Made To Fit

Hopefully by sometime tomorrow I will post the pictures of the finished sweater - I have only 3 more rows to go, the stitching and then it's done and on to the next project. I'm occasionally asked if I can knit something specific if the yarn and pattern are picked out. No. The reason being is first of all I have enough yarn stashed throughout my house to insulate a Scottish castle in winter so the idea of having yarn sent IN would be enough to drive the Yarn Hater off the deep end and second of all, well, Gauge.  Every project I make is a surprise to me, if it comes out the right size there are generally planet alignments and karmic interventions involved. Most  projects are subjected to public scrutiny and whoever thinks it will fit them gets it.  I believe Kim still possesses the Pink Bathrobe which was supposed to be a women's medium cardigan. I wish I could find that picture she sent of her father modeling it - please keep in mind her father is 6'4" and the sweater came to about his knees.  I have gotten better over the years and haven't produced anything gigantic in awhile, but I suppose the other part is it takes the fun out of it. I very much enjoy the process of finding a project that is new or a challenge to me, picking out the yarn and the needles - picking out who is going to get it and mailing it off.  That's not to say I don't make things with specific people in mind, I do but I get to pick the project and if at some point it no longer fits the recipient - it's no pressure. They didn't know they were getting it anyhow so it can change direction midstream and no one is the wiser and if it does work out, better yet.  I loved surprising my cousin and her husband with matching handmade blankets for both of their sons in different colors or sending a handmade shawl all the way to England - I'm sure some of projects I've given away  have been shuttled to the attic or given away, but honestly, after I'm done, it's gone and I've moved on. So Pearl and I are parked on the couch BBC is on the TV set and I'm ready to get it finished, stay tuned!

Someone's Having A Birthday

The yard is awash in all sorts of flowers - some planted, some wild. David has been avoiding mowing the backyard because it's just a carpet of these tiny purple flowers. His birthday is today, someone sent him a tin of Tastykakes and it has no return address or card, so we don't know who sent it. I don't think we're doing too much tonight but tomorrow we will celebrate everything in general. The weather is not supposed to be good but whatever.  The house we were supposed to close on fell through - our title company refused to insure it which basically means there was something hinky going on. There was a lot of protesting from the other party but when asked to send information to disprove The Hinkiness there was silence on the other side which leads me to believe we have dodged that bullet. The prices have dropped but you have to be very careful at the same time, people are hiding things and it's up to you to ferret them out, otherwise you might end up paying a lot more for that "bargain" than you intended. So David and Harry will begin hunting again, it's an annoyance as David starts works at his new job on Monday plus he has three weeks of classes at night so time is fairly limited. We have to find someone to come walk Miss Pants during the day for the next 3 weeks, with me out of the house for 11 or 12 hours and now David that's just too long of a day for her  - it's only for a few weeks so it's not a huge deal.  And most days I can't guarantee it will only be for 11 or 12 hours. The sweater is so close to being finished it's driving me crazy - 6 more rows on the right band, a little stitching here and there and DONE.  But we have so much more to do - we have to do a lot of  shopping tomorrow, there's Mother's Day (yes it will all be late, thank you for asking) and we have to do the entire week's grocery shopping as no one will have time for that stuff. Eek!

A Good Day, But Not A Good End

The expo was a bit of a stomach churner I have to admit. It was a very last minute thing and due to circumstances I ended up manning the table by myself for 7 hours.  Our display didn't make it in time and due to some sort of mix-up the sign over my area said Erb's Landscaping. I finally took it down after being asked for the 3rd time if I mowed lawns. But it was fun, I saw some people that I know and have a preliminary meeting set up for next week, I got to see the World's Biggest Comb Over which was hilarious - it was the most carefully sculpted display bordering on fascinating. I also learned not to leave the basket of giveaways unattended - they're like beavers on a wood pile, they cleaned the whole thing out!! And you would think some people had never seen a pen before the way they acted. I had one elderly gentleman impart to me he comes to these things to get stuff for his grandchild - and what little boy or girl wouldn't want a Jar Lid Opener??  The whole idea is to let people know our office is in the area - we have the table for two days but I don't have to do it again. I stayed until 7 pm and packed up my toys and left. The traffic was not too bad and as I was driving I passed a few dead deer - this time of year there are quite a few on the side of the road, along with skunks, raccoons, etc. but as I passed yet another, it registered that the deer's head was up. I have to admit, I kept driving - I was tired, wanted dinner and I have to get up early, besides someone else would certainly call. But what if they didn't? So I turned my car around and drove by just to make sure of what I'd seen - that poor creature. It was crying and trying to pull itself across the road to the woods, I can't imagine. There was a bar on the side of the road about a 100 yards down and I went in -  the bartender knew what to do, she came out with me and called 911 to give the exact location and she said they'd send the warden to put it down.  Part of you always wants to say no, it's not fair - and it's not.  But at least it wouldn't spend the night in the ditch suffering until it either succumbed to it's injuries or shock - that I couldn't live with. And I never want to get so busy I let someone else take care of it - because sometimes YOU are someone else. 

Lay About

Given my odd sleeping patterns, if I sleep past 5 am I actually consider it sleeping in. And like last night the real reason I'm ever able to sleep that late was because I was up around 2 am, visiting with the 2 AM Girl of course. We had someone come look at the house and his former job was dog show judge - specializing in       Vizslas(coincidences abounded yesterday....). He told David that Miss Pants was beautiful, but she knew that so it was not news to her. David said he loved the house and Harry also called telling David someone else was interesting in our fine establishment. Good for us? Sort of -  the house we're under contract for has developed a bit of a financial problem, it's the first time we've ever done a short sale and as Harry would say, things can get touchy so we will have to wait and see. I don't get overly worried as something usually happens at the eleventh hour but it gets a little tiresome. David starts his new job today, he's been taking all sorts of tests and classes and is now an armored guard. As much as he misses being a subcontractor the economy isn't going to bounce back enough and he's just getting tired of the stress of whether he's going to be paid or they'll try to skip out.  I met the nurse the director hired for a full time position - we were talking about moving and I mentioned I was from Long Island - so is she! She graduated from Mercy in Riverhead (she's from Center Moriches) and spent a lot of time out where I'm from. We compared bars we had loved as teenagers, it was pretty funny.  I'm going to work late today because I have to work late today, they have an expo in East Stroudsburg and yesterday about 5-ish my boss asked me if I'd mind participating. Since my new activities includes Talking To Strangers I of course said yes - I told you this whole thing was full steam ahead, didn't I? But the event runs from noon to 7 pm so I'm going into the office later. David will be out today to finish up his orientation, back and then out tonight for his first shift. Well.

Spring Is In The Air, Along With The Rain

It has been raining off and on for the past couple of days, so quite naturally the lawn is having a free for all and the field behind the house grows tall. It makes taking Pearl out quite a feat as first of all, the critters are here and there and second of all, she finds it Quite Exciting to be wet and the whole business involves Leaping and Twirling whenever possible. She hasn't bowled me over yet but is working on it. David's birthday is Friday so we will have cake, I have to think of what to get him - he's not the easiest person to buy for and he does not like yarn. At all. Speaking of which , I finished the first half of the neck and hood band and now just have the other side to go - I'm busy plotting my next project and am not sure what I'll be doing. I'm hoping to have the weekend off this coming week, I have to hire another per-diem as the one of my hires has been dragging it out and I've just about given up the ship. We heard from Jackson a few days ago and he's down in Mississipi and enjoying life in general. He complained that he has to pay for his room, so now he has TWO bills - one for the cell phone and one for the room. Poor Jackson, first he had no bills, now he's on a roll. However, the bill for the room is $14 every two weeks (also known as "a dollar a day") AND it includes someone that not only cleans your room but makes your bed. His meals are also provided by the above said institution, along with medical care, etc - the only way he could do the same for less is to go to prison and then you have to worry about others being a Good Neighbor so I told him to maybe be quiet. But he does sound happy these days.

No Rest For The Wicked

The other patient didn't get home until late yesterday so the nurse couldn't admit - so I now have two admissions to do. At the moment I'm sitting in bed but have to be out and about by 7:30 - I scheduled early because I'd rather get it over and done with and at least have the afternoon to dawdle about. Yesterday I did NOTHING for once, I did do a tiny bit of housework but for the main part I was either sitting outside and reading while Pearl pursued a fresh bunny or was sitting on the couch watching cheesy horror movies.  From Hell did not live up to any one's standards and given my amazingly low standards (anyone who can sit through Pinocchio's Revenge can pretty much sit through anything) that is saying a lot.  But I watched it anyhow and continued knitting away, I finished the hood and am now in the true home stretch - only the band has to be finished and it is DONE. I didn't take a picture yet as with it under construction it just looks like a pile of yarn. David is almost finished with the downstairs, the prison bathroom is no longer a prison bathroom and we have walls - he did all the spackling yesterday. We are supposed to have someone looking tomorrow, with the market down they've gotten a lot of phone calls on the house but no lookers. It's a bit worrisome but we can always rent it for awhile so it's not the end of the world.  Everything is turning green around here, it was winter for so long and now the trees are getting leaves and flowers are all over. We had a huge amount of growth by the front porch and we can finally see what it is - Lily Of The Valley so it should smell good out there soon.

The Nifty Swift!

For those of you not in the know, this is a yarn swift - a difficult to find and expensive item. And no, I don't know why they're so expensive because you can actually make a functional one out of a plastic Lazy Susan, 2 hangers, duct tape and paper plates (there's actually a tutorial site that shows you how). A cheap plastic one will run you between $30 and $40, the wooden ones can go for over a hundred. I've been very busy this week so it's been languishing on my dresser all week, silent and motionless. But it was finally Friday yesterday!

So, after a very long day at work I got one of my lace weight skeins and had at it - it worked perfectly and I wound the whole thing with no tangles at all. Not to mention it is a very attractive thing, isn't it? Work has been picking up, Friday was a free for all and I'm doing admissions this weekend - at this point we can't afford to turn anything down, staff or no staff. I hired the second part time PT - at one point during the interview I was being to wonder who was doing the interviewing! But both have home care experience and that's what we need right now. I didn't get home until after 7, but I have today to lay around with the zoo, Claw has joined me in bed at the moment and we are watching How Clean Is Your House (we're a rather low key group in the am). Last night we watched Zombie Town which was so - so, the plot was pretty standard(snarling flesh eating zombies lurching about)  and the budget was low so it was a good thing to relax and unwind with.  I don't think I'm doing ANYTHING today - I should go shopping since I still have birthday money and more on my AC Moore gift card - I used it with a coupon so I still have a bit to go. AND AC Moore has a store card now that you acquire points on for a $10 gift certificate, the Yarn Hater was very excited about that. Not.  But I can always go tomorrow, my money will still be good and we're not going anywhere.