The tape measure LIES!!!

Yes everyone, it's no longer just the bathroom scale that is a lying, cheating you-know-what. The previously trustworthy tape measure has now been delegated to "the boy who cried wolf" status.

Now before you all go commenting about how tape measures can stretch over time, and should be replaced periodically... this is a FOUR INCH DIFFERENCE!!! In less than an hour! Here is what I wrote on the project notes for my While Shrug earlier today:

Well I’ve discovered that my measuring tape LIES!!! I’ve mainly been working on this when I can’t work on socks… Knit Night, travelling back and forth to the airport, things like that. I had measured it a few days ago and had placed a marker at the 40” mark, since I wasn’t quite a 50” yet, and I knew I had to get to 57” before doing the ribbing for the cuff. Yesterday evening, we drove into the city since Derek had a very early flight this morning. I took advantage of the time and got quite a bit done on the shrug… or so I thought! Measuring on my lap, in the truck, my work was 17” from the marker. When we got to the hotel, one of the first things I did was roll it all out to get a proper measurement. Derek and I checked it, and it was only 53”!!! I have no idea how it shrank that much, since I was knitting away for well over an hour of our drive in on it! I placed new markers at 50”, and hopefully the last bit will be done over the next few days or so! 

See what I mean? It lies... it totally, and completely lied to me! At least it won't take all that long to finish it up. I've got my fingers crossed that this will be done before Derek gets back home again in 2 weeks. I like having FOs to show him, so that he knows I'm actually finishing things, not just starting them! Besides, I'm enjoying watching my knitmeters increase over there on the sidebar.


Nicole =o)

The best part of slow shipping...

... is that you forget what you ordered, so when it arrives it's all a surprise!!!

That happened to me today. I placed an order with Herrschners back on the 29th. I had been waiting for a free shipping offer to place my order for the yarn to finish Derek's Popcorn MAM. That morning I got an email from them announcing a 29% off sale for that day only to celebrate the leap year. I knew that the discount would more than take care of the shipping costs, so off to their web site I went to place my order.

One item was a given... the yarn I needed for Derek's afghan. Pretty much everything else was optional, so I began the process of putting things in and taking things out of my cart while I made my final decisions for my purchase. I chose two different crocheted sock monkey kits; one was a pair of mint candy-striped regular-sized dolls; the other was a set of 6 ornament-sized dolls. I also ordered an embroidered pillowcase and thread kit to make for Derek's room out at the mines. These had been in my wish list/ shopping cart for some time, and I had planned on adding these to the next order I placed. The rest of what I wanted to order went in and out of my cart so frequently, that I couldn't remember what all there was.

Today Derek made the trip to our post office at lunch time and came back with a notice card. He asked me if I had ordered anything. I told him, "yes, I told you I ordered the yarn to finish your afghan, remember?" After the lunch break, he went back to pick up my parcel. When he came through the door, he teased that he nearly needed a fork lift to bring it home (referring to a joke I made with my daughters about a very heavy Knit Picks order I had placed with many books). When I saw the size of the box, even I was astonished at how large it was. He asked me what I ordered again... your yarn, and a few other things... He accused me, rightly so, of forgetting what I ordered. I had to agree, but I really didn't think I had ordered THAT much!! At least not enough to fill that box.

Well, after taking the required photos with my phone to send off to my bff, I opened the box and dived in. It turns out that the box wasn't completely outrageous in size after all. Derek giggled at my reactions as I pulled item after item out of the carton. Of course there was the items I had remembered (or at least half remembered), but the fun part was the items I had completely forgotten about! There was a latch hook kit of a breast cancer ribbon (no explanation necessary to him on that at all!). There was a huge project bag filled with yarn, that I remembered was a crocheted afghan kit. The final item that had both of us puzzled was a plain white box. It wasn't until I began opening that I remembered... it was a crochet thread ball holder! Derek just shook his head and laughed at me.

In all honesty, the only thing I really needed to justify in any way, shape or form, was the afghan kit. It was the only thing in the order that was completely extravagant as far as I was concerned. The 4 balls of yarn were to be able to finish his afghan in the colours he wanted. The pillowcases were meant to be a surprise for him, as a piece of home in his room at the mine. The sock monkey kits were cute, he knows I can get them finished fast, and were mostly intended for one of the teenagers. The latch hook was simply because it was a pink ribbon item, and even if it's never made, he would never complain about my buying it. The thread holder is to make using my large balls of crochet thread easier, something that I have in vast abundance after cataloguing my stash previously. That leaves us with the afghan kit... I purchased it because I really liked it, knew it would be a relatively fast and easy project, and came with a pattern booklet with 3 other patterns. I justified the cost by showing him the savings on the invoice, and how it nearly covered the cost of the kit.

All that being said, I really am blessed. I don't need to justify any of it to him at all. He just likes seeing me happy, and knows how my crafting makes me happy. As long as our bills are paid, there's food in the fridge and cupboard, the kids have clothes, there's gas in the truck; it doesn't matter all that much to him where I spend the rest. I guess my biggest obstacle is me! It just kills me that I'm trying to knit and crochet through more than what I buy this year, and that afghan kit alone is just shy of 6000 (yes, SIX THOUSAND) yards!!!

I wonder if my rocket stick is ready??

My main internet access is using a mobile rocket stick for my laptop. About two weeks ago, it died on me and I'd only had it for around three months at that point. Now I know I'm an internet addict, but that's just ridiculous for "wearing it out". I spent a good hour or more on the phone with the customer service/ help department before it was finally decided that I needed to go into town to have my stick sent in on warranty repair.

Now first of all, this all happened the same day as last time I dropped off Derek at the airport. The (normally) three hour drive was extended by less-than-ideal highway driving conditions due to the weather. Plus, I had spent an extra hour or two in town doing some shopping to try and find him a unique luggage tag. I arrived home and was playing along happily when suddenly pages stopped loading. This happens occasionally, and all I do is just disconnect and then reconnect the stick. Even this didn't work, so I tried rebooting, and that didn't fix it either. My next step is to contact the guy that sold it to me, who tells me to call 1-888-ROGERS1 for the customer care department. My next message to him is, "What is that in numbers?" I have a BlackBerry, and there's no letters on the numbers! LOL!! While on the phone with them, I go through my rebooting process again, changing settings in the connection, uninstalling and reinstalling the software... no luck. After finding out that this software is supposed to be compatible with my snail-driven dinosaur in the craft room, I head over there, and once again try hooking up... still no luck. That's when I'm told that I have to take it to the Rogers dealer and have them send it in. I contact my dealer again, and find out that he can't deal with it, that I have to take it to the corporate kiosk... which of course I have no idea where it's located! So after already being stuck in the truck driving for about 8 hours that day, I hop in and dash off to town. Of course it takes forever and three days to get all the paperwork done to send my little stick off, and issue me a temporary loaner. But all is now good in the world again because I "haz interwebs agin".

We shall now fast forward in this story to Monday afternoon. I get a phone call from the dealer to let me know that my stick is back and ready for pick-up. I politely say "thank you", and hang up. I wasn't worried about going to pick it up right away since I already had plans to run some errands in town the next morning. About an hour later, I'm sitting on the couch happily knitting away on my KP-IDP sock and watching LOTR: The Two Towers on Blu-Ray. My laptop is in its usual spot on the coffee table, screen black from being in sleep mode. I hear a bird chirping noise come from it, and am slightly puzzled since I am off-line. I start checking the various open web pages to see if one of them has an ad on it with sound... still skeptical because I've been off-line for at least an hour, and hadn't heard anything, and there was no way a new ad could have loaded. I finally realize that I had received a text message on my connection manager. I am paraphrasing here, but it basically said that my stick had been repaired and was now ready for pick-up. I shrug it off, since it was an automated message, but still a touch annoyed since I had already been phoned. Around an hour after that, I'm in the kitchen doing something with supper. I hear my phone's ringtone for an incoming email. I check my email folder to find that I had now received an email from Customer Care, telling me that my stick had been repaired and was ready to be picked up. REALLY?!!?? YA THINK?!!? Of course this starts a sarcastic conversation between my BFF and I, which is completely typical in this kind of situation.

The next day, I prepare all of my shopping lists, and head off into town fairly early so that I would still have the afternoon to do things around the house. I had to leave the house quite early Wednesday morning to pick up Derek, so I wanted to be able to go to bed early without a lot of housework and such on my mind. I mentally planned my route... start at Walmart, go across town to the mall where the Rogers dealer is, Giant Tiger, and finally Sobeys on my way out of town. I wasn't sure if the mall opened at 9:30 or 10:00, so that's why I went to Walmart first. I get to the mall around 10:30 to get my stick back to find out (after standing there for close to half an hour), that they couldn't do the exchange because their computer system was down entirely! I explained that I lived out of town, and it would be at least Thursday or Friday before I could return... and how their automated system was giving me fits about picking up my equipment already. I was also counting on getting my deposit back for planned purchases in the city the next day. Since there was nothing that could be done, I simply resumed my errands with plans to call them before I left town and inquire if their computers were back up or not. It turns out that they were, but again I was stuck driving across the city to get back to the mall once again... and to add insult to injury, I received my $50 deposit back in $5 bills because they hadn't done any business yet for the day and only had their float for change! I finally arrived home much later than I had intended... totally exhausted!


Nicole =o)

P.S.: I have come to the conclusion that Derek being home not only throws my housekeeping routines off, but my blogging routines as well!

Running around in circles...

That's exactly what I feel like when I have too many different things on the go. I get overwhelmed and then don't manage to accomplish much of anything. It's very frustrating as well since I feel that I should be able to get more done now that I don't work outside of the home, and rarely go out.

Well that is the situation I am finding myself in right now. Within reach of me here at the couch I have three socks-in-progress, my shrug-in-progress, Lissa's cardi swatch, and a crocheted place mat-in-progress. There are also several hanks/ balls of yarn in varying states -- some in the process of being wound into hanks, washed, weighed, and catalogued before being stored; some recent purchases that need to be photographed and put away (or cast on since they're interesting); a balled up hank of Tanis fingering that's in the "time out corner" for not behaving when I tried to design with it. Add to that, my usual flotsam and jetsam of design reference books, yarn/ craft catalogues, various knit/ crochet tools and gadgets, and my pencils, notepads, and notebooks for my endless lists and notes. Can we say, "recipe for disaster? I knew you could!"

Bright Idea #825

I am also in the midst of spring cleaning. As I put it when I talked to my DH the other day, "I had one of my bright ideas!" Any of you that have been following me since the beginning know that those are the words of doom when they escape my lips! I'm certain that Derek was quite thrilled that he is/ was a full three provinces away when I made this announcement.

Like all of my Bright Ideas (tm), it started off innocently enough. Wednesday morning I went into town to purchase Derek a new Keurig coffee machine, and get some groceries. While at the grocery store, which wasn't my usual place to shop, I picked up some new-to-me spice blends. This is something I've been doing quite regularly since starting my diet. When I got home, I dutifully put away all of the refrigerated and frozen items before taking a rest. This is quite the norm for me since my back and feet are usually done in by the time I'm finished the shopping. Besides, there is a very good reason I don't normally shop at that store... it's simply way too exhausting. After having my coffee, I went back into the kitchen to finish putting away the dry goods. I grabbed the two spice bottles and was about to put them away in the cupboard above the stove where they belong. There was really only room for one bottle without shoving and knocking everything over, and that was when I decided that that cupboard was too dirty and too disorganized. That's where it all began. I removed everything from the cupboard and started scrubbing. Being right above the stove, it doesn't take long for a thin layer of oil and grime to coat every surface. Our cupboards are mainly oak, and that seems to soak it in even more. Some more scrubbing, some more spraying of my bleach spray, and I even removed the cupboard handles so that I could get it all super clean. Then came the cleaning and culling of the items that were in there. I have quite a bit of Tupperware (I was a dealer many, many moons ago), so there was a lot of shuffling between containers and soaking in hot soapy water. My garbage can runneth over with all of the items I chose to toss... especially spices that were older than some of my children, and were never likely to be used anyway even if they had been fresh. Scrub, toss, and then scrub some more. My handy, dandy label maker was put to work making new labels for some of the containers that either lost their labels or never had them to begin with. A list was added to my phone of the items I had tossed that would need to be replaced. All totalled it took me the better part of the afternoon and part of the evening to complete to my satisfaction. Granted I don't do it all at once, I simply can't, but I was definitely focused, as evidenced by my lack of procrastination.

Well the first cupboard turned out so nice that the next morning I started work on the next one. It was the same type of process all over, since this was the cupboard beside the stove that is the catch-all for the odd-ball baking supplies mostly. This process continued through the next few days, and I would estimate that I have about a quarter to one third of my kitchen cupboards now detail-cleaned. I have a lot of cupboards when you include the "side board" with glass front cupboards above, and extra-deep cupboards below. We don't have a pantry, since we have more than enough cupboards to require one. I'm trying to get one or two cupboards done per day, and that's a pretty realistic goal I think. It's not too much, and it keeps me off the computer in the mornings when I can't knit anyway. As a side benefit, I've been able to knit as early as 10 am these past few days. I'm guessing it's all the hot water that my hands are in that "get them moving" earlier than usual! I just find it funny, and that's why it's classified as a "bright idea", that this all started by buying one rather than two new spices at the grocery store!

Shall we try this again? ;o)

Here we go... the start of a new month, and the start of a new try at regular blogging! I will do my month-end round-up/ new-month goals in my next post or two. I also have a picture post of January FOs in my drafts folder too that I need to post! I will now apologize in advance for the extreme random-ness of this post. I seem to have a little bit of everything on my mind today!

So what have I been doing for the last 3 weeks?? Knitting like a mad-woman, that's what!! Little Bit Irish cardigan was finished about a week ago, and I've mainly been concentrating on socks, socks, and more socks! Almost everything else has been put by the way-side due to a new KP-IDP pattern I'm working on the sample for, as well as this year's Footwork contest at Ram Wools. I won first place last year, and I have my fingers crossed for placing in the top 3 again this year. I did start a simple shrug out of Homespun I bought on sale recently, so that I would have a completely brainless knitting project for when my hands can't deal with the fineness of sock needles.

On one of my trips into Winnipeg this past month I picked up 2 different orange sock-weight yarns to shut up my best friend... she insisted that I had to buy myself some orange yarn or she would explode! I found two at Wolseley Wool that inspired me. One is going to be turned into a scarf or shawl with a leafy lace pattern. The other is going to be a simple pair of socks. I'm not sure if I will be doing them generic or designing a pattern for them, but they have already been named... Shut Up Liz Socks!!

Derek continues to rave about his worsted wool work socks out west, and the guys at the mine site with him still think he's nuts for spending that kind of money on a single pair of socks... probably along with me too for knitting them!! Funny thing is that his socks (well his work socks anyway!) are the cheap ones! I can only imagine what they'd think about his $45-ish silk-blend socks! What gets me is that even when Derek proves to them how great his socks are -- the guys can wring out their socks at the end of the day, and Derek (who has very sweaty feet) shows them how his socks don't even feel damp -- they still think his socks aren't all that great. We shall see if they still have that attitude in the summer and can't stay cool!

I have come to the conclusion that I really need to get a voice-activated digital recorder. Now before you tell me that my Crackberry/ speed bump-wannabe has a built-in recorder, I will tell you that I know this, but it's not very user-friendly... at least not me-friendly anyway! I have a tendency to come up with my best design ideas and inspirations while driving. The biggest problem with this is obvious... I can't write down any notes while driving. However, it seems that the worse the driving conditions, the better and faster the ideas are. That's why I need something voice-activated!! If I wait until I get to my destination (or even next stop) to record my ideas, I inevitably will forget something (which of course I remember as soon as I get back on the road!). I found a nice Sony one for under $60 that should suit my purposes perfectly. With three hours of solitary driving time every two weeks, I can see it getting a lot of use!


Nicole =o)

Re-evaluation and retrospection...

It's been close to 6 months since I've posted here. The summer turned into a very busy, and very life-changing season for me for many, many reasons. Partly we went without any internet access at all for around 3 months, plus I did some travelling for Wal-mart to make some extra money to help pay for some of the things that are going on around here. During my time sans-web I was able to do quite a bit of re-evaluating of what is important to me, what I want, and what I need to treat as a priority.

Family *has* to be #1, and should be treated as such. Sitting at the computer for hours and days on end means that many other things in my life are being over-looked. Being here is *not* a job for me... it's entertainment and relaxation. I would love to be able to spend more time on my designs and such, but for the time being, I need to focus my energies elsewhere for my family to survive. This doesn't mean that I'm going to give up designing, as it is a necessary outlet for my creativity, it means that creating and writing patterns for publication are no longer my ultimate goal when designing.

I promised myself this summer that when I got my net back that I was going to cut back. I discovered that there *is* life beyond the keyboard and monitor. I have spent my first few weeks with internet access again going through many of the pastimes I have online. I went through Facebook and deleted a bunch of apps that I didn't use, and were just cluttering up my page. Ravelry was the biggest potential timesink I had online, and therefore got the biggest cuts from me. I went from over 450 groups, to less than 80. I am still not participating in the forums there yet, but I am getting to where I want to be with it... using it as a resource for what I really want to do and believe in, as well as a journal for my projects, stash and the like. I still have more cuts to do, but I'm getting there a little at a time.

I am happy, and actually quite relieved, about giving all this up. It's like a huge weight is being taken off of my shoulders. I'm actually gaining so much more than what I'm losing. I'm very happy spending time in my garden or the yard, or even just sitting on the couch knitting or playing DS while Derek plays his Xbox or watching TV. I am also looking very forward to what my future holds for me, since I won't miss out on it with my nose stuck to the monitor!!! I will still spend time online, as it's the main means of contact with most of my friends... I don't think I would be able to give up the net entirely even though I can obviously take extended breaks from it! I am happily going to be AFK most of the time, and enjoying every moment of it!

Calling in stoned...

There is a *very* good reason why I rarely take anything other than Tylenol or Advil no matter how sick or in how much pain I'm in... it makes me stupid! Yesterday was a perfect example!!! The kids have generously shared the recent run of cold/flu that is running through our house with me. I thought I wasn't home enough to catch anything from them... was I ever wrong! As is typical when I catch one of these illnesses, I'm knocked flat on my back.

It all started on Friday, where I was sounding like I was related to Kermit the Frog. All I could do was croak! I managed to make it through my night shift at work since all I was doing was croaking, and feeling a little nauseous. Nausea and I are closely related since I'm used to it from my hypoglycemia. I made it home okay and tried to catch a quick cat-nap before starting at the grocery store... another typical Saturday routine for me. Well things soon turned south from there. My ability to concentrate was non-existant... if it wasn't for the computer, and it beeping at me every time I hit the wrong button, I would have been literally screwed! I didn't make this many mistakes when I was first being trained there! When it came time for my break, and I couldn't even remember our Co-op number, I *knew* I had no place being there. I told the girl in charge that I would stick around until lunch so they wouldn't be short-handed. I hoped that I could make it through another 2 hours without completely screwing everything up.

Lunch break was another experience entirely. I could barely concentrate on the highway on my way home. This is only a 10 minute drive straight down the TC, and if it wasn't for the fact that I don't need to turn off at all except to get into town here, I would have ended up lost! Since Derek had seen what bad shape I was in at work, he was sweet enough to have a cup of tea waiting for me. His quote to the kids was, "Mom could barely even scan in the groceries." Well his sweet gesture was promptly introduced into the bathroom where I spent a half hour getting well aquainted with our fixtures in there. He phoned Co-op and told them that I wasn't going back for the rest of the afternoon, even though they needed me to close that day.

As if things couldn't get any worse, they did! Since Derek isn't used to me being *this* sick, he hauled me in to Wal-Mart to get *something* to make me feel better. I didn't want to go, but I didn't have any idea of what to tell him to get for me either. I picked out an assortment of throat and cough drops, as well as some Neo-Citran... that was when it got interesting. Neo-Citran has a variety of different drugs in it, and with good reason, it's not recommended to drive or operate power equipment while taking it. There should have been another warning on the label for me... trying to talk coherently, or operate a telephone is beyond your abilities until all residuals of this medication are out of your system!!! I thought I was behaving and talking funny *before* I took it... that's nothing compared to me *after*!!! Someone, I'm not sure who, brought me the phone to call work to say that I wouldn't be in last night. I vaguely remember looking at it oddly, and the next thing I can recall is that it was ringing. I looked at the phone strangely and answered it. It was my manager, wondering where I was. I *know* that I talked to her, and I *know* that I tried to explain that I was sick... but what exactly I said, or even if it made any sense at all is beyond me!

Here it is, the next morning, and my brain still feels really foggy. I'm not feeling any better, but I'm afraid to take any more of the Neo-Citran, and with good reason I think. The only reason I'm posting this is to warn you all of the dangers of taking this kind of stuf... or at least the dangers of allowing *me* to take any of them!!!

WTH?? Where's Nicole???

It's been a tumultuous time for me lately. I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of the details, but suffice it to say that things have finally started to turn around for us. With all that turmoil over {or nearly so}, I've been able to get back to thinking about myself and what I'd like to accomplish. Part of this is also blogging again. I've joined a multitude of groups and "alongs" to try and get myself motivated, as well as follow a few of my interests. Now what I need to do is sit down and actually establish realistic goals for myself, that includes taking care of the house as well as my projects and stash. Of course, this will all need to fit into my typically harried lifestyle/ work schedule. I will post my goals for the month on the first day of the month, and I will start draft posts for the end of each month to upload on the last day to hold myself accountable for those goals.

My stash: This needs serious reduction in the worst way. Part of that will require actually inventorying it so that I know what's there, and can congratulate myself accordingly when milestones/ goals are met. I want to have an inventory listed in Ravelry of what's currently inside my craft room by the end of January. I think that's realistic considering just *how* much yarn there is in there. As an added bonus, it will help organize the room better. Once I know where I'm at, then I can start setting goals towards working through it.

My current projects: I have more projects on the go right now than I possibly know what to do with. I've been trying quite hard to focus on one project at a time more lately, but I have yet to make any *real* difference in my amount of WIPs/ UFOs. I am progressing faster on individual projects since I'm not switching back and forth constantly, but I am still finding the lack of FOs to be discouraging. I need to figure out what to do about this.

My wish list of projects: I have several shawls that I would like to make in the new year, as well as a few a-month groups that I've joined. I'll need to find a place to organize all that, as well as set goals so that I'm not overwhelmed with WIPs. In the case of shawls, I want to finish my Snowdrop shawl, and then start on my Mystic Waters shawl.

Photographic proof & accountability: I am seriously behind in taking FO and stash shots. I want to have all of my FOs photographed by the end of the year, and all stash photographed as it is logged into Ravelry. Part of this will also be making sure that my sidebars in here in Blogger are up-to-date.

My home: Between insane work schedules and a serious case of the I-don't-give-a-damn's, my home has been seriously neglected. I have decluttering, redecorating, and yard/ garden plans that I'd like to institute here. I intend to start this by decluttering the living room, dining room, and kitchen, as well as redecorating them. I have already made many of my redecorating decisions, it's just a matter of budgetting them to make them a reality.

---

In closing, I just want to {re}state my goals for the month of December.

1. Photographs of all FOs listed in Ravelry.
2. Blog sidebars completely up-to-date.
3. Decide on first three projects to focus on as of January 1st.
4. All a-long's and a-month's listed *somewhere*.
5. Computer desk and bookcase in living room completely decluttered.

It comes in threes...

All things, both good and bad seem to come in threes. This week I've been blessed with a triple serving of good news. It certainly has been a long time coming, but Derek and I have finally received our blessings that we've been suffering through hardship after hardship for. The last few months have been very difficult for us. For the two people {are there even that many?!?} on the planet that don't already know this, our house in Winnipeg sitting unsold and empty for over 4 months has been a terrible strain on the two of us. Not being able to get a new job, and getting a shift {and days off} that I hate, has been a huge struggle for me personally {and by association, on Derek as well}. Additionally, when you consider that my pay was the only thing being deposited in our Winnipeg account, that job was keeping things barely afloat there. Even though Derek and I have never done the *my money/ your money* thing, I still felt like I was working all those hours, and driving all that time for basically nothing.

Good News #1:
The first bit of good news arrived on Monday morning. I was a bit ticked off because the girls had already left on the bus for school when I arrived home from work, and Alex was still at home! Derek was off work this past week, so he took the drive into Oak Lake with me so that we could take Alex to school, and stop off at Co-op to pick up bread and anything else that fell into our basket. While we were there I had another one of my "ohmygawd it's horrible living in a small town where everyone knows you even if you don't know who they are" moments. The manager comes up to us and asks me, "are you Nicole?" I am puzzled at how he knows my name, but tell him that I am. He then asks, "from Griswold?" Now I'm getting nervous, and thinking "what the heck did one of my kids do *NOW*?" I manage to squeak out that I *am* Nicole from Griswold. This is when he tells me that he's been trying to get in touch with me, and when I get a dirty look from Derek because *noone* can get through to the house because I have the internet on nearly all the time. He offers me a job working 2-3 days a week!!! He also mentioned the possibility of the hours dropping off after New Year's {which I am used to in retail}, as well as the fact that it may become available for full-time in the late spring. I somehow didn't squeal when I accepted his offer, and made arrangements to come in later on in the week to get my schedule and paperwork.
This couldn't have come at a better time. Even though I was working on a promotion at work so that I could work days with every weekend off, the additional earnings are worth *sooooo* much more than my management goals with our current cash crunch. It also opens up my options for what to do job-wise when our house sells in Winnipeg. In the meantime, it means that my online time *and* my sleep time will be seriously restricted... but it's not like I haven't survived on little to no sleep before {and for disgustingly long periods of time too!}. Oak Lake is about a 10 minute drive away, so it's not going to take too much of a toll on my gas usage either.

Good News #2:
The second bit of good news I got at work Friday night. Our store is going 24 hours Mon-Sat from Dec 3rd until Christmas. I had already planned on asking for cash training so that I could work the tills, when my manager asked me if I was willing to change my usual schedule for the three weeks, so that I could work at the fabric table on nights Monday through Friday. This means that after tonight, I won't have any more weekend nights to work until after Christmas!!! Co-op is only open until 6 pm, 6 days a week, so no nights there to interfere with my weekend-free joy! This truly is wonderful news since in the 3½ years I've been with Wal-Mart, pretty much the ONLY weekends I have EVER gotten off have been when travelling to other stores for them. So for the first time in... well... close to forever... I get to actually spend the night on a weekend with my hubby! {Get your mind out of the gutter, this is a family-friendly post... it's just amazing how important cuddling up on the couch and watching a movie with the family becomes when you CAN'T do it!} As an added plus, since I'll be working in the craft and fabric area, that means I'll be able to spend quite a bit of time examining {translation: shopping!} the fabrics and such for our decorating plans here at the house.

Good News #3:
And now the best for last... as of about 9pm last night, our old house is SOLD!!! The offer was less than we would have liked, but it's enough to cover our outstanding mortgage out in Winnipeg. We're expecting a Dec. 9th closing on that house, so by the end of this year Derek and I will know exactly where we stand financially. There's still a lot of utilities and such that need to be paid off, as well as our bridge financing on this house {that we unfortunately won't be able to repay with our house proceeds}. But, we *will* know who, what and where we still owe to, and will be able to make the arrangements needed to take care of the when.

After all that, I get to decide whether to drop down to part-time with Wal-Mart, or quit there entirely and just work at the Co-op and on my website!!! I think I need to make a nice big order to Knit Picks first though! *giggles*

Presenting, our award winning artist!!!

Well I'm more than proud of little Lissa!!! Unbeknownst to me, she was entered in a Halloween colouring contest at the True Value in Virden. First I found out about it was just before I left for work last night when I saw her prize waiting for her on the counter!!! I think it's just so cool! This is her and Alex showing off her prize and the picture that won it! Click on the picture to go see it at my Flickr page... where I have other family and crafty type shots!

What is so damned difficult about dial-up? {Bright Idea #926}

***WARNING: This post is most definitely not rated G.***

Well I just had a 2 day internet famine that was entirely *not* my fault! The stupid asshats at my ISP have proven once again that they got their membership cards for the human race out of a Cracker Jack box!!! It has taken them since around 8 or 9 am on Tuesday, until now to get my computer back on the net!

It all started with getting my logon corrected. The numb-nutted idiot that originally created my account obviously cannot read, or at least cut-and-paste. Our ISP is also our phone company, so the internet account is linked to our phone account. Our last name is RODGERS... so why we would want dnrogers as our family logon is beyond me. In order to correct that, they have to cancel the old account and create a new one. At least they didn't try to charge me the fee they normally charge for changing your logon. There's no way in H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks that I would pay a single penny for their stupidity in not being able to read the name of the freakin' account holder!!! For some inane reason the front end of their computer network couldn't talk to the back end of their computer network about my account change, and so I was left stuck somewhere in the middle... my old account had been completely deleted, and the new one was in suspended animation. It took no less than half a dozen phone calls a day, each of which took at least an hour because of the voice mail hell/ muzak on hold purgatory that my call got shuffled into. Between trying my old logon, new logon, password resets, and every other hoop in Manitoba that they had me jump through, they *still* couldn't get my access back. Needless to say that {using my best Queen Victoria voice}, "we were *not* amused."

The second major problem that I tried to get fixed with my dial-up is the craptastic speed that I connect at. I have yet to see anything faster than 28.8 kbps, and have even connected slower a couple of times. For those of you that don't understand what that speed means, just think "slow boat to China..." and there's probably a leak in that boat that the crew needs to spend all their time bailing water instead of rowing! The "helpful" dipshit that I spoke to about my problem is probably too dumb to even know what the hell he's talking about unless he has one of those "help desk" programs open on his computer! After going through the fact that I'm not using a dinosaur computer powered by a hamster wheel, my phone line isn't a piece of string attached to a tin can, and that my idea of turning on a computer *isn't* rubbing up next to it; he had the brain wave that I need a new phone jack installed within 4 feet of my computer, preferably on its own line. Well, it's bad enough that we're paying $30/mo for this shite... now you want me to fork out at LEAST $70 to have them come down and install a jack, at least $50 for the new phone line, plus any charges for being out-of-town service call , and THEN pay another $30/mo for a second phone line? And STILL no guarantees that my speed will improve??? Especially when their own DSL lines run about 100 yards to the south of my house??? To hell with THAT crap... we're better off going for the stupid satellite!

And the sum total of all of this is that thanks to my ISP-from-hell, I've been knocked out of the NaBloPoMo contests because I missed 2 days posting.

Sunday is for... snow???

Well I grabbed a large piece of cardboard on my way out of work today to block the table topper... it seems that Derek sent 90% of the cardboard *he* wanted to save from our move to the burn barrel!!! I didn't even have any to do my spray painting on yesterday! I think it will be staying in the car for the time being, since less than half an hour after getting home, it started to snow... and it's still coming down! I'm blaming it on Derek... he hung our Christmas lights up yesterday, which is the reason I got so little sleep... the incessant hammering made any kind of rest impossible!

Friday... Waxing Philosophic

I've decided that Fridays are Philosophical here. For a large portion of the world, Friday represents the start of the weekend. For me, Friday night is the start of my work week, and probably explains why I feel so bass ackwards in comparison to nearly everyone I know. I'll use Fridays to write an essay about what I think about whatever I happen to be thinking about.

Today's Essay: Why Do I Knit?

One of the most common questions I hear as a knitter is, "why do you knit?" This also applies to crocheting, but I will use knit as a general term to cover all of the crafts that I enjoy. My standard answer to the question is, "to stay sane." With any possible combination of 7 kids, their assorted friends, and hubby around the house, my level of sanity is often open for debate. The truth of the matter is that there is a *lot* more to my knitting than *just* sanity.

"Is sanity overrated?"
There is nothing more soothing to a troubled soul than the rythmic repetition that simple stitching can provide. Feeling the fibre between your fingers as the fabric continues to flow from your needles. It is the knitter's version of watching a slow-flowing stream. It's peaceful, and brings serenity to your soul. As you unwind the ball of yarn to knit it, the everyday, and even the extra-ordinary, stresses of life can unwind along with it. You take those stresses and turn them into something beautiful, or at least useful in some way. The simple task of knitting a few dpns-worth of a sock is all it takes to de-stress a bit at work. A row or two of a shawl or an afghan at home is all it takes to regroup after one of life's many annoyances. It's a reminder that life *does* go on, and in the end you will make it to your own personal destination.

"Hey! Look what I just made!"
Knitting also provides me with a great sense of satisfaction. Be it a plain dish cloth, or a gossamer-thin, wedding ring shawl, it's something that I have created with my own two hands. Simple patterns provide satisfaction in the speed and the volume produced. The more complex patterns are satisfying in that they challenge me to work harder and think as I work. There are times where your mind is going a million miles a minute, and some plain stockinette or garter stitch forces it to slow right down. There are times where your mind is begging to be given a workout, and that's the time to pull out the laceweight and your most complex charts. No matter what the pattern or the project, it's all done one stitch at a time, the difficulty of those stitches is completely up to you.

"Because I like it, that's why!!!"
I don't think any other reason is truly necessary when asked why one knits. On any given day of the week, there could be any one of a dozen reasons why I've picked up my needles. It's possible that I need to have this sock finished up for a gift; a new design worked out; a dishcloth to replace the one the kids decided to use cleaning the patio. It could also be just as simple as "because I want to". The fact of the matter is that no matter which particular motivator is in play at that particular time, the only *true* reason that I knit, crochet, whatever is simply... because I like it.

Random Wednesday

It may be Wednesday for you, but it's Friday for me!!! I'm *really* hating the stupid days off I've been given. I guess I'm just frustrated because I was *so* close to getting *real* weekends off back in Winnipeg, and I was counting on getting day shift out here. Anyhoo... off with the rant, and on to the randomness!!!

I'm knitting again in bits and pieces. I can't handle very long at a stretch, but some knitting is better than no knitting. Crocheting is still off-limits for the time being. I've been playing on Ravelry, and adding groups and working on my notebook. I'm gonna be taking some pictures on my weekend of my WIPs and getting them up here and on Rav. Sheri's socks are still on hold until I find out her shoe size. Henry's second sock has been started, and I should be turning the heel during my weekend. I'm about 60 rounds down the foot of Tofutsies #1, but with the tiny guage, I can see my usual 60-65 round foot easily becoming 80 or more. *sigh* I've resisted the temptation to start another pair of socks, and have been knitting away on my afghan.

The yarn shop is still a WIP... having two mortgages is a *HUGE* drain on the finances, and I need that money to put in my initial yarn orders. Cross your fingers for me that the house sells soon!!!

The other thing I've been working on is *finally* getting around to working on my podcast. I have gotten majorly side-tracked on that project, and it's beyond time to get it going. I'm looking for topics, and have a few essay ideas to work on.