So much to say, so little said

 

There have been so many changes lately that I don't even know where to start for this long-overdue Monday Makeover. I think I'm going to cheat a little bit, and take the easy way out by doing a "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" post.

 

The Good:

1. My mom is officially cancer-free, having gotten an all-clear on her three month follow-up. She's going to have to continue to go in for regular scans to make sure that there isn't a reoccurrence, but things are looking pretty good. We are all extremely happy about that!
2. My mom, my sister, and I are officially in business together. We just opened our first etsy shop, Three Painted Sheep, where we will be featuring hand-dyed yarn and roving. We'll also be adding hand-crafted swifts and warping boards that my brother-in-law has made. In a few days our second shop, Nana's Neuhaus, should also be opened. Nana's Neuhaus will feature gifts and household items that we've made.
3. I actually like my new apartment. My youngest daughter came home (after a year of living on her own) in an effort to save some money while finishing up school. So in December we moved into a two-bedroom. I didn't want to move, since  I really liked my old apartment and the new apartment was on the second floor and overlooked the dumpsters. But we picked up some new (to us) furniture and hung pictures on the walls and the place is looking very nice. It's comfortable. And my violets are actually thriving, despite my fears that they wouldn't do well with the new lighting in this apartment.

The Bad:

1. My laptop finally gave up, and crashed. It's been getting slower and slower, and it takes more patience than I possess to turn it on and wait to write something. (This is my excuse for having gone so long without posting.) It's going to be a while before my budget allows me to replace it. Luckily my phone gets emails, and the library has computer time for patrons. So it isn't the end of the world, despite the heavy dramatics enacted upon the computer's demise.
2. In January, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to work on becoming a more positive person. And it's probably good that I have this goal. Otherwise, I could take advantage of this opportunity to whine. The "bads" could easily outnumber my "goods." I'm not going to let them take over; it's as simple as that.

The Ugly:

1. After doing so well for so long with my diet changes and exercise schedule, I have started to slip back into the old patterns. For a long time my motivation was to get into shape for the family vacation we were planning. Unfortunately, those plans fell apart and we had to put the idea on hold indefinitely. Although I know it's no excuse, I pretty much gave up.

So that's my mind-set right now. I need to find new motivation, continue to work on expanding the no-whining zone, and celebrate the good things that are happing (such as having a legitimate reason to knit and weave more!).

The Good, The Better, and the Bleh

The Good:

I finished walkcloth #2 this week, and I'm halfway through my third walkcloth. I figure that by the time I lose ten pounds I will have knit enough dishcloth's for Becca's new apartment.

I almost finished the first scarf for the 2012 Special Olympics. The knitting is done. I just have to finish weaving in all the ends.

The Better:

I gave my speech (for class) today in front of some of the Fiberistas. I'm not sure how well it really went. My friends told me it was good, but then they're my friends so what else would they say. I'll watch the videotape tomorrow and see what I think before I send it to the professor. I would feel a whole lot better if I hadn't had to cut half the speech out at the last minute. Somehow when I was practicing I timed myself for the five minutes, but really talked for ten. The time limit allowed is only five minutes, with a penalty for every minute you're under or over the limit. On the way to knitting, I ran through the speech one last practice and realized that I had gotten the timing wrong. Hence, the need for the last minute change.

That, however, was not "The Better." The Better was teaching a 13-year-old boy (the grandson of one of our knitters) how to spin. He had volunteered to be my camera man and videotaped my speech for me. Since he was busy during the speech, I took some time afterward to give him a private spinning lesson. I have to say that he was a joy to work with. He was very polite, smart, and eager to learn. I caught him trying to knit earlier in the evening, and later on he came back to ask me more questions about spinning and knitting. I sense a future Jared Flood (well-known knit designer).

The Bleh:

I was wounded in the call of knitting. While I was waiting for my daughter to finish up at work, I reached into my pocketbook for my socks to work on. Somehow, one of the bamboo needles punctured my palm. Bamboo dpns are not very sharp. And they have a tendency to break when put under pressure. (I've broken a number of my bamboos.) So how in the heck did I manage to poke myself hard enough to draw blood? Ouch!

 * ~ * ~ *

Blanket Update:

191 squares in 214 days

(Status: I didn't catch up. But I didn't fall any further behind, either.)

Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strenght, but perseverance. (Samuel Johnson)

The Bad News:

• After knitting all day, I STILL have 13" left until the scarf is long enough to bind off.

The Good News:

• I finally figured out how to use the editing tools in Audacity. So episode 2 of The Lilypad Podcast should not have any of the annoying bangs, clangs, or "umm's" that my first episode had.

The Bad News:

• Before doing any editing, it would have been a good idea to save the episode I had just recorded. Just in case I did something dumb, like, oh I don't know, accidentally deleting "all" instead of "selection."
  

It's not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute for chocolate. Chocolate is, let's face it, far more reliable than a man.

(Miranda Ingram)

The Good:

1. Cello cherries are on sale at Walgreens, 2 for $3. I love cello cherries, and I'm really enjoying the box I bought. (Okay, the boxes I bought. They were on sale, so I had to buy 2.)
2. I've stuck with my goal of spinning everyday for the Tour de Fleece. It's day 9, and today I did 30 minutes with the drop spindle and 1 hour with the wheel.
3. Becka made a wonderful dinner. And cleaned up afterwards. I didn't even ask her to do it.

The Bad:

1. It's one week until payday, and one day until bills are due. Sigh. Why doesn't the money come out even? (And don't tell me it's because of the cello cherries -- they were on sale!)
2. I went in and worked all afternoon, even though I've promised myself that I was not going to work on the weekends anymore. I am so far behind on the reports, it's starting to really panic me. Especially since they're talking about bringing in more students.
   

The Ugly:

1. My son's dog got into my baskets of handspun yarn, and tore up three skeins. My son put the tangled, slimy skeins back into the basket on the bookcase, thinking that I wouldn't notice. ("What mom? There's nothing wrong with your yarn. It looks pretty.") It took me an hour to untangle the first skein, and I'm not looking forward to doing the others. My spinning wheel, rovings, and hand spun yarns have all been moved from the living room alcove into my bedroom. I'm not happy, since my bedroom is now very crowded and I really liked sitting in the alcove by windows to spin. But while both the dog and the boy survived (barely) this incident, I'm afraid that they wouldn't be so lucky if Rocky were to attack the yarn a second time.

It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them. (Pierre Beaumarchais)

The Good:

• My daughter is here, visiting from Brooklyn. It is so nice that she's home with me. (Even if all she does is tease me!)
  
• I finished spinning and plying the Merino/Tencil from Cloudlover. It's the Countess colorway that my daughter picked out, and I wanted to get it done before she got here. (I still have to soak and whack it, so she might not get to take it home but at least I finished it.) It's a 2-ply light worsted weight; I'm not sure of the yardage yet.
• I'm casting on a new project; a KAL with my daughter for the Aeolian Shawl. I'm using Claudette Silk with the prettiest beads. The beads make me happy.
  

The Bad

• I am still feeling horrible from that cold/flu/whatever I had last week. The fever is finally gone, but the horrible hacking cough is driving me crazy.
• The Program Supervisor is still on vacation at work, so I'm still doing both her job and mine. Although it seems I'm spending more time doing her job than mine. Which means that when she gets back from vacation, I'll have to put in some extra hours to catch up. That's totally unfair, in my opinion.

The Ugly

• The drama llama visited the knitting groups again. This time is the last time I'm getting involved. I can get past the he said-she said stuff. It's the actions of a person I both liked and admired that has me walking away.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

The Good

1. Knit Picks Harmony interchangeable needles -- just about the best Christmas gift ever! This is definitely on my list of top three gifts, along with the big box of used paperbacks and the year of the BB gun and toe shoes.
   
2. Breakfast by Becka. She makes the best scrambled eggs; much better than mine. But I make better coffee.
   
3. Spending the afternoon knitting with Faith. Even if Starbucks closed early and we were left alone at the plaza.
   
4. Chocolate cherries and The Doctor, with no guilt since the kids were spending time with their father.
   

The Bad

1. I don't like spending holidays without my family. Cari is still in NY, the kids spent the day with their father, and because of Becka's work schedule I didn't get down to see my mom and sister.
   
2. Poor Becka had to work Christmas Eve and today. It's great that she has the hostessing job, but what an awful schedule for her first week of work.

The Ugly

1. My poor baby. And if this wasn't enough, her computer crashed.
   

Happy Thanksgiving!

THE GOOD:

1. My mom, my sister's family, and my cousins Chris and Melissa came to dinner. It was wonderful! (Don't tell, but I helped the girls cheat at cards.)

2. Dinner was a success. As usual there was way too much food. We ended up with a turkey, and a ham. Not to mention all the side items and desserts. Best of all, the dishes are already done and the house still looks good.

3. There's pie for breakfast tomorrow!


THE BAD:

1. Cari wasn't able to come home for the holiday. I knew she wouldn't be able to; we haven't had her home for Thanksgiving for the past several years. But I still miss her.

2. I ended up with a headache. I want to poke a sharp stick in my eye; the meds aren't working fast enough!


THE UGLY:

1. I didn't take any pictures today. I used to have the camera permanently attached to my hand. Lately, I don't even bother carrying it in my purse. But there's no excuse to miss out on pictures of a family gathering. I need to start using the camera again.

It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes. (Douglas Adams)

THE GOOD:

1. PJ is officially a high school graduate. He has his diploma and everything. I'm so proud. And extremely relieved. Becka and I are planning a party to celebrate PJ's graduation, and to give everyone a chance to see him before he leaves for boot camp. We're even going to send invitations. (Hey, this is big. I almost never plan a party enough time ahead to get the invitations mailed.) Just in case I miss you and you want to come, please give me a hollar. (We're not experienced invitation mailers, so I thought I'd throw that in here.)

2. Michelle and I were finally able to get together and record another podcast episode. So Spun in the Sun should be updated by Wednesday -- be sure to listen!

3. Jacey, aka Insubordiknit, is going to be holding a spinning workshop in NYC in August. This is a definite possibility for me, and I'm already getting excited about going. Just think -- I might actually get to learn how to use my spinning wheel!

THE BAD:

1. I think my shower has a leak. Twice now there's been a puddle of water in the kitchen, and this time we saw water stain on the ceiling. Now I have to stop procratinating and get the rugs replaced so that I can call the landlord to look at the leak.

2. My daughter and her friend are grounded for the week (or longer). They decided to sneak out of the house the other night. They only got caught because my son went down for a drink of water and noticed the door was unlocked. The girls got snagged when they tried to break in (which they thought would be safer than calling and waking me up). My son, who was getting his phone to call 9-1-1 on the break in offered to finish the call for their murders.

THE UGLY:

1. I found a home for Millie, and they took her this weekend. It's a good thing, actually the best thing for Millie. She needs a family that can afford to take care of her properly and that has the time to devote to her. But it has been one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. Just thinking about it makes me start to cry again. (And the kids aren't talking to me.)

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. (Theodore Roosevelt)

The Good

• Payday was Friday, and so I sat down this weekend to write out checks. After paying all my bills, there's still money left over. (Not much, but at least there's something for groceries!)
• Becci made me chocolate chip cookies. Because she loves me. (And because I asked her to.)
• C/D paid me back most of the money that he borrowed, just like he promised he would. So I'm feeling a little better about the situation.

The Bad

• We haven't done any family activities lately, so I had nothing to write about for Family Fun Day. So instead I'm reviving the Good/Bad/Ugly lists.
• My son is still insisting that he doesn't want to go back to school for his senior year. This is, quite naturally, causing great conflict.

The Ugly

• C/D stopped off for drink when he said he was out looking for a job. So I had to get very mean and give him the "one more strike and you're out" speech. (Although, considering I had let him stay with the understanding that one strike and he was out, the fact that I've tolerated two already should make me eligible for some type of saint/patsy award.)