Monday, July 25, 2011

If the Sock Fits.....

I had a good first night back at work.
I am very blessed to have such a good job.
Do I love it?  Probably not,  but there is a lot to be said for job security,  a decent pay check, and a whole bunch of flexibility.

Sometimes, in the wee hours, I am even able to get a little bit of knitting done.
I prefer smaller projects, like socks, because if anyone happened to come into the room unannounced , I could stick it in my mouth and swallow it.......

I did not have any knitting with me last night because I am in the midst of a Sock Crisis.  I chose to read about baking bread instead,  in preparation of the new appliances that will arrive on Thursday.

To-Do for Today:
- get up
- make tea
- make myself look at the socks, that I have almost finished, but have to take apart and start over....from the very, very beginning.
- get ready for work, pack lunch.
- go to work and see what happens.


This is my sock knitting bag.  I take it to work to conceal my evil habit in the work place.
 It is very pretty, something Zsa Zsa Gabor would carry her sock knitting project around in.

Here is the crisis.....


I bought this yarn in Cannon Beach, Oregon.
It is beautiful hand-dyed wool.
The Boyfriend was very good about being dragged around into yarn shops, as I recall.  A tell-tale sign of a good man.
Then.....something, I am sure every knitter has done at one point......I started knitting without planning and measuring properly.
I remember the words in my head.....
This is working up beautifully!
This pattern is perfect for this yarn.
Maybe it's a little tight around the ankle.......hmmm.....should I start over with slightly larger needles?
Naw...it will stretch...it'll be fine...so fun to knit!

Around this point I try sock #1 on....a little tight...not much stretch....kinda......uncomfortable.
Maybe if I start the second sock.....that will make it all better.....
The knitting Gods will surely inter-vein when I get the heels done.....
I must know someone with very skinny feet...

So tonight I go back to work with my Zsa Zsa bag and hopefully take out two....not one....two, almost completed socks.  Have to.  Can't start anything new with this sock stupidity hanging over my head.
 People laughing at me as I walk down the hall....they know my secret....
Must ....correct....it.......Jim.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Gone Fishing

 So, 19 days have gone by quickly and tonight I go back to work.
You know you have had an adequate break when you actually , sorta, kinda, feel like getting back into the routine.
What did I do with all this time off, you ask?
Not much, I answer.  That's okay.
Since the last post I watched some mindless television.

The Bachelorette!  What's that about?  How could any self respecting woman or man submit themselves to such foolishness?  I actually catch myself talking at the t.v. and feel embarrassed for poor Ashley as she finds herself "falling for" EVERY GUY SHE SPENDS AN HOUR WITH!!  Geeeez. Then I feel even more embarrassed for  myself, not only because I spent 2 hours watching but because I made a conscious effort to record it! Ughh.

Hoarders, my all time favorite.  Yes, I record this one also, but I save the recordings until I  find myself in a mood where I am feeling a bit blue or inadequate. Somehow watching people scale a mountain of 80's glitter sweaters and Beany Babies makes me feel better about myself.  I am a deeply flawed human being.  Smirk.

If I'm feeling extravagantly bored, like a child from a wealthy family that is given an expense account and has nothing required of them....I watch Wipeout.  Yesssss!  Wipeout!  After watching a few episodes of this silliness I find one becomes desensitized from seeing people being flung into the water by giant, padded, rotating arms and sliding off of big red balls while having paint and dead fish thrown at them. Hard to believe, I know.  The thing I don't get tired of is the nicknames people on the show are given like:  The Circus Freak,  Naked Stevie, Headband Dan and Jon and his Beard.

I like to name things too.  The Boyfriend and I have names for all kinds of things like his Gumboots and my weeding tool,

 
                                                                                                                     
                                               A.k.a.  his "Willie Picktons" and my " Barbie Tool"
He has a pair of shoes we call  "the Lindsays" because they look like something Lindsay Buckingham would wear in California.......

So you see,  I didn't get a whole lot accomplished on my vacation.  It was nice, like being off for summer after grade 4.  Just plod around in bare feet and hope to find some friends to play with.

I did get the spare bedroom, almost finished and will have a picture when it is done....

I got my hair cut.....short....no more hair-doodles, a.k.a. elastics, because if there is the slightest hope of a ponytail, I will make one, and the Boyfriend will tell me I look like cleaning staff in a 2 star motel.

I didn't take a picture in to the stylist but told her I wanted something fun, a little messy, easy, and maybe a bit Meg Ryanesque.


She did a great job.  I went out and bought a shwack of new cosmetics after.  Always a good thing.
This morning however, I got up looking more like,


                                                                     Edith Bunker.

That's okay too.
Now if I could just remember where I put my brain.

Monday, July 11, 2011

The Old Admiral

Today is my 6th day off.
I got up at 7:30 am.....wow!

We had a wonderful weekend starting Friday morning with a beautiful drive up the Hope/ Princeton highway to Penticton.  We listened to the Eagles, Stones, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac and a smattering of Supertramp which lasted all the way there.  The scenery, as always, was spectacular.

We were treated to dinner, for my birthday at a very nice Greek restaurant completed by a birthday cake!
This was followed by a fun visit at Rusty and Edith's house where we all snickered at the non-stop banter between Rusty and the boyfriend. They are so much alike it is comical.  At one point the boyfriend confesses that at times during his boyhood he thought he may have been adopted.  Edith and I burst out laughing, because the mannerisms and the vocal volume are so similar there is absolutely no question that he is his father's son.  No DNA test required.

The conversations continued over the weekend , everything from how to gut a moose to the best time to catch lake trout.  How to eliminate spam to swollen ankles.  Rusty checked all of our blood sugar with his meter.....we were all good.

The Boyfriend bought me a beautiful pair of Birthday shoes.



As always Rusty cooked brunch for us on Sunday before we left, waffles and bacon and sausages.  Then the long drive home, more Eagles some Van Morrison and the entire Abbey Road album front to back.

Last Week on my Birthday I did something really, really , nice for myself.
I went to Sears.
I found a sales person named Paulette.
We wheeled and dealed.
I bought new appliances.

This means that I can finally say good-bye to the Old Admiral, my 20 year old stove that is missing an element  and requires one of my deceased husband's canes to keep the oven door closed.


Yes, it has been like this for a long time.
Yes, it is embarrassing to have friends over and have them see me hip-check the door and prop the cane under the handle to keep it closed.
Yes, I know this has added a small fortune to my hydro bills over the years.
No I did not take the calls from Martha .....I will call her back after I bake my first loaf of bread.  She's impossible and wouldn't understand.

The fridge is going as well.
It is noisy and is unable to make ice cubes.  It can only make one giant ice cube at a time.
I'm a big girl.
I deserve big girl appliances.

Taa-daaa!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

One More Sleep

I have one more night of work followed by one more sleep and then I am on vacation for 19, count 'em, 19 days!

I can't wait.  Sooooo many things to do.  I planned this wonderful time off to begin on my birthday.  I have a couple days to straighten up some loose ends and then the fun begins with a road trip to the Okanagan.  The boyfriend and I will be visiting with Rusty and Edith for a couple of days.

This is a kind of experiment as well.  It is so seldom that anyone gets a stretch of time off like this that I am curious what can be accomplished when there is no break in the momentum.

I am going to try to get myself back onto a daytime schedule.  I want to see if it possible to become a "morning person."

I am going to eat at normal times and sleep when it is dark out......really.

I am going to get way more exercise and and hopefully be out of my fat girl jeans in a week or so.

Wish me luck!  Stay in touch.  This is gonna be fun.