Thursday, March 20, 2008

Dogs on Thursdays

My dog is wonderful, she is very well behaved (most of the time) she is mad at me right now, but she is very funny about it. I sat down on the floor to play with her the other night and she looked at me, walked over to my daughter, and sat down. She then peeked around my daughters lap top to see if I was upset about it, which was funny; it was such a human thing to do. This is unheard of, she has never walked away from unless she is mad at me and she always finds away to let me know she is angry with me. She has let me know that she is angry this time because I do not spend enough time with her, and she is right, between work, travel (for work) and paining the house I hardly have time to knit.

Her name is Princess Aphrodite, however we call her Di (I wanted to call her Spot, but decided it was too cliché). She is a liver-spotted Dalmatian and has been my sidekick since we brought her home. She makes me laugh, cuddles me while I am sick and just seems to know when I need her close to me. She loves it when I say “Let’s take a nap” and normally beats me to the bed, even when she is angry with me :-) I love my Di, and now I have to go work at getting her un-angry with me. Does she have my number or what?

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Life Gets in the Way

This has been a tough week, and I have only been able to knit two rows on a beanie cap, thus most of this post is me whining about life. I had to travel for work this week, to Omaha Nebraska; of course, it was almost impossible to get a non-stop flight for less than $1500. Me, being a good government employee and ever watchful of the taxpayers dollars, took the flight that went through Chicago. If you have ever flown through Chicago I don’t have to say anymore, but for those of you who haven’t it is the most convoluted and spread out airport in the world. I had to cross three terminals to get to my next flight, which was probably a zillion miles from where my plane landed. I then got on a jet the size of a Barbie jet and flew to Omaha. It is a shame Omaha is so difficult to get to, because the city is nice.

At the conference I chaired, the people were ornery and difficult and no one could come to a consensus on any of the topics that were up for discussion. At one point, one woman got up and screamed at the rest of the group that we were rude and mean to the new people who were attending and needed to learn how to act more professionally. This was probably true; however, she certainly made a number of people in the group angry. I felt like I was babysitting.

The trip home was just as much fun, only I had a 40-minute window to catch my connecting flight, I bet it was funny to watch me hauling ass through the airport :-)

When I got home, I walked into the kitchen and found a swimming pool of hot water in the middle of the floor, one of the pet rodents had eaten through a hot water pipe in the wall. These mice are not really pets and this is the second pipe I have had to repair in two weeks, which would not be so horrible if I was not trying to get the house ready to sell, as I am being transferred to Denver. So far, the mice have cost me over $2,000, but the exterminator is coming tomorrow soo. . .

Enough whining! (In fact way too much whining, thank you for listening or is that reading?) Yesterday was my birthday and it was wonderful way to end the week, with family and friends and love. Isn’t it amazing what a difference a day can make?

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Another Contest

Yes another contest post, this one is for The Bag Lady and the Pro (http://yarnfamily.com/blog1/2008/03/02/anne-congratulations-and-a-contest/). for this contest I am posting about a knitter who has patterns on her web site- The Sailing Knitter (http://www.sailingknitter.blogspot.com/) has some great sock and hat patterns, she also has holiday ornament patterns that are wonderful. And Terry always has some interesting tidbits about where they are traveling and what they have seen too, so it is like a travelogue with a lot of knitting thrown in. Can you imagine how great it must be to travel and get to knit all the time? I love reading where they are going or have been. Makes me eager to retire :-)

Update

Update! Update! I found out who my secret pal is, its Barb at www.barbn77.blogspot.com. She has been a great secret pal, I am munching on chocolate and caramel as I type this. Thank you Barb!

PMS!??

A PMS contest? This is a new acronym in the world of acronyms isn’t it? Not really, but what it stand for is new. It stands for Promote My Shop and NHKnittingMama is having the contest to promote her ETSY shop, which is a pretty cool promotion, here is the link to her shop- http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5184795. Her colors are gorgeous! I think I will buy some for Sock Madness 2, though I really do not need it (but since when does that matter?)

BTW, Sock Madness starts next week, and wouldn’t you know it, I have to travel for work, which means I cannot call in sick to stay in the contest. I will probably be out in the first round, oh well, it will still be fun.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Wahoo, I got a package in the mail today and it was a wonderful package from my secret pal at the "Defeat the Winter Doldrums" Dishcloth Swap. Isn’t it fun to get a surprise package in the mail? I still do not know who my secret pal is, but as you can see from the photo, she is wonderful. A beautiful washcloth and scrubby, tons of yarn, a knitting magazine, a note pad which will help me keep track of where I am when I lay my knitting down, and finally, my favorite kind of candy (caramel and chocolate). I can’t wait to start something new with the Bernat cotton, mmmmm, bib or washcloth??

Here is a picture of the February sweater, I haven’t sewn the buttons on, but you get the drift. I found darling little pearly-white, heart-shaped buttons for the sweater, and there will only be three on the yoke. I love the little hat, I got the pattern from http://knittygrittythoughts.typepad.com/ and I think it is darling. I wanted a hat to match, and when I saw this one, I knew it would be perfect.

My problem is the lack of babies in my life; I don’t what the measurements and sizes are for a baby hat or booties. Now I have to finish the blanket that goes with it and I will be able to give it to my friend who is having a little girl in March.
Off to knit . . . .