Faith restored

I know, I know, two blogs in one day, can you tell I have had too much coffee. I have been a little upset about a missing knit kit from the shop. I searched and figured it must have gone to the shoplifted fish mitten hell. I have one very good customer that actually bought one of the knit kits from me and she had been there for a class and thought just maybe, maybe she accidentally picked it up thinking it was hers and took it home. I had actually hoped that, that was the situation because theft makes me ill. Now how to approach asking is an uncomfortable situation, but I know her and she is sweet and nice and hey it happens, so I did. She went home and dug around in her bag and like all of us, and our bags, we can understand the junk we can accumulate in one's bags. She didn't find it....I went back to being violated, well that is a strong word but, upset none the less, how could someone just take it, how could they steal it?????
TADA
Last night I get a call, it is after hours, so I let it go to voicemail!!! Hi Jan....? Guess what I found??? Turns out she couldn't find her knit kit either and began searching and the two knit kits were mingling in a separate bag, together, probably laughing at the both of us....comparing clickers or tape measures, hiding snuggly in a knitting bag. So the knit kit will be home soon, turns out it was just on vacation, away from prodding hands, testing it out and pulling the tape measure, prying open it's backside, clicking the counter.....ha vacation is over baby, you're coming home....no more bag jumping!!! Being that all of these little kits look alike, we are now planning on putting stickers on them so we know which one is ours and which one is a bag jumper!!!! So warning, I have a wayward knit kit that may jump into your bag, I will put a return address on him and if by chance he jumps into your bag, looking for a getaway, you will know he is destined to be mauled by many at the shop, please return him, no questions asked, he is just that way!!!!! LOL

Moms

I can never bring up a topic about my mom, that people my age don't go OMG, I know exactly what you are saying. I am sure our children will be doing and saying the same things. At Christmas this year and every occasion that the family is together, "she needs an audience" she looks at me and says about my nose stud...."Is that a zit??" and I always reply I wish my zits sparkled??? She never fails to mention it, but only with an audience. Old Ladies love curly hair, I don't know what my mother's fascination with curly hair is but she would love nothing more than for me to have a fuzzy perm, like the days of old. My hair has always been stick straight unless of course you go back to the days my mother would wrap them in rags and it took two days for it to dry and then these ringlet locks would trail down my back and other old ladies would ogle my perfectly curled ringlets. Of course I looked like Shirley Temple and who didn't want to look like her. So now in these days of menopause, one strip of my hair got curly, in the back underneath??? This was one of the reason I chopped off my long hair...what do you do with a strip of curly hair, that looked like someone shoved crinkle fries around my collar? So off it came. I also use a CPap machine, this helps me breath at night because like a zillion other people I have sleep apnea and stop breathing more times in a second than seems possible but it does help. Believe me the first time I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at my reflection in the window, strapping on my headgear, it became very evident my days of wild sexual sleepovers was pretty much a thing of the past, not that I was actively thinking of it, but it assured me those days were over. So where I am going with this is my mask, has a band that goes around the back of my head, causing a little kink in my hair sometimes. I'll be darned if my mom doesn't see that every time and say..."Oh look what pretty curl you are getting in your hair????" So now we have two things to discuss, no it is not a zit and the curl is from my head gear mom.....I won't even mention that she makes the comment "Is that thing there (my tattoo) fading???? No mom my skin is dry as I lick it and the color pops....Happy New Year!!!!!

Turning a new leaf

With the New Year brings new things. Change is good, sometimes change makes us nervous and unsettled but it keeps us on our toes. In order to keep up with technology we have to change we are forced into it and we have two options...embrace it or fight it. I am learning that, not only is technology something that changes on a regular basis but so does business. Business is an ever revolving door, bringing in the new and saying goodbye to the old. Upgrading and moving in different directions, it is a constant change, to keep abreast of the new and always looking for the different. I so appreciate the customers that keep me moving in new directions and when they find something they will send me links and ideas. As we move into a New Year, look forward to change....New friends new experiences, new projects. Think of the New things that can impact your life. Step into a new pair of shoes and throw out the old ones, the comfy ones. I am looking forward to January 1, 2010!!! New ideas, new rules, new projects, moving in a new direction, better and always improving. Shedding the old boring and predictable, stepping out, leaving the old to settle in the dust. A rut is a bad thing to get into, think of something new you can do? A new project? Something you have never done.....learn to spin? Learn to knit?....Learn to felt...Learn to do something.....Learn to expand you horizons.....as I always say, " what is the worst that can happen to you???? You die???? and who has died from doing something new??? who has died from learning to make socks??? LOL...Let's turn over a new leaf....not a stupid New Years resolution, but a new you....just a little...a new change of some sort....expanding your life, just a bit....and one step at a time will make a difference in each of us...I am excited to ring in 2010.....step out of the old and into the new.....!!!!

I think my hearing is bad???

On one note, I am feeling a little better, in the evening??? Most of the time people feel worse at night but not me, I feel better??? So I had to leave the house, for a few minutes anyway and took to the snow covered roads for take out somewhere. While I'm driving the radio is advertising some kind of Lighthouse keeping? hhhhmmm that is a weird ad?? Yeah that is what I heard, it was light housekeeping for an elderly housing ad. It made me laugh and think of my brother, he was watching the news and Sally Severson and another woman were discussing the Labor day activities and the BBQs going on all over town and the woman looks at Sally and says, "I can't wait to get some of that chicken salad", so my brother starts questioning "Chicken Salad, who said anything about chicken salad and chicken salad this and that and my SIL looked at him and said "Scott, she said "I can't wait to get some of the chicken Sally!!""" I wonder if it runs in the family????

Difference between kids and friends

I am still feeling like crap. Tonight I was supposed to cook dinner for my son and his wife, Indian Tacos, nothing fancy. It would require running a vacuum cleaner over the floor and I really am not up to it. So I make the call to my son, Hi Mike, hey I wanted to give you enough time to get something for dinner, I am just not up to cooking tonight, I still feel like poop. Oh mom that's Ok, I hope you feel better? Love you bye
Now what I dreamed of hearing was
Oh Mom can we run something over to you??? do you need anything?? hahahahahahahahahhha and I know you are laughing too!!!!! That is where friends come in and they are the ones that will say
Can I bring you something??? Are you taking something?? Drink lots of water...do you need soup????

The comfort of friends!!!!

Tradition

My mom is not sentimental and tradition is pretty much not in our family. My father probably did more for tradition than either parent but there is this one dish. My mom got this plate as a present from a neighbor that did ceramics. I loved this plate and knew it was a special occassion when the plate came out. I would run my fingers along the berries, it had ridges on the edge, unlike the usual round plates, and when we washed the dish, it was with special care that I wiped it dry. Some how it got a chip in it, not under my watch, but when I got it, so I used a green marker and covered the white clay from peaking out and ruining the sea of green. Some time ago my mom gave me the plate, it is still my favorite memory of handmade cookies and ribbon candy, a special Christmas memory. I bring the plate out every year and it brings back warm memories with it. It is nothing fancy, and I don't really like dishes, but this one dish has magic in it. I wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas.

Feeling like dog dodo

When I get sick, I take after my male counterparts, it is pretty devastating. I think it may be because I don't get sick often that it really affects me. I tend to make it more drama than really needs to be, I should just suck it up. This crud that I have is making me dizzy, scary passout dizzy. I cough really hard and then hold on to the chair so I don't pass out. I am thinking it is sinus, because they can do that to you. I have the kids over for Indian Tacos on Christmas eve. Good thing about that is they can help cook. I am not knitting, I am not doing anything but whinning. I have no desire to do anything....but whine. The parties are all over and it goes by so fast. We are once again in for some "weather" as they say in Kansas. Speaking of I am signed up for "Yarn School" once again in Spring, there will be six of us rooming together, it will be a blast. Well I need me some nap!!!!

Great Party

Holy Schmolly!!! I decided to suck it up and go to the party. I think I feel worse in the morning than I do in the afternoon, which is not how I normally feel, which is worse at night, but....We went to the party, I didn't have the caroling CD, but it's Ok, I may have had to cough and choke if I sang too much. The back of the car was full of Holiday treats and presents and I felt like I was part of Santas sleigh group. The party was warm and fun as usual and the gifts were exchanged, but it was my friends behind the scenes that gave me the best of the best!!!! I soooo want to thank them. It was fun and exciting and I got a real surprise with the 12 days of Christmas and that penguin there, in the photo.....now how cool is this...you put a tea bag on his beak and he steeps your tea for however long you set the timer and then his beak comes out of the hot water removing the tea bag, he is so cute, I have been just watching his ticker all morning!!!! It is snowing beautifully here, I love, the snow and am a little happy we didn't have to drudge through the snow last night. Thanks again for all of the fun and it was so good to see everyone last ngiht.

How to tell if a store is closed

Dear friends,
When you approach a store and there are no cars around it may be a clue. When you approach the door and the lights are off, the sign says Closed Mondays, it's dark inside and the door is locked, ringing the door bell will not make it all magically open up for your browsing convenience. Ringing the doorbell twice will only PO the person that lives there and wonder what could be so important that you have to ring twice. What knitting emergency could you have that requires an immediate response. I am feeling sick since Saturday evening. Problem is, it is probably just a cold but I get sick so rarely that I get sick like a man...way more drama than is needed. I call people and tell them I may not make it.....I feel so horribly ill and it's only a stinking cold. I ache, it must be the flu, but it is really a cough and I am coughing so hard it is the pee cough and choke and gag. My body hurts but I am sure it is from the coughing. See I told you more drama than really needed. My lungs are the weak spot for me and sitting in a bar Tuesday with second hand smoke probably started the domino effect....so my punishment is coughing up a lung one piece at a time. I am going to a party tonight, not with the intent of infecting everyone, I think what I have is self induced. I was going to make cute little penguins to take, but it would require, putzing and cutting and the way I feel right now those cute little penguins would end up looking like derranged men in tuxes....I don't care to cook when I feel good, I am not going to cook now.....wah wah wah......I'm going back to bed.

Smitten with Mittens

How cliche was that???? Due to a high demand for knit socks from my sock machine Norman, I decided to make some socks and some mittens. I also needed to make myself some mittens because the ones I have, which are my very favorite, they are light, thin and extremely warm, got caught on the dumpster and have a hole in them, that I did fix but wanted a new pair anyway. So now I am on a mitten roll. I use sock yarn and they are the warmest mittens and can be machine washed, a plus.
I wish it would snow.....Iggy is at daycare and I actually miss him, he is a cuddler in the morning...maybe it's because I put crumbs all over me.

Using a blinker

Driving 101, means that when you are turning you have a thing on the side of the steering wheel, that you push one way or the other to make another little thingy blick which also makes a light on the back and front of the vehicle blink, letting other drivers know you are turning. It should also let other drivers know you would like to turn, possibly into their lane....giving them warning that you "would like to turn" into that lane. This is not a signal to speed up and not allow you to do such an action, it would I think mean slow up so that I don't cut in front of you for your damn rudeness of keeping just enough space that I can't turn into said lane. You may think you will be late if you don't let me in but in fact I am right behind you at the stoplight. Glaring at you in your rear view mirror, yes that is me back there and all of the fidgeting in the World won't make me go away till the light turns and you take off to get rid of me. Again we have lost all etiquette, hurry up and screw the rest of you. Now in fact I know I have missed some peoples blinker myself, sometimes because, they turn it on and as they are turning it on they turn without notice???? I had two Christmas parties in two days.....I had a great time at both of them, it was so nice to see alot of the old workers I worked with and spent a good portion of my life with. Funny how once someone retires they stay looking the same vs. the people still working who seem to age at a very fast rate. That my friends is a plug for retirement!!!

Note to self

It is Ok to pee before you loose the desire to exercise. Hey I am on a roll, I have been doing WII exercise for a week now, every other day that is. Yes I still cheat on forward lunges. On projects: I am knitting on the scarf for Chili, for the Passport in January, I am looking at a mitten I want to knit, in fair isle. I have a pattern in the works, and I am filling sock orders that I have to get done.
Last night I went to a Steamfitter Christmas party and can hardly talk today. I can't remember laughing so hard about nothing?? I can't even remember what we were laughing at so hard and it went so fast that you had to keep up or miss some comment. I'm sure it was something shady, I know it was......it was good to see the guys I used to work with. Another party today, this is for the Miller Retirees, I am getting into the swing of this party thing. Then I have a car full going to another party Monday in Juneau, it is the annual Christmas party of fiber friends, that is if it doesn't snow it always seems to snow on this party date. We sing Christmas Carols really loud and look for the best light displays.....I can hardly wait!!!

Why me?

So I went to this new little deli/cafe for breakfast and is there a reason that obnoxious people feel the need to inform me of that??I am sitting alone waiting for me food to come and in comes Mr Grumperina....he was complaining his whole way in and then settled in a seat close to me. I am thinking my peaceful meal is ruined, but he shut up and drank his coffee only to mumble in response to the television news. So it turned out Ok after all. Today I have a few ideas to try to make into reality. I have some spinning ideas in my head now I have to try to make it work. So off I go.....

Jenny and Me

Day two of working out.....I finally got in the mail my WII My shape with Jenny McCarthy. Oh yeah her and I are good friends now and she speaks to me while I am working out....what she keeps saying is "Follow me" "Check the tutorial if you are having trouble" I say "Shut up Jenny" I can't do jumping jacks without a bra?????" So here is my assessment of the work out programs for the WII...I have bad knees, there is no way I can do deep knee lunges, where you lunge forward and kneel on the back knee. If I did, I would still be genuflecting and the game would be over, I would have missed my nightime pills and bed. I am not going to wreck what is left of my knee by lunging. There is no way to skip these sessions so I learned to cheat. Oh yeah I cheat at my workout program. I found that if you take the controller and move it while sitting on the ottoman, to reflect deep knee bends you get a ton of encouragement, and no "follow me, watch me"....it took me all of 5 seconds to figure this one out, actually right after I couldn't find a skip button. I do feel guilty about it but it should have an old farts, couch potato start up program. In the evaluation for this workout she tells you to do jumping jacks and she is doing it on the left side of the screen and you are on the right side of the screen, (it has a little camera you set up) imagine my excitement while I am setting it up Jenny on the left and me sitting with my nightshirt with a sweatshirt over it, flannel bottoms and on the other side looking less than enthusiatic. it made me laugh...why couldn't I make my trainer a little heavier??? a just like me trainer that is breathing heavy and not constantly talking when we work out together. One that is not shaking the house during our running in place exercise. Thank goodness I live near the airport, I can pawn off the trembling walls to an airplane going rather low.....now the jumping jacks....I take my first jump out and went "holy crap, when was the last time I did one of these?" now I have to jump in?????? I keep saying baby steps Jan, do this in baby steps. I did get through the whole session of the Wii fit, the jury is still out on Jenny. Once again there is yoga on this game, so I think I will try this, so this is the beginning I think???? Stand tall like mountain position, I think?? Go down to dirty dog and posing child and see the sun and backward dog dancing and .....what the heck is this I need BEGINNER YOGA. then the ultimate question? How can I see what they are doing on a tv screen, while my face is embedded in the carpet?????? I will get through this...

Working out

I am going to beat the New Years resolutions. I have a goal I have to meet for me personally and I need to get moving. I have all of the gear I need and that is the WII, it has awesome work out programs and I don't have to leave the house and be embarrassed by "health" clubs. I also am not good at leaving the house, the more excuses I can think of the worse that scenario gets....it's too cold, I am too tired...blah blah blah. So I am fired up, this was Wed. I don't need to start on Monday and next week, if I get the urge I darn well better move on it. I actually have the best Pilates machine and used it all the time at my other home, problem is if I set it up it takes up my whole bedroom it lays out flat and is about 6 feet long, I love it and want to use it but, I know one of my middle of the night pees will end me up in the ER with a smashed toe, broken ankle or more. So it is neatly folded up in my bedroom. I choose the WII, it has games and a personal trainer, besides my avatar looks pretty good. I take Iggy for our freezing walk so the clothing of the day is socks, pj bottoms, nightshirt, sweatshirt...I am ready to work out....They have me doing a warmup that is making me hot....off come the socks, if my feet get hot I get uuuuuuggglllyyyy. I join in again....wooohoooo I am walking at a running pace for me...I don't run and they are telling me lift those knees a little higher and now off comes the sweatshirt......whew. Back at it, now we are going to do some band training, Ok I need my shoes for this because the band is Latex and I can't touch this, we'll see how this will work. Shoes on pants off, OMG I think I pulled a back muscle, but I am doing this and they are telling me I am doing well. So here I am jumping around in my nightshirt, note to self put on a bra...running and old boobies....bra required. So here we go leg squats.....uh uh, newwwwww way, I have bad knees, so I have this numchuck neatly tucked into a leg band and a controller in my right hand. Let's go down and up, oh you need to get into the yellow zone??? I am trying did I tell you my right knee is bad???? helllllooo, Ok I can do a couple of these to strengthen my knees. 1.....2......thhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrreeeeee I can't do this anymore, where is the skip??? There is none so I figured out if you take the numchuck out of it's nice little pouch and twist it up and down, you can do beautiful squats. Ok got that one figured out!!!! So after I work out I feel good, one hour later I am taking aspirin...now why is it people work out????? I am going to do it again today....maybe.....

Sick of Soup

I am not a cook, let alone have to cook for one. Example, I want to make a bowl of soup, or two bowls. Just enough that I won't be eating it for a week. I get out a little meat fry it or brown it, hhmm soup stock, I open this 1/2 gallon container of no MSG, no artificial anything soup stock, pour in a little and simmer. Cut up some onion, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, Ok get a bigger kettle, add more broth, barley, salt, pepper, thyme, basil, a little red wine....no matter what you do you end up with a soup kitchen vat of soup. I made a kettle/vat of vegetable soup and ate some for lunch.....then supper and I put the other 5 gallons into the freezer,which I will end up throwing out in Spring, because I forgot what it was that I froze. One time I thawed spaghetti sauce, and made the noodles only to find out it was sloppy joes....do you think I learned to mark things??? Then I did the I'm going to save all of my meat scraps and freeze them so i can make a broth when I get enough....I had a zillion little baggies of fat balls??? Maybe I just don't like taking out the garbage so I freeze stuff, maybe that is where you can store things till you get some grandchild or kid over to take the garbage out???? I am just now realizing that I should not buy groceries for a week, even though I hate grocery shopping, I am tired of throwing out what once was good food. Then there is the buying repeat purchases, one time I had about 6 bottles of BBQ sauce. Now I am doing it with tomato soup. Although having acorn squash soup and some other stash may come in handy if we get snowed in for a week. At first glance I have a lot of rice, BBQ sauce, garbonzo beans and tomato soup for that impending emergency....I need to start making a list for shopping.

Who knew?

Who knew I had a sled dog? All the summer and dry months my little Iggy, walked very well on a leash. There is snow and some ice on the walks and he turns into a pulling sled dog. Of all the times he shouldn't pull he has begun pulling?? I am going to have my spikes on and let him try then. Our walk this morning I was wondering how quick his little feet would freeze up but he had no problem, neither did I.
On another note, here we go again, with the winter storm watches. At four o clock, due to lack of customers being scared off by the blizzard, I turned on Oprah...no we have breaking news, it's going to snow. HHhmmmmm I have lived in this State my whole life, I remember maybe once being snowed in, once. My heart goes out to the people that are truley getting hit, but come on how long do you think this will last?
If it does last, hunker down with some knitting, spinning and some hot chocolate and watch it snow!!!!! Enjoy the sheer beauty of it. I don't know if I should open or not????

Ahh the parties over

Well yesterday was the Holiday Stroll for the village and we had lots of customers and open knitting. One of the best days for seeing old friends, lots of knitters for open knit and then an after party at my house. We had tons of food and it was a good time. The house is clean and I am vegging today, all day!!! We watched some movies and kicked back. I ate left over appetizers and drank some Cranberry juice cocktail. Iggy has been passed out all day!!! He had a rough party!!!
It was the first Holiday party I think I have had for a very long time, as shop owners we need a chance to unwind after all of the stress of planning. So now I am unwinding, I have two parties left to go to and then I am done. Why is it going to parties is so stressful???? I don't have to bring anything or dress up, well not too dressed up that is. One is for the retirees from Miller and it is really good to see the old gang and the second is the Steamfitters that I worked with at Miller. I am excited about both of them and this year they fall on two different days. Last year is the day I came home to an Iggy poopsicle, he pooped in his cage and had it all over....that was a pleasant surprise, he must have been 10 weeks old. Well all my decorating is done, I only have to bake for the Veterans Christmas party this coming Saturday. By the way I am collecting food for the party and it must be here Friday morning. Baked goodies is what they are looking for.
The family that we were getting all of the help for called Deb from Bella Vita Day spa and told her they don't need any more donations, they have plenty of things now. When was the last time you ever heard anybody say they have "enough" . This makes me even happier that we picked this family. His job called him back and they have got help from the kid's school. They are getting back on their feet. This is when you are rewarded for giving, when they successfully get their life back in shape and are strong enough to admit it, and not make it a lifestyle. This make me feel really good. Thanks to everyone that has helped. We all dug a little deeper into our pockets and look at the results!!! A Very Merry Christmas for one family and many Veterans.

More days this week

I need more days in this week!!!! I need a few more days to get everything done before this weekend!!! I need to clean, cook and make some sort of Holiday cheer drink. I need to decorate the shop, which is priority today!!! So if you come by and see me tangled up in lights, garland and yarn, please go press the coffee button and make me a hot cup of Joe!!!! Tempt me with the coffee to come down from the ladder and breath, not swear. This weekend is our Holiday Stroll, Open knitting and a Holiday Party after hours!!! I shipped some new yarn out to MN, a package to Brown Sheep. The new buttons came in and are beautiful, they are hung on the wall with care, My wireless internet is of course screwing up again, seems like it was four months ago, it did the same darn thing. My hair is colored brightly with glee....I need to vacuum the shop and get ready for Saturday and tonight is Spinning Guild.....so if I look a little frazzled and dazed, once again, get me some chocolate puleeze.