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Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Thanksgiving!

First off, I have to say I'm thankful I'm still here.  No one of us knows when our time is up, but that is something I'm always trying to plan for.  And now (drumroll) something really special to be thankful for (really BIG drumroll!) -- DiscoDame has got a job!  She's gone in today -- yes, on the holiday; she'll be paid double-time -- for her second day on the job.  She rather liked it yesterday, although it was a long day.  However, she's not at all sure she can keep up with her online course of study (sad trombone), so may have to shelve that for a while.  But goodness, she'll be able to get insurance and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes (and have those programs available to her at need).  Well, she has got insurance; I just paid her premium for December.  But it would be so wonderful if she'd pay for it out of her money instead of her parents'!   And she's taking a step in the right direction, as far as her future independence.  I keep telling her that neither Plaidman nor I will be around much longer.
The Plaidman started cooking last night, making us a pumpkin-pecan bread pudding for dessert.  He's got a small turkey breast to plop into the slow-cooker.  I don't know what else is planned.  I'm guessing that peas with pearl onions will show up, along with some sort of potatoes.

I've been working on a poncho, a Drops design called Kara poncho.  I actually started it a couple of weeks ago, and had ten rounds done when it became obvious that the thing was twisted on my circular needle.  So, it got frogged and now I'm at about 8 rows in, and it looks ok.  Not great, just ok.  It's the yarn, Roslyn by Cascade.  Lovely in the store, very deep red & very tweedy.  But it looks like red string with lots of dryer lint stuck to it, when it's pulled out of the skein. And it sheds tweed neps like mad!  I'm having trouble envisioning this as my poncho.
Shh!  Don't tell Plaidman, but I bought a huge bunch of MadTosh yarn from another Raveler.  3 colors of the 80-10-10 worsted, just lovely stuff.  I haven't received it yet, should have it on Monday if all goes according to plan.  We got refunded some dough from medical bills, I guess insurance kicked in some more on them so I got back part of what I paid.  Anyway, I've just spent a bit under half of the refund on this yarn.   Hey when I break a yarn moratorium, I really smash it.  

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Monday is coming

Just doesn't have the right ring to it.  Anyway..it's almost here.  I'll be late (excused) to work, to see the doctor first.  I've negotiated with my supervisor to have fewer hours, as my hands ( & eyes) have been getting too much of a workout lately.  I haven't been able or even willing to knit in weeks.  BUT that has changed.  Last night I cast on 368 stitches for the Drops Kara poncho, which I'm making in Cascade's Roslyn yarn.

These are cellphone pics, and hey it was already getting dim outside-- but the color is actually pretty close!  I really liked this tweedy stuff in the store.  However, now the tweed nepps look like dryer lint to me.  I will persevere, and hope I like it better as fabric than as string.  Oh and looky at my trusty old Bates interchangeables -- on their new Chaio Goo flexible cords!  How cool is that?  I love the needles, hated the cords that came with the set, but now all is well.  
I have been getting much kindness over on Ravelry due to Hinky's passing, and I just want to say thank you again.  I'm sure she's in a better place, with lots of good friends to play with until I come to collect her.  

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Speak of the devil

I noted on the Challenge page recently that TomTom's an inside kitteh and he didn't know what dirt was for.  Well, he's figured it out...and now he's using the planter on the deck as his outdoor toilet.  I see cat tacos in my future.  No, don't freak out, I couldn't actually kill a cat.  But I sure want to!

Sad news today:  Miss Hinky Boo, our darling blue with white fluffy kitteh, has passed away.  She had a good long run, we're debating whether she was 14 or 15 years old but either way that is a good long life for a cat.  She was always my "baby", from the moment we first met, when she was just a skinny little kitten hunting grasshoppers outside the library (I'm pretty sure she was dumped there).  Happy trails, Miss Hinky!  We'll miss you.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Slow day

I'm mostly taking it easy today.  My hands have been hurting, so I took off work yesterday & today to allow them to rest up.
I did dress up yesterday evening, though I told Disco that we really needed to honor our Celtic heritage by finding an oak grove and dancing sky-clad instead.  The Plaidman said it was too cold for that, so we were "saved".  Anyway....Disco wanted to be a grown-up Merida, and I had a plan to be Rowena Ravenclaw.  We went to Performance Studios over on Thompson Lane and just had a blast picking out our gowns.  I did Rowena at work on Friday, using a wooden knitting needle as my wand.  But as we got into our gowns Saturday evening, Disco & I decided we had to be Merida and her mother, Queen Eleanor.  If you haven't seen Brave, you might not know, but these are the two main characters of this wonderful film.  So, without further ado, I give you Queen Eleanor and Princess Merida:


Friday evening we actually wound Disco's nearly waist-length red hair around foam rollers, spritzed same with a little water, and she slept in them.  Her hair is still in long ringlets today!  That's the beauty of naturally curly hair: once it takes a curl, it doesn't let go easily.  We weren't really expecting any crumb snatchers, but put a bowl of candy out on the front porch anyway.  Then we pulled ourselves & our big dresses into the car and went to IHOP for dinner.  I swear, I'm never going to our local IHOP again.  The waiter didn't listen to our orders, didn't bring everything we ordered, then wrote up the ticket with full charges.  We had to get the manager to straighten it out.  Just not worth the bother!  Well, we ladies hadn't gotten the respect we needed, so we cruised over to the Target store.  While shopping in the accessories, I had to take a pee break.  I left Princess Merida in charge of our cart & my purse, and went off to take care of business.  While I was completely out of touch with them, my family went off into the far reaches of the store.  So I came hobbling out with my cane, and set off looking for them.  I kept asking people if they'd seen Princess Merida; one little girl wanted her Mom to let her come with me to look for the Princess.  Very sweet, but very much not what I wanted!    At last, they decided to come looking for me, and we finally met up in mid-store.
Today I did a little sewing, by hand, to repair the waist band in my black trousers.  I don't know if that was worth the effort, the trousers are so big that I have to pin them in back to keep them on!
Oh, here's some of the bling I wore this past week, leading up to Halloween:

Hmm, I cropped & enlarged the one on the left, and I'm still not sure you can see what it is!  It is a little articulated skeleton earring, just the cutest things!  The big golden object is actually a perfume bottle on a cord, the perfume being Poison by Christian Dior.  I won this little bauble ages ago, in a drawing at the Green Hills Cain-Sloan department store.  Let us now have a moment of silence for the loss of one of Nashville's great old stores....ok, light 'em if you got 'em.
Friday I dressed for Halloween & went to work!  What a hoot!  Christina came over to my cubicle, and brought me an early Christmas present:  a selfie stick!  I am quite tickled, although I can't get the shutter button on the stick to work -- may be just a function of old puny hands, or I've not got the setting right on the phone...bummer either way.  Disco says I should take it in to work tomorrow, and see if Christina can get it to work.  I think that sounds like a sneaky way to get her picture on here, so I will tell her so up front -- don't like surprising people!