for the dog portion of my post ;)

My second oldest GK, or middle GD, spent the day with me yesterday.  She's 11.  So, at one point during the day, she asked if Delko and Lady both came from the same place .  I told her, no, that Lady came from Hull's Haven Border Collie Rescue.  She proceeded to tell me that she had talked to her friends, and to the principal of her school, and they will be holding a bake sale in May, and donating the proceeds to D'Arcy's A.R.C. in honour of Delko.  She took a picture of him with her ipod (they can do that now, and so much more than just play music!!!!) and was asking me more questions... Did I know how many people he'd rescued, or their names or anything.....

So, I taught her the difference between a rescue dog and a search and rescue dog... If anything, it made her more determined to help :)

I know, I missed again...

But not because I forgot.  Just was one of those evenings...

So, the kid was here all day.  Somehow, I keep getting her age mixed up.  I keep thinking she is 7, but she's only 6.  So, when I suggested the window thing, and she looked at me like I was from outer space... Well, let's just say that she spent an enjoyable day here, watching TV, doing a couple of puzzles, colouring, and talking my ears off.  She used to be somewhat shy with me, never saying more than a couple of words or a sentence or two.  Yesterday, she talked nearly non-stop - except when she was eating or watching TV.

After she left, my evening went somewhat as usual - DH home from work, talking about his day, venting about the stuff he had to put up with, telling me the funny things that happened, etc.  We talked about the usual things we talk about - I cooked supper, we ate, watched the news, watched Big Bang Theory.  I can't recall the last time I laughed nearly all the way through the show.  After the show, I had a bath - I don't think I'll have time today, before I go out.  Then, I was so tired, I didn't even bother knitting or anything.  I just vegged in front of the TV - DH was watching some sort of real crime show thing, that had just started.  Then, he went to bed, and I watched a couple one hour shows I've been taping  recording.    Because of our occasional differences in interest, there are some TV shows that I wanted to watch, but never really got much chance to - I might have seen the pilot, and maybe caught random episodes over the years.  So, now that some of them are coming into reruns, I'm catching up on them.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one that I did that way.  We both liked that one, but other things prevented us from catching several seasons... Anyway, now I'm trying to watch Star Trek Voyager.  Now and again, though, I wonder if there is an episode missing - I'm still working on the first several shows, and they make reference to having met an alien species before, but I don't recall it at all...

Anyway - I know I wont' get another chance to post before tomorrow, and I definitely won't be knitting tonight.  So - this will have to do for a while :)

Oh, the finger - I gave it a lot of airing yesterday - after the kid left till just before my bath.  And it is really healing nicely!  Finally.... Maybe I'll do another picture of it later today, or tomorrow... (take on, not sure when I'll get it posted, lol.)

Confusion

So, yesterday, I spoke to DS (the D not necessarily being dear in this context...) about the GK visits this week.  The boy wanted to come, and the oldest girl is going with me Friday night to see CATS.  I had indicated that the boy was welcome either Wednesday or Thursday, the latter being preferred.  So, after the discussion last night, turned out the boy was coming today.  Fine - I could go for that.  Then, this morning, at around 6:30, I opened my Facebook stuff to find a message from him, could "N" come tomorrow.  I responded a quick "YES".  So, I set about to engage in my normal relaxed morning routine.... At nearly 7:30, I hear the gate, and see my GS scooting past the kitchen window... Now, I am not sure why someone would do it to kids who aren't twins, but the boy and the youngest GD have very similar names.  And, at 6:30 am, my brain is not really functioning.  So, it seems, that tomorrow I'm getting the youngest GD for the day.

I'm not complaining - she has never had a chance to spend a day with me.  She's been too young.  The boy started all of this a couple years ago, while I was still working.  He came up with the idea that he wanted a special specific toy, and wanted to earn money cutting grass or whatever to save up to buy the toy.  At first, my reaction was, Grandpa already cut the grass...  I phoned back to say that even though he couldn't cut the grass, I had some household chores that he could help with...

After a few visits, the older girls were a little jealous of the time their brother got to spend with me.  So, I arranged for them to help out.  Everything was great - heck, even after I could no longer pay them, these kids want to come over and spend a day with me, and help out, and don't mind if I can't pay.  And they were fabulous help when my hand was broken last summer.

However, the youngest was too young to really manage a whole day.  And a bit young to do too much, either... (not that I want the slave labour, but even to try to entertain one so young for a whole day...)  Anyway, that is why, when it comes down to it, that I wouldn't renege anyway.  The youngest is now old enough to handle some light light duties, and spend a day with me.  Visiting, watching some TV, apparently she likes to wash windows (hey, that is what the boy said!)  So - what the heck.  I can spend a day with her.

So - that means, three out of four of them are spending time with me this week.  So, I just said to DH, that leaves out the one.  Even though I have some errands to run Friday, I've put in a request to have the third middle girl on Friday, and she can stay for supper, and I'll drop her at home when I pick up the oldest.

I'm not going to get much done this week, lol... But, quality time with the grandkids is more important than anything else.

In the meantime, I have two very tired puppies - they adore the boy.  They've been playing nearly non-stop all day!  The cutest - the boy wanted them to play hide and seek.  So, he'd hide his eyes, tell the dogs to go hide, then count to ten.  The dogs would stand behind him, and when he turned around, they'd lick his face.  I dont' think they quite got the concept, lol.  But they all had fun!

So - tonight is Survivor night, and the dogs will likely sleep right through :)

Will try to write some more tomorrow - probably not until evening again, though ;)  And I'll let you know how the little one enjoyed her first all day with Grandma.

Pink sock one

All but the grafting is done.

I can hardly wait to knit up the second sock and start wearing them.  I'm not sure why, but at first, I was afraid the sock would be too big and end up slouchy.  But it seems to fit just fine.  (Maybe my leg fluctuates?)

I still have a lot to try to knit through before the end of the week, to meet my goals.  I dont' think I managed to learn anything new this month :(

Finger is coming along.  And there just isn't much to watch on TV!  I tried reading a book that I got from the library - couldn't get into it. Just a new series/author I was going to try out.  On some of the forums and/or groups I'm in, people will discuss books and book series they are reading.  Some sound good, so I give them a try.  Sometimes, that is a good thing, and I find a new author to follow.  Other times - just can't seem to get into them.  I'll sometimes give the books a second try in the future, since a lot might depend on my personal mood at the time.  But this is one that I think just doesn't appeal.  Called Dark Spell.

So  - I know, another short post.  Time to get off my butt and do some "blog fodder" research; start looking for ideas to talk about.  I guess I don't have to - I mean, I'm not trying to turn this into a forum or discussion or controversy site.  But it is someplace for me to sort out my feelings and ideas on a topic.  As well as share cute animal stories and share pictures and trials and tribulations of my knitting and crocheting and other crafting.  Yes, that is right, I do other crafts as well.  I quilt.  I needlepoint. I tat.  I do latch hook.  I spin.  I play around making some jewelry.  I sew.  I quill.  I do plastic canvas.  I paint. I draw. I cross stitch.  I do a lot of things - woodwork, carve, sculpt...

I just do some things more than I do others.  And I guess because it's the one I learned first, knitting tends to be the one I do most often and is my first love.  But I also learned latch hook, embroidery and weaving from my mother way back when.

Maybe that is what I can try to do before the end of the  month - learn/practice a new skill in another of my crafts.... (I *have* been planning to get into needlefelting, or practice my spinning..... - read an article about recycling yarn from sweaters in the current Spin-Off, and they mentioned plying two yarns reclaimed from sweaters to make a bulkier and interesting coloured yarn - to me, that sounds like a good way to get in some wheel practice)

Frustration of a different kind...

Hubby is home sick today.  He's been sick a lot lately, and I worry about him.  But he refuses to go to a doctor, and I just can't trick him into going, nor force him...  Heck, there was even a thing come in the mail, for free screening for colon cancer - not hard to do, just take samples for three days and mail it back - he refused to do that. :(

Oh, well.   I guess I can just hope he smartens up one of these days.  In the meantime...

Did some swatching last night.  I now know how I'm going to start the new shawl.  Now all I have to do is figure out how I am going to produce the graph for it.  I should use the program I bought, but it is on the other computer, and I don't know where I put the disk so I can install it on the laptop.  :P

I guess I'll just have to fire up the beast.

Finger is doing well - it is definitely going to be a long time healing.  And I'm definitely going to lose the skin flap.  Just don't know how or when.  Right now, I'm "airing" the cut.  The bandage does tend to get wet, despite my best efforts.  So, the whole wound gets damp, and the skin still gets wrinkly and oogly.  Soon, though, I'll have to wrap it up and protect it.

This week is the week of no school for spring break here.  So, it seems I get to see a couple of my grandkids this week.  I already planned about one of them.  Taking the oldest with me to CATS.  But now the boy wants to spend a day with me :)  So, he's likely coming Thursday.  Just noticed the longer range weather says it is supposed to rain Thursday - hope not.  The dogs would love to have GS here to play with.

So - that's about all for now.  I do need to get off here, in case DH needs me.  (he's not really a wuss when he's sick, but sometimes he asks me to cook up something to make him feel better).

Catching up

Ok, first of all, I took some pictures of the hands healing.  Don't recall the dates, and it is a bit of a pain to find that info on the camera.  BUT - I've had the bandaid off the divot now for about 24 hours.  It's really healed nicely - nice enough that I finished knitting those socks last night!!!

Hubby is wearing them right now :)

I took pictures of the hands, like I said.  I know the left hand was pretty much healed in  a couple days -

This is how it looked Saturday - hard to see really.

On Sunday, it was a little more reddish along the "paper cut".

I am pretty sure I showed you these pictures before, but it is nice to see the progress.  Now, there are just remnants of the scabs along the palm, and no real significant indication on the finger.  But, after a couple days of healing, it looked like this:

Not so bad.

Now, the right hand - I shared pictures of it with band aids on.  Now here are some shots of it without any covering.  So, if you are squeamish, you might want to stop scrolling soon....
First - the healing divot: (not bad, but the next picture is icky)

It looks much better now.  I didn't take a picture of it lately, though.  This was taken a few days ago; it still needed to be protected by bandaging.  And this is the one that prevented me from knitting.

Now.  This is the finger that was really sliced badly - the one that made me think that criminals who think it fun to remove their fingerprints by cutting the off are totally insane.  Not that criminal activity is necessarily not crazy behaviour, but certainly maiming oneself calls sanity into question in my mind... Anyway, this one is definitely taking a lot longer to heal, and I still don't know if the skin is going to properly re-adhere or not.  If not, then it will dry out and break or be cut off.  So far, I'm avoiding infection, which is a good thing.  Hopefully, though, this one will hurry up and heal!  Right now (or, last time I looked at it) it mostly looks the same, but with less evidence of bleeding... (I forget how many days ago this picture was - Thursday or Friday.)

Ok... hopefully, you aren't too squeamish...

Well, it took a while....

But I moved all my bookmarks and stuff over to Chrome. Thank you, Cindy :)

Now to see if everything works better.  I think it might... The frustration of big corporations being idiots to each other.  Internet Explorer doesn't get along with Gmail - so MSN is fighting Google.  Now it seems Firefox doesn't like Facebook.  Don't know why...

Anyway, I'll see what happens using Chrome for a while.  I do like google products, and had downloaded Chrome way back when.  But, since it was so very different than what I'm used to, I never really went far with it.  When I decided to check out what all the fuss was about Angry Birds, I started using Chrome a little.  I really started using it on my netbook, when both IE and FF started messing up with accepting passwords.  I really kind of got used to Chrome there.  Not sure if it is/was the difference between operating systems (Vista here on the laptop, Windows 7 on the netbook) or what, but Chrome wasn't behaving the way I thought it would when I first started out this morning.  But, I finally got smart, and checked the "help" file (duh, you'd think that should be the *first* thing to do...) and got all my bookmarks and stuff taken care of.  :)

So, I think I might be able to knit tonight.  I'm going to try it.  I have removed the bandages again to air the wounds out, and have not bothered with new bandage on the ring finger.  The divot seems to be pretty much filled in and nearly healed.  Still a bit uncomfortable if I bend the finger at that knuckle, and generally tender still, but mostly healed.  I'm impressed with the speed it healed.  The middle finger, though, still needs the extra protection.  It started to bleed again a bit when I tried doing some things without rebandaging it.  Now, the new bandage just happens to be put on in a way that it is catching on some of the keys while I type.  I'm making all sorts of new typos, lol.  Anyway, though, it is still mending, slowly slowly slowly.

TV hasn't been much to write about.  But books - well, now that is a different story!!  :)  I love POK.  Principles of Knitting.   So much to learn!!  I can hardly wait until I have the time to spend with it and needles and yarn.  Or even just reading through some of the how-to design sections.  Speaking of designs - If I can successfully finish these socks, I think I'm going to start swatching the lace  yarn.  I am going crazy with this design in my head, wanting to get out and onto paper and into yarn.  I'm very excited about it.

And, of course, I really want to get going and knit my own kitty, too ;)  That is another great book.  I've seen the knit your own dog book from the library, and there isn't enough that grabs me in it to justify the money.  But the kitty book - lots of winners there.  And finding out that my new favourite yarn shop will become a Rowan stockist, well - can't wait until I can start scooping up the great yarns again! :)  I can get some nice Kidsilk Haze for kitty making.  :) And some nice wool/cotton blends for sweaters, or socks - it will be 4-ply, so it would become costly to buy enough for sweaters.  But, I know that Rowan wool/cotton blend is a lovely wool, and some of the sock designers have used the 4-ply for some lacy socks.  :)

Too many projects, too many yarns, not enough time or money for them all!

Well - I need to be off now to put some bread crumbs on some shrimp for supper!  Will write again tomorrow!

Internet browsers - HELP!!

Ok.  So I stopped using Internet Explorer, since it didn't like to get along with gmail and a few other websites.  Now I'm having trouble with Firefox.  I started using Chrome on my other netbook, but now apparently there is no more support for Chrome, so I don't know if I should keep using it anywhere.

So, I don't know what to do - I have to open different browsers for different sites.  Firefox keeps messing up, and freezing, and I have to stop it and start over.

Which is the main reason I'm so late with this post.

And I don't have enough time to talk about my hand, or my books, or anything I really didn't watch on TV last night anyway.  So, I won't be saying much.

But, if anyone out there reading this knows of any other browsers I can try, let me know, 'K?  Thanks.

(my main things to do involve this blog, gmail, and Ravelry and Facebook...on FB I mostly follow some stuff, play a couple games, and yack with a few friends)

Probably there aren't any other options.... and yes, I update the browsers I have when I need to...

Inspirational - not today

So.  I have a bunch of inspirational daily readers.  I thought it was high time I got back into reading them and reflecting on them daily.  They have helped curb some of the depression in the past.  So I dug some of them out, read them, and.... Just not feeling inspired!!!

One was good - basically telling me to live in the present and not worry about the future.  But not something I feel like waxing poetic on here... Yes, a message I need to hear now and again, but I really need to take it a little further and not dwell on the past, either.  But that wasn't so much the crux of the message for now.  So - uninspiring from a journalling writing point of view.

So, I guess it is back to the usual topics of late. ;)  I finally took a picture (but haven't downloaded) of the right hand ring finger.  That is the one with the major divot.  Guess what?  It is very much filled in, and well on the way to healing and feeling  a lot better.  The middle finger, though - it has started seeping a bit of gunk and blood. Good for it in the long run, but means it has a long way to go.  I did take a picture of it, too.  Not so very gross, though.  It was taken before the seeping started.  Anyway, this morning I took off all bandages and let the wounds air-dry for a bit.  Wrapped up the divot in a cotton ball held on with tape.  (first aid paper tape, not cellophane tape).  The other has gauze again (for the seeping and bleeding) and paper tape.

TV was interesting last night.  Criminal Minds, Survivor, and Once Upon a Time.  Finally checked Ravelry this morning, and there area  couple groups devoted to delving into the many knits in the show.  I won't comment on Survivor in case someone reading here hasn't watched it, but let's just say DH and I are happy...

Otherwise - I can't think of much else to say, other than - my Principles of Knitting is in at the book store, already paid for.  And I found out they have six copies in stock of another desirable book - "Knit Your Own Cat".  So, tomorrow I need to do the weekly errands anyway, so guess what I'll be getting? :)

So, I'm off to play with the puppies for a while! :)

Lovely Lunch

I met a very dear friend for lunch today.  The food was good, but the company was *fabulous* :)  I always enjoy getting together with her.  We used to work together; and that is one huge thing I miss about work. 

The hand is healing nicely.  Better than I thought it would.  I even took a picture of one finger without the bandage on it.  I might just take a pic of the other one soon - it really doesn't look so bad anymore.

I might even have an idea of things to write about, besides the hand thing.  And the TV show things.  Really, I'm sure you don't need a daily report about the hand, and my TV reviews are somewhat - well, I don't want to say too much about a show, in case someone else is as lazy about keeping up with story lines and such as I sometimes am, so I don't do any spoilers.   I know that the week we didn't watch Walking Dead, planning to watch it the next day, that I "heard" about part of the story line on Facebook, and DH heard some people talking at work.  So, that kind of spoiled it a bit for both of us. 

Last night, we discovered there was still a new episode of The River.  I have to say... DH and I disagree on that one.  I was just thinking how that show started out so great, then went steadily down-hill, when he said, "Oh, good, the show is finally getting interesting". 

Anyway, I am trying to catch up on Once Upon a Time.  Good thing I had the PVR thing programmed to catch every episode - the way they bounce that one and skip weeks, I almost forgot about it.  Discovered 3 taped shows... I keep meaning to go check Ravelry, to see if anyone else noticed all the cool knitted items in the show.  I'm not much of a tam or hat wearer, but there have been some really nice lace ones, and a couple good cable ones lately.  And a few sweaters that look "doable". 

So, hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to babble on about something other than my hand or TV shows.  And I really really really hope I can start knitting or crocheting again soon - Between nearly being finished the socks, and really loving to knit...

Of course, I *do* have some books I could try reading instead.  Except that you can knit and watch TV, but reading and watching don't always work...

Healing....

So. You know how when you wear a bandaid for a while, your skin goes all wrinkly and oogly?  (I know, it isn't a word, but it sure is descriptive)  Well, I needed to change band aids yesterday.  My middle finger was getting really sore where the wrinkles were getting too deep.  So,  I switched out the band aids for some gauze and paper tape. 

The finger on the left hand - I didn't bother putting anything on.  It seems to be doing fine. 

The ring finger on the right hand, with the major divot - looked a little better yesterday evening. It seems to be filling in nicely with whatever it is that the body fills large gaps with.  (sort of like a clearish liquidy stuff - I think the word serum or blood plasma is essentially what it is, but I'm no doctor or nurse, so I really don't know for sure)  Just a few minutes ago, though, I realized (typing with the finger) that the gauze that is supposed to be, according to the package, "non-stick won't stick to wounds" is sticking to the wound.  So, I've just loosened off the tape (which means I'm going to have to replace it; it doesn't want to restick) and separated the gauze from the edge of the hole.  It is now stinging a little - but that will go away again.

The middle finger - now that is a mess.  I changed it in the afternoon - like I said, the oogly skin was very sore, so I needed to air it out and dry it out.  I wasn't sure how much the bandaids were going to be stuck, since they'd been in place since the accident Saturday mid-day.  Well, the loose piece of skin, which was/is still attached to my hand, was stuck to the band aid.  I couldn't just rip off the band aid - normally the "best" way to remove one - or I would have really hurt myself!  So, I had to gently peel the skin off the band aid.  Trust me, that was an icky thing....

I think I'm going to end up with a dead flap of skin that will need cutting off later.  The finger was healing up and had closed up "behind" where this skin had come from... The one end was still attached as normal, with a cut along the side of it, which is scabbing and healing.  But part of it is sticking way out from the finger.  I did sort of try to put it in place, and hold it with the gauze and tape.  I don't' think it will reunite with my finger, though.  But, once the  whole thing is healed (this one looks like it will be the slowest to do so) I can clip the skin off with nail clippers, and maybe use an emery stick to smooth it down.... It will be dead, dried up skin by then.

Sorry if my descriptions are a bit graphic for anyone... In some ways, they sound worse than they look.  But I only took fresh picture of the left hand without band aid.  And it already looks way better than it did when I took those pics!  Right now, it looks like a kind of scratch you'd get that you don't bother to put any band aid on.  I think the only reason it ever looked worse, is because there was a ragged but very thin piece of skin shaved... think peeling sunburn kind of loose skin...

For me, the worst part right now is not being able to knit.  Or hold some tools, such as - I was thinking about supper last night, and realized that I probably couldn't hold the knife to cut up a chicken like I wanted to.  (Saturday night we went out and got burgers and fries, no cooking at all, and Sunday night we did bacon and eggs - not a lot involved, and I can flip eggs with my left hand).  Anyway, ended up asking for DH to peel the potatoes.  There was no way, with or without rubber gloves, that I could hold the peeler or knife for cutting them up. 

Back when my son was much younger, he used to ask me "stupid questions".  At least, I told him they were... He would ask things like, would you rather be deaf or blind?  would you rather have a broken leg or a broken arm?  and other silly comparisons.  Of course, my answers were always "neither", but he would press me to make a choice.  I never really could.  Now, though, after having a broken hand last summer, and this cut up hand now, I'd have to say, if I were given a choice between hands and feet out of commission, I'd take feet.  My sister once said that people take their feet for granted, and should look after them better.  She'd been in an accident, and broke both her legs among other things.  But, for me, I'd have to say, if my feet were sore or damaged, well - I could still do things, like sit down and put my feet up to rest, sit in chairs, use crutches or a wheel chair to get around.  But the inability to use my hands - that is driving me nuts!!!!  Yes, I managed to work around the cast last year, and I'm working on adapting now (thank heavens I'm ambidextrous!) but it is so difficult for me.  I get frustrated fast, I feel horrible to be so dependent - yes, asking for  help is one of the things that I need to learn to do, and to not feel guilty for not doing all the things I used to/could/"should" do... But it is still hard for me to just sit by and watch someone else look after things, and me...

Last night's TV:  I hadn't erased Walking Dead, and since DH and I were talking about the "withdrawal" we'd be going through until next fall, I had mentioned some of the "questions" we were left with at the end.  I'd made a reference to a scene, and he didn't recall what I was referring to. So, we rewatched it.  Funny, normally I don't like to watch the same show that close - but this one has so much going on...

Then, I fell asleep on the couch...Not for long, just enough to miss the end of Hawaii 5-0, (I seldom pay close attention to that show anyway, so no big deal) and the start of what I thought was to be Big Bang Theory... One of the local stations was rerunning the show weeknights at 10.  They do that with some of the longer running sitcoms. But, it would seem they've changed, and are now running two and a half men.  I may or may not watch... I was a late comer to that show, too, so I might try the catch up.  A lot will depend on how tired I am - there are some other good hour long shows (cop type) that start at 10 as well.  Some nights, though, much as I love BBT, I sometimes would either just go to bed part way into them, or I'd do the bed time routine in the commercials so I could go to bed right at the end, or sometimes I'll stay up and watch the last half of the cop show (reruns, so I don't' mind much missing the first part).  Anyway, last night I would have enjoyed a BBT rerun, but went to bed early instead.  I knew I was tired, because my right hand had woken me up a few times during the night.  Last night, though, I slept well.  So I feel much better all around today.

Don't know what if anything I'll accomplish today, but at least I'm feeling a bit better.  :)

(Unfortunately, though, because I can't do much, I can't stay busy, so that nasty loneliness comes back :(  )

Well, I guess, if it isn't' too cool out later (we've been having great warmer than normal weather lately, but they are forecasting cooler today) I can always go play ball with the dogs.

non gory pictures to illustrate

I have pictures to illustrate my injuries.  They aren't really gory or anything...

This is the left hand - after it happened.

Really hard to see the scratch that is much like a paper cut.  Stung, didn't really hurt.  The bandaid is covering the scrape on the inside of that ring finger. 

Here is the same hand on Sunday:

Really my hand isn't that pink, just that the picture was taken inside.  You can see the scratch better in this one.  At the base of the finger, it doesn't show in either picture because that end of the scratch is in the little creases.  It does go a little bit across the base of the finger, though.

This one is the worst - the most damaged right hand.  My fingers are dirty because I was throwing a ball for the dogs - it would get dog slobber on it, and then roll through the mud...

You can see that it took two band aids to cover the "finger print" damage to the middle finger, but only one for the divot on the ring finger... Yes, I'm sorry, I suppose that might qualify for a bit of goriness - there was so much bleeding, that it kind of seeped through the band aid.  I did get it changed later, and it hasn't been that bad since.  I think I want to get the middle finger bandaids changed, though... just because I need to see if the skin is trying to heal back in  place.  And besides, if the scab sticks to both finger and bandaid, it isn't going to be pleasant....

During the night last night, for some reason, I kept making a fist in my sleep, and waking up in pain.  Didn't get a good rest as a result... May need to resort to painkillers today.

Unfortunately, I don't know when I'm going to be able to knit again.  I so wanted to finish those socks for DH (especially as he's being so super helpful while I hurt) and I so want to start that shawl!!

 Watched the season ender for Walking Dead last night.  Must wait until Fall for the new season!!!  :(  That will be the hard part - withdrawal.  I mean, we're newcomers to the series, and the station had shown from the beginning back to back, so we've been watching it a lot.  Now, though, we have to wait!!  

Oh, well - I'm sure we'll find something to watch for the summer.... we're nearly to the middle of Survivor, then there are things like NCIS and NCIS LA to catch up on...  Plus we signed up for a bunch more movie channels, so there *has* to be something we can both watch.  In some cases, we have very different taste in shows.  I always appreciate when we find something we can enjoy together. 

Knitting of a different sort

Normally, I can't think of any good titles for my blog posts.  Or, I come up with one.  Today, I could have come up with lots of possibilities!!

So. Yesterday, I only knit one round on the toes of the socks.  And it was very difficult to do that one round.  I'm so glad that I've learned to hold my yarn in either hand to knit with.  Used to be, that I was a "thrower" only.  Held the yarn in my right hand, and "threw it" or wrapped it around the needles.  So many people feel that it is faster to knit with the yarn in the left hand, and "pick" the yarn to make stitches.  I figured out who to knit that way, and got pretty good at it with two handed colourwork, such as fair isle knitting.  I'm still a bit awkward with the purling, but I can knit rather well.  I've even tried working some socks in all left hand holding (I get mixed up, but I *think* it is referred to as continental knitting).  Anyway - I am working on training my hands to handle that sort of knitting.  And that is how I found myself needing to knit last night.

But I still only managed to knit one round.

See.... I didn't do as much yesterday as I thought I would.  I did spend a lot of time outside, and threw the ball for the doggies.  I did manage to get a lot of dog stuff picked up.  But that, and one round of knitting, was just about the only constructive things I did.

It all started with the first trip.  Where DH works, they've been doing some renovations.  Some of the old stuff is being thrown away, sent to the dump.  Some of it is still actually useable.  So, with permission, we've brought some items home.  In this case, it was a three locker set.  You know, like the kind of lockers kids use in school.  Full length, narrow, but still good for holding things.  We were going to put them into our garage to use to store some gardening tools.  So, we went to pick them up.

Despite the large size, the lockers are not that terribly heavy.  So, using our heads, and a two wheeled dolly, we managed to get the lockers unloaded from our truck and into the yard.  (it was a fairly mundane loading, so I'll spare the details - forklifts are such nice toys, lol).  Anyway, this is where everything kind of went wrong.  There is a wire, well, a group of wires, that go from our house to the garage.  They're fairly low.  Well, as these lockers were being moved across the yard, I reminded DH to be careful of the wires.  So, he adjusted direction, and he lowered the dolly as far as he could.  I stepped up behind him to see if I could lift the wires a little, making it easier.  Then....

It all happened so fast....

By the time he said, "look out", I was curled up with one hand squeezing the other to stop the blood flow.  See, what happened was, as I was reaching up, and he was bending lower, the lockers unbalanced and started to fall.  My instinctive reaction was to put my hand out  in front of me.  Somehow, as the lockers fell, they slid down my hand, which was in exactly the right spot to be sliced open by sharp metal edges between the individual lockers... One or two inches over, and I would have been in the middle of the flat "roof" part, and been fine. 

I'm not sure how my left hand got involved in the whole thing, I only remember reaching out with my right hand.  Anyway... the end result is (and if any of you read through all the comments on facebook I made, you'll have seen this little paragraph, 'cause I copy/pasted this so I didn't have to write it twice) , that the inside of the knuckle on my right hand ring finger has a hole in roughly this shape () that is about half inch high, quarter inch wide. The "meat" and skin is gone.* The middle finger, the top fleshy part, has another gash of roughly the same shape, but the skin didn't come all the way off. It is about an inch in length. My left hand, and I'm still not sure how or why it got involved, has a slight graze type cut to the inside of the knuckle on the ring finger. There is also what resembles a paper cut that goes from the base of my thumb across the palm to the base of the ring finger. No, I didn't go to the hospital, don't know what more they could have done besides wrap bandages around my fingers. I changed the band aid over the smaller hole in my right hand, as that one was totally blood soaked, last night. I'm thinking I should change the other ones covering the middle finger today.... *funny story about this bit - when I was trying to clean up my hand enough to see what was what, and wiping up blood, I saw loose skin on another finger. Attempted to pat it with a cloth to see what damage, and it rolled off the finger... realized later this was the missing chunk...

I took pictures (after the band aids were put on), but not sure how they've turned out.  This morning, the paper-cut like slice on the left hand did seep some blood out, so the line shows now.  It looks now more like as if I'd cut it with a paring knife - you know the kind of cut - that is just a little deeper than a scratch, but not deep enough to even bother with a band aid for.  I'll probably take more pictures later, for comparison.

Ironic, in a way... I managed to knit a good bit of a sweater with a cast on one hand (left), but can't knit much without excruciating pain due to some cuts on my right hand....  In terms of severity, I'd have to say that a broken bone is worse than losing a piece or two of skin....

I think I might have gone into a bit of mild shock, too - DH couldn't get my hands to stop shaking while he bandaged my hand for me... and he helped wash it up and clean up (bathroom sink was red, so was one of our facecloths.  I'm amazed he got it white again!  though I did mention to use cold not hot water, so I was still thinking straight). 

I also  have to say... You know how on some of those crime shows, the investigators talk about the criminals cutting the fleshy tips of their fingers to remove their fingerprints.... Well, if that is true, then the criminals are *F*CKING* insane.... Really.  I can't believe the pain!!! 

Anyway, I'm off to the store to buy myself some rubber gloves (thought I had some) so I can do things like wash dishes and wash my hair.  These band aids that I have tend to let go rather quickly when they get wet.  Besides, who wants to smoosh soap and shampoo and potential icky dishwater into open wounds? 

Saturday plans

Well, sort of.  I don't really have many plans.  I have goals... I try to meet those goals.  I sometimes succeed.

So, my plans for today are: (in no particular order) finish the Sea Cruise sock (I'm already on the decreases- wuhoo)  Start organizing notes for patterns I've been writing, start writing/prototype knitting the shawl, rake dry parts of the yard, clean up more dog stuff that was buried under snow, pick up dog toys from yard, soak up sunshine....

We've been having unseasonably warm temperatures the last few days.  So I'm going to try to enjoy them as much as possible!!  Heaven knows, there is enough yard work doing winter clean up.  I still think it too early to do much else - I don't believe this is the real end to winter yet.  We've had pleasant early springs before, but then got a surprise dump of snow.  And since the grass isn't looking like it is shooting up new green sprouts, I'm going to wait a little longer before I break out the shorts and swim suit ;)

Not that I swim much! 

I do need to do some yard cleaning, though.  And, since I love my yard, even though I'm not much of an outdoor person, and since I love spending time with my puppies, I think I'll say the heck with any house work and just enjoy the day outside :)

So... See you tomorrow - maybe with some outside pictures, maybe with some finished sock pictures, or maybe just another quick post (they are forecasting another super nice day tomorrow.)

DANG!!!

I messed up.  I didn't post yesterday. 

I *was* going to - but my Firefox froze.   I had to close up the program, and somehow I just never got back to it.   I was clearing up some stuff, doing dishes, looking for one of my Barbara Walker Treasuries, and I just sort of walked away from the computer and forgot... :(

I was doing so good!

I would have said, yesterday, the I love the new Principles of Knitting book.  That I did a very brief comparison - I had flipped through the first edition, but spent a fair bit of time reading the section on different types of cast ons.  So, that was the section I looked at in the new edition.  It was definitely updated, and had more variety... I also flipped through the new edition, and found a lot of great stuff.  I even found a stitch pattern I like and want to use for a project, but there aren't directions for it!!  It is simply added as a pictoral example of lacework.... So, I need to find it in one of my stitch dictionaries.  Some how, I cannot find my first treasury...

So, I may need to try to work out the pattern from the picture, instead.

Today - I did my weekly shopping.  Ordered Principles of Knitting... Yes, I must have it!  It really is that good.  :) 

Watched the season end show of The River.  Won't surprise me if that one doesn't come back for another season.  Yes, I liked it at the beginning, but after a while, it got to be not so good.  I get why they filmed it the way they did, but often it made it difficult to watch.  Like, you really couldn't see what was going on - too much camera jiggling and poor lighting, and cameras pointing away from the action.  In some ways, that worked earlier on, when the story line had some mystical supernatural creepiness to it, but soon even that became campy and less spooky.  Perhaps even gratuitous.  Overall, I'd say the story started out great, but then fizzled.  If it comes back, I'll probably continue to watch, but like I said, it probably won't.  In the meantime, there is still one more Walking Dead for this season, and I can hardly wait to watch it! 

Other shows - Grimm, Pan Am, and Once Upon a Time are hanging on - but being shown sporadically.  Well, Grimm is on pretty regularly, but the other two - I may be missing an episode or two.  But I try to watch out for them, and catch them when I can.  A new series started last night, and we taped recorded it, but we aren't sure whether we're even going to be interested or not. 

So - other than, I am nearly finished the Sea Cruise sock - one and a half motifs to go on the foot, then the toe decreases - I really don't have much more to say.  Hopefully, I don't miss posting again... 

Oh, and yesterday was the 44th anniversary of the date my father died.  Not sure why I am posting about it - just that I happened to note the date.  Most years, I really don't think about it much anymore.  Not that I don't think of my father, or wish he hadn't died of cancer when I was a little girl, but that I don't always mark the date in any special way - more like, Oh, it's March, two of my brothers' birthdays, would have been my father's birthday, and the anniversary of when he died... how many years now?  sort of thoughts.  I don't keep in touch with either of those brothers anyway, and not much point in observing Dad's birthday.  I only really note the 15th if I happen to look at the calendar or otherwise note the day.

I'm far more excited, right now, that in two weeks, I get to see CATS again :)  With my oldest grand daughter this time.  Last time, my husband went with me, and he is the first person I asked. When he declined, I figured, since my GD is into music and singing and stuff, that she might enjoy the chance to go.  Checked first with my son and DIL, and then asked her.  I'm pretty sure she is looking forward to going too. :)

Ok, more about that later, and probably some pictures soon.   When I'm done Sea Cruise, I'll be starting the shawl, and probably working on my pink socks in between.  And I've still got a lot more projects to work on before the end of the month, as well as adding a skill or two to my repertoire. To meet my monthly goals, that is!  (heck, I already blew my year goal to post here every day)

Changes

I was hoping to be able to blog about a book today.  I got notice from the library that one of the books I'd requested has arrived.  And, since I managed to finish the one I'd been reading and is due back on Friday, and since I had a few errands to run today, that I could blog when I got back from picking up the book.  Then, I went outside, and discovered a flat tire.  :(

Ok, so - changing things up again....

I originally thought I would run my errands, be home by noon at the latest, give a fast perusal to the book, and then post early in the afternoon.  I was able to request a particular book in both older and newer versions, and want to compare them.  I know have both books in my hot little hands, more or less.  But no time to review.

What had happened, was that I discovered the flat.  I was able to pump the tire up enough (we have a small air compressor for such occasions) and still do a couple of the errands before taking the truck in to get the tire fixed.  I asked them about how long it would be.... they said at least three to three and a half hours before they could even LOOK at it.  So, I walked home, and thought I would not be able to do the comparison until tomorrow (if I even got to the library today). 

So, I started typing this post, after getting home, unpacking the groceries, having a bit of lunch-like food, and settling in... the phone rang.  They were unable to fix the tire, it would need replacing.  :(  Well, we need it done, so I said fine.  I didn't even get through that first paragraph up there ^ before the phone rang again - they were done! 

Well, I walked back over, picked up the truck, did a last errand and hit the library....

I now have (though I haven't cracked the cover yet) the new edition of Principles of Knitting.  What I've seen so far of the old edition - I think this needs to be added to my collection.  I will be looking through the new edition, and maybe doing some side-by-side comparisons, this evening and maybe for the next couple days.  Then I'll write up something here, with my opinions (ones I've read on various knitting groups have been favourable) in a few days.

In the meantime - today has been a very long day already - between laundry day and all that walking - I'm about done!  I still need to finish off some laundry stuff, and I need to see if my netbook has spontaneously repaired itself - it had a drink spilled on it last night, and a few of the keys don't work anymore (or at least they didn't after initial attempts to dry it last night).  Hopefully, having had chance to dry thoroughly, they will work again.... (nothing worse than having the few keys not working be a major part of your password to get into the machine!)

Readin' and knittin'

Well, I'm nearly finished the book.  And I've got half the gusset decreases done.  And my kitchen floor is covered in muddy dog prints.  Again.  Or maybe I should say still - hard to tell at this time of year, when the dogs can't help but get muddy every time they set foot out of the door.

Yesterday, the yard was a lake.  I was thinking about pumping some of the water out, but everytime I was going to go do it, it would start raining.  So, I'd do something else instead, and the rain would stop.  I'd think about getting my boots, and it would be raining again... Anyway, late afternoon, the sun actually put in an appearance, the wind died down, and DH and I went out and set up the pump.  It was hard to tell, while standing in the middle of the yard making sure bits of twigs, leaves, and other debris didn't clog the pump, how much water was being drained.  I mean, we didn't expect miracles; as long as there was still snow and ice in the yard, it will continue to melt and refill the "lake".  I did notice things like dog toys or bones that were under water when we started had surfaced.  But it wasn't until we were done as much as we could and I stepped back and looked at the yard that I saw just how much we'd done. 

Between the sunshine, the little bit of wind, and the too dry ground from last fall, I think we actually have less standing water in the yard now.  Not that I'm complaining ;)

I am a little concerned, having pumped the water away, about that dry ground.  But I also know from past experience that even dry ground can't soak up water properly when it is overwhelming.  And when that happens, we get some water seepage in our partial basement.  So, I think I prefer the pumping, and if I have to, I can water the yard with the hose.  Yeah, I know, seems wasteful.  But, I've also been looking at some plans to make a garbage can rain barrel.  Not sure if it will be easy to find plastic garbage cans anymore; what with the city having those automated bins.  On the other hand, there are situations where big garbage cans are still needed to collect refuse... And there are people in rural areas that no doubt still make use of them.  So, I'm sure I'll find one.  Or maybe I'll see a relatively clean one at a garage/yard sale soon... 

Well, I was hoping to accomplish some things today, but I won't be if I keep hanging around here. :) 

Reading instead of knitting

So, instead of knitting much yesterday, I did some reading.  I have a library book due back at the end of the week, and even though I'm not exactly in the mood for reading right now (I would have devoured the book in a couple of days) I am trying to get it read.  It is a recently published book in a series I started reading last fall.    The author is Blaize Clement, and the series is about a character named Dixie Hemingway, a former deputy sheriff turned cat sitter, who manages to get involved in solving crimes; primarily involving murder.  Being a newer and popular book, I'm not able to renew it as others are waiting for it. 

I've also got another book or two on deck - I recently picked up the new book in the  Death's Daughter series, How to Be Death, by Amber Benson.  More in the mystery genre (honestly, I'm not a fan of mystery books!  But there are some good ones out there, and the cat series I like are all mystery genre), but with a few flights of fancy, making them also in the fantasy/sci-fi category as well.  The other book I own but haven't read yet is the latest paperback in the Joe Grey series - Cat Coming Home.  Another that as soon as I start to read, I have trouble putting it down.

Otherwise, yesterday was also a tired day.  I actually went to bed pretty early - shortly after ten.  Which, according to my body/internal clock, was around 9.  I guess it was a lot of fresh air - it was warm and sun shiny out yesterday, and we spent a lot of time outside with the dogs.  I ended up being too tired to knit much anyway.  I did do several rows on the heel flap of the Sea Cruise sock anyway, though.  But that is all.  Today is starting to shape up as another tiring day - cloudy and grey, and raining - very strength sapping.  Will sure help the snow melt quick, but it was supposed to be part sunny today and I was hoping to set up a pump and drain some of the water out of our yard.  With the dogs packing down the snow, I guess there is ice formed at the base, so the water can't seep into the dry dry dry and likely not frozen due to the  mild winter ground.  And, since part way through the winter, I ended up missing a few days of cleaning dog stuff, well.... I wouldn't mind pumping at least some of the water out of the yard!

I watched Batman and Robin last night - thought I'd seen it before, but I guess I only ever saw parts of it.  There was a lot I didn't recall ever seeing.  Also ended up paying just a little attention to the Amazing Race that DH watches.  I was super touched at the end.... The people who won that part of the race got $5,000 each- and they offered it up to another pair of racers - well, one, who apparently was trying to win the race for his daughter or something - I don't know the back story, but I sure thought it was great of the other guys to share their winnings like that.

So - I think tonight we'll watch the Walking Dead from last night.  Last week, the story went slow in my opinion, but had an interesting enough ending to make me wonder what is coming next. 

So, guess that is it for today.  Need to start thinking up some more blog-fodder.

Once a year

Once a year, around Easter, stores start selling "Hot Cross Buns".  I guess they are "hot" because you are supposed to heat them up, or cook and eat them fresh.  I remember them being around when I was a kid- my mother would buy (make?  hm, have to ask my sister about that) them, and have them around.  I recall trying one, and finding the dried fruit in it to be "gross".  (we didn't use that word back then, but it applies, lol).  I didn't like *any* dessert/bread thing with that dried fruit in it.  I guess it had an overpowering citrus-y taste, and since I recently found out I have a mild allergy to oranges, (yes, I was tested by an allergist, I thought I just didn't care for oranges) I can see why I would not like fruit cakes and such.  Strangely, though, since becoming an adult, I've discovered I *LIKE* Hot Cross Buns.  I also buy dried fruit from the bulk food store for snacks...

Tastes obviously change over time - Things that my husband wouldn't touch when we got married are among his favourites now. 

What I'm not sure of, is how or why I tried one of the buns to discover I like them now.  One would think that one would want to avoid something based on memory of not liking it!

Well, either way, on Thursday, I bought a package of 16, and there are 7 left - and I'm thinking about going to eat a couple for my breakfast when I'm done here :)  Maybe I might warm one up in the microwave, just to try it "hot" :)

In the meantime - I finished the third motif for the leg of the Sea Cruise 2 sock, so I'm ready to start the heel.  And I have replotted the plans for the shawl, so now I need to start creating graphs (and I still best knit up that swatch!)

The difference

So, yesterday, I was thinking about writing this post, as it kind of relates to my post from the other day about my kitchen, and I was going to whine about the hour change in today's post, since it was a more "timely" issue (sorry, I had to do it!)  But, things turned out the way they should - I got notification of two comments to my kitchen counter posts.  (and might just get one for this post, but we'll see)   They arrived in my inbox one minute apart.  Both were from "Anonymous".  Both had the exact same wording.  And both contained a link to a commercial website.  Now, I don't mind doing some free advertising for a place I have been to, and would recommend to anyone anyway.  But I don't like to be a vehicle for free advertising through the blog comments for someone else.

I did have this sort of happen before, when I talked about mild dyslexia, but that wasn't really going to benefit the person financially, as near as I could figure... (I hope it didn't, though the person did take the time to post, not to use a robot, like the current comments must have been).  But this one wasn't even directed at the topic of the post, not really.  The comments stated that "that is why" granite counter tops are so durable.  And then provided the link to the site to buy them from.  Now, seriously - granite counter tops are durable because I have no real counter space?   Heck, by that reasoning, **ANY** counter top would be durable, since I have no counters, I don't use them much!!! 

So, those comments will not be approved.  I don't mind the "anonymous" part - I have a couple friends whose comments come under the anonymous identity, but I can tell who they are.  Even if I can't tell, I don't mind much if the comment is well presented.  But if you take a shot at me, under cover of anonymity, you won't be approved.  You can disagree with me, but don't attack me.  (I have one hanging out in moderation that did that - the person disagreed with me, and I was planning to paraphrase what was said, and deal with it in a post, but just never got around to doing so.  The person posted the disagreements in a very rude and insulting manner - which will *not* get posted)

Anyway, on to today's topic.  The difference. 

I have a lot of stuff.  I know that. I have more stuff than I have room to keep it.  Therefore, I try to weed out what I don't use, or what I won't use.  But, I am not very good at organizing things. It took me years to come up with a workable cheese storage system.  I'd try something, but it either didn't keep the cheese properly, or it wasn't conducive to continued use.  (have you ever put something in one spot, thinking that was the best spot, but for some reason, it would be put anywhere else *but* that spot?  In other words, it couldn't have been the best spot, since it is not intuitive to use that spot)

I am a pack rat.  I keep things, thinking I might need them, or might find a use for them, or they are too good to throw away, or it was a gift, or.... the list of reasons/excuses to hang on to things can go on forever, and some reasons/excuses are flimsy, while others are more solid.  I do hate to dispose of something that someone could use.  Charity thrift stores, like the Salvation Army Thrift Stores, have been a blessing to me.  Anything that I've been hanging onto that has some life left in it, but I really don't need or even want, honestly, has been boxed up and sent off to Sally Ann.  I particularly like to send to them, because they resell at a reasonable price, helping those who can't afford much.  They also give to people who have lost all in fires, floods, or other need.  And they do amazing things with the money raised by reselling goods.

I also donate some items for the garage sale and thrift store operated by the shelter that my beloved Delko came from. 

And I've started donating the less than perfect condition things but still useful for repurposing to either a freecycle group, or to a place that takes craft and art supplies as well as unusual items/objects and provides them to schools and local artists free. 

So, I do admit I'm a pack rat, that I have too much of some things that I have difficulty parting with, and I am useless at organization. 

However, I'm not a hoarder.  That is something that I am afraid I might become.  When I watch those TV shows about hoarding, I worry about some of the stuff I am keeping/hanging on to/packratting away.  But then I remember that I do give things away, I do throw things away, and I only keep useful stuff.  And I use my stuff. 

That last bit is the one thing that separates me from what I consider a hoarder to be.  I am quite sure my mother was a hoarder.  And I know I learned to be a pack rat from her.  I wonder if there is also genetics involved.... But either way, I don't consider myself to be as bad as my mother.  (No judgements, really, she had events in her life that resulted in some of the behaviour, and I've had some events that cause me to worry I could become a hoarder ala TV if I'm not careful). 

My definition of a hoarder involves not just the keeping of things, but the not using of things, and not letting others use or touch your stuff.  I do get a bit possessive at times - I've had losses in my life that cause me sometimes to hold onto things a little too tightly.  But I can often, given a bit of time to settle down from the knee-jerk emotional reaction, catch myself and correct the incident.  However, I do use the stuff I save - that is why I saved it, after all, and I use the stuff I want to keep.  My mother often wouldn't use her things, because if she used them, she might not be able to replace them.  This came about from living through war-time rationing - you only got a little bit of some things, and you made them last, because you didn't know when or if  you would get them again.  But I think something snapped at some point in her life, and she started carrying it to the extreme.  For a period of time, one of the grocery stores was offering a deal - if you spent so much in groceries, you could buy a pound of butter at a lower cost.  Now, this wasn't a limited time offer or anything, this was ongoing for quite some time.  Butter was not cheap, and was definitely something rationed during wartime.  So, my mother would buy the butter... (I am not young, but I'm not that old - we're talking over 20 years after the war).  The next week's grocery shopping, and she could get another cheap butter... We had one shelf in the fridge that had butter stacked two high, two rows deep, for the width of the fridge.  I do not know why we didn't use the butter - or maybe we did, but it seems to have been replaced a lot faster than it was used.

After my father died, my mother had to find a job.  She did, as a barmaid/waitress.  Back then, she had to wear a uniform for work.  She managed to find, at some point, some kleenex/facial tissue that was in a colour that matched her uniform colours.  Health and age finally put an end to that job.  Many years later, she moved out of her house into a senior apartment.  My husband, son and I moved into the house.  Because she had downsized, she had left a lot of excess furniture, dishes, etc.(btw - I am the youngest of five, and while I'm not talking enough furniture for the whole family, there were some leftovers) and some of her hoarded and packratted stuff.  I was to sort through a lot of it and either take her what she wanted/needed, use what I could, or store the rest until she could figure out what to do with it.  One day, not long after moving in, my son had a cold/flu.  We needed to use tissues... and one of the things I did to entertain him while he was feeling miserable was to show him how to make flowers from tissue - accordion folding them.  Now, I was using my own tissues for him to blow his nose, etc.  They were white.  Coloured facial tissue seem to be a thing of the past.  I came across this box of gold coloured tissues, and decided to make the flowers.... I mentioned it in a phone call to my mother, and she freaked out.  It was so hard for her to find that colour to match her uniform yada yada yada.... Next trip of things to go to her new place MUST include any and all boxes of the gold tissue.........

I am not a hoarder.  I use my stuff.  If I don't, even if I've packratted it away *in case* I need it, I evaluate the excess and pass it on to some one who *can* use it or *needs* it.    Yes, that evaluation process is the ongoing internal personal fight to make sure I never do become the hoarder that may be in my genes, or may have been taught to me in my upbringing.

I have a lot of spices on that counter, but I use them.  I buy extra bottles of the spices that on brand came out with called "limited edition" if they are ones I like.  But I know, that things like spices go bad if you buy them but don't use them.  (another of my mother's hoarding side effects - you keep something long enough and refuse to use it, it will eventually go bad and need to be thrown out, so where's the saving in that?  I really can't stand that sort of wastefulness).  Does that make me a hoarder?  I don't think so - I mean, I don't go into panic mode if the spice is discontinued - I get disappointed when it is gone, sure, but I find a substitute.  For example, right now, the brand of spice I like still make one combination that, according to their website still exists, but the stores near me (I've checked several) are no longer carrying it in favour of the newer ones - including a past "limited edition" that is being offered as a regular now :).  Am I going to hoard away and not use the about one or two tablespoons I have left?  No, that would be silly.  I like the spice (Sweet Chili and Peppers, if anyone is interested) so why would I stop using it?  Sure, I might miss it when it is gone, but hey -- I've got a few new ones to try, and the past limited edition that I can now get again regularly. 

So, that to me is the difference.  Whether or not the stuff I have is useful, used, wanted, needed,  or just held onto for the sake of keeping it. 

And I don't count holding onto recyclables for an extra week if the blue box happens to be too full one week for all of it.... I make a neat pile beside the blue box, and as soon as it gets emptied, I put the pile into the box for the next week's collection day. 

Icky hour change, Sea Cruise and shawl

I really don't like the hour change.  I mean, I really don't understand the need.  I like it that the sun is getting up earlier every morning.  I like starting my day nice an early with natural light.  Somewhere, someone said it had to do with power usage and making it easier on people to not have to use lights at night.  I don't get it - whether the lights are on morning or evening, the number of dark hours vs light hours doesn't change - just the designation of those hours. 

The only time that I really wasn't much bothered by the hour change was the first two after my son was born.  Because, I fretted about it for days... I had fallen into that trap of being a slave to the clock.  This has to happen at such-and-such an hour, that has to happen at half-past... So, I worried how things would go with this few month old baby.... until it hit me, that he should be fed when he was hungry, nap when he was tired.  Not be dependent on the clock determining when he should be hungry or tired.

Sadly, though, there are certain things in life that *are* attached to a rigid clock-based schedule.  And it takes me a while to adapt.  It is particularly difficult when I don't understand the reasoning.  Or, I should say, I don't "get" the reasoning.  I don't see the purpose.  Leave nature as it should be....

Oh, well.  I can't change the world, so I just have to change and adapt myself to it.  It will just take me a few days, that's all.  At least the couch is comfy to sleep on, if I fall asleep watching TV until my sleep patterns get straightened out.  ;)

Sea Cruise is two-thirds of the second leg done.  And we're all caught up watching Walking Dead.  And the shawl that I want to knit is now plotted and planned - now it is time to find the needles and start the swatching.  Wondering.... should I do it as another mystery shawl, and break it into clues?  Or should I just post pics as I go, and then the pattern at the end?  Need to decide....(comments/opinions/desires welcome!)

Well, guess that is it for today.  Sorry for the short post... I did have something else I was going to talk about, but decided to do something about it instead. ;)  Will likely write about it tomorrow or maybe in the next few days.  Has a lot to do with the pictures I shared.

It's over!!

Finally!!

On my foot this morning.  I only took a picture of one foot - as a matter of fact, this happens to be sock #2.  I know, because the second sock ended up with an ever so slight tighter cast on.  Considering the stress levels when I did it for the third time, I would say that "ever so slight" is nothing to complain about!!!

So, just to make sure that I finished the socks off as they were started...  I started last night with 4 rounds on the toe, then ripped back two of them.  And, somehow while grafting the toe, I ended up missing a stitch, or half a stitch, so when I wove in the end I fixed it.  I've never had so much difficulty knitting a second sock in my life!!!

On a side note - if I ever make these again, I'll likely make them shorter.  Funny how life is like that, and what you liked before you don't like now, and vice-versa.  Hubby and I were just talking about that in a related way last night - there were things that he wouldn't eat when we first got married that are among his favourites now.  Anyway, I used to wear only knee-high socks.  Anything shorter, and I wouldn't wear them.  Ankle socks were the worst!!! 

One year, my son gave me several pair of ankle socks for Christmas... I wore them, and found they aren't so evil anymore.  (still haven't bought or knit any, though).  I've found some knit sock patterns refer to the socks as "ankle" socks, when in fact, they are about half way between the Hermione and a true ankle sock.  In other words, about the length I've been knitting and wearing them.  To me, it is an ankle sock if it barely covers that sticky-outy-ankle bone.  I do like to wear the ones my son gave me, especially in summer, inside track shoes when walking the dogs.  (Instead of just wearing sandals and bare feet, like I did once in my life, that fateful day last July).  Mind you, I have been known to wear sandals when walking the dogs in the country, when they are off-leash.  Still not the greatest, as I get stones from gravel into my feet that way sometimes. 

Now, I also did some other picture editing this morning.  I did say I might get brave enough to show pictures of the kitchen.  I mean, really, when I tell people I have few cupboards and no counter space, I mean it...  I do have a small kitchen.  I don't relate well to actual measurements or square footage, really, in my head.  At best, I do things like, "Ok, my bedroom is X by X, and it is too small, so when we buy our new house, it needs to say the room is X+Y by X+Z"  (yes, that is what I did, and what I got, and in the old house, the bed was against the wall on one side, with dresser and walkspace on the other.  This house - dresser and walk space around the whole bed.)  So, don't ask me what the dimensions are, but I'm sure you can get a relative idea by the other items in the kitchen.  Never mind the few dishes that need washing, or the untidy appearance of some of the storage spaces - I do the best I can with what I have.

My kitty cups hang over the sink... the one counter has dog treats and the spices we use pretty much daily to weekly.  Not that I have cupboard space for them anyway, but these things need to be kept handy.  Hard to see, but the part of wall that is beside the sink, between the microwave and the kitty cups - that is the chimney.

So here, you can see some of the extra storage shelves I've used/invested in to try to help free up cupboards.  There are three entrances to the kitchen - the back of the house/door, the livingroom, and this entrance that leads to the closet and bathroom opposite, and the stairs to the second floor. Yes, thanks to that white shelving unit, the space is narrow, but we can walk through it OK.

So here is my fridge - I mentioned in a previous post how I didn't realize just how much stuff was on it... I've since started clearing that up.  Directly opposite, but not photo worthy, the fridge door is the basement staircase.  The canister top you see by the shelf is one of three stacked up (no where else to keep my flour and sugar and stuff) so it is not in the livingroom doorway....

My kitchen table - it has a drawer in it, and yes, it is big for the room, but I use is when I need to do things "normal" people do on the counter - mix stuff, use the electric fry pan, the electric grill, etc.  And, yes, the laptop is there, too.  Right by my south-facing window so I get the sunlight I need to survive! Oh, and of course, Mis Mica.  (not a typo, Mis is short for Mischief)

And finally - a shot of the stove and the back entryway.  That space is where Delko spent as much time as possible when he first came to live with us - it was his "safe spot" - a space that was about the same size as the kennel he'd lived in for three and a half months.  The wide open spaces of our home were almost too much for him!  He's long since gotten used to the freedom.  But for the first several days, we had to carry him into the livingroom, and if we didn't block the entrance, he'd bolt back to the back entry.

So.  Yes, my kitchen needs cleaning - and yes, I do have a couple high up cupboards that don't show in the pictures - one above the stove, one above the microwave, and one above the sink.  I'm a short person - the items that don't get used often go there, or I just drag a chair over.  In the picture that has Mica in it, you can sort of see beyond the plastic drawer unit, there is a narrow cupboard - it goes from floor to nearly ceiling (which is another nightmare I want to fix).  I've mentioned it before, I think, about how semi-useless it is. I think it would have been a great broom cupboard, but it has shelves in it, and it is just too deep and narrow to be overly useful.  But, it is my "pantry cupboard", and I keep the baking supplies, the dry soups and other dry goods, smaller canisters of brown sugar, my teas, etc. in there.  Things that I don't use every day.  Those foods are in the one low cupboard over the coffeemaker and drain board from the first picture.

Now, when I say I get frustrated with my kitchen.... you know why.  I keep some of the small appliances in the livingroom, and others are in the closet in the back entryway... Which is also where I store the plastic containers.... 

As for the other nightmare - the kitchen ceiling is stippled.  Stippled ceilings cannot be washed easily; wetting them generally means the texture will soften and come off.  Messily.  (I've removed stipple on some construction reno jobs in my life)  So, a previous owner decided to put in a drop ceiling a foot or so down (matching the top of the cupboards).  They put in all nice plastic panels, like the kind that go over flourescent light fixtures - opaque.  I loved that ceiling!  Unfortunately, the house shifts sometimes, and the framework holding the drop ceiling moved some, which meant the ceiling lived up to its name - it dropped.  When we found out the cost to replace the now broken panels, knowing that the frame could shift again, we removed the framework.  Now we are left with a foot of unfinished wall at the top of the room, and a very nasty looking uncleanable stipple ceiling.

Anyone know of a contest for a kitchen makeover that can be rigged so I can win it?

Almost finished!!

Nearly finished Hermione 2.  Got the whole instep done last night!!  All I need to do tonight is the toe decreases and the grafting, and weave the ends.  I bet I can finish!!

Tonight is Survivor night.  Last Night's offering of "The River" was better than they've been lately.  A good creepy bit, then some not so creepy bits. 

Not much else to say today - laundry day, so that is keeping me in not so good of a mood.

At least the sun is shining, though :)  We're getting some cooler temperatures, along with the snow we had. 

Oh, and I did forget to add one goal to this month - a new shawl design.  I thought it would be a triangular shawl, but it is telling me it wants to be a rectangle.  Of sorts.  I also had a theme in mind, but it insists on being loosely related to my theme.  Still on the same wavelength, but going in a slightly different direction.  Which is fine by me - once I reached that compromise and I got that sorted out in my head, it is just about ready for casting on.  Which means, that I might be missing most of my goals for this month, and whipping up a new shawl... :)  Don't worry, I'll keep you all posted.

Hermione and TV

I will be happy to see the end of this sock.  I think I messed up somewhere in  my gusset decreases, but I refuse to rip again.  It was only a minor mess up - I may have decreased one side twice in a row instead of a knit even row between. 

I am closer to being finished on these socks than not, so I really just want to get them done.  I originally was going to focus on getting the Sea Cruise done for dh, but with all the problems I've encountered on Hermione, I really really really want them over with!!

This morning I took pictures of my kitchen.  Except the table.  I had to wait for the doggies to decide to go out first, and when they did, the table still had more stuff on it than "normal" and my laptop was open, and a bunch of other things... And I still need to download, resize, etc. the pictures I did take.  So, it will happen, but not yet. 

Funny thing - I keep a bunch of stuff on my fridge with magnets... I didn't realize just how it looked until I took the picture.  Funny how that happens - you see it every day, so you stop *seeing* it.  But, take a picture, and it seems to make you see it with fresh eyes.  I didn't realize how cluttered the fridge door had gotten.  So, now that is going to be on my nerves and my mind until I deal with it... :P

Instead of organizing myself and dealing with and setting the priorities so I can deal with them instead of becoming frustrated by them, I'm adding to the problem. 

So, today, my plan involves working on that special project, so I can get it finished.  Tonight is River night, and we only have two more recorded Walking Dead shows to watch.  Don't know if any of you are fans, or are trying to become fans and watching past seasons like I've been doing, so I don't want to create a "spoiler" situation.  But there is one character on the show that I am really really hating.... And the show is getting so interesting now!  Slow moving at the start, but picking up as you go along. I think I'm going to end up having some withdrawal when we're caught up on tape and have to wait a whole week between episodes!!  And I'm really not looking forward to any season breaks. 

Still ticked off at Terra Nova being dropped.  Especially since they actually made shows for a second season.  Hopefully, it will be picked up in syndication, and they'll show both seasons.  Or, maybe they'll decide to resurrect it and make more even.  I wonder if we can get history to repeat itself, and do like the fans of Star Trek did in the '60's?  It really should be easier to accomplish these days, with internet and everything.... Hmmm....

Anyway - should be able to finish Hermione over the next two evenings.  I mean, I've only got a half dozen decreases to finish the gusset, then the foot and toe.  Once I get past the paying attention for the gusset, it will be back to  nearly mindless round after round until the toe - so, news show for an hour, crap shows/taped Walking Dead for one hour, then The River for an hour.  I should be able to handle the decreases in the first hour, or at least have them down to not needing too much attention during the news.  Then, I can get going on the foot for the rest of the TV evening.  Tomorrow is Survivor night, so news first, then Survivor.  Criminal Minds is next, and I should be able to manage to get most if not all the foot and toe done.  At worst, I might have to do the toe graft during Thursday news.  All of this is assuming, of course, that I dont' have to rip back anymore!!! 

Then, it will be back to Sea Cruise for Big Bang on Thursday, and Walking Dead tapes. :)

Most of the TV times I've been referring to take until 9 pm.  I still stay up, watch more TV, and usually still knit some after 9.  But often, I'm a little too tired, so I either put it down, or I knit very slowly... If I'm going to make a big type mistake, it will likely happen after 9.  Never used to be so tired at that time of night, but as I've said before, I had a lot of energy taken out of me for the last few years, and I'm still working back up to normal.  Used to be, I could knit straight through to 10 without any difficulty at all.  Last night, I actually fell asleep on the couch shortly after ten, and woke up to do the animals bedtime routines (surprised they didn't wake me sooner) about quarter after 11.  Normally, I will watch a Big Bang rerun at 10, then if I'm not quite ready for bed, there is a rerun of Flashpoint on another channel, that started at 10 as well, but I'll pick it up at the half-way mark.  If I want, I'll stay up to the end, and do the routine during commercial breaks.  Or, I'll maybe kind of look at the show, then start the bedtime routines.  I'm normally in bed by 11 or shortly after, if not way before that.

Bedtime routine - I fill the water bowl, check to see if the dog food dishes have food in them, filling as needed.  Same with cat food dish - fill if it needs.  Then, the cats get some Whiskas treats.  And the dogs get three treats each - two dog cookies (crunchy type treats) and one soft chewy one.  They can count, they know the soft one is last - and there are some cookies that aren't their favourites - I give them, they take them politely, and drop them on the floor and wait for the soft one!  Then, they will go back and eat the crunchy treat.  Sometimes.  Other times, they eat in the order they get.  So, after treats, the dogs go out for "bed time puddles".  While they are out, I'll set up the coffee maker for morning (one of those that has a timer so it starts itself in the morning) and make sure my kettle has water in it for morning tea.   Then, the dogs come in, and I make a final "bed time puddle" myself, then we go upstairs.  I get ready for bed, the dogs take over my pillow and blankets, and we have a cuddle while I try to get into bed around them.  Sometimes the order varies slightly - if I really need to go potty, or sometimes the dogs get treats before the cats, or the dogs really need to go potty....
Aside: Dh goes to bed much earlier than I do, and he also gets up earlier than me.  He is a sweetie, though, and when he calls me in the morning, he turns on the kettle so I can make my tea in the morning. :)

Wow, I'm getting brave these days - giving out way more information about me.... Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Am I giving away too much personal information that someone may use against me one day?  Am I giving enough info for an identity thief to take advantage of?  Am I boring everyone?  Am I revealing a hidden need to be center of attention so I'm giving too much up?  Am I unconsciously trying to shock people?  Am I overthinking this whole thing?

Well... this isn't getting my goals met, so I'll be off now. :)

no kitchen today...

Nope,  no kitchen pictures today.  And it will be a shortish post.

Last night - started the heel flap on Hermione 2.  For some reason, it seemed like it wasn't working up right... also my ripping seemed to be a half row off somehow.  But that didn't matter much - since so far it is just a leg, who cares where the round officially starts?  Anyway, the heel seemed "off", then I realized I'd dropped one of the stitches at the end - so, I ripped and restarted the flap.  Finally got it going right.  Ended up spending most of the night to do just a few rows.... (since I also had to finish ripping and recovering the other part of the leg, that I didn't do in the dark.  Sort of a slow process...)

Anyway, yesterday I spent most of the day in the kitchen.  Blanching veggies, then mixing them for a recipe I like to do.  Shrimp en papie   en pappie  en papiat   Shrimp in paper.  Uses parchment paper to make packets of shrimp, seasoning, and veggies.  The original recipe called for one type of veggie, but a friend of mine who recommended the recipe said she often uses whatever veggie combo she has on hand.  I've been making it with a combo every time I've ever made it. It is popular around our house, considering that DH prefers his shrimp breaded and deep fried.  (which I also make now and again).  Besides prepping the fresh veggies, I also tried another recipe, shared by the same friend.  Jambalaya. We'd been out for lunch, and I'd selected jambalaya from the menu.  My first time eating it.  She mentioned having a recipe, and I was pretty sure my husband would like it...  Sure enough.  Made a big pot up of it, and between us, we pigged out on more than half of it!!!! 

This recipe is definitely a keeper!!

So, you don't get pictures of the rest of the kitchen right now, because there are a lot of extra dishes piled up - several pots from blanching and some cutting boards and colanders, as well as a plate and a bowl from our supper (I like plates, because I can't eat the food if it is too hot, so I spread it out.  Dh is the opposite - he'll use a bowl so it stays warm longer). 

But - I will share.  Oh, and the dark spots on the floor are dog food pieces.  They sometimes pick out mouthfuls, drop them on the floor, then eat morsels one at a time.  And once in a while have leftovers for me to pick up for them.  Or, the cats steal them and eat them, or help themselves to the dog food in the bowl.

Yes, I have strange animals.