I'm wasting my day

I'm sorta stuck here at home. I need to go to Michaels but I need a coupon printed so I can get 40% off. The hub and son left hours ago and haven't returned. So I can't get the son to do the printing. I called my friend who can print it for me (and has) and she has offered to drive out there with me since she needs to buy a laptop at a store near Michaels. But she can't go until her nephew gets there. And her sister is always late. She was due to arrive a little after 1. Now it's close to 3 and I'm still here.

So I'm reading to pass the time.

I can't mow the lawn because there is no gas. The hub said he'd do it but he is not home.

I could have had the yard mowed by now or I could have been back from Michaels hours ago. But Michaels would have cost me 15.00 more just because I don't have the coupon.

Bitch, bitch, bitch. I hate waiting for others. I'm wasting my day.

I make you...

It's sunny outside. You know what that means? Mowing the lawn. Grrrr.

The daughter is sick, the son is housesitting and the hub is still sleeping.

I need gasoline for the mower.

The other day I got into an argument with Office Worker. The set up: One Clerk Worker in the office motioned for Office Worker not to say something in front of an Authority Figure. It was about a work situation.

Office Worker said to me (out of earshot of everyone else): "That Authority Figure stops us all from talking."

I disagreed with the statement. Authority Figure hasn't said "You can't talk." it was Clerk Worker who made the decision not to deal with the situation if the Authority Figure overheard the conversation.

"No, no, no." Office Worker says to me, "Because she reacts so badly to things she's made it so we all feel like we can't talk." and "We can't talk about anything because of her!"

Office worker maintains I'm making excuses for Authority Figure because I say Authority Figure isn't the one who told her to shup it, it was Office Clerks decision, she's the one who told Office Worker to shut up.

1. I don't know how Authority Figure got blamed for Office Clerk deciding to work undercover and not let Authority Figure in on the little problem she was working on.
1A. Yes, the Authority Figure does fly off the handle sometimes inserting herself into things that could be taken care of without her getting into a snit.
2. How does "Authority Figure makes me feel..." mean "...Authority Figure makes it so we can't do (fill in blank here) when she's never said, "You may not talk/fill in blank here."

Office Worker claims I am blaming Office Clerk instead of Authority Figure. No, I countered, I'm not blaming anyone...you are. You're blaming someone for actions the Office Clerk actually did.

I thought it was weird how the Authority Figure got villified because of her personality quirks. I maintain we all have tolerance levels for behaviors and we all choose to keep somethings quiet but it's not the fault of the quirky personality person, it's the choice of the one who chooses not to deal with it.

This Offic Worker also said to me the other day: "You make me feel like I've never worked in corporate before." This in response to me saying, "When I worked in corporate..."

How me working in corporate has anything to do with her is beyond me. The statement is all about ME, about my experience, not about Office Worker. She was really, really mad at me because I'd somehow MADE her feel like something.

I have to take responsibility for my own feelings. Nobody makes me feel like I love something, whether I hate something, whether I am indifferent to something. I choose to feel that way and when I do I have to explore that. Since I know I can't make Office Worker feel like she loves peas no matter what I say, how am I responsible for some feelings but not all feelings?

That said, I do understand how easily it is to blame someone for something. I'm always concerned that my children get gifts that make them feel special and thought about. I don't want them to feel I don't care or didn't give them a thought when I chose a gift for them. We all have to figure out what is the other persons tolerance level and work with that.

My morning convincing the dog to come inside

It was a mere 12-15 mins to get the dog inside so the hub could leave this morning. He can't do it, the dog will not come to him at all. Heck, I can barely do it, and I feed the dog every night.

Aren't dogs supposed to be subject to the alpha dog whims?

He is such a pain in the ass.

It's gotta be done

Green. Our front yard is green. I know, I know most people have green front yards. We don't. We have a yard but nobody does yard work here. I hate doing yard work. I was forced as a child to pull weeds and mow the lawn and I've never enjoyed it. I'm not even someone who enjoys planting things.

I enjoy looking at pretty flowers, plants and lawns but I don't like working with it. I have a brown thumb.

The husband used to like to plant things but now he likes to buy plants and leave them in the pots. We must have never lived as farmers in a former life.

Our wild weather here has been wild enough that Mother Nature thinks it's spring. Yes, it's been freezing here but it's also been extremely warm. Trees are budding, flowers blooming and there has been so much rain that green stuff is covering the front lawn.

However...Yes, there is a however.

It's not grass. It's weeds. Lots of weeds, all different heights. Large drifts of foot long green grassy stuff interspersed with shorter grassy weedy stuff. It's gonna be hell to cut and it needs to be cut this weekend.

I'm trying to gear up the energy to think about cutting the lawn. What I'd really like to do is get everything cleaned up in the front yard. All the leaves under all the bushes, branches, crap all over the place. It's a mess. And I'd better figure out what shoes I can wear to do that and know I'll have dog poop all over my shoes.

And I'm hoping it will be cool enough for me to get motivated.

Well, I have Wed - Sat morning to get motivated. Wish me luck.

cooking lessons

The daughter has been cooking up a storm. Last night she and her girlfriends made chili again. We had no tomato paste (good) and I told them I LIKE my chili a little soupy. I don't like it when it's a thick sauce and isn't soupy. It turned out yummy and all the girls liked it. Hopefully for now on they'll stay away from the chili clump which is how I describe chili made with tomato paste.

Not too long ago the daughter fried ground beef for the first time. Had no idea how to do it because her friend always did that part. Her friend likes frying ground beef. So the daughter learned how and realized it wasn't difficult.

The other night the hub baked a whole chicken. The daughter stripped it. (I actually cannot handle meat like that, it makes me sick to my stomach). Once the chicken was stripped and cooled some I poured the drippings into a baggie and put it in the frig. The idea was to make some gravy later this week. I wanted the fat to rise and solidify so I could make gravy with less fat.

Tonight I went looking for it and it was gone. Neither the daughter or the hub would cop to tossing it. The 3rd time I asked the daughter (getting more specific each time) she said: "The only thing I threw away was a baggie full of coffee that had separated."

ehhh?

Ahhhhh duh. No, that was not coffee that separated, that was chicken drippings with a layer of fat on top.

I guess I won't have any gravy.

I guess she's never seen that before.

out shopping

Today I wanted to get out of the house so I went shopping to find the other Feb book club girl her bday gift. She couldn't make book club so I didn't get her a gift for last night. She's rather hard to buy for, she is astere in her decorating, none of us know her clothing size (and she doesn't tell), and she has no hobbies.

After crusing a bunch of stores seeing all the things I've given her before, Spa type products, purses, books and journals, pens and paper, I'm thinking I'll get her a movie and some movie night items such as popcorn, popcorn flavoring and that sort of thing.

I'm thinking I'll get The Tin Drum subtitled from Amazon. But I am open to suggestions on less controversial movies. She's conservative in her politics and she's also more pragmatic than not...so I'm not sure The Tin Drum would be particularly suited to her.

The best gift giving is thoughfulness

Book club was fun. Pretty much every one had the very same reaction I did to the book. Great for the first half (or so) and then downhill from there because there were too many subjects (like every disasterous thing that happened in the US since Columbine.)

Dinner was fab, homemade bean soup, salad, french and sourdough bread. Homemade carrot cake. Wine and coffee. Perfect for a winter evening.

Since it's Feb and my birthday month, it's presents for me from all the girls. I have to say the girls always outdo themselves giving nice gifts. Thoughtful - and I am always touched that each person gives a gift tailor made for the birthday girl. I place high value on really trying to give something that is meaningful and special.

Over the years I've gotten plenty of gifts that are just something to give in a bag and the thoughtlessness of that says plenty.

I love these friends who always puts forth so much thoughfulness it. I know what it takes me to think of something special for someone, it can take weeks to find the right thing and I appreciate when someone does the same for me.

So it was a fun night and afterwards I came home.

And now I am going to bed.

Errands with good results

If you stop at the goodwill store to see if you can find some wool, you might end up finding a cashmere sweater for $5.00. Unluckily for me it looks to be a little too small so it'll probably be felted...unless I can block it larger.

Blocking is another one of the magic tricks you can perform with wool. I've been working on a red wool scarf, finished it last night and then rinsed it with cool water. I hung it to dry on the shower rod pinning it to the fabric shower curtain.

It stretched about 2 ft. Maybe a little more even. So now I have a long scarf and it looks like I spent a really long time knitting all that yardage. I'd like to take the time to stretch it so it's wider, there is some yarnovers on both side that should be opened up some but it does work the way it is.

I was out and about today on a mission to get my glasses adjusted. The nose pads were killing my nose. I have a really deep, really red irritated spot underneat the left pad. OMG, by evening if I move my glasses up my nose (cuz they always slide down) it feels like it's on fire. You can't see the red spot unless I take my glasses off but when show someone they say: Eeeewwwww, that looks like it hurts.

So the glasses places replaced the hard pads with silicone pads. OMG huge relief. And now my glasses stay where I put them. They don't slide down. Yay.

I am totally indebted to the lady who fixed my glasses at no charge.

Honeyed water

Houston, we have a problem. The front sprinklers are on and won't shut off. Go shut it off at the box why don't you? Well, we would but there is a freaking giant beehive inside the box where the controls are. And yes, live bees buzzing around. Hmmmm, what would you do?

Call someone. Yes. But not at night when it will cost a kajillion dollars. But the running sprinkers are running water.

The ground is awfully saturated. We've had almost nothing but rain for the last 3 wks or so. I hope the leaning tree stays standing.

Maybe tomorrow there will be fresh honey and someone will figure out how to get the sprinklers turned off.

What a weird problem to have.

trotting in the same place

Perception. I always think the week after a 3 day weekend seems really long. That 4 work days feels like 5 or 6 days.

I woke this morning thinking it was Friday. But NO, it's Thursday. Ish-ka-bibble.

Why is that?

Maybe it's because my job is so boring that I have nothing to look forward to?
or
The people (who I mostly love) are getting boring (or I am boring them, or some combo thereof)
or
I have lost my will to work.
or
I have lost my will to fight for more stuff at work, it's insurmountable there
or
A combo of all of the above.

Ya know there are things I could do all day and not get bored.

I could do graphics all day (fun, fun, fun), I could read all day (fun, fun, fun), I could make stuff all day (fun, fun, fun). Hmmmmm, while I can do all those things, nobody is paying me for it.

I remember as a kid going to Knotts Berry Farm and watching a lady spin wool. At the time it was a curiousity but now I would love that job. hahahaa. Hello, I'm a career wool spinner in the middle of an urban america amusement park.

My perception is that I am inert. If I were a spinner, I'd be going round and round. LOL, love that visual of inertia in motion.

Mid-Feb

Blue skies! Once the sun came out this morning I see blue skies! Yay. It's been depressingly gray, cloudy and rainy and did I mention cold? Very cold. Not cold enough to snow but in So. Cal if it's under 70 degrees it's winter.

So Feb has been depressing. My list:

Boring birthday weekend: wet, gray and rainy.
Valentine day: wet, gray and rainy.
Presidents day 3 day weekend: wet gray and rainy.
Visit with MIL: wet, gray, rainy AND sat in her very dark room for a long time listening to her mostly complain. *Note: However she did not complain about getting lost the night before and I expected her to do that. Instead she rallied around the BIL's getting lost in a city that she said had too many lights but no lights and a lot of traffic woes.*

Kind of like what I am doing right now so since there are blue skies I'll stop.

I'm working on a red wool scarf right now. I needed something bright because that lace thing I'm working on is giving me fits. So I threw it down in a fit of disgust and picked up the red yarn and started knitting. Sooo much easier, so much more fun to just go and not have to think and count every stitch. I might not ever pick up the lace again.

Yesterday I got yelled at by a crazy street person. In the old days we'd call him a bum. He was bumming for money so I guess he was a bum. Me and my friend don't carry money when we sit and eat our brown bag lunch so when he asked for money we said we didn't have any. (not to mention I don't even have money in my wallet upstairs anyway!). He said he was hungry. So I offered up my baggie of soy beans.

"Nahhhhhh, I need something substantial" he tells me. I look at him and say, "Well, there you go." And he went off yelling at me. About how rude I am. He didn't stick around long started off in a different direction but still yelling.

Kettle, black. Doesn't take the *sorry no money* statement with graciousness and starts yelling at me because he doesn't like my beans (which are very tasty) or my off the cuff comment.

I guess beggers can be choosers.

There are a lot of street persons where I work. Some of them are certifibly crazy. Down the street there are lots of halfway houses for drug abusers, mental patients and other kinds of abusers. The security does help but they're not everywhere so almost daily there is some kind of panhandling going around.

The mailbox guy told me if I ever had a problem to run into his store and he'd call security. LOL, don't worry, I will run and if I need to I'll carry my knitting needles with me. I know mom said never to run with sharp objects but if someone is chasing me I might throw it like a mini javalin.

Different kind of times.

It is but it isn't

This post nudged me. Actually it smacked me upside the head.

I've always been known to my friends as "artistic". But really what is "artisitic"?

I have 2 friends who are published authors with multiple books. I invited this author (She is not one of the 2 mentioned above) to a book club evening and yes, she came. Notice she has a book about getting your creative juices going (for writers, but yes, it translates to almost anything).

So 3 different published authors, all who've done something I haven't. That is put their stuff out here and look, someone noticed. A lot of someones.

Admittedly my stuff is different. I don't write. Mostly I tell little stories in things I make. Beaded pages, paintings (although rare for me to sit and paint anymore), fun little graphics in various graphics programs. I've only started putting up photos of things I do (in Facebook) and I found that to be sort of strange. I've gotten nice comments from friends and that has been nice but I also wonder if they're just being nice. LOL. Ya see?

My work isn't fine art. Not even close. I'm self-taught and I just do what I like. My work isn't deep, well, except to me it's highly personal. But it doesn't look highly personal to most people.

So why don't I put my stuff out there? I had an opportunity to let a published bead artist use my work in a slideshow she was doing for some art community back east and I forgot to send her high res photos in time. A friend on FB is a board member of a gallery and did I go to the gallery yet? Nope.

Why am I holding myself back? I don't know. Susan's post kicked me in the ass. I've got to think about this...it's not that complicated for me to get off my butt. But it is complicated why I haven't. Hmmmmmmm.

But I did manage to buy 3 books: 2 novels, 1 reference

I've had it up to my eyeballs with going to buy books and finding out the paperbacks that LOOK like they might be a lengthy read are in fact, not. The font is giant, to make the books look like they're worth the fairly subtantial price one pays for paperbacks nowadays. Some of these book look like they are 3 or 4 hundred pages but if you read them you find they're only worth a single sit down and read session.

At a time where conservation is necessary why are we putting up with this waste?

It's sort of in the same vein as the food companies that are putting things in smaller boxes to fool you into thinking the prices haven't changed. But they have.

Oprah needs to get herself yelling at publishers. That seems to be the only force that makes companies sit up and listen.

Rollin with sock monkeys

Today I lazed about, the best kind of day. It sort of cracks me up that if I tell someone I didn't have an exciting day but rather a boring day that they think that is a negative.

It's not. In fact, an action-packed day isn't really my idea of a start of a great weekend. I want the first day quiet and lazy, the second day maybe I'll do something and usually the 3rd day is the most packed.

Of course when I get back to work after a 3 day weekend, I'll invaribly want a day of laziness again instead of packing things into that last day.

The truth is I'd rather have quiet days at home. I love sitting on my ass. That's what it's made for as I see it.

It's MY time. Nobody at work telling me what to do, when to do it and timing my moves. It's when I can create something or take a nap or do whatever I want, when I want.

Today I played scrabble on facebook, knitted, read some, went to the store, napped, drew a couple of sock monkey things. I love the one I made for Presidents day. I'll post it on Monday. :-) I'm on a sock monkey roll.

Sock Monkey Love Day

Drew this in Photoimpact. Happy SML day!

Word conundrum

I've been playing a lot of Scrabble on facebook. It's a lot of fun, cuz I love Scrabble. I've gotten a little better since playing online Scrabble.

Playing online Scrabble does tie up the computer. I'm usually a pretty fast player but the FB game doesn't have a timer (Pogo.com Scrabble does) so a game can last days instead of 30 mins or so if you just play.

Some thoughts about Scrabble: It's a strategy game as much as it's a word game. Most new players think it's all about getting a good word, but it's really about getting a good place for a decent word.

Pretty easy concept but you'd be surprised how many people can't see the better combinations.

I'm almost always confounded by how people see things. I have a difficult time paying attention to the little details. Others can't see the big picture. Still others can't see multiple paths but can see only one path yet miss all the details.

Is it a missing logic gene? Am I missing the gene that demands details are the foundation of the whole? Or are the detail people so wrapped up in the details that the larger whole is unattainable.

hahaaha, this sounds so crypic but it's not. It's very simple in my mind. Maybe it's because I have particular personality types in mind when I speak of these thought methods. It might make it easier if I said: Jane does this (indicating her thought process), Dick does that (indicating his thought process). Spot does this and that (indicating Spots thought process).

But it's even more likely that if I were name personalities, every reader would see that personality differently and perscribe different views than mine.

Wild.

The tricks on me

Some lunchtimes I noodle around with knitting. Not the lace tho. That takes all my concentration and people always stop by to talk to me if I'm outside knitting.

A simple knit I can do while talking. Anything more than that I have to put the knitting down.

Today I was knitting with a nice (and very inexpensive) wool yarn. Click here. You get a lot of wool yarn in this skein. It's a nice weight for a scarf and you can make a few scarves out of just the one skein.

I love wool for a couple of reasons. It's warm, it can have many textures, it comes in cool handdyed colors (if you can afford it) and it felts. Some people don't like that it felts. I love that ability.

My favorite thing is that if I come across a knot (which there are quite a few in that brand of yarn) I can cut the yarn and felt it together with just my hands and some water and friction. If you put it together just right you can't even tell the strand was 2 seperate strands moments before. Very cool trick.

Today I cam across a knot. I cut the knot out of the yarn. A friend came up to me and chatted about work. She left and I picked up my yarn, wet the two ends and started rubbing my hands together with the felt trapped between my palms.

Perfect, the join was perfect. All is well.

Til I started knitting. I realized, in short order, that I'd freaking felted the working strand to the tail of the scarf! Not to the strand coming from the skein!

D'oh!

I put away my yarn, went back to work and had to tell everyone about what a dork I'd been with the fabulous trick that was actually a trick on me.

I live an exciting life.

Strung out

The lace. I had to put the knitting away for a week or so. Otherwise the lace was going to be ripped out again and felted into a big ball. I was strung out on the stress of knitting. Not quite the Zen moment creating something gives me.

I patiently undid the couple of rows that were confounding me (Why am I confounded by string?) and redid it paying special attention to the yarnovers and purling.

Yay, I'm back on track.

String will not beat me. I will not allow yarn to string me up by the toes. I shall overcome.

Til the next dropped stitch or worse yet - an added stitch that I cannot find to save my life.

Wish me luck.

Downgrade/upgrade phone

So I activated the ENV1 tonight. Took a long time. It sucks to downgrade to a different phone.

I found out I can get a new ENV2 for only 169.00 it's discounted to the one year rate. Instead of buying a whole new phone for 279.00. The 169.00 is better than getting one on ebay.

Have to figure out how to afford it.

At least for now I have a phone where I can read the screen.

Uneventful day, but still, it's my birthday!

My birthday has been way uneventful. Susan came by and gave me food gifts. LOL, I'll get another one from her at Book Club (Book club girls give the most fabulous gifts). Her son gave me his old ENV. It's the original ENV, not the same as mine but I will so take it and be so thankful for his generousity. Zom's the dog who ate my new ENV2 will not sink his giant fangs into this phone.

Mostly I've sat around doing nothing and waiting my turn to get on the computer. I paid the mortgage and the phone bill. I hate watching my balance when I pay the bills. The bright spot was the nice visit from Susan.

The MIL called and sang me Happy Birthday, told me not to hold my breath for a gift. When I thanked her for the song she couldn't understand what I was saying. IT's always nice she almost always remembers our birthdays and anniversaries. She sounded very with it tonight. As she was hanging up I think Nuffster took the phone from her or something because I heard her yell at him.

hahahaha.

Ok, I guess I'll go play online scrabble.

It's a holiday for me

Here is the beautified version of me. hahaha, no gravity.



Here is the beautified birthday version of me. Still no gravity.

Ya know the thing about chocolate...

I just got back from the grocery store. Had to get milk for my latte. A must have.

A couple of the aisles are decked out in valentine finery and as I passed by I listened to these 2 ladies talking about chocolate. How much the one lady loved it (I can't live without it) and the other who agreed and said Snickers were her favorite. I thought to myself: "I hate Snickers."

I know I'm in the minority but I'm not a huge fan of chocolate. I mean it's ok but that's all...it's ok. I can live without it. I hate milk chocolate and I like Godiva dark chocolate but I can live without it. Yeah, even Godiva dark chocolate. Once it took me 4 months to eat a small box of Godiva chocolates. Sometimes I get gifts of chocolate and I hardly ever eat it. Maybe a piece but to finish a whole bar of chocolate? Nope. I just put it in the cupboard.

If I really think about it, I never choose anything with chocolate. I'd take an oatmeal cookie over chocolate chip. In fact, I'll take any cookie over chocolate chip. I don't drink Mocha, I don't eat chocolate donuts, I hate eclairs that have chocolate on them, would rather have just the cake and filling part. Creme pies: no thank you on the chocolate but I will take some of that coconut creme.

Candy I choose over chocolate (not in order): GoodNPlenty, Payday, gummy anything, spice drops, lemon drops, apple suckers with caramel. The one exception is I will eat Mounds. Coconut with dark chocolate. I'd really rather have the coconut without the chocolate tho.

Weird, I think I'm weird. :-)

4 things for today

1. My boss brought in tomatillo salsa, regular salsa and tortilla chips as a breakfast treat. I know, it's weird but our office likes snacks like that anytime of the day. Then she took me out for lunch for my bday.

2. I advised my boss that her Treo was insured so if it accidently fell in the toilet it would stop working. The danged thing is terrible. I hate that thing. LOL.

3. Friends called asked us to dinner. We went, food was good, service bad, bad, bad. Not to mention that when the daughter joined us (just as half of us got our food 50 mins after we were seated) she ordered one of these caterpillar rolls. We were advised it would take the sushi chef an hour to make it. A freaking hour.

4. It's pouring rain, the boy dogs are sopping wet. The rain is making a lovely drumming sound, I love it.

The daughter portrait

The daughter. The hair took the longest and gave me fits.

Baby asprin

The poor daughter was sick, stayed home and couldn't get up to school via me. Her dad came down at his lunch and took her.

I had to go to the Rheumy today, follow up from a few months ago when I was having all the eye problems, migraines and various other ailments.

Everything is fine now. No migraines in a long time, my eyes aren't doing that wiggy thing every day (just once in a while) so I got a clean bill of health for my AI disease. He did tell me he was a little worried that I might have a vascular issue and if anything crops up to call him. He's recommended that I start taking baby asprin because if I do have an underlying vascular disease that will be a preventative for things like stroke.

Ok then, I'll take baby asprin. I got the feeling he'd like everyone who is close or over 50 to take baby asprin. We are in "risk" factor land now that we are older.

Yikes. How did the "risk factor" rule come into play so quickly?

Hey, did you think todays weather was weird? Sunny spring-like day and then all of a sudden: BAM! Rainstorm. Big rain.

A bit of tweaking done

So I fixed a couple of things. Here is the more finished version (not a lot of changes, just some tweaking).

playing and being late

Last night I had a hankering to play with graphics. I am limited as I don't have my PS on the new computer and my tablet has a freaking serial port plug and not a usb plug. So everything was done with a mouse.

Harder and wayyy more time consuming. Here it is.



I choose this photo because it as a totally clean background to cut out and was nice and shadowy.

New topic:
I was late to work today because it took me 45 mins to get the dog in. The boy dogs did not come in today when the daugher and hub left for work/school. I had to call work and tell them I was going to be late because my fucking dog would not let me get near him. I hate losing pay because I am late for this idiotic reason.

Saving my pennies

I want one of these: Wacom tablet. This one is refurbished so it's 100.00 less than a brand new one. But you've also got to buy it and then send in the 40.00 rebate. For some reason this one is a teeny bit cheaper at this place. This is smaller than my current 6x8 version.

My tablet (which is probably 6 or 7 years old) has a serial port connector and I have to find an adapter for it. I found one the other day for 4.99 but I found out it's a female connector and I need a male connector. So to use my tablet with the new computer I have to buy a connector for somewhere between 20.00 and 40.00 and there is no guarantee I can find the right drivers. No drivers, no workee.

I have so many things I want to buy and must save my money to do so. I neeeed a phone too. Dang it.

gamblin' man

The husband lost 50.00 he never had. In one of those football pools. I guess at the last moment of the 2nd quarter someone made a touchdown that snatched his 50.00 away. Poor hub.

But WAIT! He just reported that he won the 3rd quarter winnings. Lucky hub.

heyyyy, my birthday is coming!

What I found

I did venture out to the barn. I found some floss, a part of some xstitch kit that my MIL gave me and I'll never finish (hahaha, start it) the thing. It's mostly pastel type colors because it's some kind of country duck or something.

Mostly I wanted to find this helpful x-stitch accessory. It's a magnetic board with a magnifyer thingy that you slide down the x-stitch pattern as you complete a row.

I found the magnifyer bar but not the magnetic board. Hmmmmm, I wonder if I have any magnets around?

I thought it would be helpful for that danged lace chart. Ya know how my eyes are wiggy? Well, maybe this would help me keep my place. Or not.

I also found: a small pair of scissors (good because ALL my scissors disappear), a large crochet hook (always useful for something), a small tin of earring pairs just waiting for beads to be added (and I have a kajillion beads but never wear dangly earrings). Oh and a big embroidery hoop (about 10 inches across). hahaha, I also found a little dog or cat pin (it was some undeterminate animal) that is all kinds of colors and patterns, made out of clay. Probably polymer. I remember making a bunch of pins like that but I don't know why I kept that one. It's gotta be 15 years old or more.

The day is beautiful out there. I've knitted only a few rows of the lace panel. It's so intiminating. I lose my place every third stitch or so. I've gotten to the point where I am marking the pattern as I finish a stitch. And this is a beginner project. hahahah, I don't think I will ever be a good lacemaker.

Off to knit some more.