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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Free Fall.

 Well, I guess the sort of bad news is I told my new employer I would not be gracing their hallowed halls again - not for me! It was a good and a bad thing - good because it made think about what I really wanted to do and bad because, well,  I felt bad about it. I didn't go into this job lightly and I know it will leave them short.  But I could not even make myself go back again, the last night there I was dreading going and that is not a good way to feel on your orientation!! Not to mention one of the nurses that was orientating me told me I would start running if I was wise. Hmm. Now don't go getting upset - I have an interview on Monday and will not say what I'm doing until things are set in stone. We're in good shape financially for now, we can't go tossing money around but we're ok.  David did the numbers and we can afford for me to be unemployed for a couple of weeks. So there. I leave for California next week to see Jackson and Brandi get married, I can't wait for that. I can't believe I'm old enough to have a son that can get married. He really loves her and they make a great couple - I'm so glad. It seems so many people these days have such a hard time finding someone to share their lives with. I'm not sure why - but it's a shame. There's a lot to be said for a marriage that lasts for decades, someone to always be with you. And I will get to see Hollywood and all sorts of California stuff! I hope they have a yarn store or two - that would be fun! Well, fun for me, I can't speak for anyone else. I continue to work on the shawl, I'm on the first repeat of chart E - I am about a third of the way done now I suppose. I am keeping it on the wood needles so there won't be an issue with my flying with it. I have my ereader ready too for the flight. Not much going on, Molly and Reuben are the same, except Molly has taken up humping Reuben so she gets yelled at for that because it makes Reuben all squirrelly - like something out of a bad prison movie on the Lifetime channel. The beat goes on.


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Molly, A Month Later.

 Adam said something the other night about Molly being here a couple of weeks - I said I thought it was longer than that - and to my surprise, she's been here a little over a month. It seems like she's always been here, doesn't it? Pearl still crosses my mind on a regular basis, sometimes when I'm walking in our woods in the back of the property I can almost see her bouncing down the trail,  happily weaving through the undergrowth. But it's happy memories now, I think more of the life she lived rather than the way she passed. Molly is currently sleeping in the chair with me as I write this, when she sees me in the chair she comes over to sit and stare until I shuffle to one side. Then she begins the process of contorting and squeezing until she's right side up and draped over so I can knit over top of her. She and Reuben are not allowed to sleep in the bed at night but we have a gate across the doorway so they can see us and they share a giant dog bed. When we get up they're welcome to come hang out while we drink our coffee and watch the morning news. Morning involves a great deal of Twirling and So Forth - we spend A LOT of time out in the yard. They come out of the backdoor like marbles in a chute, chasing each other and barking madly - it's pretty funny and they never tire of this game. We are considering a possible fence in the spring after the renovation sells, our big concern is still the road. They've both gotten better and don't actually go into it, but still, all it takes is once. But Molly doesn't need to be on the leash anymore, I take it just in case but she stays in line for pieces of biscuit. They both enjoy visiting next door when Blackjack is out, he's the rescue dog our neighbors adopted soon after we got Molly. Since she's the girl she has shown both Blackjack and Reuben Boobin who's boss and will snap at anyone who thinks otherwise. She is Molly Bolly by the way. She remains better with men than women - when our neighbor Hazel came over she hid in the living room and peeked around the corner until she was sure nothing was going to happen but when John came over and she saw Jim out in the yard she trotted right over, tail wagging. But she's nowhere near as fearful as she once was, now barking at the garbage men with fearless abandon from the safety of the front window of course. She fully understands the No Eating Cats rule is strictly enforced and after repeatedly taking away bones, she and Reuben understand they must be shared. Reuben seems much, much happier to have a partner in crime, even if he does have to share bones and affection - they're never apart, where one goes the other follows. Molly still eats her meals in the computer room with the door shut, but that's to reduce her anxiety  over her food, not any aggression related reasons. I am still amazed she's here at all, when Pearl died we had pretty much decided we would not be getting another dog. But the day we saw the picture of Molly that Matt posted - I knew she belonged to me, that she was perfect for us. It wasn't easy adjusting all of the time, when you adopt an adult dog, especially one that hasn't had an easy time of it, there's a lot you need to do. The dog has gone from a bad situation to a good situation with a foster family, then yanked out of that into a totally new and scary environment. You have to gain trust - and that means no real discipline until they no longer fear you. We learned very quickly if Molly says she has to go out NOW - she means it. If you don't believe her, the well placed poop in the middle of the stair case will ensure that won't happen twice. She doesn't like the rain at all but is fine once you start walking. She loves to play and smiles often, she's a happy snuggle butt. True to her breed she's the quintessential Nosy Neighbor, poking her schnoz into every one's business, not much gets by her ever open peepers. But the rewards and joy she has brought to this house far outweighs what efforts and adjustments we all had to make. Happy One Month Anniversary Molly - and many, many more!


Sunday, February 10, 2013

This. and That.

 The shawl is coming along quickly, I am already on Chart D - that's why I love this pattern because it's complicated enough to look beautiful, but simple enough to do while you watch TV. My hand is healing up nicely. Oh, did I forget to mention that? No pictures please. I was out a couple of nights ago without a flashlight and one of the leashed dogs got tangled around a tree. Too late in the dark did I realized it was tree of thorns, and big ones at that. My hand is healing now  but one of the sites is infected OF COURSE but  not too bad. I am sort in between insurances - I have the conversion for the Blue Cross and it's retro-active which is good enough for now. It's hard because we're only talking four weeks. The job is a big change - I did  part of a med pass yesterday and because it's a nursing home/rehab facility everyone is on a boatload and there's 30 patients to give meds, breathing treatments, etc to. Crazy! I'm getting used to my new co-workers, jury is still out on that one. Not that they're not nice, they are - but not completely sure if I'll fit in there. I wanted to get out of management but after ten years in home care, this a big 360 for me. For the next month I'll be rotating shifts - I did days this week, afternoons next week, nights after that and then back on days for a week. They orientate you to all shifts which is nice, that way you get an idea of what goes on in case you end up on that shift plus you get to meet all your co-workers. And of course the change in schedule. I missed John's birthday party this weekend and David went by himself, he said it was fun and if he ever decides to buy a hay baler he has all the information on that subject he will ever need because someone was getting a new hay baler and it was the big topic. Hazel was nice and sent a piece of cake over which was super nice. The upside of this is I have Monday and Tuesday off and I always love having days off during the week. We are signing with Howard Hanna tomorrow, David has decided to put the house on the market for a couple of months to see how it does, but no more than that. If it's doesn't sell, it will be rented with the option to buy. We are done with the Disgruntled Relatives - honestly two words - GROW UP. David continues to finish up the house, his nickname was Heloise around here because he always has some cleaning shortcut he's thought up or found in some obscure place. David cleaned all the fan lights that were covered with nicotine, I was pretty sure that was what was making the house smell faintly. There are about 6 fans with four lights - he brought them home in a clean garbage can. I was how are we doing to clean all of these - he thought of something I never would have. He ran them all through the dishwasher! They came out as clean as the day they came out of the box - Heloise strikes again.




Wednesday, February 6, 2013

I love a (Wo)men in uniform.


I had my first day at my new job, it always feels like the first day at a new school doesn't it? Should I wear shoes? sneakers? Jeans? What if I show up in jeans and everyone else is wearing dressy clothes? Should I bring or buy? The lunch question was solved by my bringing it and leaving it in the car - that way I could just retrieve it if it was Situation. I did  end up getting it out of the car, they gave us lunch but it was roast beef. And they spooned gravy all over it so there was little escape. I ate the cabbagie part and a little of the potato pancake that wasn't infested with liquidated corpse juice but couldn't eat more than that. And since I had made myself a super swanky salad with feta cheese and olives scampered out to the car to get it.  The orientation was like all others,  a little uncomfortable because I don't know these people - but exciting too. I will be back on the floor after 3 years of management which I'm looking forward to. I am tired of the stress, the problems, the having to get cases and then tell people we don't have staff, have staff and no cases to send them to. I just don't have the nerves for it anymore. And I'm not saying never again, this company I've joined there's room to advance if you want to - or you can go to another building.  Tomorrow we have to wear our scrubs so when I got home I pulled out a week's worth - I had given a lot away but kept all my super favorites. I pulled down the ironing board and started in - it was a reflex ironing out a week's worth, hanging pants, jacket and top together so in the morning I just grab and run.  This week it's all 7 - 3, next week 3 - 11, then 11 - 7, then California, then on my regular shift. I will  be working every Friday and Saturday, but will be off Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Since David is self-employed that's not an issue for me to be off during the week as opposed to the weekend. I continue to knit on my shawl, I did end up buying yarn this weekend but just two little skeins of sock yarn. I had picked out a camo that looked very interesting - until I got up to the cash registered and found it was $27, not $12 - Yikes! Back it went. On my next day off I'm organizing my books and needles, maybe cleaning out the fridge. I am trying to do at least one major thing a week. I have not attempted to do any window cleaning since that little incident I had pancaking off a table that sent me to the ER. Do you know I still have a pretty dark scar on the front of my leg from that? But it's not dented anymore so I don't worry about it. Life is too short and I'm sure there are more tables to fall off in my future.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Winding Down

I'll be back to work on Wednesday - I wanted to take time to get organized, get some things done. I did get some things done - organized? Hmm. WELL, I did organize my yarn this morning. The yarn hater stayed downstairs because his opinions and comments are not appreciated, including suggestion of therapy needs and a possible shot at Hoarders. I bought some more Space Bags, not because they work as Seen On TV, but because they're big and work well with yarn.  You can really squash a lot into them.I am not putting a picture of my stash up either, the last time I did that it took everyone months to get over it, including a very jealous yarn community. I got comments from people I didn't even know for months!!  I separated everything by weight and type. I was surprised to see how much baby yarn I have - I'm not overly fond of them ( I don't hate them but I don't go looking for them either)( I probably shouldn't even say that, there are some babies I'm very fond of and have made them things)(But not enough to justify that giant bag) and I don't even know that many. I was not surprised to see how much sock yarn I have or lace weight. I also had a fair amount of bulky weight - I have some lovely chenille that would make a great blanket. I am donating about a garbage bag full, it's yarns that were either given to me or yarn that looked like a good idea but is really not. I have one type that's string with bits of fluff tied every inch. I have no idea what project I thought I would be able to use if for, but I've dragged half a dozen skeins through ALL of our moves and have yet to put needle to yarn. I vaguely remember trying to knit with it but it being very aggravating - it just looked like a tangle of string with a bunch of yellowy-green lint scattered. I have no idea either. It's hard giving it away - a true knitter rarely gives anything away,we squirrel every hank of yarn, every needle like a yarn free Holocaust is coming our way. It's true - the next time you go to a second hand bookstore or a thrift store - look around. Oh I'm not saying you won't ever find a knitting related item - you will. You'll either find a tiny pile of crap - plastic needles, novelty yarn, books from 1989 featuring sweaters with dolmen sleeves knitted out of florescent acrylic yarn or truly frightening crocheted clown dolls. And it was only given away because of lack of space I'll bet. Once in awhile you'll hit the mother lode - a knitter has passed on to that great alpaca farm in the sky and some well meaning relative - or a yarn hater - had done a clean sweep. Usually this doesn't even happen because the second one knitter is offered to "look through and see if there's anything you want" - we take it all. Every last needle and stitch marker is added to our dragon hoard of yarn with the lucky recipient gloating for weeks since it was free. I have slowed down a great deal, I'm out of room for needles, yarn, books, bags and accessories - I can't even justify that much more. But since tomorrow is my last day off for awhile, what better way to celebrate but a yarn trip?


Friday, February 1, 2013

What Goes Up, Must Come Down.........

..........and that includes the temperatures. We had two spectacular, crazy warm days, the second day actually hit 69 degrees! In January! But alas, like a good party it had to end. And ended big time f course. The thermometer plummeted, the snow fell, the ice firmed up. Molly had a little hesitation but then developed snow fever and they happily fly around the yard chasing each other and stalking field mice. They have boundless energy, this morning they were using the couch as a launch pad - Molly did a bank shot off, went flying and landed on top of Reuben  slinging them both under the coffee table. - thank goodness they're hardy creatures! We are enjoying them immensely as you might think. They're well matched in both temperament and energy levels - I still can't get over how perfect she is for our house. It's like she's always been here. I took off a few days between jobs so I've just been doing some cleaning and hanging out, David and I took a day to go shopping the other day. I had a gift certificate left over from Christmas so we went to the mall in Washington, I got my haircut, we had breakfast out and just shopped. It's not as much  fun since my favorite yarn shop closed, there is a new one that I've been to - Kid Ewe Knot - but it's a bit further and there was nothing I needed so we didn't go. Yesterday I stayed home all day. I was going to go out, but there was not I needed and we need to get out of the habit of shopping just to go shopping. David continues to work on the Bruceton Mills house, I think he's leaning more towards selling it than renting - that's been an ongoing discussion as the big issue is it's 40 miles from us so it would be difficult to keep an eye on it. David is mulling over just selling it and buying another closer to us to try t do a rental. I'll be glad when it swings one way or the other - tired of being house poor! I started the shawl the other day and I'm doing the Girosole shawl again, but in a lighter weight yarn in grey. I paged through all the patterns I have but I wanted something no overly hard as I'll be taking it with me on my trip to California so I needed something that wouldn't be screwed up if it didn't have my full attention. I'll be on my rosewood circulars by the time I'm ready to go on vacation so it won't be an issue flying with them. I've never had them taken for security reasons but I'm not taking any chances. It used to make me mad they would take your needles but not pencils and pens which if you think about it, can do the same amount of damage.

For Peat's Sake.

 On the upside the temps have been amazing for the past two days, in the 60's yesterday and close to 70 today. A little rain but with these warm days I'll take it. On the downside is the mud. I've written about mud before, here since it's clay it takes on a magical quality. Between the snow that melted and the rain that came the back yard is a giant quagmire. The kitchen floor is swept when the mud dries and mopped once a week, it's just not worth it anymore than that. I saw the neighbor Jim with their new dog Blackjack. Blackjack jumped up and planted his paws on my shoulders, lost his balance a little and straightened himself out much to Jim's dismay. I just asked him if he'd noticed I was already covered in mud so what was a little more. Of course since I'm between jobs and it was warm I spent most of yesterday out in the yard with the hooligans who were both absolutely loving it.  I have a couple of pairs of shoes specifically for the backyard and my pants are washable so nothing is a problem.  The fun thing about living in a rural area is you can dress like a lunatic all day long - there's no one to really see you but the neighbors that are dressed the same, you just need to remember to change before you leave the house. As you can see the socks are finished, they went pretty fast. I started on a shawl - yes I know I had said I was thinking about a sweater but I had already skeined the yarn awhile ago so what the heck. David has been busy finishing up at the Bruceton Mills house, the big game this week was Find The Septic Tank, a delightful game that was played here last year at this house with the neighbor John, a hand drawn map from the owner's former son and a big iron pole. That was a fast game after David found out from the neighbor that no one ever remembered seeing it pumped(the guy that pumped it 12 hours after it was located told David he was amazed it didn't back up it was so plugged). But I digress. David has been poking around off and on for the past month with no luck so he had to rent locator equipment and finally found it - five feet down!! We have no idea but it's a 1000 gallon tank and the health department is coming tomorrow to inspect, keep your fingers crossed. Since it's raining today we took the day to hang out, went out to breakfast, go my haircut, did the shopping. After the past crazy months, it was a relief. I have a few other things to  wrap up - I had to get a physical the other day and was declared perfect again, but was taken aback that I've gained about 15 pounds. There is no mystery there - I ate it back. I have no problem losing it when I want to  - I just wish I could figure out not how to keep it off ( we all know the answer to that) but how to stay motivated to WANT to keep it off.