I Did Another Thing

I did another thing today. I’d better be careful or this thing-doing might become a thing.  

So, what is this thing I did today?  Well, I'll tell you. 

I was just sitting there, not doing things.  Not planning on doing things, when all of the sudden I said to myself, "I think I'll get dressed, go down to Walmart and wander through the garden center."  And that's the thing I did. 

They didn't have much out yet, but it is still very early in the season.  All I came home with was five bags of top soil.  

The first thing I did was to top off this spot where I had my sewer line replaced last fall. 

Now that my sewer line is finally fixed right, and I'm no longer washing all my dirt down the drain, I can finally begin to fill in that canyon in my yard.  Of course, I didn't realize it was the plumbing that was the problem until I dug it up, or I would have had someone fix it long ago.  I was blaming the voles, or whatever it is that is digging tunnels in my yard.  In fact, just a few days before all my plumbing woes started last year, I was fussing at the cat, telling her she needed to hurry up and kill the things so I could get this sinkhole filled in.  Turns out it wasn't the little rodents after all, so the cat is off the hook.

I then put some dirt in this low spot where water tends to collect every time it rains, 

and the rest I put where I tried to dig the sewer line up where it had collapsed the first time, wondering if it had broken there again.   

And the last little bit I scattered over the old septic tank.  The first plumber had filled it in with chunks of concrete, but didn't fill in the spaces between the chunks.  Every year, I add more dirt and when it rains, it sinks down and fills in those spaces.  Eventually it'll get filled up.  I hope.  

Full disclosure, this was actually on my list of things to do this week.  It's just one of those things I didn't really expect to get done, so I can cross one more off. 

While I was outside, I went ahead and started moving some of these daffodils. 

That's something I'd been planning on doing for years, but had never gotten around to it.  I only moved these two for now.  

Because I was getting hot and tired.   I put them out by the back fence, where it has better drainage.  I'll eventually get the rest moved there, too.  Heck, I may even do some more tomorrow.  Since I don't plan on doing any more things.  Nothing that requires leaving the house, that is. 

In the meantime, I'm still sorting the junk that came off of my desk and out of the drawer.  I'm down to this one box left. 

But let me tell you, oh the junk I found!  Like this, do you know what these are? 

They are expired credit/debit cards -- some dating all the way back to 2011.  Back in the day, I'd stuck them in the drawer to "deal with later" and just never did.  Now they have been dealt with and are gone for good. 

Then there are these batteries for a camera I used to have that died 15 years ago. 

I'd kept them, just in case I ever got another camera that used those kind of batteries.  They're now disposed of, too.  

And look at this!  Three staplers.  Three!  Why on earth do I need three staplers?  

I'll keep one, and put the other two into the give-away box -- which is getting quite full, by the way.  I'll need to find a bigger box soon. 

Would you believe, some of these markers are 20 years old?  And would you further believe, they still work?  I mean, there were quite a few markers and pens that no longer worked, but I was surprised at how many did still work.  

And oh, the pens and pencils I had in there!  I've still got tons of them, even after I put these aside to take to my friend for her grandson who is still in school.  

Now this here is a real treasure.  It's the little Gideon New Testament I got in Navy Boot Camp.

I'd brought my own Bible, but as we only had a space about the size of a shoebox for our personal items, it just didn't fit.  I had to send it back home, but they had these little Testaments there for anyone who wanted one.  

I also got one in 5th grade, but it was red, and I'm pretty sure that one got ruined in Hurricane Ike.  

And with that, I think I'm done with thing-doing for today.  Time to knit and watch some more Time Team. 

Laters. 

I Didn't Do A Thing

After yesterday's adventures in which I actually left the house, today, I didn't do anything.  Especially not something that involves leaving the house. 

Unless you count checking the mail, I mean.  I did do that. 

So, what else did I do?  Well, I'll tell you.  I finished a hat.

This was knit with Red Heart Blacklight, and I like the way it turned out.  Then I cast on another hat

I like the way this one is knitting up, too.  It kind of reminds me of a Monet painting.  

My other big project for the day was to make a start on cleaning up this mess.  

Let me tell you, I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much junk was in that pile of...um...junk.  I found receipts that were two years old, which I should have dealt with two years ago.  But didn't.  Which is why they were piled on the desk.  Nevertheless, I persevered and everything sorted and filed, or trashed as the case may be.  

One of the big things I wanted to do was to move all those old computer parts --like the monitor, keyboard and such --out of there and do something with them.  I got everything unhooked and off the desk, but for now, they're just stuffed in Cody's closet until I decide what to do with them. Looks much better now.  

I've still got to figure out what to do with all that junk on the top, but I'll get there eventually.  I want to move most of it off of there, and just display a few of my favorite things, like the mug Kristine made for me, and that picture of Cody.  Maybe the polar bear I got from the Memphis Zoo can stay, but the rest of it needs to go somewhere.  

Look at this!  I even cleaned out the little drawer, and was astounded at how much junk was able to fit in there. 

I'm going to put my fountain pens and ink into this drawer, and probably my washi tape and stickers as well.  And, of course, my address labels and stamps.  

The eventual plan is to clean out the little brown filing cabinet on the left side and use it for my letter writing stuff.  You know, all the stuff that is currently stacked on top of it...and the nearby snake tank.

I'm going to move everything in that one into the larger filing cabinet on the right, since it's mostly empty anyway.  Once I'm done, this will become my writing area.  I eventually hope to save up enough for a proper writing desk, but for now, this will have to do.

In other news, I got my taxes done finally.  I'm going to get a bit of a refund -- not much, but at least I don't have to pay out.  I'm even going to get a refund from my state taxes this year!  Woo Hoo!  Knowing I'll have that little bit of money in a few weeks, I splurged and bought the second book in The Dark Is Rising series.   

This one takes a much darker turn than the first book, and definitely don't judge it by its movie.  I watched it years ago, and it bore very little resemblance to Susan Cooper's wonderful story.  

And finally, Walmart had all this hummingbird nectar concentrate on clearance, and I made out loke a bandit.  

It's about time for them to start showing up in this area, so I'd better get my feeder cleaned up and filled. 

I Did A Thing

I did a thing today.  I mean, more than just watching TV.  I did a thing that involved...*looks around furtively*...leaving the house. 

Yes, gentle reader, I actually left the house when I didn't even have to!  

Why did I embark on this adventure?  Well, back in the day, in a conversation on Facebook, I happened to mention to a friend that we have a couple of old Civil War forts here in the area.  I said something about going out and doing a video tour of them, and she was all, "Yes!  Do that!" 

Naturally, I said I would, and just as naturally I didn't.  Until today.  

Without further ado, here for your viewing pleasure, is my walking tour of the two Civil War forts.  First up, the one that has been restored. 

And here is the unrestored fort, so you can see the difference. 

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my town, and let me know if you'd like to see more of these types of videos.  

For now, I've got to recover from all that being outside nonsense with a little Time Team binge.

Laters.

Day One

The first day of my week off, and I didn't do anything.  

I mean, unless you count my usual Saturday chores, that is.  And I got my unemployment filed, which was a pain in the patooty, but it had to be done. I'd also intended to do my taxes, but after the headache of dealing with the state government, I sure didn't want to deal with the IRS.  It's on the agenda for this week, though. 

The only other productive thing I got done was to finish sorting through those owner's manuals I showed you the other day and tossed about half of them.  And that's it.  That's all I did today.

I spent most of the day sitting in front of the TV, just like I told you I was going to, watching a three part documentary on the Great London Fire of 1666, and now I'm watching a Time Team episode where they find an ancient Roman mosaic under someone's back yard.  

I supposed my biggest accomplishment for the day was to get this headband re-knit. 

Look, I even got the button sewed back on.  That was a feat in itself, because my tapestry needle was too fat to fit through the holes in said button.  I had to find my tiniest crochet hook and pull the yarn through with that.  The yarn was still a bit crimpy, even though I'd soaked it well, and it did affect the knitting a bit.  I'm hoping it relaxes and fulls a bit when I put it through the washer and dryer.  I mean, it is acrylic, so it won't felt like wool does, but maybe the fibers will fluff up a bit at least. 

And finally, I finished reading Over Sea, Under Stone, and enjoyed it just as much the 437th time as I did the first.  The only thing is...well, all fiction requires a certain level of suspension of disbelief, and this one is no exception.  Now, I can suspend enough disbelief to accept that three children can accomplish the things they do in this book.  I can even accept magic.  

What I'm having a hard time accepting is that these three children -- the book doesn't give their ages, but the oldest is at least 15 or younger, and we know this because at one point he says, "when I turn 16" -- find a 600 year old manuscript just laying in an attic, and they carry it with them all over this village in Cornwall, repeatedly unrolling and rerolling it, handling it with their bare hands, laying it out on the ground, exposing it to full sunlight -- and it doesn't fall apart.  

That's just a little too much disbelief to suspend, at least for a history geek like myself.  If you can get past that, it's a very very good book.  

Now that I've got my mortgage, electric, and water bills paid for the month, I'm seriously considering splurging and getting the second one -- even if I have to pay full price for it. 

Maybe...for now, I'm going to sit here and watch more Time Team episodes.  

Laters. 

I'm Free!

 "Whatcha going to do with all that time off?" my supervisor asked just before quitting time today.  

"Probably sit in front of the TV all week," was my reply.  "I've got a long list of things I have planned, but I probably won't do any of them."  

But I might actually end up doing something after all.  My friend will have her grandson all week, and she told me he doesn't know it yet, but she's not going to let him just sit the whole time.  She's goign to make him get out and walk some.  

"Oooh, you ought to take him out to walk some of those nature trails at the lake," I exclaimed.  "I bet he'll love that!" 

"Oh, no!  I'll be scared," was her reply.  "If I see a snake, I'll run off and leave him!"

"Call me,"  I told her.  "I'll come with you."

So, that's one thing.  I also need to do my taxes, clean my junk room, and go dress shopping. 

After work, I debated for a long time on whether to go on and do my weekly shopping or just wait until Monday.  In the end, I went on in to town, where I ran into Edna Who Loves To See Her Name In My Blog and her husband Recently Retired Reuben, along with another coworker.  We chatted for a bit about nothing of consequence, then went our separate ways.  It was good to see them again.

As is my custom, while in the store, I had to check out the yarn aisle, and guess what I found.  One more of the half price yarns!  Woo Hoo!  

It was stuck way in the back behind some other yarn, looking all lonely by itself, so I had to give it a home.  In the meantime, I'm still working on the hat I cast on yesterday.  I asked Evil Incarnate to model it for me, and I don't think she was too happy about that. 

And finally...I am not giving up on my bluebonnets.  

I've got some already planted, but I got four more packets of seeds to put back and plant in the Fall, since that's when you're really supposed to.  However, I have to get the seeds now, because they won't have any in September.  

And I got a couple of these wildflower seed packets.  I'd tossed some out last fall, and they're starting to come up.  Hopefully they'll grow.  These I'm going to toss out probably early next month, and just see what comes out of them. 

I guess that's all I have for tonight.  I'll catch you on the flip side. 

One Day More

One more work day until my unexpected week off, and I'm both excited and kind of dreading it.  I'm excited for the time off, but dreading a week with no pay.  I have a couple of vacation days left, but I've decided not to use them this time around.  I've still got a good bit in my savings account, and I'm cutting corners wherever I can, so I think I'll be all right.  If I can convince myself to cut off my internet and just use my phone data, I'll definitely be OK.  

I've been spending the last few days trying to think up stuff to do so I don't end up spending the entire week sitting in front of the TV -- but hey, we all know that's probably what I will end up doing anyway.  

I definitely want to spend at least part of that time trying to get my junk room under control, since it had gotten completely out of hand. I won't frighten you with another photo, but the more stout hearted of you can scroll back a few posts to see the one I already showed you.  But I'll warn you, it's pretty scary.  

I've also got one more thing planned that I'd been promising my friend Kristine for a while, but that'll depend on the weather.  I know it's supposed to rain a couple of those days, but it's supposed to be sunny also.  But cold...If I do this, this Southern girl will have to find a coat.  Or put on 27 layers, one...I'm not going to tell you what that is.  I want it to be a surprise, but I think you'll like it.   

In knitting news, I started re-doing my friend's headband, but didn't get very far at all before I realized the yarn was way too crimped to knit up right.  Doggedly, I plugged along, thinking it would all come out in the blocking, but I finally had to face the fact that it just wasn't going to happen.  Eventually, I broke down and frogged the whole thing, hanked the yarn up, 

and gave it a good soaking in warm water.  The crimp has definitely eased a lot, but the yarn was still damp this afternoon, so it'll probably be Saturday before I cast it on again.  In the meantime, I have cast on another hat, but there isn't enough yet to even show you. 

On a completely unrelated note, this is my neighbor's oak tree.  Those aren't leaves on it. 

They're the oak's flowers, commonly called tassels.  These things are responsible for the pollen that is covering everything in sight.  Well, those and a bunch of other pollen producing things. 

On another completely unrelated note, I pulled up one of those things I think is a wild onion and nibbled on it a bit.  Yep, it's definitely an onion.  I wish they were growing in a more convenient place, because I'd love to keep them around. 

And finally, it would seem I have a very confused cactus.  

Or maybe it's just an Easter Cactus...blooming a month early... 

I Won!

Last week at work, someone came around passing out little comment card type things.  We were supposed to point out safety concerns and suggest solutions.  When we completed them and turned them in, our names were put into a random drawing for a prize.  There were all kinds of prizes available -- from a massive 55" TV to $20 gift cards to local businesses. 

Yesterday, they passed out the prizes and I won a fire extinguisher!

 It was supposed to be random, but I briefly wondered about that, because my concern was the risk of burns. 

I'm sure it was just a coincidence, but it was still pretty cool.  

I have this one coworker, something is definitely wrong with her.  When I got back to my work area with my prize, she said, "I didn't get anything!  Why did they give you that?"

I replied, "This was from those safety cards we filled out last week."

"Oh," she said, "I didn't even turn mine in, but I still should have gotten something!!" 

Huh?  How in the world did you expect to win a contest you didn't even enter?  

Do you know what she did next?  She went and got her cards, filled them out, and turned them in  -- after the drawing had been completed!  My other coworker said, "I told you something was wrong with that girl!" 

"You didn't have to tell me!  It's pretty obvious."  

Oh, but that wasn't all the fun.  One of my coworkers won a prize, only she didn't like the prize she got.  This grown woman stood right there in the sub brazing department pitching a wall eyed hissy fit like a two year old because she didn't want no [unwholesome word] smoke alarm!  She wanted a good prize!  

She slammed the smoke alarm down on one of the brazing stands and told that brazer she could keep it, and stormed off still fussing.  

Folks, this is why I have no problem turning off most of my TV services.  I get plenty of entertainment from my coworkers.  

Spring Is ...

Before I begin, let me clarify a few things about what I posted yesterday. No, we will not be collecting unemployment benefits next week, but this is not ADP’s choice. It has nothing to do with ADP not caring about “there” employees, or even Lennox at all.  They had absolutely no say so in the matter. 

It is state law that when filing for unemployment, you must be off work five days in a row before those benefits begin.  It wouldn’t matter where you work. If you get laid off, you won’t get paid for those first five days.  I think that's part of why The Big Man Up Front chose to shut down for a whole week instead of going to 4 day weeks -- so that if we have to do another shut down later in the year, we will have met the waiting period required by law.  He's hoping it won't come to that, but as he said yesterday, he doesn't have a crystal ball.  He can't see into the future. 

And now, for our regularly scheduled blog post...

As my old Dad would say, spring is busting out all over.  And yet, many of my friends who live up North are still buried in snow, so I decided to give you a little taste of my Spring weather.  

First thing I want to show you is that I got out and scattered my little ice stars with the bluebonnet seeds in them.  

But then, I got to thinking, what if those weeds choke out the little seedlings and they don't even have a chance to grow?  Naturally, I did what any red blooded American would do.  I got the old weed whacker out and whacked them.

Then I got my second ice tray out and scattered those seeds in the same place.

  

This spot drains much better than where I'd been planting them before, so keep your fingers crossed that something will grow here, and maybe, just maybe, I'll get a bed established. 

While I had the weed whacker out, I started cutting this stuff down, which I thought was just tall grass. 

However, as I was cutting, I said to myself, "Self, that smells like wild onions."  I stopped whacking and dug a few up, and yep, they look like teeny tiny wild onions as well.  

"Hmmm," says I.  "Might ought to let those grow.  If things get any worse, you might need to eat them."  Of course, I'm not going to be eating anything until I'm absolutely sure of it's identity, but I'm pretty sure these are onions. 

What with the warming weather, Marty Mac is coming out of his winter dormancy.  I've been putting him outside for a bit every day, gradually increasing his exposure to the sun, so his leaves don't get sun burned. 

He's looking really good.  Sometime next week, I'll get his stand out and onto the front porch.  It's warm enough to leave him out all the time now days, so I'll only bring him inside if there is a late freeze expected.  They say they can handle a light freeze, but I don't want to take any chances. 

You know who else has been enjoying the sun?  This thing.

Her bum leg is pretty much healed, so I've been letting her go outside again.  She hasn't really wandered too far out of the back yard, but she did bring me a vole the other day.  A live vole.  In my house.  Which I had to carry back outside and toss over the back fence.  It was pretty chewed up, so I doubt it survived, but still...

The rest of this post is just a few of the flowers growing wild in my yard, and my next door neighbor's tree.  I'm not sure what kind it is.  There are a few around here that make those white flowers like that.  It could be any one of them. 

OK, then, I hope you enjoyed this little stroll around my yard.  We'll have to do it again sometime. 

One More

Remember the other day when I told you to hold on to your butts because things are about to get rough?  Yeah, I wasn't joking about that.  

Today we had a big meeting at work, and The Big Man Up Front laid it all out for us.  He said our warehouse -- our massive warehouse -- is full of product, so full they've had to rent a second warehouse, and it is now full.  They're currently looking for a third warehouse to rent so we can store even more product.  

So, why do we have so much product being stored?  Because nobody is buying it.  Sales for January through March are much lower than expected, so to correct for that...I almost hesitate to mention this, because I know some of my readers are so fragile, this might make them cry...they are giving us all of next week off. 

He chose next week specifically because it is spring break here, and parents want to do stuff with their kids.  Besides, with it being spring break, quite a few people have already got vacation time scheduled.  

TBMUF said that sales are going to pick up in April, so he's hopeful we won't have to do any more shutdowns like this.  The good news is, we can file for unemployment benefits, and this will satisfy the 5 day waiting period required by state law.  That way, if we do have to shut down again, we'll get paid unemployment benefits straight away.  Even if we use our vacation days next week, it'll still count towards the waiting period.   More good news, our parent company Lennox International is going to absorb the cost of our health insurance and stuff for the week we're off, so we won't have to pay double the week after.  The HR guy said he'd never heard of a company doing that, but ours is.  

I've got plenty of vacation time I can use.  I'll just have to re-arrange a few days I already had scheduled.  I also went ahead and changed my contributions to my retirement account back down to 10%.  Now, I'll have to spent the next however long listening to them nag me that I'm not saving enough.    

I'm still debating on cutting off my internet and just using my phone data, but I still have a few weeks until the end of the current billing cycle, so I have a minute to decide on that yet.  I'm trying to find more information on my hotspot -- as in if it will handle how much streaming I do.  I might also try to get a set of rabbit ears to see what channels I can get here.  Back before I got cable, I could get PBS and NBC, but after they switched to all digital, I couldn't get any channels, not even with the converter. That's part of why I got cable in the first place.  

Eh, I should probably less and read more anyway.  

Let's talk about something more pleasant, shall we?  I finished my pink headband Saturday,  

and this hat yesterday.  

 Right now, I haven't cast on anything else, because I still have one more gigantic headband to redo.   Yeah, I know I said I'd redone them all.    Well, turns out I hadn't. 

I was talking to the coworker who'd gotten the headband I'd put in the box of stuff I took in to work a few weeks ago, and she said she loved it, but it's just so big.  I mentioned that I'd reworked the pattern to make them smaller, and said if she brought it back to me, I'd re-knit it in a smaller size.  

You can see here how huge it is compared to the one I made with a 92 stitch cast on.  

So that'll be my next project.  

In other news, my effort to clean up my office area continues.  This afternoon, I dug this folder out of my file cabinet. 

It contains a lot of owner's manuals I need to sort through.  My guess is that I don't even have what most of them went to any more.  We shall see.  

And finally, 187 years ago today, the brave men at the Alamo gave their last full measure of devotion to the cause of liberty.  We would be remiss if we didn't take a moment to remember them. 

What’cha Doing?

 “What’cha doing this weekend, Becky?” My coworker asked as we were finishing up our workday yesterday.

"I dunno," I shrugged in reply, which was a lie.  I knew exactly what I'd be doing all weekend, but somehow people don't seem to think sitting in front of the TV is a valid answer.  

Yet, that is exactly what I did.  I mean, other than washing three loads of laundry -- including folding and putting the clean clothes away, changing the sheets on my bed, washing the dirty sheets, and shampooing the carpet, that's all I did.  Watch TV.  

I watched a bunch of episodes of Masterchef -- which I'd never watched when it actually came on, then I watched a bunch of episodes of X Files -- which I'd also never watched when it came on.  Now I'm watching a documentary on Prime called The Private Lives Of The Tudors.  Don't envy me my exciting life. 

Oh, I almost forgot.  I got out and started weeding my dandelion patch.  I've been trying to encourage them to grow beside my white shed, but they're insisting on growing up between the rocks beside my carport.  Oh well, I guess dandelions are going to do what dandelions do...

OK, moving right along...

I finished another headband this morning. 

This is the last of the gigantic ones I need to re-do using my adjusted pattern.  I'm not sure why that is such a relief to me, but it is.  Now I feel like I can get on with my knitting, and that's just what I did.  I've decided to knit a few solid color headbands next, starting with this pink one. 

One thing I did not get done today was to get started cleaning up this junky spare room.  

I've been saying for weeks I'm going to get in there and do something about it, but I don't.  I walk in, take one look at the mess, then I get overwhelmed and walk back out.  Well, that's not completely true.  Back before Christmas, I'd filled up a couple of big boxes of junk and gave it away in the local Free Bees group.  I need to find another big box so I can get more junk ready to give away.  

If only money weren't so tight right now, I could order something big from Amazon.  Then I'd have a big box to pack stuff up in.  

Speaking of tight money, back in January, I upped my contributions to my retirement account -- because I want to be able to retire someday.  Eventually.  It was fine when we were getting all that overtime, but now that we're back to 40 hours a week, it's really putting a strain on my budget.  I'm hoping work picks up a bit soon, but if it doesn't, I might have to cut those contributions way back.  I guess I didn't need to retire anyway.  

Let's finish this off with a bit of good news.  Amazon led me into temptation, and I just couldn't resist buying a new book, Over Sea, Under Stone, by Susan Cooper. 

It is the first in the five book Dark Is Rising series.  Now, let me clarify, the book is not new to me.  I've read it several times, and even own the 5-in-1 hardback volume.  But this is the kindle edition, which I did not have.  I'd seen it from time to time on Amazon, but had hesitated to buy it, because it was $7.99, and I don't like paying that much for digital copies.  I kept hoping they'd put it on sale, but they never did.  

However, after the third or fourth We've found something you might like e-mail, I finally gave in and bought it.  I'd wanted to buy the whole series, but I'm going to have to spread those purchases out over several paychecks -- at least until I see if we'll be getting any more over time this year or not. 

In the meantime, I'm trying to read really, really, really slowly....

In Like A Lion

This March has definitely come in like a lion.  We've had some kicking winds out there these last two days.  When I got home from work this afternoon, I had to go hunt down my garbage can.  The wind had blown it into the ditch across the street.  That's a stout breeze, I'm telling you.  Fortunately, we missed out on the severe weather that some parts of the country have gotten. 

March has also brought new life.  I've got this thing coming up in my front flower bed. 

And two more over here, next to that wad of grass. 

I don't even know what it is.  I think it seeded from whatever this was before it died. 

Yes, I know the photo is sideways, but I'm too tired to fix it.  You'll just have to tilt your head.  But no matter...I don't know what that plant was, but it made some pretty flowers. I'm just going to let those grow and see what comes from them, if anything. 

On a completely unrelated note, this popped up in an ad in my Facebook feed.

I got all excited for a moment, thinking I could get one and plant a small vegetable garden.  Then I saw the price:  $2500.  Nope, can't do that.  And no, I won't be building one myself, either.  I'm not that dedicated.  But look at this, I've got a pretty good patch of dandelions coming up.  

The way things are going, I might end up having to harvest them.  Every part of the dandelion is edible but the fluff.  Same with cattails.  I also know where some cattails are.  I might have to harvest some of them, too...but I'll have to be sneaky because they're on ... someone else's land.  

On another completely unrelated note, I got some absolutely mongo grapes last week.  They're mighty sweet, too. 

 And finally, there has been knitting going on as well.  First up, let me show you what I bought today.  

Yes, four of them, because they were marked down to half price!  I got all they had left.  These little striped hats seem to be very popular, so I'm going to knit several of them up for both my coworkers and my Seaman's Church ministry.  

I've also started re-doing the last one of those gigantic headbands.  

I should be able to get it finished tomorrow, because they're pretty quick to knit.  For now, I'm going to bed.  I didn't sleep much last night, because the weather had the cat all upset and she yowled most of the night.  I probably should have let her into the bedroom with me, but I didn't want to get out of bed. 

Serves me right, I guess...

Remember When?

 I was talking with one of my fellow brazers at work today and I said, "Remember when all the brazers did was braze? Boy, those were the good old days."  

Believe it or not, there was once a time when the brazers brazed, and that was it.  The parts stagers got the orders together and brought them to us.  We brazed them up and sent them to the line and that was all we did. Over the last few years, they've piled more and more non-brazing responsibilities --that should all be carried out before the parts even get to us, mind you -- that we have less and less time to do our jobs. 

It's all superfluous paperwork, for what it's worth.  Confirming the orders, clearing confirmation errors, filling out first piece inspection forms...we didn't used to have to do any of that.  As if that weren't enough, now they've decided that the brazers need to fill out scrap tickets -- for the parts tubing messes up.  

For example, if tubing makes too many of a particular part, the brazer has to fill out a scrap ticket for the over-run.  If tubing makes a part incorrectly, the brazer has to fill out the scrap ticket for the bad parts.  If something gets mashed in the machine, the brazer has to fill out the scrap ticket.  If tubing ...well, you get the idea.  

Today, I did an order and had one each of three adapter tubes left over because tubing had run too many.  I went and asked Group Leader Shark if I would have to write out a scrap ticket for each one of them, and she said yes.  When we start doing it, I will have to write out one separate scrap ticket for every different leg that I have to toss -- for whatever reason. 

Sigh...I told her I don't want to hear anything from anyone about us not putting out enough headers then, because we're going to have to be spending literally half of our day filling out paperwork.   Seriously,  if I have an order that has 10 adapter tubes and I have one of each left over, plus an extra header or two, that is eleven scrap tickets I'm going to have to fill out for that one order.  If it's a small order -- say a 4 piece -- it'll take longer to do that than it does to braze the order. 

For what it's worth, I'm tired of being held responsible for what someone else does.  For example, yesterday, I had an order that one of the adapter tubes was bent wrong.  I took them back over to tubing and re-ordered them, and they were done wrong again.  Who got yelled at for that?  The person who did them wrong?  Nope.  

It was me.  I got yelled at because the person in tubing did the adapter tubes wrong.  Why?  Because I was supposed to take my brazing jig and parts over there so she could see what adjustments she needed to make to her machine.  Apparently, they powers that be don't realize when I'm over in tubing holding a machine operator's hand, I'm not doing my own job.  Not only that, if they can't set up and run parts according to the print, they have no business being in that department to begin with.  

So, I had to get those parts re-cut again, and by that time the line was down waiting on them.  I was so hoping Brazing Boss would come over there and ask what the problem was, because I sure would have told him.  

That's about all I have for today.  I messed myself up last night when I went to bed.  I got all ready for bed.  Brushed my teeth, stretched my back, got into bed and read a chapter of my book...turned out the light and settled in to sleep.  That's when I realized, I'd forgotten to take my melatonin.  I didn't want to get out of bed to go get it, so I just lay there and tossed and turned all night.  I'm feeling it now, which is why this post probably isn't all that coherent.  

Before I go, here is something to celebrate the first day of Meteorological spring.