World's Worst Blogger
I am terrible at this. All my life I have tried to "journal" and can never keep up with it. I love the idea of chronicling my thoughts, ideas and life in general. You would think that would be enough motivation, but apparently it is not.
Now, my yarn, knitting, crocheting and looming. That has also fallen by the wayside lately. I have been so busy with work and life in general that when I come home I just plop on the couch and play on the computer. Recently I moved so now I have all the unpacking, sorting and cleaning to deal with. My yarn and needles look at me so longingly, it breaks my heart. I need to rekindle the spark and find joy in my yarn again.
Back Again
The last couple of weeks, well week, have been quite eventful. I had to go to San Jose on a business trip and the meetings were awesome. That's the good part. On the way to work the day I was flying out, my truck broke down and had to get towed. $400 later, I have my truck back. When I go on a business trip I try to do a "trip treat" which for me is a pedicure. I went to the mall by my hotel and founf a place to get a pedicure. Awesome pedicaure. It lasted almost an hour and it was only $20. While soaking my feet in the wonderful bubbly water, my phone rang. It was the client I had met with earlier. We did a short meeting post mortum and hung up. I laid the phone in my lap, shifted and ::PLOP:: into the water my phone landed. Ok, broken truck and broken phone, not a good week. The rest of the trip was uneventful, thank goodness.
I was traveling with one of the VPs from my company. Everyone at work knows me as a defintely crazy, workaholic. He was very surprised to see me start knitting on the flight. He thought that was so funny that he took a picture of me knitting, lol. Wonder how long that will take before it is circulated through the office.
Now I have to concentrate on moving. I am moving in with my mom, she has been sick and took quite a fall a couple weeks ago. I ended up taking her to the ER. So my most my stuff will go in storage so I decided to go with renting a PODS unit that I can load here and have them transport to where my mom lives. Then I can keep my stuff stored at my mom's where I can still access it. What a cool idea those are. I had it delivered this morning so Now I am in official moving mode.
So, that is my most recent update. I fly out to Dallas on the 17th of April. What a month. The good new is that my Minneapolis trip got delayed.
Have a great day!!
Moving Sucks!
My landlord decided to sell the house that I am lving in. So rather than letting me rent month to month when my lease is up on May 1st, he decided he wants the house to be empty. Now I have to move by May 1st. If that is not bad enough, I have 3 business trips in April, so I am losing 10 days of packing/moving time.
I am going to move in with my mother, temporarily. She had a fall last week and would feel better having someone there. Also, by living there, I can get all my bills paid off and save money to buy a house in a year, in her neighborhood. That way she will have me and my sister close by to help her.
That does not change the fact that moving still sucks. Since I will be moving into 2 rooms, that means I have to put most of my things in storage. I am letting my 2 kids borrow some of the bigger items and I am renting one of those PODS containers to put in my mother's driveway so I will have easy access to my stuff.
This will definitely be an adventure.
Happy Camper!!!
OK, so my shoulder......
I went to the Dr on Wednesday about my shoulder, I could not take it anymore. He took xrays and examined me. Apparently I have AC joint problems from a motorcycle accident I had a couple years ago and also impingement. He gave me 2 cortisone shots and scheduled me for physical therapy. I reacted badly to the shots and could not move my right arm or neck for about 2 days. After that passed I felt great. I have been knitting and crocheting this weekend. I made a hat for my daughter and started a poncho for my granddaughter. I am really happy with how the hat turned out. I am going to make a couple spring hats for my mom next. It is so nice to be able to knit, crochet and loom again.
Frustrations
Yesterday was a relaxing sort of day so I decided to pull out the needles and start a dishcloth. My shoulder has not been that bad lately. The frustrating part is I could only knit about 5 roows at a time.....on a dishcloth, then I had to ice my shoulder. By the time I went to bed last night I had only knit 22 rows. I guess I am going to have to break down and go to a Dr about this. I love to knit and crochet, but I don;t love the pain. I even took 1000mg of ibuprophen, that did not even help. If anyone has any ideas, please share.
OK, now it is day 2 of my dishcloth that I just frogged, yes the entire thing. I worked on it more today despite the shoulder pain. I made it to row 35 or 47. I looked at it and realized I screwed up somewhere around row 30. The entire rest of the cloth had the rs/ws reversed. I was ticked I just frogged the whole thing. Hate it when that happens.
OK, So I found my dream swap...Coffee! My love, my passion, nectar of the soul. I have decided that I can never change jobs...ever. Why? Because we now have an espresso machine. Life really doesn't get any better than that. I could really have named this blog Memoirs of a Yarfee (yarn+coffee)-a-holic. In addition to the espresso machine at work, I also have a kindred spirit I work with whom I can talk to about the beauty and perfection of the blessed brew. Ahhhhh, I should go make me a pot....... Anyway, here is the questionnaire I need to answer for this swap:
Coffee
1. What is your preference? Whole beans or ground?
Whole beans all the way baby, unless for espresso, then I grind at the store because my grinder does not grind fine enough.
2. What kind of coffees do you enjoy? A rich, bold roast; a light, fresh one, or something in between? Leaded or non?
Rich, bold and dark! Absolutely leaded.
3. If you were headed out right now to buy some coffee for the house, what would you be picking up?
A rich, wonderful dark french roast from a local coffee house that I frequent
4. Do you drink for caffeine, pleasure, or both? Pleasure, flavor, pure heaven
5. Do you enjoy flavored coffees? How about add-ins or flavored creamers? I add either carmel or dark chocolate and frothed whole or 2% milks. I have a Froth Au Lait and love it.
6. A large, lovely mug or a small, dainty cup?
I love the big cappuccino mugs
7. Describe your perfect cup - not JUST the coffee, but how you'd enjoy it!
My perfect cup of coffee is on weekend mornings or Sunday afternoon. Morning would be getting up, grind the beans and start a pot of coffee (who can;t resist the aromatic pleasure of coffee brewing), then I will get out my mug and carmel, put some milk in the frother and wait. When I put together my perfect cup of joe, I settle into my comfy reading chair, turn on some classical music and just chill. Sunday afternoon coffee is my son and I at our favorite coffee house with a caramel latte.
8. You're sitting down to enjoy a nice cup in the local coffee shop, knitting bag in hand, iPod all tuned up - or maybe you're there with a few friends for knit night! What treat do you pick up to enjoy with your coffee? A sweet, rich brownie, or something more healthy? How about a salty treat? What goes best with that great cup and company?
Biscotti, I love all kinds as long as it is NOT dipped in chocolate.
Yarn
1. Do you knit or crochet?
Both, I also loom knit
2. What are your favorite types of yarns to work with?
Cotton, I love cotton yarn. I am also a yarn snob and love the European yarns. I just don;t like wools because I am allergic to it. Viscose is also wonderful.
3. What do you have on the needles (or hook!) right now?
I have been having shoulder problems so I did not do any knitting for the past year. I just picked them up again and I am making dishclohs and washcloths because I need more. Also, they are quick and easy to carry around in my bag.
4. What are your favorite colors in yarns? What about those that you'd never find in your stash?
Earthtones of all sorts. I also love soft colors like beautiful whites and pale pastels (for my granddaughter. Bright colors are alor of fun too like a lime green, purple or bright orange (ok so I did do a long dissertation here about orange, but what can I say.)I really want to get some soft aqua to play with (new bedroom color). The color you will never find in my stach is Bright greens, like kelly green or grass green etc.
5. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using? Any you just detest?
I love bamboo needles and also acrylic. I am not a fan of the aluminum needles. For crochet hooks I love the bone hooks. I have not tried the wood hooks...yet. Sadly most of my hooks are the standard aluminum. For my looms, I prefer the handcrafted wood looms with synthetic pegs in a small guage.
6. Are there any particular notions you absolute do NOT need? Some of us swap a lot - are you sure that you have enough tape measures to last your lifetime? Enough stitch markers to mark every stitch of a 10 foot wide afghan?
Nope, because I am always losing them. If I kept a pair of scissors for a year I would faint.
7. You walk into the yarn shop and have exactly and only enough money to purchase 2 skeins of yarn in their 2 for 20 special they have going..The choices are a soft, thick cotton/viscose blend in your favorite colors, slightly variegated..a beautiful sock yarn that's just squishy and sproingy in your hands.. a soft, worsted weight wool like malabrigo.. and a lovely bamboo blend with colors to just die for. Which do you walk out the door with?
No contest, the cotton/viscose, but only 2? I would go straight to the coffee house and cry in my latte.
Spring
1. We're starting sign-ups on the first day of Spring - is it already truly Spring-like where you are?
It is during the week and then it still snows on the weekends
2. What's your favorite spring flower? Do you have one?
I love bulbs of any kind, especially crocus'. I also love Iris', but I would have to say my favorite spring flower is lilacs.
3. What do you most look forward to about springtime?
The new leaves on the trees and chirping of birds
4. They've predicted a gorgeous day tomorrow - Sunny and about 65 with a nice breeze - how do you spend your day?
Outside, painting my furniture
5. The day after, it's going to be cooler and pouring down rain - does that impact your mood? How do you spend that day? what helps cheer you up?
Make a pot of soup, rain calls for soup. I find the rain calming, it also makes me lazy. I would rather just curl up in a chair wth my yarn or a book.
Odds n Ends
1. Do you collect anything BESIDES yarn and needles?
Do dust bunnies count? I don;t really collect anything in particular.
2. Are you allergic to anything?
Strong fragrences. I get migraines. I stick with berry scents and lavendar.
3. Do you have pets?
I have 2 cats and a dog
4. Is this your first swap, or are you an old pro? What are the last 2 swaps you participated in?
First swap in a long while. Other swaps have been loom knitting swaps.
5. List 3 of your favorite blogs - craft related or not - and tell us why you love them.
Yarn Harlot - because I know I will never be able to knit like that. You Knit What? - sadly it is no more. I loved that blog. Other than that I really haven't had much time lately for reading other peoples blogs on a regular basis.
March....What a Month!
OK, so this is going to be a semi-crazy and absolutely exhuasting month for me. in order to keep my sanity, I have dug out the needles and hooks again. My shoulder has started feeling better. I am in desperate need of dishcloths so.......I get to play with my yarn. Once you have used a hand knit or crocheted cloth, the store bought kind will never again cut it. I crocheted one yesterday and tonight I am going to start one on the needles. When that one is done I might as well round it out with a loom knit cloth.
Whil researching patterns and such I ran across this great Needle Craft oriented swap blog. The March contest is to guess how many books are in a tub, so I guessed 23, what do you think....
Wish List
Are you a knitter or crocheter?? Beginning Knitter, crochet and loom knit
I love to make..... Dishclothes, I hate the ones that you buy
I really want to make...... A new blanket for my granddaughter
My favorite yarns are..... Cottons. Also, ANY European yarn, they are positively succulent. I am not a big fan of most wool yarns due to allergies.
My wish pattern is......Simple dishcloth patterns
My favorite hooks or needles are.....Bamboo Knitting Needles, Wood Knitting looms and Bone crochet hooks
I really wish I had..... Mason-Dixon Knitting book, Mini WonderLoom ESG
My favorite colors are... Brown, Black, Aqua, rich reds, lime green, purple
My hobbies...Reading, refinishing furniture for my own use, YARN!
My kitchen theme and colors.. Blue and yellow, country type kitchen
My bathroom theme and colors... Turquise and orange Penguins
My dislikes.... Utah Driver's and cheap acrylic yarn
My Likes and loves....Chocolate and coffee in any form. I am a true coffee addict. My greatest moment on at work was when we got an espresso machine. My favorite chocolate is dark chocolate.
My crafts..what I like....I like to do some decopage as well as needle crafts. I would love to learn some form of bead work
My allergies... Flowery scents. I am very fragerence sensitive
My favorite pets...I have 2 cats and one dog. I also used to have ferrets
My favorite scents...Lavendar, cinnamon, any berry scent especially mulberry
My favorite novels or magazines...Memoirs of a Geisha, Pillars of the Earth
Other stuff about me...I am a total work-a-holic. I love my job, eat at my desk and check emails on weekends. Very sad, I know. Its a genetic thing. I inherited it from my dad.
Fall? Already????
What the crap happened to summer? Aside from being the WORST summer of my life, it has sped by. Now, I was just starting to adapt to September and OCtober pounced. I have been working on my new jobe for several weeks now and love it. Because of a family issue, I was not able to take the job at Plentiful Pantry. I am working at Mindshare Technologies and truly love it. Everyday is a challenge to me. I have learned so much in the weeks I have been there.
Ahhhhh, knitting, yarn, needles, looms, hooks........ they have finally found their way back into my bag. Due to winter trying to arrive early, I realized I had every color of scarf in my collection, but no black. Hence, my yarn boxes got opened. It feels good to have the needles back in the hands. It is time to start working on Christmas presents too. I will post pictures as soon as I actually finish something instead of frogging it.
WOW..What a summer
This summer has been one heck of a ride. Started out with the injury, then the move from my house of 15 years, then back to work (at Ballet West). The summer of being mostly bed bound has been the worst. Now, I am moving again. I know, I know. Why would I move after less than 3 months. Well, I went from 2700 sq Ft with 5 bedrooms to 800 with 2. So I am moving upstairs to the perfect place. It has 3 bedrooms, a sunroom for a breakfast nook and a huge summer porch. We have been up there painting this week and it looks so gorgeous. I will be posting before and after pictures. We need to finish the painting of the Kitchen, entry hall and living room by tomorrow so we can move the stuff in. Those are the rooms that are most visible. The bedrooms we can paint after we move in, no biggie. And I have not even been able to think of what color to do the bathroom. Maybe I should pull out my yarn and find the perfect color.
My next big move is that I am finally going back to work full-time. I need the money and I am so tired of staying home all the time. I hope my foot will tolerate the additional hours out of bed. I will be working customer service for a company called Plentiful Pantry. They are a local company and seem like a great group of people. I have never been a "corporate" type. Way to regimented for me. Anyway, much to do today. I will keep you posted on the painting.
