YARNJUNKIE

Spring Seems to Be on Vacation

2011-04-21T09:01:00.008-05:00

One third of 2011 has slipped by certainly not unnoticed. Winter has a strangle-hold on WI as much as the newly elected governor has on the politics in this state. The last good days were from Jan.3 to February 6 when the Packers(yeh!)won the Super Bowl. The weeks immediately following have seen this state entertained by political shenanigans like we've never seen before. 50,000 protesters on one Saturday in Madison to let the dear man and his disgusting croonies know what the middle class thinks of them. They don't listen-didn't during the budget hearings, and don't now. We could just as well chop off their ears and get results.

Anyway, the carnival of idiocy has reached to other surrounding states as well and to the nation. Tea Baggers are gleeful, although they have lost their impact except in the media. Media-the fourth estate-another disappointment in all this. Took them forever to recognize the problem and once done, didn't see the truth. Thank you to MSNBC, Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz for opening eyes. Have 5 GOP senators up for recall-in WI history we haven't had more than 3 recalls. Three Dems are also on the recall list. Then there was the recent election for state supreme court, where the GOP magically seems to have won when the Waukesha clerk of courts suddenly found an uncounted 14,000 votes-7,500 of which were cast for the GOP. Recount being asked for by the other

candidate right now. Not because she thinks she can win but because she wants the people of WI to regain their trust in the electoral system. She also called for an investigation of the Waukesha clerk who has pulled rabbits out of the system before.

So with all this going on, the year since early February has flown by. I had knee surgery

in March hoping I wouldn't need to face any more snow, shoveling, or blowing until next winter. What a laugh! I had to blow the driveway before we could leave on the day of the surgery. Daffodils came up and were blooming marvelously(top picture), but two days ago a freaky snow storm-included thunder and lightning plus 6 inches of snow- showed them who was boss(next photo).

Knitting and crocheting update. Newest rage is this yarn that creates ruffles(photo above). Have knit 3 scarves, but mostly I'm working on my swatches for CPI. Michaels is bringing back knit and crochet classes but the instuctors need to be certified by the CYCA. What a laugh this is! They sent me instructions that told me how to teach, and now I have to prove my skills with these swatches. Thirty-four years a teacher, and they're telling me about objectives, creating lesson plans, and learning styles, etc. Aargh!

Old TV began losing its ability to display the analog pixels, and I had only half a screen. So I bought an HD capable TV. Good news is with the DVR comes free HD from Charter. Also got the free HDMI cable from them. Something nice from corporate America.

End of Another Year

2010-12-31T11:18:00.002-06:00

Haven't been to this site for months. Facebook is far more fun. 2010 has been a memorable year in both positive and negative ways. Weather has left lots to be desired-summmer cold and wet; winter on both ends horrible with too much snow. In between, family events included a wedding and pending birth. Lots of knitting was accomplished, while the economy and society came unraveled. What can I say? My years get shorter; social angst gets louder; people seem to have lost civility. They still care but only in large ways. Hey, a silent smile goes a long way, and everyone deserves at least the respect of being part of the human race. Well that's the wrap for 2010. Maybe I'll spend more time here in 2011.

SUN SUN SUN!

2010-03-15T12:20:00.005-05:00

Weather Bug says 50 at Elkhart Lake; my thermometer says 57. I brought in the back Christmas decorations because I could walk on the lawn; yesterday there was still snow to be trekked though. Decided to check the gardens, saw the first crocus peaking through. Wearing no jacket just yoga pants and sweatshirt, I spent some time cleaning out the dead leaves and sedum along the south side of the house. It was warm enough to work up a sweat. It felt so good to be in the SUN. Yesterday there was a pile of snow around the lamp post when I took the Christmas lights down. Today those two little patches are all that remains, and they'll be gone by late afternoon. Yeah spring! Today has made up for the f'ed up mess of yesterday.

Oh and GO RAIDERS, BADGERS, and GOLDEN EAGLES in the bball tournaments. Yeah, Kiel is going to state after 36 years, and I remember the last time because I was there.

Spring with a Question Mark

2010-03-12T14:02:00.002-06:00

Today after getting the mail, I took a trip around the perimeter of my house now that the snow has started to melt. I found snowdrops in bloom! Of course, if you move away from the closeup of the flowers you see the fog-shrouded world which has been with us for 3-4 days. The warm temps are melting the snow(46 right now), but with the moisture comes the fog. We have been under dense fog warnings since Wednesday evening. It feels like I live inside of a quilt.

The Quilt Moves Out of my Basement

2010-03-08T12:46:00.004-06:00

After nearly a year of standing in the largest open area of my basement, the wedding quilt has finally arrived at its home. The home of Ali and Tim. Tim proved to be quite the handyman as he prepared to put the screws in the wall to hold the 60 X 60 quilt. It looks fabulous and the "old" married couple are happy. They can now share the signatures with their visitors and friends. Oh, and they have a very nice town house.

Sun is shining today; with more UFO's moved out of the house, I feel like doing some spring cleaning. So that's it for today.

Sunshine!

2010-02-26T12:47:00.002-06:00

Two days in a row with the golden sun. Yippee! Of course, the temperatures are still below freezing, and the sun means a high front. This produces winds and wind chills. So spring is not happening yet, but the golden rays produce optimism. Just hope they don't get warm enough to melt more snow down my range vent. I had Lake Southridge on Wednesday. Need to get one of those roof rakes to get the snow down from the roof valley.

I'm blogging because I'm looking to waste time so I don't have to do samples for craft month. They're all pretty lame. Add to the fact, that corporate added one for this Sunday that our store doesn't even have the product for, and you can understand what previous coordinators meant by somebody in corporate must have had a sleepless night. If I have time to take photos, I will post them as I finish the projects.

Gypsy goes on sale Sunday for 100 off. Should I or shouldn't I?

It's A Cricut!

2010-02-23T14:13:00.006-06:00

I once said I would not buy one of these. Scrapbooking is NOT my thing. Then, they added features that allow the cutting of fabric and other things. So, when they went on sale for less than 200, I decided to use tax refund for this. Eventually, I would like to add on the Gypsy, and then all my graphic desires can be met. Now, I just hope it works with a Mac. It's a "pink" Cricut because that's all Michaels sells-proceeds go to breast cancer research.

Snowing again. Snowed yesterday too. Never so much that I feel I'm going to buried. Maybe we could make a deal with Vancouver to ship some of our snow up there. Speaking of Olympics, I

changed my Ravelympics project. I have some things left to do on it, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. Do you recognize the hat?

The Coffee Stays Hot

2010-02-19T17:26:00.004-06:00

Well, here it is-my French press cozy and the second of my Olympic projects. I used yarn in some of my favorite Fiesta colors and felted the project. It works really well at keeping my coffee hot. I still have to add a button. I think I'll knit another in lighter colors. The pattern is my own design and I plan on sharing it through contacts and Ravelry.

I have started work on a replica of the Opening Ceremony hat worn by Team USA. I am making adaptations to the pattern. I also am going to try to make the hat and mittens with the Olympic rings as well as Team Canada's red mittens. I have a soft spot for the Olympics especially since I spent a good chunk of my 1972 summer in Montreal at the '72 Summer Olympics-the ones right after Munich. Wow, talk about security paranoia. I'll have to pull the slides sometime and turn them into digital images and then I can share. That's the Olympics that Olga got the first perfect score ever given. As I'm on the subject, how about the men's figure skating results. The American gold medalist seems especially modest about his performance. No one was expecting it especially the Russian guy who thought he had it "in the bag." Guess Russian is posting a protest about the results. Hey, Russia, you're a little dopey country now not a big conglomerate of jibberish so take the results like a mensch and be happy with the silver.

Ash Wednesday and Pretzels

2010-02-17T11:37:00.008-06:00

I made pretzels for religious ed. class. Why pretzels? It's an Italian tradition for the beginning of Lent. I didn't know this until I started working on lesson plans for Lent. The tradition says that an Italian monk invented the pretzel as a reminder to his brother monks to pray during the season of Lent. He named his creation "little arms" which is Latin is "bracellae." From this word, the Germans produced bretzel which eventually became pretzel. The Germans were good at twisting anything Latin so it makes sense. The pretzel's twist imitates the way early Christians folded their arms across their chests to pray. The class will meet for a little while before we go to Ash Wednesday service. Their tummies should be happy while we're in church. Actually, I tried one; they're pretty good. They are soft; not the hard crunchy ones sold in the malls. They were fun.

Also have to go to the funeral home afterwards, which means no trip to Oshkosh for knitting.

A Good Winter Day

2010-02-15T12:11:00.012-06:00

A beautiful winter afternoon on Saturday to go snowshoeing. This is the Sheboygan River as it flows through Walla Hi County Parkjust off of South Cedar Lake Road. Changed the venue but the experience was excellent. Good temperature, good snow, and good friends. It's just before sunset. I love the mirror images. The other picture is Paulette and me looking pretty tired out as we were near the end of the circuit. The fresh air felt good. We came home and pigged out on Jimmy John's. I finished my Thanksgiving socks on Saturday night while watching the women's freestyle skiing and the men's short track. Gold in both for the US! Now I have to write the pattern. My goal during the Olympics is to finish as many UFO's as I can. Today is President's Day, and we have no mail so I have nothing much to look forward to until the prime time Olympics. Just received an e-mail that my cousin Jeanne died last night. I guess that will give me something to do this week besides RE. No Magpie's this week. Oh, I do have a zillion samples to make for National Craft Month. More yarn dolls--will they never stop?

TGIF

2010-02-12T11:25:00.003-06:00

Yeah, the end of another week and closer to spring. This winter and the snow have given me cabin fever. Despite knitting and playing Bejeweled, I still feel grumpy. Yesterday went in to Michaels for a while and taught a knitting class to about 12 people, most were non-knitters. That brought some sunshine to the day. It is also very cold outside so doing things outdoors is challenging. Plans to snowshoe at Maywood on Saturday have me excited. After the class, I went through the event material for March. March is National Craft Month, and I'll be working every weekend both Sat/Sun doing make-it, take-its. I can't wait to make another yarn doll even if they've given them names this time. People don't want to make these things; they want to knit and crochet. I'll post photos of the other MITI's as I get the samples done. Some nice bead stuff. In the meantime, I'll just work on organizing my UFO knitting projects. I also stopped at Magpie's and bought yarn for some more gloves. Gray with fair isle tops. I have to wind yarn soon. Now I'm off to look at the TV/iPod cord I just got from Apple. If it works, I'm going to watch a rented video on my TV tonight. I watched Public Enemy on my iPod.

Slipper Frenzy

2010-02-10T17:43:00.003-06:00

One of my recent and ongoing knitting projects has been felted slippers for my friends. Here they are lined up in the hallway looking like a centipede lives here.

Blew snow twice today because I became drenched by the first round so I had to go in the house and put on dry clothes to finish. I'm going to make supper now. No RE tonight and I was planning on making a great day of it by going to Oshkosh early. The snow storm took care of that as the east/west roads are still blowing shut. Tomorrow I get to teach knitting to some Salvation Army people, and then I get to go to Magpies.

Two Today

2010-02-09T14:05:00.007-06:00

Don't have to go in for the event. Donna cancelled it as all the local schools are closing early. The snow is supposed to continue overnight. I moved snow and I'm sure I'll need to do more. I'm including pictures of the boys investigating the snow. Smokie told me he wouldn't go any farther after he found out it was wet and cold. Max, the explorer, had to be coaxed in. He doesn't seem to mind the snow as he plunges into the deepest drifts.

Tuesday and Snow for My Perfect Kitties

2010-02-09T11:28:00.015-06:00

It's Tuesday, and it's snowing. The plows just went through, and I'll have to get out soon and blow the snow. I have a free family event in Sheboygan tonight, and I'm not looking forward to getting there. I've spent the morning looking at iPod apps. This little thing is a major time sucker.

I've added a photo of the boys who are looking like the perfect "kitties." My sister has her dream statue of her perfect children, well I have my dreams of perfect "kitties." They really do spend a lot of time together being nice, but each has his separate "nasty" that makes him less than perfect.

Monday aprés Super Bowl

2010-02-08T12:53:00.007-06:00

While most of the eastern part of the nation was being buried in feet of snow, the Saints and Colts played the 44th Super Bowl in Miami. The Saints won, and I'm glad because it makes their beating the Vikings that much sweeter for Green Bay fans, but probably not for Brett Favre fans. Oh, well, there's always next year Brett.

As far as snow is concerned, the upper midwest(that's WI for the geographically challenged)will see a snow storm starting tomorrow. It's already snowing in those big feather flakes which are pretty easy to deal with. Tomorrow will be another story as the weather service has us under a winter storm warning-6-12 inches. Certainly not the multiple feet or as Obama called it Snowmageddon that DC and other central states received over the weekend. Manda'a snow pictures were beautiful but also scary because 2 feet of snow on trees in a city is not a good thing.

The photo shows the results of one of the several snow storms, we received in 2008.

The French Press, Part Deux

2010-02-05T17:35:00.004-06:00

So I thought about the great coffee, and the only problem I have is keeping it warm over the morning hours. So I thought, "Hey, they have cozies for tea pots I wonder if there are patterns for French press cozies." Lo and behold Ravelry had two. I downloaded, looked them over, and I am going to try my own thing. Plan is to stripe and felt it. Colors will match the colors of my Fiesta dishes. I thought that was cool. My other brag is finally figuring out how to put photos in messages of Ravelry. Yeah! Time to go. It's poli sci knit on TV so I have to get set up to watch. No photos, but stay tuned.

Religious ed was fast this week-safeguarding our children the lesson. Thursday night knit was terrific as we had a wool and wine celebration. I need to get my knitting organized and get some more UFO's finished.

UFO's

2010-02-01T22:31:00.012-06:00

Today's topic is UFO's. No, I'm not a SciFI freak. To a knitter UFO means UnFinished Object. In my case I have a lot of them because I start many projects at the same time. Don't want to be bored. I started these red gloves before Christmas-spent one Tuesday doing nothing but knitting on the right glove. I was learning a

new method for glove construction, starting by knitting the fingers. As a result the gloves fit very well. I used Malibrago yarn to match my knit one below scarf and nimbus hat. Well, I had one glove for a month and a half. Last Tuesday and Wednesday I started on the left hand glove, worked on it at Magpie's and finished on Friday. I think these are going to be very warm. The method for construction is in a the book Latvian Dreams. It's a knitting book that is filled with lots of knitting info, not too many patterns, advanced techniques.

My other UFO has nothing to do with knitting. It was a Christmas gift several years ago from Paulette. It's a French press coffee brewer, and I have been using it daily since June. It sat in the cupboard for over a year. I guess I was frightened by the concept of making coffee this way. Once I got the electric tea kettle it takes less time to brew two cups than a drip machine. I think the coffee it makes is the best-even the basic Folger's kind. No heartburn from this stuff either. My normal coffee maker must feel like the feather duster in the Swiffer commercials. So this is my trek through the world of UFO's. Time to sew buttons on the 5 pair of slippers. Photos of these tomorrow.

Literary Minutia

2010-01-31T18:11:00.004-06:00

In the past two weeks, readers have had to say goodbye to some good writers. Robert B. Parker of Spenser fame was the first. I truly enjoyed his murderous mysteries. They were frequently gory but always honest. After hearing the news of his death, I checked audiobooks on i-Tunes and discovered there were two new Spenser novels. I downloaded Rough Service and am now listening to it at bedtime and on my long drives. The other author was Erich Segal of Love Story fame. One of those one hit writers; he did more for the disco crowd of the 70's and 80's with his sappy book than John Travolta. Then, to bring this to an end, on Thursday the death of J. D. Salinger was announced. This writer lived to be 91. If you don't know who he is, then you haven't gone to high school since the 60's. He was a bit of a one hit wonder as well. Ever heard of The Catcher in the Rye? He's the guy who created the novel that most teens consider their coming out reading-most literature teachers too. I guess he did write other things but none were as well-known as Holden Caulfield in the classic. Well, such is life and death.

In New Orleans, they're celebrating the Saints going to the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. Not the big event yet, but the preliminary parties and such began on January 6-the Feast of the Epiphany. The big event will take place on Feb. 16 when the partying comes to an end with Ash Wednesday. By then NOLA should be suffering from a major hangover what with the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. So this is my tribute to Mardi Gras. The hat was a New Year's demo but I liked it and the colors enough to decide it fit Mardi Gras as well. Very festive! Go Saints!

Another Wednesdy

2010-01-27T11:39:00.003-06:00

Just finished lesson plans for RE tonight. We're on the topic of prayer and how to pray, etc. We're going to create a heavenly cell phone to put in our journals, and then the kids will work on their blanket.

Only 12 degrees this morning when I arose, but the sun is shining brightly for the first time in about a week. Last night, I put up some valentine decor and put together the puzzle that I got at Christmas. Cats and a quilt. Also started work on my second red glove so I can wear them before winter is over. The glove is made fingers first, and it's a geometric puzzle with two circulars used to knit one tiny finger at a time. Lots of cable and yarn to get tangled. So here is a picture of the finished puzzle.

I will take a picture of the glove before I start the hand portion. Have to work at 9:00 AM tomorrow, so I'm not traveling to Oshkosh tonight.Tomorrow is Magpie's, and I haven't been since before Christmas because of weather and RE certification. Hope Sheila is there so I can find out more about Dick. Ordered a book called Poems of Color, a knitting book, and hope that it comes today. Also want to get to work on some UFO's and try some of the new sock patterns from my new sock book. The knitting urge, which seemed to have turned off after my before Christmas blitz, has returned as I've made 6 pair of felted ballet slippers and returned to my gloves. Maybe the trip on MLK day to LYS in Appleton and Neenah with P and S helped to ignite the spark. Anyway the cats are happy that the sticks and strings are back, and they can snuggle on my legs while I knit.

So It's Over

2010-01-26T18:14:00.007-06:00

Yep, Bret pulled another one down the tubes with an interception in the final seconds of the championship game-sending the game into overtime and the Saints to the Super Bowl. Glad for the Saints. On the other hand, this guy seems to want to play until he has a Super Bowl ring for his other hand. Ego!

My real reason for writing has to do with another element of over-Christmas. Finally finished the last of the decorations-except for the snowpeople iced into the back yard by snow drifts. Packed away and hauled down the last yesterday. I think this picture pretty much tells the sad story. That's my poinsettia from RE. It lasted much longer than I expected. Now I can go back to knitting and playing Bejeweled on Facebook. Having the iPod touch makes the game much easier as I can do it from my easy chair. Tomorrow Apple announces their newest gadget. It's suppose to be a computer writing and reading pad in conjunction with Verizon. Guess AT &T lost out. Wish they'd let iPhones be part of other cell companies. Well that's it. Back to the news and the whining from people who think they know what to do about Haiti.

It's Whining Time

2009-12-09T14:37:00.005-06:00

It's that time again-winter in Wisconsin. This storm has taken care of most of the lower 48 so far. I woke up this morning to discover that the plows had buried the mailbox which meant that the streets must have been filled with about 10-12 inches of snow. Officially we were under a blizzard warning. We haven't had one of these for almost 20 years. Schools were cancelled last night as the Governor declared a state of emergency. Today he closed all state offices and universities. Madison really got walloped.

After a staunch breakfast, I bundled up in the snowblowing gear and prepared to move this wet concrete. I wondered if the snow blower would even start as I hadn't had it serviced this year. Hooray, the reliable snow machine started. It took me 2 and one half hours to open up the driveway and part of the approach. I was so tired from pushing the machine through the heavy wet snow that I took a break for about an hour and a half. When I went back out to clean up and uncover the mailbox, the temp had dropped to 27 degrees. So tonight the bitter cold and northwest winds come in to add to the misery. If I wouldn't have to get around or clean the snow up, I would say that the storm left behind some beauty. I certainly left a large carbon footprint today, having used three tanks of gas to move this stuff.

Isn't the air conditioner cute? Looks like a giant snow cone.

The blue spruce without the 5 foot drift is about 25 feet tall.

Today it looks like 7 foot tree. The arborvitae are so weighed down that I'm concerned they might be harmed but I'll have to haul out the snowshoes to get to them. Behind that drift are 3 snowmen decorations that have disappeared in the snow. Smokey was spooky this morning being bothered by the sound of the wind and the new look of the landscape. Perhaps the low pressure also bothered him. He's better now which means the storm has pretty much passed to go east and bug NY, Boston, DC. Global warming?

And The Sands of Time...

2009-11-29T17:14:00.012-06:00

November is nearly over, and I realized as I was surfing through favorite blogs that I hadn't done this for almost a month. So here's the update on life in November.

My first distraction has been knitting of course. I have bought yarn, and I have been going to knit nights at least three times a week. My projects finished include a Christmas scarf made with wool ribbon, a sweater for Paulette, 3 hats for Paulette's friend with chemo, and designing and knitting Thanksgiving socks-Twisted Turkey. They aren't finished. I still have the foot to do. The pattern is slowly evolving. When finished, I want to post it on Ravelry. I've also finished one glove using the information in Latvian Dreams. It's a new book suggested by Vicki in Wednesday group. The gloves are knit from the fingers up and fit really well. I'm using red Malibrago. I want to finish the other before next week so I can wear them while I work at the Christmas Market-see excuse at end. I cleaned up the yarn collection long enough for Paulette to spend Thanksgiving and for my birthday party. Now I have to haul it out and begin to re-organize the piles. Donna also wants to start knitting and crochet demos at Michaels so that'll keep me busy as well.

There was also the week of my birthday which included a party on Sunday with the family and two funerals. My former English department chair passed away, and I attended the wake on Nov. 9. Had a chance to catch up on everyone's recent lives. Also that week were Amy's memorials. Amy, a former student, became a staff sargant in Army, was one of 13 killed in the Ft. Hood attack. Wonderful community response to this sad event. Really shows what a small town can give to those who live in it.

My second major excuse is, of course, Michaels. They have started Holiday workshops on every Saturday in November and December. The last one I did was a snowman wreath. None of them have been so great that I care to share them in a photo. I also worked Thanksgiving evening and Black Friday as a cashier. Just like riding a bike. You sign on, and away you go.

My third excuse has to do with growing older, and the need to reorganize the health insurance. Now on Medicare so I needed to find a part B supplement. I started early in June as suggested by said Medicare handbook. I thought I had the answer and a good choice when I mailed my application for MOO(that's Mutual of Omaha)in late September. I mention the dates because they are significant to the level of my anger.

Late September, came and went. Nothing. Early October. Nothing. OK, call agent. Response- the computer lists application as pending. This during a time of open enrollment when no questions should have been asked.

Time passes. Mid October. Panic begins. Still nothing in hand. Call agent-still pending. Don't like answer. I'll see for myself. Bypass agent, call MOO. Find out I didn't exist in their computer file. I'm a non-person with no insurance. Application pending where? Call agent with this information. Response-his broker who had told him the app was pending admitted it had not been sent. Excuse-very busy(hey, I understand a week but this is a month) App faxed to the RUSH number. OK, things are rolling. Call MOO to double-check policy received. Yes, I am a person. I'll wait an appropriate time and I'll have it.

Hall0ween-a time of ghosts and nightmares. I need policy and ID by Nov. 1, or I have no insurance. Panic deepens. Nov. 2-call MOO. Yes, my application is on file. Me-"What do I do in the meantime for insurance coverage?" He/she gave me a policy number which will work if I needed it. "Oh, yeah," I thought, "a hospital or doctor is going to take my word and this number as proof that I have coverage. Like crap." I hope the policy comes by end of week.

Nov. 7-no policy. Panic worsens. My birthday comes and goes with appropriate fanfare(it is after all my 65th). Still no papers on Nov. 12, but we had a no mail day on Nov. 11. Spend the day(Nov. 12) with Paulette in Madison. Whine about my dilemma.

Monday, Nov. 16 first work day for MOO since previous week. Call. Another customer service rep says that the policy is being held up for more information from agent/broker. I ask what info, and he/she won't tell me as this is not info for the customer. Me, "Have you informed the agent/broker of the problem." MOO, "Sorry, we can't give you that information."

Panic -OFF THE CHART. I feel the merry-go-round speeding up. I have no control, no insurance policy, no ID, and no confidence in this company any longer. Smoke would be coming out of my ears, if it could. E-mail agent with strong emphasis on my disappointment in this latest chapter of my insurance folly. Leave a stern voice mail as well. No contact will be left untried. Agent-no response personally, but he must have done some checking.

8AM CST, next morning . Still sleeping after a late night knitting on my Turkey sock. Caller starts in like old friend her name, Amy. Mind, "Amy-who? Matthew Stevens where?" Finally fog clears, and I realize she's the broker/agent in Vincent, OH. She is my new agent and would redo my application because Ken is not a MOO agent. Sleep- slowed mind says, "Redo? Not agent. What the hell?!" Friendly, she continues. She would send the pages I needed to re-sign, and I would need to send them back. AWAKE! This is beyond belief. No more of this hassle. A)I wanted an agent in WI to avoid this kind of thing-Ohio isn't WI and B)sending this back and forth will take until Christmas based on past experience with this brokerage and MOO. She, "It won't take long. I just have to copy your info to a new application." Me, "Why? Nothing wrong with my info. Just send in the right stuff for the agent." She, "Can't. Need to do new application. I'd have my insurance with the policy number given to me earlier, and all would be well." Mind: "A and B did not equal C." Me, "I'm really upset with the jerking around I'v been getting regarding this policy. I really don't want MOO any longer. I will look elsewhere." She, "But you don't have to do anything. I will take care of it. You have the policy number." Me, "I need a policy and ID. I don't have yours now, and I don't want it later." She, "Everything will be OK. We just need to redo the policy." Me, "Do you understand the word NO?" She, "I'm sorry, but I can't cancel the policy. We need to do it this way." Mind, "What policy? I don't have one." Hang up. Getting NOwhere with this chick.

Call MOO. Hope this is the last time. Explain my situation to another customer service rep who didn't get the meaning of NO any better than the brokerage chick. Finally, told me I would have to write a letter saying I wanted to cancel the policy and request my payment be returned. I think this chick really didn't know what to tell me when I said I wanted to cancel this policy that I had never received. I think she had to find out what to do from some supervisor. I hope so because I want someone more important than a telephone voice to know how I feel about this experience. I was not nice. Obviously, MOO is not used to rejection. Hang up. Phone rings. Agent, apologies for the experience. Says he just found out that MOO had never accepted his agent application and had never informed him of this fact. Me, sounds like there's a real problem someplace in the world of MOO. Agent, sorry and says he understands. Obviously Amy has called him to tell him of my anger.

Call Maureen at KASD. Explain my problem and agree to pay $391 for November insurance to stay with the group.

My search starts all over again. I feel like Robert Langdon in all of Dan Brown's novels. Just when he thinks he's got the solution, another monkey wrench hits him in the face. This was supposed to be in place by Nov. 1 to go with the Medicare. It should be an easy job. Whine at knitting, and dear sister who by now must be sick of hearing about all this suggests Network. Me, Dah, never thought about that one. OK, I'll check it out. This is one of the major companies that didn't send ads every week since February so I lived in oblivion about them. On-line info sounded good,and it included part D which MOO wouldn't do until I had the regular policy first. Network application on line, filled it out. Talked to a very pleasant customer service person, and hope to have insurance with them by Dec. 1. No agent to deal with; Network's home base is Neenah, WI. All right, A and B does equal C. I received the MOO refund yesterday so I can stop thinking about them and put the experience behind me. Now wasn't that just the best fairy tale you ever heard? Except it all really happened. My nightmare from insurance hell. And now I feel better for writing about it.

My last excuse is a cybergame on Facebook. It's called Bejeweled Blitz. Today I made over 147,000 points so I'm feeling pretty positive. I also solved the Sunday crossword in record time which allowed me the three hours on Bejeweled. So these are my excuses, and it will probably be a while before I post again as life continues to be busy. For part of coming week and all of the next, I will be doing some work at the Christmas World Market in Elkhart Lake. Maybe a few photos will be added. I'm hauling out the snuggies tomorrow as this takes place under a tent in December in Wisconsin. Need I 'splain more.

They All Fell At Once

2009-11-02T16:57:00.006-06:00

Over the past week, the cooler weather and especially the rains and winds brought the maple leaves to the ground-it seems all at once. Layers of the golden leaves covered my backyard so I spent today raking.

When I was a kid, our favorite fall pastime was raking the leaves and creating leave houses. Well, today I raked enough leaves to create several. I didn't have the time to turn the pile into the "house." The pile has been moved from the back yard to the curb where I hope the "vacuum" will remove them tomorrow because I'm sure there will be more in the next several days. When I came in, checked e-mail to find out that my insurance supplement is still pending. So I decided to take action on my own. I called Mutual of Omaha who informed me that they did not have the application in their system. So I immediately contacted the broker-nice guy who now has to deal with a really "lame and lazy" agent who never sent the thing in. So now she has faxed it to some RUSH number. I should know more by Wednesday. In the meantime, I sit here with no supplement to Medicare Part A. I hope this chick gets fired. I would like to let her manager know exactly what I think of her performance bu I think the broker is as angry as I am. Afterall, he's the one who I've been dealing with and so my opinion of him has been influenced by this chick named Kerri. I love health insurance!

Saturday was Halloween and for the first time since I've lived in this burg(and that's a long time), they had Trick or Treat on the day of Halloween. Usually it's the Sunday afternoon before Halloween but this year they made it on Saturday because I don't think many parents would have taken the kids out during the Packer-Viking game. Packer games are traditionally interrupted to give candy to the kiddies every year but this one. I made it home in time to give out candy having worked the Trick or Treat event at Michaels. Even had enough time to stop at Menards and pick up two new fluorescent tubes for kitchen ceiling light. I was really surprised when I took off the cover and found two circular bulbs in it. I hope these last as long as the first-25 years. One family who came to the house had their dachshund with them. It was in costume too. It was wearing a bun(stuffed like saddlebags on either side) and on the back red and yellow for catsup and mustard. It was so darn cute! I wish I had taken a picture but they were pretty fast in picking up the candy. The dog seemed to enjoy the walk.
Back to the game of the season. Yesterday I worked the late shift. Everyone else had asked off so they could watch the great Packer-Viking game(second meeting with old #4). I DVR'ed it so when I got home I could zap the ads and watch a fast version of the game and not have to listen to whiney Troy Aiken. FOX has the worst sports announcers ever. They don't tell you what's happening in the game. They use the time to editorialize on their careers and the performance of those on the field and off. It's almost as bad as FOX News. Well, I'm getting off track here. So in about 45 minutes(instead of 2 hours) I found out that the Packers had lost to the Vikings again(36-24 I think). The defense is afraid of their buddy old #4. I so wanted to see him brought down in a sack. Well, the Vikings did a good job of sacking Rodgers-more than once. So now I've whined, after screaming a lot last night. The cats spent the better part of the game under the beds. They just don't understand that I'm not screaming at them. So that's all for now-it's been a long time since I updated this thing. Take time to vote on the number of trips I made.

Wasting Away on Wednesday

2009-08-26T14:09:00.003-05:00

Tonight should be knitting night, but I'm staying home to attend my second webinar for religious ed., so I decided to spend some time on the computer and needless to say I got sucked into Ravelry, and here I am blogging. Do plan on going to Magpie's for tomorrow's knit night. I'm up to row 77 on the sweater.

As I'm working away in my technie stupor, the news page popped up and let me know that Ted Kennedy had died, brain cancer was more than he could battle. I wonder what kind of impact this will have on the health "insurance" reform bill that Obama wants so badly to be passed. Yep, I also put my info in on the .gov medicare page and I am now a fully registered "old woman." I wish there were some other way to improve the cost of my insurance but I guess joining the moldies is the only recourse right now. Bummer.

Playing Around with a New Gadget

2009-08-22T17:54:00.007-05:00

Tomorrow I have to do a demo on the YourStory™-a new Provocraft device that makes bound books and laminates. I decided to experiment before the demo so that if things went wrong it wouldn't happen in front of customers. The Yudu is notorious for finking out, so I wanted to be prepared. I developed several text possibilities including a sock calendar, the quilt story, and Christmas cookie favorites. I chose to experiment on the last. Turned out pretty good. I think I might actually purchase this machine.

That's all for now. I want to get settled to watch the Packers pre-game against Buffalo.

Brett Favre is again un-retired and playing for the Vikings. Boy the sportscasters in WI have been busy this week. I personally don't care what he does, I just think that once you're retired you need to stay that way or if you need the socialization then find another way to see the buddies. Think I'll go tell Dario that I want to un-retire because I need the money. Yuk-yuk!

Dreary Day

2009-08-21T18:43:00.002-05:00

Haven't done much knitting today but I worked on the comforter-duvet cover. Like it the new way as duvet better. Also finished the curtains so the new bedroom decor is finished. Yesterday was a long day, starting out with OB-GYN, work for 4 hours, and 2 hours of knitting. I went to the Knit Night at Magpie's and worked on my Shalom sweater. Finished up to the last round of ribbing. Ready to do the bind offs for the sleeves(armholes). I think I'll knit tonight. Also would like to finish the Undulations socks so I can wear them. Then I will have 3 pair of cotton socks. I also bought some bright pink Cascade sock yarn to knit into October socks. It's been a good day for hanging out in the dark, dank basement.

Shalom Knit-Along

2009-08-19T12:30:00.006-05:00

This is the beginning of my Shalom sweater knit-along that I'm doing with Magpie's Maven's Group from Ravelry. The knit-along started on August 10, and I began last night. I worked on it some last night and today. I have 169 stitches so it's slowing down some. The yarn is Reynold's Lopi (scrrratchy-100% wool with the hay still part of it) that I bought back in the 90's. Being as this is a "green" project, I decided to raid my stash and not buy the yarn that others are using. The Great Wall o' Yarn has been diminished by four skeins.

Just finished a webinar for religious ed-not much that I didn't know having taught for 34 years but it was good to hear it again and have it reinforced. I added the widget for the catechist blog to my blog.

Last week was busy with Amanda being home and sharing the excitement of planning for her wedding. She found a dress and that was fun watching her reaction to the dresses she tried on. I have a photo of her selected dress but I'm going to keep it private-just incase the fiancee should see this blog.

Oh, and I finally took the time to connect and install the wireless router I bought back in July. It was a snap once I gave up reading the instruction CD and let my Mac do the work. Now I can go on-line from the living room in a comfy chair, bed, the basement, or even outdoors. I can't believe it took me so long to work up the nerve.

Making Use of MN's Bounty

2009-08-03T14:29:00.004-05:00

This is going to be a quick entry--without a photo because I don't want anyone to see how much of the currant and raspberry kuchen I have already eaten. The sweet roll dough finally thawed by 5 PM last evening so I was able to make both kuchens. However they were too hot to eat last night so they became my breakfast. Eerie memories from the past when this was a common thing on summer Sunday's. The frozen dough worked well-the taste of both are nearly equal to being totally homemade. Tonight after some time in Sheboygan I plan on doing the raspberry jam. The three berries have turned into about a pint a day so they're piling up quickly. Guess the bushes heard me complaining about last year when the first berries showed up in September so they're making up for it now.

Alleluia

2009-07-31T12:46:00.006-05:00

The quilt top is finished-4:17 PM, July 30, 2009.

Those who have read this blog know that it started two years ago just before Ali's wedding. Now, two years later, I have achieved completion to the top of the wedding quilt mentioned in the early blogs. Didn't do it alone. I had help from Paulette along the way, even when she was gimpy. So now we have to finish this with batting and backing and do some quilting. It may reach Ali and Tim by Christmas-what year I'm not going to say. Time for a quilting bee, food, fun, gossip, and more pictures.

Raspberries and History

2009-07-20T21:45:00.003-05:00

The first raspberries from the garden. I know this sounds strange but the raspberry patch is only two years old-needed to be replanted after a destructive winter- and last year the berries didn't start ripening until September. So here are the first three from this year in the middle of July. They don't exist any more. They were really good.

Oh yes the history part. Knitting and watching TMC today and couldn't help but becoming historically focused. 40 years today the first human touched himself to the moon. So NASA and the news are making a big deal about it. I was 25 years old when it happened. I remember watching it with Dad-I think it was a Sunday late afternoon or evening-even then prime time was important. I was impressed but it didn't have as big an impact as the shootings of King and the Kennedy's or the shuttle disasters and Apollo 13 did. Maybe I just wasn't mature enough to appreciate this event.

Colder Everywhere

2009-07-17T13:49:00.004-05:00

Catching up on Ravelry stuff and looking at free knitting patterns while I wait for the quilt fabric to dry. It's a "cool" day here-for summer that is. The new comforter was much appreciated last night-especially by the boys. I am getting ready to head to the basement to do some more work on the "wedding" quilt. The field trip to Beaver Dam and Nancy's Notions was fun. Ali and I picked up "corn" quilt batting and a piece of tan to use as a frame around the very busy center section of the quilt. We stopped in Fond du Lac to look at bed linens for Ali and Tim's new king size bed (new living space, new and bigger bed). Ali didn't find too much she liked but I found a good bargain-11 piece bed-in-a-bag for $99 originally $300. I decided that putting more time in sewing ripped seams on the old one probably didn't make much sense. Of course, I couldn't wait to put it on the bed. I'm turning the Euro shams into a valance for the window.

Good night at Wednesday knitting. I took 23 and 67 home. I think this is the way I'll continue-a few more miles but same time because I can stay at 55 rather than slower down for the curves on the detour. This summer the orange triangles are hemming me in on all sides. Maybe it's a sign that I'm supposed to stay in Kiel.

I finished reading The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini--the newest in the Elm Creek series. I have been reading books more quickly recently, but I don't know if it's because I have a need to read or they've just been good books. I wonder if there's a new Benny Harper book because now I need new reading material that doesn't involve knitting patterns.

Catching Up

2009-07-09T12:32:00.006-05:00

Long time no blog. Week of very hot weather kept me in the basement cleaning up the last of the plumbing disaster. Then 4th of July came along and that took up a weekend. Add to those things just the general progress of life, and I've been busy.

New computer still frazzles me-it can do too much and I'm still learning all of its bells and whistles but at least it's another Mac. Yep, the Apple genius called my 2002 iBook vintage. Vintage for him maybe but the only thing I had for me. The optical drive short-circuited and caused some other problems like shutting down without notice so knowing that it was "vintage" I gave in and purchased a MacBook. Looks pretty much the same but more things to learn.

Amanda announced her engagement on May 23 and the family celebrated on the 4th of July. That's Lolliepup in the pond at Hinze's. She spent more time there then on the ground. She wore herself out well.

Spent time dealing with a fungus infection on my right hand. First thought I was allergic to one of my yarns. That would have been awful. Turned out I picked it up from fungus infection on my toes. Seems poor circulation in the elderly encourages fungus infection on the feet. It very often migrates to the hands. Now that issue is solved also spent time cleaning the basement so Paulette and I could get to work on that sky wedding quilt again. Well, I worked in the basement, and Paulette stayed upstairs. Check out the elegant sandal Paulette is wearing. She cut and did the math while I sewed. We discovered that the quilt was going to be enormous if we did the pattern as shown in the book so we've done some adaptation. Quilt is pictured below as far as it is complete.

Last night was Knit Night and Keri was home so we all wore our t-shirts and took a group photo. That's all of us in the picture taken against the side mural at Starbuck's.

Happy bunch of knitters.

A Sunday PM

2009-06-07T18:21:00.003-05:00

Have been working on some more t-shirts. Right now my wash line looks like a rainbow. I hope they dry before the rain returns. So far I'm doing ok with the silk-screening. Just found out that if you let the ink dry in the screen for even 5 minutes, problems result. I will have quite a few grub shirts to wear gardening and other things. They've mostly been old shirts I had, and the good are decent. So that's what I'm doing. When finished I will post a photo of the pile and, I will be sure to take a group shot.

My Shawl and Other Tidbits

2009-06-02T11:17:00.003-05:00

Ok, so last Thursday I spent some time blogging and playing on the computer. While doing that, the good old "vintage" Mac started acting up. It kept turning off. I would always manage to get it restarted, but this was not a good sign for the future. So, I signed up for a Genius bar appointment and took a road trip to Bayshore on Friday. Well, turns out the "vintage" Mac had reached its end. The optical drive had short-circuited and created the problem I was having. Question from the "Genius"-"Didn't you smell anything burning?" Well, now, who can tell when this "circuit thing" happened; I use the optical about twice a year. They wouldn't put the battery back in nor did they want me to use the computer on AC. So faced with this terminal diagnosis, I chose to invest in a new laptop. I spent 4 days without cyber access. It was like being in solitary. Well, I'm back up on a new MacBook and faced with learning a bunch of new ways to use the old programs. I hope this one lasts 8 years, because maybe by that time I'll be too old to care about computers-yeah, that's going to happen.

I finished my "Michelle" shawl in May and have worn it several times.

It is a combination of patterns-center from one book and the edging from another. I'm happy with the results and am anxious to start another, but I have other things to finish first. I have two prayer shawls started, 2 pair of socks(one is a snowflake pattern), and 2 other scarves. I'd also like to make some things for Septemberfest so I have my work cut out for me before I can return to another shawl. That's Smokey about to take a trip across the shawl. Anything on the floor becomes fair game for traveling.

Hey, It's Me Again on the Same Day

2009-05-28T18:34:00.006-05:00

Two blogs in one day. Probably because until 45 minutes ago it was dreary outside. Sun is now out but everything is still too wet to do much. I spent the time between blog entries cleaning the office/laundry. It began with the installation of a new light fixture(ceiling) which took me about 45 minutes because while the power was off to the office I could also put in two new switches in the living room. Everything works and no sparks. So I had to share a photo of the clean room because within a week it won't look like this any more. The desk is usually covered in piles of papers--yes, I know what's in the piles usually knitting patterns from the net. The opposite is my paper crafting side-card making and some scrapbooking but most of the time it is just another horizontal surface to hold piles of paper. This time it's papers from Michaels' events and religious education class (over now for the summer). I don't see this top very often either.

I also thought I would share my most current finished knitting project. It is a lace shawl made with Schafer yarn in the "Michele" colorway. I bought the yarn at Iris when we visited there at the time of my birthday. I started it in February and dragged along doing the center for a long time. Then I had to learn a new skill, adding the knitted on border. I think it turned out pretty nice. I have had many compliments on it. The gray four-legged beasty is Smoky who thinks that anything on the floor is his.

WWKIP and T-shirts

2009-05-28T12:57:00.004-05:00

Last night at Knit Night I heard about the WWKIP for the first time. Where have I been? Living on another planet. Well, I checked my Ravelry groups to find out what might be planned and John Michael Kohler Arts Center is hosting a meet in Sheboygan from 11 to 3 on June 13. I don't have to work so I plan on being there.

Second piece of info concerns the Knit Night t-shirts. Cheap t-shirts so we decided to buy some and I am screen-printing them using the Yudu. Some problems with the process at first caused by the emulsion sheet which may have experienced severe temperature changes in shipping. However, after purchasing new emulsion succeeded in getting a screen and did 6 t shirts. Still have more to do but plan on doing some during the next Yudu demo on June 20. This is the t-shirt.

It Shouldn't End That Way

2009-04-22T09:58:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I finally finished reading The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. I should have known the ending would be less than happy when I saw the comparison to Steel Magnolias on the cover. I also noticed "clues" in the early part of the novel that I pretty much put in the back of my mind as I met the people who were part of the "club" and followed their lives as they "knitted" into Georgia's. Ii took me several months to get through this setup stuff because I save my reading for soaking in the tub which I don't do weekly. So to the point, I just wasn't ready for Georgia's demise. OK, people who haven't read it, I've now given away the ending, big deal. Read it to find out how. The ending-real emotional stuff-came in the last 50-75 pages and happened rapidly. In terms of comparing to the Debbie Macomber books, I think Jacobs' writing is less like Danielle Steele who Macomber reminds me of as she cranks out her rather predictable "happily ever after" books. This might also be why I wasn't ready for the ending-bad things shouldn't happen to knitters. And if you truly believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale. I guess it was just that as a reader I became one of the friends and felt as dreadful as they did, but rejoiced as they found a way to celebrate life with their stitches.

I'll take these lines with me today as I go to religious ed-forms of prayer is the topic for this week. "Father Smith, 'Praying isn't a form of divine insurance. It's just a way of communicating, just a way of opening your heart.' Georgia, ' By that definition, an honest conversation with anyone is a form of praying.' "

There's Always Something

2009-04-15T11:00:00.005-05:00

Easter has been and gone-at least the celebration thereof. I dyed eggs using Wilton paste frosting dyes. My favorite lavendar Easter egg emerged, but the dye is not permanent. The color comes off when the eggs are handled. The chocolate basket filled with sweets is from Paulette and the Oak's Candy people. I haven't the heart to break it open yet, but I will before the end of the week. Mass on Sunday was filled with the "mean dudes" as Father Dave used to call them. The people who attend services once or twice a year and create parking congestion and pew congestion. We ran out of wine before half the church was finished-hosts had to be filled three times. I guess complaints aren't really appreciated because at least they showed up at this service. I think there were also lots of visiting families.

I spent Monday making the bead samples for the May bead event and couldn't stop with the samples. I had to catch up on some of my UFO's. I like the illusion necklace but most of the other samples are big and chunky and not of my taste.

Yesterday was the anniversary of two momentous events in history-Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the sinking of the Titanic. I can't think of two more tragic events to share the same day(not year) in history. Just spent 15 minutes "talking" to the Charter computer to reboot my modem. I also noticed that the atomic clock was again off-this time not only by hours, but it had jumped ahead to the year 2019. OK, did we have an extraterrestial event yesterday that I don't know about, or maybe, it's the computer "worm" affecting all things of techie quality. Anyway I finally managed to get on-line and check information for religious ed tonight. There's also the problem with the overhead light in this room. Fluorescent, which means it's supposed to last a long time, and yet it blew up in about 2 years. It went poof! Getting a new one will be a chore as the road to Menard's is closed for construction. I'll have to figure out a new way to get there or do my laundry and computing only during the day. Well so long from the "twilight zone."

So It's Not Knitting

2009-04-09T12:36:00.005-05:00

Had to take time to share my latest time-consuming project. It's a Foamie™ sand castle that I've put together as a display sample for Michaels. This little project took me about 2 1/2 hours to assemble this morning. The kits are available for purchase in multi-color boxes, but the samples come with a small black and white photo plus minimal directions, and you're on your own. I've also done a princess castle(pinks and purples) which was even more detailed than this one. Basically though they are the same structure. The worse part is the creation of the turrets and towers because they have to be glued and coiled. Does anyone ever buy one of these kits? I've never checked one out so I would say they're not a popular item. Probably less popular in this poor economy. I'm glad it's finished so I can move on to something more constructive. Smokey has his opinion of it too. If you want to see the real thing-check out the summer camp aisle at Michaels in Kohler and look for the sand castle along with other Foamie creations like a camping scene, banana tree house, and log cabin(made by Cindi.)

Two additional thoughts: at religious ed last evening we had a performance of the living stations of the cross by the 4th grade class. They did a wonderful job; held even the 1st graders' attention for more than half an hour. Afterwards, we had a Seder meal(hosted by the 7th graders) during which the classes were exposed to some of the action which may have gone on during the Last Supper (Passover). It was interesting and amusing. Given the fact that we're dealing with young US Catholics celery was substituted for parsley, an ordinary radish for the horseradish, and irony of all, we had small chunks of ham instead of lamb. Moses forgive us! Three more religious ed Wednesdays and we're finished for this year. The time has gone quickly.

The Hybrid

2009-04-07T13:00:00.008-05:00

Today I reconstructed my grandmother's "yarn swift"--if it could be called that. The red tobacco can used to support the red "X" seen in the other picture. With my new ball winder(a most wonderful birthday gift from Paulette and Sara), I would get the swift whirling so fast that it would fly across the living room helicopter style and scare Smokey. So I built a new base using the same pattern (thanks to the fellow blogger who published the pattern and her husband who created it)that I used for Paulette and Sara's, and I now call it the hybrid. I'll save the tobacco can as part of the antique this thing is--think Grandpa made it. I also replaced the giant nails which used to hold the yarn with shaker pegs. Now I'm going to try it out.

Spring?!

2009-04-06T12:54:00.012-05:00

We missed another big one. A "winter" storm had the meteorologists gleefully scaring us since last Wednesday with threats of up to 8" of wet heavy snow on Sunday. Mother Nature must have decided to remind them of their mortality as she kept the temps in the high 30's and low 40's, resulting in rain(to the south)but windy enough here to blow the whole system past central Wisconsin. Instead, she gave us sunshine and skimpy clouds-whoopee. The snow blower and I got to rest another day.

The amaryllis opened a week ago and gave me a burst of spring until yesterday when the flowers started to wilt. One week of beauty at this time of year is better than nothing. Lots of green tips are peeping up in the gardens, and I need to get out there to clean away the dead stuff from last year. It needs to warm up about 10 more degrees before I do.

Two of my samples for Magpie's Cottage

classes are finished-the socks and two blocks of the same pattern for the crochet sample afghan. I am pleased with the

results of both.The yarn I used was so wonderful! The socks are Sockotta by Plymouth, and the afghan square is Caprice by Filati Cervina also Italian. I'm getting spoiled using these wonderful yarns instead of the craft store yarn that I've used in the past(for samples that is) Now I need to work on the intarsia knitting accessory case(Galway by Plymouth) which taught me another new thing. I found out that the Internet truly does have everything. I needed graph paper to chart my intarsia pattern. I own graph paper in 1/4" square format on 8 x 10 which is useless for a pattern plan that needs about 50 stitches and 100 rows. I saw myself taping sheets together, ending up with a giant sheet, unwieldy to haul around, much less work from when two cats are fighting for desirable lap space. So to the computer. Plenty of sites offer free graph paper printouts in any size needed. That's going to put a real crimp in the profits for makers and sellers of graph paper. I downloaded and printed knitting graph paper which is different from regular graph paper. How? The little boxes are rectangles rather than squares because knitting stitches are taller than they are wide. After a little bit of math, I selected the ratio of rows and stitches I needed and, viola, the grid is done and ready to print. Go figure! And, it's free!

One last photo-that's Smokey hanging out by the office door telling me to get off the computer and do something with him. That usually involves feeding or a trip to the basement. Today, I'm going to the basement to haul up the Easter decor. He'll like the trip and the decor.

One last thing-Magpie's Cottage has changed its web page. Information which was piled on top of each other can now be read. I hope you'll take the time to visit it.

Warm Weather and Knitting Trends

2009-03-19T16:45:00.004-05:00

Just read Sara's blog after I logged into mine, and she said much of what I was going to say about the knitting group last night. We seemed to intimidate lots of the other customers with our number and noise, but we had a great time. I came home wanting to knit lace. Instead I'm going to be crocheting it.

I made it to and from Oshkosh without problem. The deer paranoia remained in full bloom as I headed home. The knit group was relaxing after religious ed and making 80 "grass heads" for Easter crafts. (Grass heads?-see blog from last year!) Next week the kids have spring break so I won't have to teach. I will be heading to Oshkosh for Starbucks knitting if the weather cooperates.

This week has seen a marvelous warm up-until today. I actually dried bedding outdoors and aired quilts on Monday after I removed remaining ice and snow from the patio/deck. Max basked for about 10 minutes and became bored on a short leash. A white cat rolling in the muddy lawn would not make my day. I also climbed the ladder and removed maple "helicopters" from the downspouts before the first monsoon comes, and I end up with water backup. My south gardens should be cleaned off and raked-the first snowdrops are in blossom and little green shoots are poking heads out.

On Tuesday, we had near 70 but I didn't get much of a chance to enjoy it as I spent the afternoon "playing" with the Yudo™, a new(and expensive) Provocraft gadget that does silk-screening. Last night at knitting Sara and I talked about creating a logo and some tees for the group.

My plan was to clean gardens and rake the Milorganite today, but it's only in the low 40's. I saw snow flurries around 2 PM. My need for flora is being fulfilled by the amaryllis which I brought up about two weeks ago. Surprise, not only does it have leaves but a bud. I will include pictures when it opens.

My knitting skills are becoming more in demand. Magpie's Cottage scheduled me for three classes in April, May, and June. Two-at-a-time socks, Intarsia and Felting, and the first of crochet sampler blocks for a baby afghan. Also had phone message from Sheboygan Senior Center. They are looking for a knitting instructor. I could easily say good-bye to Michaels if all this pans out. Not that I want to make money(well not that much), but I will certainly stay busy.

Since January, many old friends(teaching)have had medical setbacks so I have been trying to keep up with the get-well stuff. Had lunch with the Sharon's two weeks ago and saw Karen in the store on Sunday. Old age sucks, but I won't let it get me if I can keep running faster than it does.

The Wearin' of the Green

2009-03-17T17:24:00.001-05:00

Hey, it's St. Patrick's Day everywhere! Green dye put in the fountains at the White House reminded its tenants of the Chicago River. Here, I spent most of the day playing with the Yudu which I demo on March 28. A beautiful day for the parade in Plymouth-near 70. I just started my corned beef and cabbage and will probably eat around 9 PM. I have about 6 knitting projects going right now so I should be able to waste time while everything cooks. Also have to get ready for tomorrow's crafting at religious ed. I'll check in later.

Catching Up

2009-01-29T15:23:00.007-06:00

Despite the fact that my hours at Michaels have been cut, I still manage to find myself too occupied or pre-occupied with other things to get to important stuff like blogs and cleaning. Finally finished putting away the Christmas decor, sort of. At least the tree has been removed and ornaments packed away. Still need to deal with the Santas on the mantel. Have spent lots of time knitting (socks) and possibly getting ready for teaching a class in 2-at-a-time socks at Magpie'sCottage(see favorite sites to get more information.) Including a photo of my Valentine socks made with Happy Feet yarn in a variegated red and purchased at Magpies. Yes, those are my pudgy feet. I am currently working on three more pair and enjoying my birthday present by winding lots of yarn into balls. Smoky enjoys it too as he tries to catch the turning arm of great grandma's swift. If he sits still long enough I'll try for a photo or short video of the ADHD kitty. Need to exit and put the just finished sheets on the bed. Work tomorrow so I need to turn in at a reasonable hour.

Two Days before Christmas

2008-12-23T20:02:00.005-06:00

Two days before Christmas and the snow keeps falling. In ways it adds a beauty to the landscape as my photos show but it is also dangerous as Charlene and Mark found out on Sunday. They were involved in a 14 car pileup on 43 that thankfully left them OK but totaled the van. Mark did need stitches in his forehead and the back of his head. The wind chill that day was -30 and the snow was creating white out conditions. The pileup was the headline news on every TV station for two days.

I'm waiting for the glue to dry on some Christmas gifts so I can add the final touches. I may include a blog about the final result if they turn out as I hope. I also finished my Christmas cards this morning and mailed those that needed it. Then I blew snow and did some shopping in Kiel.

Yesterday was my last day of work for this week so I am taking advantage of the time today and tomorrow to finish Christmas preparations. Certainly can't do much of anything else because Mother Nature continues to show she rules. I have a Christmas tree indoors covered in shiny glass ornaments and outdoors a tree usually protected from the elements is festooned in snow. The lamppost(probably a total of 7 to 8 feet)has has snow half way up, my measuring snowman shows the depth as 19 inches, and more is falling as I type.

Winter returns

2008-12-11T10:44:00.006-06:00

In the past week and a half winter has come back to remind me of last year. I am now looking at about 14 inches of snow (even out the drifts) in my yard. Using the snow blower has become a daily chore. The cats sit at the window and stare at the white. My outdoor Christmas decorations are buried or will never go out because I can't put them in. Oh, well--such is Mother Nature. I do live in WI after all. Looking forward to having some fun in the snow soon. I will post photos when we do.

Also working on my Christmas cards-computer made with some scrapping skills added. Trying to get my Christmas socks finished so I can wear them. Yesterday, the RE class and I walked over to Salvation Army and delivered the Warm Up blankets. I finished the green and yellow in time to add it to the Christmas theme created by the kids. Pictures failed because the camera got too cold during the walk and didn't warm up in time.

Also finished my Noro Silk Garden scarf -made it thinner and longer than pattern called for so I can loop it through when I wear it. Should be good and warm-here's a picture.

How to Waste a Massive Amount of Time

2008-12-04T16:51:00.004-06:00

As if this blog, Ravelry.com and just checking my e-mail wasn't enough to suck up my free time I now have a Facebook account. Nice thing is I get to keep in touch with the "adopted" nieces in Europe.

PS-the car is all beautiful although the hood is a Cavalier or Pontiac Sunbird -I'm not sure. It has changed the sculpture of my car but at least no more deer dents.

We have 14 inches of snow here and it's time to start whining about winter and planning all those fun snowshoe trips.

Mother Nature's Birthday Joke

2008-11-09T18:22:00.004-06:00

For seven years I have driven between Sheboygan and Kiel and vice versa. I saw lots of deer and avoided as many but tonight my number was up. I took out a large male as I traveled the double lane, or I should say he took me out. I saw the younger ones standing on the shoulder, slowed down, but I failed to look in the median strip where the largest came bounding out of the grass and into the right corner of my car. Mother Nature's way of saying Happy Birthday!? I really didn't want to be looking at new vechicles quite yet. Oh well-life is a gamble, and the young police officer was cute.

Redecorating

2008-10-30T16:45:00.004-05:00

Two days without working as well as bad weather so I took the time to finish the bathroom redo. I took down the dated wallpaper-avocado green and harvest gold stripes, painted, put in a new countertop(see last photo), made a new base for "medicine cabinet", cleaned and updated the shower door(that's the blurry picture), and rearranged the art. I was going to do a new floor-the tiles that come on backing but I decided to wait on that one. Only took about a month but did not work constantly. I have to leave time to knit. It looks pretty good. I'm going to add a small frame containing a scrap of the old wallpaper to remind me never to use wallpaper to decorate again. I've now had my fill of redecorating so the two rooms left with wallpaper will have to wait until next summer or not.

Boo to You

2008-10-23T13:35:00.005-05:00

Just finished the Halloween decorations on the outside. Not much new except the Obama-Biden pumpkin which will stay indoors but I do have signs outside. I wanted to get these on the blog before going to work. It was a beautiful day for doing outdoors things. Wish I could have spent the afternoon. Trick or Treat in Kiel on Sunday PM.

Cold is around the bend

2008-10-06T09:48:00.002-05:00

No picture, but I needed the opportunity to check in. Now that it's getting colder outside, I'll have more time to blog. Like the DPN Girl I too became involved in bathroom remodeling. Removing 20 year + wallpaper,painting, and replacing the countertop which necessitates plumbing as well. Also did the master bedroom earlier and rebuilt the swing so my summer was busy. Still need to finish bathroom woodwork and caulk the top etc.
Just finished 3 pair of socks. I'm knitting socks so I have some means of expressing my individuality in a work place that now demands uniformity ie-black polo shirts and khaki trousers, black or white athletic shoes. Add a black apron which doesn't stay in place, and I could be just another fast food worker instead of a master knitter who happens to work at Michaels. Also made some ghosts for hanging in the tree(maybe)or in the windows. They are made with glow-in-the-dark yarn. Check in later this week, and I'll have a picture. Also made a teeny one to wear as a pin. Do I dare wear it to work?
Bummer weekend-Brewers won on Saturday, lost on Sunday so they're out of the series, Badgers blew it against OSU (Amanda can't be happy), and the Packers gave one away to the Falcons. Maybe it was because I wasn't wearing my Packer socks?
Work this afternoon til 8. Stopping at Sheila's to help her with a knitting question.
The Hayons sent an invitation to a football party and it had sound. Smokie went ballistic over the sound. I have bites on my arms and legs because he attacked me instead of the computer. It was as if he were on drugs. The only other time I've seen him this bad was when Paulette brought Churchill for the Christmas break the first time. Maybe I'll play it again and try to take pictures-nah wouldn't be any good without the hissing and growling.

Summer Time

2008-08-17T22:00:00.001-05:00

It's seems like forever since I added to this blog. I certainly haven't kept it up to date but I have to share my latest challenge and triumph. That's me in the swing. The swing is about 30 years old-built by my father from odds and ends of old lumber-long grain pine in some instances. It had a home on the deck and I've had to paint and repair it several times since it was passed into my care. Two years ago, I thought it was done for and put it in the garage with pieces falling off. I spent this week dismantling, scraping, sanding, recreating the broken and rotten wood pieces, painting, and reassembling. I did it! See I'm going for a ride. Swinging on this kind of swing is about as relaxing as a rocking chair, and I could have stayed out for longer; the darkness brought the mosquitoes. Tomorrow it's swinging and knitting-yeah!

And Life Goes On

2008-04-20T17:46:00.000-05:00

This is what happens to buildings that go unused for long periods of time. This is where I finished elementary school. Good old SPC.(also known as St. Pete's or to be correct St. Peter Claver). Some time ago the decrease in enrollment caused the church fathers and mothers to unite with IC and St. Cyril, and create one school on the IC campus known as Christ Child Academy. It seems to be flourishing with children from three parishes. But our school, which was state of the art in 1957, stopped being used, and as the forces of nature took their toll the same church fathers and mothers made the decision to demolish it and replace it with a parish activity center and offices. This is one of the financial goals of Faith in our Future (see mention in earlier blog) On March 30, we had a de-commissioning of the school and opened the cornerstones from both this one and the first school built in the late 1880's. The latter was demolished to make room for the modern one and the playground/parking lot. When I saw that one go, I wasn't as nostalgic as I am now. This building I watched being built right alongside my 5th grade classroom in the older school. That building was really old.

In addition to former students, past instructors were invited and some of the nuns from the 50's and 60's returned. Sr. David who taught me in the 7th grade was one of them. We had a chat about education when she found out I had also taught.

Well, tomorrow the crane pulls what left of the building down. I hope they do it quickly because looking at the building as it is now is more unpleasant than if it were a pile of rubble. Of course, a number 1 concern was the great amount of asbestos used in the construction. This took a long time to remove.

Why pictures and waxing nostalgic about this old building? Well, I have felt a lot like this building in the past several weeks. I have experienced the scourge of kidney stones. Had two surgeries to remove them and a stent that had been placed during the first. There are more, and I can expect to go through this again. I hope not too soon. Don't know why this has occurred to me. But I do feel that it is mother Nature reminding me that growing old holds all sorts of hellish experiences. I tell other women that I had kidney stones and get little reaction, but men hear this, turn green and we bond as comrades in suffering.

Wow! The Rumor Mill Works Overtime

2008-03-17T15:58:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading the on-line chat through the Michaels' website. I was floored by the inconsistency in information and timing from store to store. Some found out in February, and classes were simply ended. I think that Michaels Corporation should have told the instructors and employees in February and also used the media to let customers know. I don't think the wild accusations and misunderstandings are going to be good for anyone. Face it, even if a store had lots of people taking classes, this was still taking away from store profits. I think that the instructors should accept a sales associate position and then make sure that they answer questions for their skills. I don't want Michaels to become another Hobby Lobby-you buy the stuff but don't expect anyone working there to give you help in using it. OK, there's always JoAnne's, but every JoAnne's doesn't offer classes and many employees are less knowledgable than HL. And then of course there's Walmart. This method Michaels is using reeks very much of Walmart. Maybe they're trying to be proactive. Keep their stores open before Walmart shuts them down. Don't kid yourself, America- Walmart will one day run everyone else out of the retail services world. Look at the economy people--it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Well enough ranting for a while. I'm going to return to adding the rest of my favorite CD's, LP's, and tapes to my iPod. Oh, I had this done once before. But in an effort to make everyone buy an iPhone, Apple upgraded the iTunes program and when I plugged into my iPod everything mysteriously(not what I had purchased from iTunes of course)disappeared. So I get to spend hours redoing this stuff. Oops! More ranting about corporate America-and Apple used to be so different.

I'm Back

2008-03-14T11:51:00.001-05:00

Not that I've been busy. Work has slowed down, and I've had time to do knitting (2 hats, 2 pair of socks) and housework. Cleaning mode began at work (ask a Michaels associate about the 5-Star Program) and just stays with me. Today, I want to clean up and straighten the spare room. Already did the office/laundry/craft room. Ditched lots of papers from and for classes. Oh, yes, that's right. Haven't been here since the news came down from corporate that Michaels will no longer be sponsoring classes, having b-day parties, Kids' Club, etc. Only thing remaining will be Wilton, demos, and free family events. That means I'm out of at least 1/2 a job. I have ambivalent feelings about this. On one hand, it takes away the opportunity to grow and share with other yarn people, but then, it also means I won't have to deal with running in for one student classes, worrying about calendar and syllabi, etc. At the cost of gasoline, jumped 20 cents a gallon this week (3.29), going into work has become expensive. Less work-less expense.

My real reason for avoiding the blog was the keyboard of my laptop. The left shift key had cracked in half and fallen off. I tried glue and double stick tape to no avail. Called Apple stores and was informed that Apple no longer makes parts for my iBook G3. So what to do? New computer-no way, this one works fine except for that blanking shift key. Answer-E-Bay. For $23.00 I now own a new keyboard. I just finished installing it on my laptop, and this entry is my test drive. Seems to be working fine so far. A very scary thing unplugging, removing battery, taking off old keyboard, and staring at the insides of your electronic technology. Then had to figure out how to disconnect the cabling and install new. I am proud of myself. My troubleshooting skills are still with me. Maybe I could get a parttime job fixing Macs. The thought had always run through my mind. I didn't think the new Macs were anything like the old but simplicity remains the keyword for Apple. I love my Mac-all of them. In the process, I also learned how I can add a Wi-Fi card to go wireless on the net. But before that happens I want to do some more streamlining of junk on my computer.

Weather report for those who have been reading my whiny blogs. The snow is slowly melting. Last 3-4 days we had temps above freezing-today at 9 AM it was already 47 degrees. So everyone seems to be feeling a little livelier as we see spring making a slow entry. Next week, another major storm is predicted but they aren't saying if it will be a rain or snow or combo event. Yippee!

So that's it. Next blog will include photos of snowshoeing at Peninsula State Park on March 1. The snowshoes are cleaned and packed away now for the season. I also need to relate the story of my being a "missing person" for about 8 hours. Ready to see the spring flowers show up through the snow and gardening to begin.

Enjoying WI Winter

2008-02-17T11:14:00.001-06:00

Today Sara and I(Paulette who has a bad cold stayed at my house) took some time to enjoy Mother Nature's winter beauty by snowshoeing at Maywood Environmental Park in Sheboygan-http://ww.gomaywood.org/. Enough said. Enjoy the photos. I'm off to take things out of the bedroom to prepare for wallpaper stripping and painting. Weather today is creating danger and havoc. First sleet and then more snow-at least 6 inches and winds. So staying indoors is the name of the game.

10 More Inches

2008-02-15T11:24:00.001-06:00

Normally when I would say this I'd be referring to something immense I was knitting. Today, you'd be wrong to think that. It's 10 more inches of the white stuff-the four letter word that I refuse to say or type. The little snowman measure stick doesn't accurately show the amount because the wind whips the "s" around it, and I didn't have it out there until earlier this week.

This time the plows left presents higher than the blower and I had to knock down the top with a shovel. Backbreaking work! Reminds me of the poem by John Greenleaf Whittier which I decided to peruse. Should you choose to do so here is the sight. I've never read the entire poem just portions of it in the American lit books. http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/whitt02.html

The part I thought about today when I looked out the kitchen window at the deck benches and planters was this one: "...The white drift piled the window-frame, And through the glass the clothes-line posts Looked in like tall and hseeted ghosts. The old familiar sights of ours Took marvellow shapes; strange domes and towers Rose up where sty or corn-crib stood, Or garden-wall, or belt of wood; A smooth white mound the brush-pile showed, A fenceless drift what once was road; The bridle-post an old man sat With loose-flung coat and high cocked hat; The well-curb had a Chinese roof; ..." Believe me waxing nostalgic is about the only thing that will get us through the rest of this winter as we will have another storm this weekend. And then there is spring and the melting of all this stuff and the likely floods to follow. JOY! JOY! JOY!

Great mitten class at Kohler Public Library on Wednesday evening. Good time just talking knitting.

Ravelry Gets Me

2008-02-12T10:31:00.001-06:00

Dpngirl and 5thAveknitter told me about a website that allows you to keep track of projects, stash, tools, and communicate with other yarn enthusiasts. It's called Ravelry, and you need to be invited to join. My problem, it's sucking up my time something awful. If you're reading this and interested in being sucked into the maelstrom, here is the site. Good luck! https://www.ravelry.com/account/login

The project above will be one of the first I picture on my Ravelry site. It's the heart scarf that I made using Sara's kindly-shared pattern and my own adaptions. I used Brilliant yarn- less than one skein, #5 needles- and when I thought it was long enough I connected the ends so it no longer is a scarf, but a necklace. I wore it yesterday for Crochet class and at the Faith meeting and received several comments and compliments. Didn't take me long to do-last Friday late morning to early PM. I'm also going to add a photo of manda's sweater to Ravelry. Paulette tells me that it takes some special finesse to publish the photos of projects so this could be a new learning experience as well.

Welcome to any of my new blog readers. I have been shared my website address with several people.

OK, weather report. It's snowing today! Yeah! Something new! I decided that complaining doesn't change the weather so I'm going to embrace it and cheer it on. Maybe that will appease Mother Nature and bring spring or at least an end to the cycle of storms and cold.

A New Week

2008-02-10T18:05:00.000-06:00

As promised the cold weather came, -9 at 8 this morning. Wind was awful all night. Will have to shovel the drift tomorrow morning before putting out 'big blue.' The cold weather made me think of the Warm Up blankets that we've made for the Sheboygan Salvation Army shelter. I hope their being put to good use. If anyone is interested there is a website for Warm Up with patterns and other information http://www.warmupamerica.org/home.html.

Finished and e-filed my taxes. That's a load of stuff that I don't have to worry about remembering. Did other financial things-balancing checkbook and paying bills and it's now 6 PM. I didn't do much else today but finish the Sunday crossword. Today I used the internet to find three answers. It was a tricky puzzle with directional arrows being used in place of words. Once I understood that part the puzzle was relatively easy.

Spent some time on phone with JoAnne. I am down to two aunts now-one on each side of the family. Carol on paternal; Lily on maternal. Want to call Charlene now and find out about plant or whatever for funeral which will probably be Wednesday. Report later.

Searched for shawl pattern on line-yech to all the patterns. Will need to find one in my collection.

That's it for today-tomorrow is my first "Faith in the Future" meeting. ????

Random Thoughts on a Cold Weekend

2008-02-09T20:45:00.000-06:00

62 1/2" of snow have been recorded in my home town since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when we had the first. I drove home in that one at 12:30AM, so it will stay in my brain forever. Didn't report on the big blast of the past Wednesday because it seems to have been reported on every where else. I blew snow once on Wednesday-we had a momentary break before the blizzard blew until early Thursday. I couldn't believe the amount of snow in the driveway entry on Thursday morning. Snow gave us a break on Friday, but today I arose to find the white stuff had fallen once again, and I moved 3 inches of snow from one pile to another. This is the new problem-where to put the new stuff that comes down. I can't see over the piles along the curb; my mailbox will soon be invisible. I've given up on seeing my deck until July, because it's going to take that long for the biggest snowpiles to melt. The real annoyance is that on the west side of Lake Winnebago the great blizzard never happened. The knitting group carried on as usual, and the snowshoers could get out to enjoy the sport. Oh, and tonight, the temperature is falling to single digits, and wind chills will be in the -45 region tomorrow. Spring, where are you?

I did a lot of cleaning last week during the time off. First the range-totally dismantled and scrubbed and soaked so that the cats will have a clean perch from which to greet me. Then I cleaned out the 'frig. It was making awful sounds when it would "run"-Paulette said it shook the floor. I found the reason for it's thunderous behavior. A giant chunk of insulation was wrapped around the fan. I removed it, and the roar has been reduced to a purr. Don't know how the insulation came to be wrapped around the fan, but it was from some other part of the 'frig. Today I cleaned the bedrooms and tomorrow I want to sew and search for shawl patterns for Monday's class.

Valentine's Day is Thursday. I have to thank Sara for sending me her pattern for the heart scarf. I made it on Friday and plan to wear my version on Thursday when I work 4-9:30. I also found a pattern for small hearts-to be felted. Would make neat pins. Here is the site-http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/heartfelt/heartfelt.html

Seeing as I just taught myself a new skill in this blogging stuff-adding a link- here's another especially for Sue and her friends in CA who are working with the Knifty Knitter loom. Here's a website that provides you with directions and patterns for your looms. Good luck! http://www.provocraft.com/products.php?cl=knifty%20knitter

Sara also found an LYS in Manitowoc. This will give me something to check out on a slow day. This side of the lake doesn't have too many LYS's. I have to travel at least 20 or more miles to visit one, which is not a good thing for someone addicted to yarn.

I cannot close this entry without referring to the entry from mandakay. Lollie is a very nice dog. I have met her. She's young and full of energy. I liked her a lot, and I am working on a red sweater for her. Maybe that will make her happy. As to the grammar part, I ignore the writing style as it seems to be the thing for those who are young and busy. I'm sorry that I can't stop hitting shift keys and worrying about commas and semi-colons, because I have a left shift key that is cracked and hanging on by a hope and prayer. I never realized until now that the left shift is used more that the right shift. I'll keep on making these blogs grammatically correct because I was an English teacher.

~mandakay and miss lollie

2008-02-05T22:03:00.000-06:00

thought i would say hello to anyone who does not know me. i am amanda, cheryl's niece, and despite the fact that my aunt taught english for a long period of time, i do not often capitalize and tend to leave out minor punctuation. apologies in advance. thought i should also introduce my mutt, lollie. she has a blog too, though due to a recent vacation, paw injury, ear infection, and dog flu she has been unable to update it much. lollie is what we refer to as a high maintenance dog. she is one of the reasons i don't knit as much as i would like to. but the biggest reason is my graduate student status. there is no time in my life of paper writing (where i do capitalize and punctuate). right now i am working on a prayer shawl for my best friend who lost her father in november. i'm finding it to be very therapeutic for me also, especially when i knit at the end of a very busy day. i have many other projects that have been started and never finished. they are all scarves and blankets, because i don't know how to knit things that require more than knitting in a straight line. some day i'll learn. some day...

i'll leave you with a picture of the beast, looking crabby without reason. its her 11 month birthday today. she's still as crazy as she was the day we got her six months ago!

ps, what is all this snow? in columbus (OH) it will be 52 tomorrow. right now its 55 and stormy. don't you just love spring?

The other cat-ADHD variety

2008-02-05T14:01:00.000-06:00

"Hi, there. I'm Smokie. That pink thing is one of my favorite toys which right now is probably under the stove or china cabinet. I don't remember because Mom says I have ADHD--cat version. But I am a "mama's boy" so she loves me anyway because I snuggle really good even if I can't remember; except of course, when I want to. She'll find my toy when she cleans and give it back to me-she always does. I know how to work the latch handles on the door knobs. My favorite door to open is the one to the garage. Best time to open it is when it's really cold outside. Then Mom gets upset with me, but it's the only way I can think of to get her to put down the sticks and string and feed me. I'm working on the door to the basement because I really like it down there. I've spent entire nights down there because I sneak past Mom when she opens the door. She doesn't know or else she just forgets. I think she forgets because she has senior moments--she says. Max is my brother(adopted too) cat, and I like him too. He tries to get me to stop wrestling with him but sometimes we do it together when we want Mom to pay attention. Even though Mom thinks I'm ADHD, all my skills prove I'm just Smokie. Oh, I can also work a 'puter as you can see."

Now, it's my turn. I chased him off my chair so I could finish this entry. I've called him far worse than ADHD cat, but I won't put it on the 'net' because it's not very nice. Yes, he is lovable, but he has more than his share of naughty times. Like Max, Smokie is a Humane Society adoptee, and I love them both.

Two days off--guess what I did! Blew snow twice on Monday, and today I removed the two inches of ice from the last two wet snowfalls. The city still hasn't plowed so I don't know why I'm doing this except I don't want to slide down the drive on my bun. I've done that before, and it's very painful. I finished Mandy's sweater, and I was going to add a picture here but now that she reads the blog I'll have to hold off until she gets it. I just washed and blocked it. It's drying on my neat five tier drying rack with the fan behind it. Best invention in the world for a knitter.

Thanks, Sara for the patterns. Now that the sweater is done I'm going to do the beaded scarf and Lollie's coat. Need to finish the laundry and later run to the store. I'm going to be at work tomorrow from 9 AM to 7:30PM-I have a two person knitting class.

So I'm not the only "yarnjunkie" on blog.spot.

It's a few hours later, and I've watched the weather. Already called in and cancelled work tomorrow, and my knitting class. We're under a winter storm warning from this evening until 3PM tomorrow. Snow amounts predicted are 9-14" Some places along the lakeshore could get 20 inches. OK, Mother Nature I'm screaming "Uncle." I guess the groundhog thing didn't work. Oh, that's right today is also Fat Tuesday-Happy Mardi Gras-as well as Super Tuesday-yawn, we've been listening to this political stuff far too long. I'm worn out but hope that Obama gets a lot of delegates.

A Chat with Mother Nature

2008-02-02T11:14:00.001-06:00

OK, everybody who lives across the Midwest and Northeast, raise your hand if you are getting tired of Mother Nature's temper tantrums. I have no idea what may have set her off, but she definitely needs some love and attention so that our lives can revolve around something other than moving snow from one pile to another. I raise both my hands and shout "Enough already. Let's have some fun in the snow that's here." This winter season, I have bonded with the two objects pictured like never before. Morning and night I think of these objects much the way I regard my knitting needles and crochet hooks. Now I do like snow-occasionally and in moderate amounts and preferably the light fluffy stuff-all good for snowshoeing. We now have a base of about 22" around here, and that should be enough for most of the popular winter sports. Oh, and if you think I have something wrong with the camera in the lower photo, you would be wrong. That's more of the wonderful white stuff falling as I cleared away the stuff from yesterday that fell overnight. I didn't have time to remove it then, because I had to be at Immanuel Elementary School by 8:30 AM to craft until noon.

It was the school's Winterim--a break from regular classes and a chance to do fun things. I brought materials from Michaels, and the kids made "grass heads." Don't get any bad ideas about this-it's a Lutheran-based grade school. This was "lawn" grass. First, they decorated ivy bowls; then filled the toe of a nylon with grass seed and soil. We tied that shut, and the crafters then added details to the "head". Add water to the ivy bowl, plunk the "potato" looking thing onto the top, and the water seeps up and the grass seed grows. A crafter's version of a chia pet.

I worked with three age groups-the first through 4th graders, then the preschool through kindergarten, and then 5th through 8th grade. We made 51 grass heads. Now Mother Nature doesn't that make you happy to know that 51 youngsters will appreciate something green and growing?

Well, this should end. I have things to do before I leave for Sheboygan where I will craft jewelry with 5 year olds and then go to a birthday party for Tim. All the while wondering if the driving will be another challenge from Mother Nature.

And one additional bit-Monday and Tuesday, the meteorologists are predicting another monster storm. Fortunately, I don't have to work but I will have another chance to spend time with the shovel and snowblower.

Have you hugged your yarn today?

2008-01-30T10:18:00.000-06:00

This is Max, the mellowest cat I know. He lives with me and a cat named Smokey. Max is definitely in charge without being tyrannical. No crisis seems to shake him. He goes about his daily business as he sees fit, and tough if you don't like it, because he doesn't care. He's the "Fonz" of cats. Notice how moved he is about having a full skein of 100% wool yarn plunked down in front of him. Now that's cool.

He came to me by adoption from the Humane Society as an almost adult. He loves the outdoors and is happy to spend time there on a leash. He learned leash etiquette from his cousin Dixie, the cocker spaniel. If he could get me to put the leash on now, he'd go outdoors into a foot of snow and just sit there. The strangers who enter his home(repair persons mostly) exclaim at his large size. He's certainly no kitten, but if you're going to be named Max you'd better be prepared to live up to it, and he does. His only flaw is his white silky hair which floats everywhere. Sometimes it ends up in the projects I work on. Oh, and did I mention-he has a tail light. You can just see it in the photo if you follow his rump back. At the tip of his gray striped tail lives a patch of white which shines in the dark. He's "a honey for the money" as Tom L. used to say.

Right now, he's asking a question that should be on every "yarnjunkie's" mind. "Have you hugged your yarn today?" The same photo is my computer 'wallpaper.'

How do the cats deal with all this yarn? For the most part they ignore Mom's sticks and string until I do something startling, or the yarn is just too too much to ignore. One or the other or both will spend time on my lap--sleeping on the string--but are pretty much overcome by the amount of it around. Next time a profile of Smokey.

It's the next day after I began this entry and we had a night of gusty winds. White out conditions in many places caused roads to be closed last night. Oh winter in WI-let it snow, blow, rain, hail and sleet-and tomorrow it will be 52 and balmy. Right now, the area is under a wind chill warning. The temp was -11 when I arose at 6:45 today. Schools all along the lakeshore are closed because of the -45 to -50 wind chills. I'm going to brave driving in to work. Sounds like a lot of people have called in because the kids are off so I'm going to hit the road.

Just added a bit to my description for the Technical Staff Day workshop: calling it Fearless Knitting and opening it mostly to problems, questions, etc for people who already know how to knit. I think it will be fun if people sign up for the class.

Why Yarnjunkie?

2008-01-29T15:06:00.000-06:00

This picture explains the name of this blog. This is my basement "Wall 'o' Yarn." Some of the yarn has been in my possession for 10-15 years or more. Besides the "Wall", I have the newest, really valuable "I'm going to use this next"yarn upstairs. I guess because I both knit and crochet, my "Wall" makes sense.

Waiting for winter's next blast of sleet, cold, snow, and/or wind. It rained just a while ago, and the temperature dropped from a balmy 39 to 28 and falling. It is now 4:30, and the first blast of ice pellets is hitting the windows. Later, high winds are supposed to whip up with about 2 inches of snow to blow around. Glad I'm not working today, because I'd have to drive home in the mess which this is going to produce. Ah, winter in WI.

I have about 5 inches or so left to do on Amanda's sleeves, and then the sweater is finished. Next is Lollie's sweater-still waiting to hear which one she likes.

Bummed by my taxes. I get big bucks back from the state, but I owe the feds over $300. That's because there's no withholding on SSA. I'm going to have to see if I can get money withheld either at Michaels or the SSA, or I'll just become a pauper so I don't have to pay taxes on SSA. I've never had to pay taxes before, and to think that G.W. is in charge of this government really curls my toes. I suppose if he gets his rebate we'll owe taxes on that as well. Guess it's true that the only sure things are death and taxes.

Speaking of government, Hilary had two major set backs in the past week. First, she lost to Obama in South Carolina. I don't think Bill was a lot of help for her there. Then, yesterday, the Kennedy dynasty announced that they are backing Obama. Considering that the Kennedy's are like the Clintons' idols, that's pretty serious. Even worse though, the guy I like-John Edwards- came in third in his home state's primary. Guess I better start looking at someone else because I don't think he'll make it to the Wisconsin primary.

I have gone through my collection of printed e-patterns and put them in folders by site. They are no longer all over the "crap" room. I'll explain this one in a later blog.

Saw Karen H. yesterday in the store and got the low-down on why Aurora pulled out of WPS. Sounds to me like they want to start their own insurance company. Have to talk over this one with Paulette.

Well, it's time to do some cleaning and laundry or take a nap.

DPN Girl Watch Out

2008-01-27T15:21:00.000-06:00

I need to thank you for showing me how to do more things on the blog. I was surfing until midnight after you left. Not really. Found some good patterns from Knitting Daily and several other sites that e-mail me. Actually, I had to go through them because my hard drive was full, and I could not install the security update. I spend some time cleaning up my hard drive and saving to some jump drives. I think I'll need to invest in one of those external hard drives that can be carried around or get a new computer-ugh!

I also did some creative work on the blog. I chose the Harbor template because it reminds me of Sheboygan's harbor. I added me on the Florida beach in the title, and I think the results are pretty good. This is just too much fun. It could be addicting. I finished the Sunday crossword before I came back to the computer. That's always my Sunday challenge. It's been more than a month since I was stumped and couldn't finish.

My real reason for coming back to this so soon was to add a photo that relates back to one of my summer blogs. I knit a sweater and blanket for Judene's newest grandson, and Judene, the camera fiend, took a picture of me holding Collin James with the blanket and sweater. He started crying the minute the blanket was removed so I held him for some time.

I am now closing this entry so that I can get some of the work done I didn't do last night.

Winter Sports

2008-01-26T16:57:00.000-06:00

OK, so it's been months since I added anything to this blog. Sorry, life interfered. Too many work hours leading up to the holidays and too much to do to get ready for the holidays. So that's my excuse. In addition, WI has been having a "wonderful" winter-snow, snow, snow, snow and then cold, cold and more cold.
The early snow began on the evening before Thanksgiving. I actually worked until 12:30 AM on Thanksgiving Day to ready the sale for Black Friday. I drove home in snow that covered the roads making it impossible to see where the road was. Arrived home about 1:15 AM and spent 10 minutes playing car musical chairs, and of course, woke Paulette up in the process. Since that night I have driven home-23 miles-in snow storms at least once per week. Oh, and when it wasn't snowing, it was incredibly foggy or bitterly cold.
The bad part about the early snow was that it had a lot of water in it which made it less than ideal for any winter frolic. But, this week, we've had two snow falls that produced the light, fluffy stuff, and the snowshoes came out of the basement and unto the boots. We-Sara, Paulette, and I -spent an hour or more at Walla Hi County Park enjoying the snow-http://www.manitowoc.org/parkandrec/Afterwards, I wanted copies of the photos Sara took and we got involved on the computer. Sara decided to share some sights with me including her blog. I felt bad about not having added to mine, and so here I am.
I have done a lot of knitting over these months. Baby hats for the Guild, dorm socks for Nick and Leslie(still haven't made any for myself), new samples for classes, a bamboo baby sweater(3 skeins)for end cap display, 5 hats for the men as Christmas presents, pink ribbon socks for JoAnne's birthday, felted mittens with bead snowflakes, odds and ends like ornament covers, dishcloths, and now I'm deeply into finishing a birthday gift for Amanda. Next comes a sweater for Lollie.

Socks almost done

2007-07-31T11:15:00.000-05:00

The DPNgirl's newest pair of socks, the Tidal Wave socks (free pattern on SWTC website) knitted in TOFUtsies yarn are almost done. I have one finished and I am up to the instep on the second one. It won't be long now until I am knitting the pockets I want to add to my felted purse aka the Yarn Pig (the lack of pockets is driving me nuts) and then on to the Print o' the Wave stole. Will post a picture of the socks when they are done. Perhaps I should knit a little curly tail for the Yarn Pig. Hee hee.

DPN girl says hello

2007-07-27T14:34:00.001-05:00

Cheryl, thanks for inviting me to post on this blog!

I will have to see if I can post pictures to it. Let me try with something I already have on my computer. Apparently, it works! This is me and Margaret knitting at Starbucks at our Wednesday night knitting group.

Oh joy, now I can show everyone what I am working on.

Another Day Off

2007-07-20T09:44:00.000-05:00

Three days this week I get to visit this site. I think I'm getting the hang of things now. Just exactly what does "blog" stand for. Bio log is my guess. I'll have to give info to Sara and Paulette so they can visit also. I'm about to head outdoors and garden. It's a beautiful day-no humidity--so working outdoors will be a treat.
Finished the dorm socks for Nick-big feet. I want to make a pair for Leslie and then send both to Nick. Then I have to make Amanda's, and just in time for the cold weather I should get around to mine.
Just read about something called a blocking board. I guess there isn't much by way of gadgets that the retailers haven't come up with to lure the knitters of the world. I'm also working on the blankie for Judene's grandson. Sue's shawl is about half finished so I certainly have enough to knit. None of the items are very challenging though, and I need to find either new yarn or a challenging pattern to bend my mind. New yarn and projects for my classes should happen as soon as the yarn plano is set. I'm hoping I get to work on that.
My left hand shift key is driving me nuts. I thought I had it fixed, but it seems to be getting worse as I use it. I never realized how much the left hand key is used over the right. I am not going to give up on it, because I don't want to get a new computer. I like this Mac. I found a sock pattern that has an Apple logo on them and think I'm going to make them.
Well off to the yard. Next posting may be next Wednesday as it's my next day off. I'm not going to blog on weekends.

Another Day Off

2007-07-18T13:21:00.000-05:00

Because of low numbers, I'm off another day this week. That means I'll only work 2 days-truck days. I don't mind because I'm really tired, and this gives me a chance to do some other things-like the lawn which is growing tall enough to be considered a prairie.
I finished the anklets made with Fixation and really like the way they turned out. Now I go back to working on dorm socks, that is after I do some gardening. New yarn is stacking up in the stockroom, and I'm itching to be able to try some. Just finished my lessons for August crochet classes. In September I guess I'll have to go back to both each month. I want to try the new method of working on the circle loom too so I can add that to the classes.
The hummingbird has returned. I saw him at the mini-feeder yesterday.
Sidewalk sale at The Knitting Room this Saturday.

After the Wedding

2007-07-16T12:57:00.000-05:00

It's rainy today so I'm teaching myself new things on the computer and surfing for patterns. I decided to find out about this blogging stuff and so here I am. I'm not sure how long I'll keep this up but if it proves to be good I'll share with friends and students.
Yesterday I came back to knitting after immersing myself in wedding related crafts for my neice's wedding and injuring myself doing them. The injury involved stitches on the left hand ring finger so knitting and crocheting became difficult while the cut healed. I did knit some lace for a special garter - featured the Chicago Cubs for her new husband.
Well yesterday I pulled out the acrylic to finish another pair of dorm socks-this pair for Nick in Woodsy ombre. I have Amanda's to do and of course my own. I like knitting these on two circular needles and I do both socks at once so when I finish-I'm finished. I also have two UFO's-Sue's prayer shawl and my lace shawl. I also want to make the sport socks in Fixation and the baby sweater. So there's the plan for the next week or so.