And so it goes

I really have very little to post about; this is mostly just to keep in the habit of posting :-)

I was sitting in my car the other day, & two women walked past, slightly out of sync with each other in their steps. With their high heels on the asphalt, it sounded exactly like a horse walking past. I will never understand why so many women wear clompy shoes like that. I'll stick with my comfy flats, thankyewverramuch.

Poor Ralph has been fighting a bad asthma attack since Friday night. It was so bad that he had to sleep in the trailer; whatever it was that set it off seems to be in the bedroom. We've cleaned, vacuumed, moved items out of the room, changed the sheets & it hasn't helped much. He went to the doctor's for it today & is feeling a little better. We just finished washing the dogs, and Mudgie is back on Allerpet so hopefully this will take care of things.

Hmm. I think that's all I've got for today. Better post next time, I promise :-)

Another exciting post

Such a busy day at work yesterday! Mr. Boss Man was off, which meant I did all the updates that he normally would have done: updated price sheets for five communities, uploaded some contract documents, verified options on four phases, etc. This was in addition to my own work, of course. It was actually rather enjoyable, and made the day go quickly to have so much to do.

One thing I noticed shortly after starting my new job was that everyone seemed to have a Gumby in his or her office. It turned out that one Christmas, after a meeting in which flexibility had been stressed, Ms. IT bought these for everyone. Last week she picked up a couple more for us new folks. I've got mine balanced on the edge of the bulletin board. It's a small thing that really helped me feel welcome & part of the team.

Started reading a new book last week. It's called The Eyre Affair and so far is pretty interesting. It's a time travel novel; the main character is a woman named Thursday Next. This is the book that I was given in the Pi Day Swap.

I'm also making very good progress on my shawl. I'm down to 45 stitches per row (it was 99 at the longest point) so with any luck I'll be able to finish it this weekend. I won't have a lot of time to work on it, though, at least not today. Maybe tomorrow.

My orange & black yarn arrived! It's gorgeous, and as a little added bonus came with a pretty beaded stitch marker attached to the label. I see lovely new socks in my future.

Some random thoughts

It never ceases to amaze me what people will post on the internet. Don't they realize how absolutely public it really is? For example, the other day a friend on Facebook posted a request for some mason jars. Another friend of hers, whom I do not know, responded that her mother had some, and then posted her mother's phone number. I commented to that person, "Um, Person, you do realize you just gave your mother's phone number to the entire internet, right?" With websites such as STFU Parents and Failbook, you'd think people would know that all it takes is a screen shot. Amazing.

One of today's pictures is of a white rhino at the San Diego Safari Park. She is past breeding age, and so is not part of the park's program to increase the rhino population (they are an endangered species). The tour guide said her horns look odd because she doesn't grind them against objects the way rhinos usually do, so the park rangers have to give her occasional "manicures."




I'm almost 3/4 of the way finished with my shawl. I really like how it is turning out. The only thing I don't care for is the one edge has yarnovers all along it, but the corresponding edge does not. If I make it again, I will use a different increase so the sides match better. Probably a lifted left increase, as I think that would best match the knit two togethers that are along the other edge. (For you non-knitters, yarnovers leave a hole & lifted increases do not.)

Folgers makes these flavored coffees, the best (IMHO) of which is the chocolate silk. Of course the store nearest our house stopped carrying that flavor, although it does carry the others. Last week I decided to see if I could find a store nearby that has it. According to the Folgers website, the closest store is 50 miles away--but the site included a link to the Smuckers Online Catalog (who knew they are the same company?) and I was able to order it there. Unfortunately it only comes in a case (six jars) but it was a reasonable price so I went ahead and ordered some. It arrived on Friday and mmmmmmmmm we have really enjoyed it these last two mornings. I'd almost forgotten how good it is.

I went to the yarn store yesterday. Oddly enough, I didn't buy anything. Oh, I found a few skeins that I really liked, but they were similar to yarns I already have & after months of frugality I just didn't see the need to pay $25-$30 for something that is similar to what I've already got. I *did* buy a skein off of an Etsy site, though; a lovely sock yarn in black & orange. The colorway is called "Monarch Butterfly" and it's really gorgeous. I'll take pics when it arrives.

Two weeks? Why do I even keep a blog?

I have worked the first week at my new job, and it's everything I could have hoped for. I was surprised by the number of familiar faces; including me, there are seven people from my old company working there. What a pleasant surprise that was! There's plenty of work to keep me busy, which is how I like it. I know I'm going to be very happy here.

Speaking of my old job, though, I hear that they are going to be moving back to Irvine. Ms. Boss Lady says she's going to make the commute. That's insane; she must live at least two hours away from Irvine, and even taking the train that's going to make her work day about 17 hours long. It also means they won't be just downstairs from the escrow company, so now there'll be the added time & expense of overnighting the grant deeds. Which reminds me, I need to sign up for a notary class. . .



I received my Pi Day swap package a little over a week ago. There were so many things in it! A ball of green & yellow fingering weight yarn, candy, Harry Potter fabric, a book, a tote bag with a pie recipe printed on it, a needle case, several small crochet hooks (I'm forever losing mine), orange cat-eye safety eyes, bookmarks, and I'm sure I've left something out here. Oh, I know what it was, a pattern for a triangular shawl. It's knit sideways, increasing for the first half & decreasing for the second to make the triangular shape. If you don't have a lot of yarn, you keep track of how much you've used by weighing it at intervals, then start the decreases when you've used have the yarn. Brilliant! Ms. Zinnia really put a lot of thought into the package. Makes me eager to join another swap!

I also got another little gift in the mail: a skein of handpainted yarn from Goginator! She bought it at Stitches West & thought I might like it. The colorway is perfect for me (and perfectly named for me, as well: the yarn is "Voodoo" in the colorway "Spirits"). Not sure yet what I'm going to make with it, although I'm leaning towards socks at the moment.



I'd been trying to get the family together so we could go to Lobsterfest at Red Lobster. I sent e-mails out with last Saturday lunchtime for the date, and everyone but Dad e-mailed back, "Can't, busy that day." I figured it was cancelled, but on Saturday I got a call from Dad at about 12:45 asking "Where are you guys??" Luckily we hadn't eaten yet so we put the groceries away, picked him up, and headed on out. The food was delicious, and we had a very nice time visiting with Dad.

Ralph bought a new coffee pot. I'm not 100% enamored of it; you need both hands to open the lid, and it brews veeeerrrrrrrrry sllllloooowwwwwwwwwly. On the plus side, it does have a timer which means usually the coffee is ready when I get up. I was up a little early today however I just heard the beep telling me it's ready.