I Am A Veteran

my oath never expires.

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, so help me God.

The Night Of The Psycho Windchimes

Oh yeah, it got bad last night. 

I knew it would be as soon as I got out of work.  I thought the wind was going to blow me away.  And it only got worse as the evening went on.

Before long, it would become The Night Of The Psycho Windchimes.* 

I was keeping a pretty close eye on the radar, and when tornado warnings were issued for Leflore and Sunflower counties (just to the South and West of me), I decided it was time to abandon my mobile home for a sturdier building.

I went next door.

Aaaand after looking at the forecast for the rest of the night, I came home.  But just long enough to walk the dogs, brush my teeth, and get my nightgown. 

I was going to take my frou frou scarves to knit on, but I couldn't find them, so I just grabbed some yarn and cast on a new hat.

The yarn is Knit Picks Swish in the color Bordeaux.  The picture is from my camera phone because I was too lazy to go get my DSLR. 

I spent the night over there, and despite some kicking winds, the worst of it passed us.  There was a tornado touched down in Sardis, which is just North of us, but I haven't heard of too much damage here. 

Now I'm praying for my friends on the East coast, who are going through it tonight.

*Credit to my friend Michelle, who posted on her Facebook:  With these high winds, it sounds like I have psycho wind chimes out there.

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

1.  Have you ever been on a boat? (Motor boat, sail boat, cruise ship, ark, or Good Ship Lollipop) 

Why, yes I have.  I've been on several fishing boats, some canoes, and I went shrimping with James and my Uncle Lavergne back before I went into the Navy.  Ironically enough, I was never on a Navy ship.  Probably the boats I was on most were the ferries between Point Bolivar and Galveston Island.

Just a funny story...when I started losing my baby teeth, my mother told me to put them under my pillow so the tooth fairy could leave me money for them.  At the time, the only fairy I knew was the Galveston ferry, so in my childish mind, it was a tiny little ferry boat flying into my room, and using crane-like arms to get my teeth from under my pillow.    To this day, when I think of the Tooth Fairy, my first thought is a tiny boat with a hold full of teeth. 

Um, moving right along...

2. Do you need an alarm to wake up in the morning, or do you wake up naturally? If you have an alarm, tell us what type. 

I definitely need an alarm.  I get up for work at 5:15, and that just ain't normal.  At least, not for me.  I have a clock radio, and I also set the alarm on my phone.  If I for some reason sleep through them, I have a cat.  And as I said Sunday, there is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast. 

3.  Have you ever had a yard sale? 

Yep.  Beverly, Dennise, and I have had a couple, years and years ago.  I haven't done one since the city started requiring us to buy permits for them, though.  Now, I just donate junk to church rummage sales or similar things.

4.  Do you like kitchen gadgets? What are some of your favorite? 

I think kitchen gadgets are neat, but I don't cook a lot, so I don't have many of them.  My favorite is this thing my sister sent me years ago.  I have no idea what it is, and have never used it, but it looks cool.  

5.  Do you read labels at the grocery store? 

Definitely, especially when I'm trying something new.   Having food allergies kind of makes this a necessity.  Even old, familiar foods I check regularly, just to make sure they haven't changed the recipe. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's chat.  If you want to join us on the porch, head on over to Everyday Rurality to get in on the fun. 

In the meantime, I'm going to batten down the hatches.  We've got some serious weather headed our way.

I just love springtime in the South. 

An Ordinary Day

It was a perfectly ordinary day the day they came. The sky was blue. People were going about their lives as usual. Out of nowhere, they swarmed the town. Hundreds of them. All dressed in black, they declared Sharia to be the law of the land.

Most people just put on their burkhas and went on with their lives. But some of us had a purpose. We had a plan. We were going to take our country back. We'd heard rumors, undercurrents of something like this happening, so we'd amassed weapons and ammunition, and set a rendezvous point up the mountain, out in the woods, so we could regroup and get organized. That's where I was going.

But first... I had to get out of town.

Last night's dream. Sheesh, is it any wonder I wake up more tired than when I went to bed? Kinda makes me long for the good ol' days when all I dreamed about was dinosaurs eatin' my head.

This morning before work, James called me and asked if I would take Jake in to the vet, since he was working days and wouldn't be off before the office closed.

Jake had gotten a stick wedged up in the roof of his mouth, and they couldn't get it out.  Straight after work, I ran him up there.  As I was telling the receptionist what was going on, another lady in the waiting room  said, "That happens to my dog all the time.  All you have to do is reach your hand in there and pull it out."

Duh... I'm sure they tried that before spending boucoup bucks on a vet bill.  

When the vet came in, he wanted to look inside Jake's mouth, but as soon as Dr. A approached him, Jake growled.

"Okaaaaay, I guess I won't be sticking my hand in your mouth," the vet said.

Anyway, they gave him a fast acting sedative and got the stick out.  When I went back to pick him up, the vet said, "Tell him to be more careful when he's chewing on sticks."

And that was my excitement for the day.

I know, I know.  My life is so thrilling.

I'm starting to get a hankering to knit a hat in lace weight.  Since I can't find the pattern I want, I think I'm going to try to work up my own.  It's going to have an eyelet lace panel, alternating with an 8 stitch cable, on a background of reverse stockinette stitch.  Slouchy, beret type of thing.

But first, I've got to finish this other hat I'm designing.  I'm kind of dragging on it, because I'm trying to figure out how to do the decreases without messing up the pattern.

I'll let you know how it goes. 

Too Early

I woke up at 5:00 AM this morning for one very simple reason.

She was relentless, I tell ya. Relentless.

I finally got up and fed her just to shut her up.  I got back in bed, but after laying there for an hour, it became obvious I wasn't going to get back to sleep, so I just got on up.

I didn't do anything once I was up.  I knit a few blankie squares, watched a lot of Grey's Anatomy, and didn't even go to church.

I've become such a heathen. 

I listened to the sermon online, and worshiped with my entire Christian playlist.   This song is particularly poignant to me right now.



Particularly the last verse.  I learned it with slightly different words than this video.

Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be.
Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it.
Seal it for thy courts above.

Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it.
Seal it for thy courts above. 

The Magic Shield

On the right, we have Mary, who believes people have the right to hold traditional values. Yet, because Mary refuses to recant her beliefs and ascribe to Lucy's, she is labeled an intolerant bigot.

On the left, we have Lucy, who believes people have no right to believe anything that she disagrees with. Yet, because Lucy refuses to recant her beliefs and ascribe to Mary's, she is labeled...wait, No! Lucy somehow escapes the label of intolerant bigot! How does she do it?

I have found the secret! And I'm willing to share that secret with you for the first time ever!

 It's called the Magic Shield of Double Standard! 

Do you want to call others intolerant, racists, or bigots, and yet still maintain your own intolerance, racism and bigotry?

Do you want to criticize those who drive SUVs for destroying the environment while zipping between your 9 mansions in your own private jet?

Do you want everyone to be denied gun ownership, except for your own armed bodyguards?

Do you want to execute those who kill trees, but staunchly defend those who kill babies?

Do you want everyone to believe only what you believe, but still call yourself openminded and tolerant?

Then the Magic Shield of Double Standard is just what you need!

For four low, low payments of $49.95 each, you too can own your very own Magic Shield of Double Standard! But wait, there's more!

For a limited time, we will DOUBLE the offer. Yes, TWO Magic Shields of Double Standard for the price of one-- just pay separate shipping and handling. Don't wait, call today!

Limited time only-- until common sense returns to America.

*Offer void where prohibited.

Dear CoWorker

Just because I enjoy writing things down and I keep a journal doesn't mean I'm bi-polar.

Yes, I do get emotional at times.  Everyone gets emotional at times.  It's called being human.  That doesn't mean I'm bi-polar, either.


And do you really think I'm going to accept a mental health diagnosis from an factory worker who never went to so much as a junior college and doesn't even know what the word "manipulate" means? 

Seriously.  Get a grip.

Thank you.

That is all.

Earworm

According to Urban Dictionary.com, an earworm is defined as a song that sticks in your mind, and will not leave no matter how much you try.  I get them frequently.  There is currently no known treatment for earworms.  You just have to let them run their course.

Usually my earworm for the day is the last song I heard on the radio while driving to work.   Or sometimes it's the most annoying song I know.




Today was different, though.  Today's earworm session started out with a round of Pachelbel's Canon in D.



 Then we moved on to Beethoven's 9th, the 4th movement.



 Let me tell you, I had a full orchestra going on inside my head on that one.  I was really getting in to it, and I was conducting my imaginary orchestra, and everyone was staring and I was like, "Don't mind me, this is what life inside my head is like".

OK, moving right along...

I took a brief foray into some Tchaikovsky



And some Rachmaninoff



and went back and forth between Pachelbel and Beethoven for a while.  About lunchtime, I finally settled on Tchaikovsky for the rest of the day.  I was trying really hard to call up some Mozart, but it just wouldn't come, so I had to settle for the worms that were already in my ears.

And I wonder why people think I'm weird.  *insert eyeroll of your choice here*

Interesting thing about that Tchaikovsky piece.  When I'm rushed or stressed, that's the song I tend to hum.  A couple of years ago, we had an engineer from Dallas come in and think he was going to fix everything in the plant. 

He didn't.

But that's not the point.  He was filming me brazing some headers to take back later for analysis.  The film, I mean.  Not the headers.

Not really film, either, since he was recording me on his iPhone.

Anyway...I digress.

He was filming me brazing some headers and I was almost through when I asked him, "Does that have sound on it?"  He replied in the affirmative, and I said, "Oh, boy.  Everyone who sees this is going to hear me singing Tchaikovsky."

OK, maybe it wasn't that interesting.

Um, I'm going to bed now.

Goodbye forever.

Sheesh...

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

One of the blogs I read recently started following another blog, which of course, I immediately started following myself.

Every Tuesday, she has everyone over for a virtual chat on her virtual front porch.   She posts 5 questions, which we then answer and post a link back to her blog, so others can come and read our responses.

I'd tried doing the Ten on Tuesday thing for a while, but the topics never seemed that interesting to me.  This, however, seems like great fun.  So, I present to you our very first Chat On The Farmhouse Porch.



1. Do you eat eggs? What is your favorite way to serve them? 

 Um, no.  Being allergic kinda puts the damper on that one.  Before, though, I loved eggs.  Loved, as in I could live on them.  My favorite way to serve them was sunny side up with the runny yoke, and biscuits to sop up the yellow with.  Oh, and egg sandwiches.  I loved egg sandwiches with mayonnaise. 

2. Do you have a favorite item that you really like having around? (a pillow, a chair, a sweater, a teddy bear, etc.) 

I think this would have to be my White & Nerdy Hoodie.  Each fall, I count down the days until it is cold enough to wear it, then I hardly take it off.  In fact, I'm wearing it now.  Look at me, I'm white and nerdy.



 3. Is most of the furniture in your home dark wood, light wood, painted, lacquered, or distressed? 

 Distressed.  Definitely distressed.  And in the style of Early American Mix and Match.  That means it's old, worn, and nothing matches.  But it's still solid and comfortable, so I'll keep it a while longer.  We won't mention the fact that I couldn't afford new furniture anyway.


 4. Please fill in the rest of this sentence. "I could write a book about____________." 

American history.  Real American history, not this watered down, politically correct, revisionist history that they teach these days.   Ours is such a bold and rich history, and it's so sad that most people know more about Lady Gaga than George Washington. 

 5. If money and calendar/family obligations weren't an issue, would you prefer to spend next weekend at a Bed and Breakfast, a posh hotel, a cabin in the woods, or on a sailboat on a calm body of water? 

A cabin in the woods, with a big stone fireplace and a large bay window with a seat.  I'd have my kindle, my knitting and my hot chocolate, with the snow falling gently outside.  I'd be content.  In real life, I'll be at work.  Sigh...

I hope you've enjoyed our little visit today, and I hope you come back next week for another Chat On The Farmhouse Porch.

MLK Day

I had big plans for my day off today, but you know what they say about the best laid plans...Yeah.

I'd planned on deleting old photographs from my computer, doing my taxes, shampooing my carpet, and cleaning my house, and maybe going to that new sporting goods store over in Greenwood.  But I didn't do any of it.

What did I do while all the Democrats were downtown celebrating the life of this great Republican?  (Oh, yes, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican.  Didn't you know that?)

I sat in front of the TV.

I'd thought at first that I'd stay in bed all day, but the dogs wouldn't allow it.  At Rylea's insistence, I got out of bed and watched TV all day.  I mostly watched Grey's Anatomy.  I'd heard about that show for a long time, but until I got my cable hooked up, I didn't get the channel it came on.  Then when I did get cable, I didn't start watching it because I don't like to start watching shows after they've been on several seasons.  I added it to my Netflix queue with the intention of starting from the beginning, only I hadn't gotten around to it. 

Over the Christmas break, I was flipping through the channels and saw just a few minutes of this TV show that absolutely gripped me.  It was Grey's Anatomy.  I started watching it the very next day.  Now, I'm all the way through the first two seasons, and just can't get enough of it. I totally love that show!  I watched like, 6 episodes today, and I may go watch one more before going to bed. 


Oh, and I did three loads of laundry, but nobody wants to hear about that.

Mike and Dennise, well, they're just like everyone else in this economy.  Their money is kinda tight.  For extended family, such as myself, they made up these cookie mix in a jar things.

All you have to do is add your wet ingredients, and voila, you have cookies!  I was going to make mine today.  I even got the butter out to soften.  Then I decided I just didn't want to, and put the butter back into the refrigerator.

I spent some time knitting on a new hat.

It's a pattern of my own design, and I'm remembering why I don't design stuff.  The designing part is easy.  Writing up patterns in a way that makes sense to someone else...that's hard.  So, that hasn't gotten done either.

I guess the big news is I got a new phone.  House phone, that is.

My old house phone had gotten to where it just wouldn't hold a charge.  It had gotten so bad, I had about one minute of talking time before the battery went dead.   I'd already replaced the battery a couple of times, and I finally just got tired of fooling with it.

Friday, during my weekly resupply run, I bought a nice, spiffy new one.  

It's got big buttons, and a large display thing, with caller ID-- which I will not be without-- and most importantly, an answering machine.  It's a really cool phone.

But don't bother calling me on it, because I still won't answer.

Conversations With CoWorkers

Me:  Joe*, can you fix my fan?

Ten minutes later, Joe* is fixing my fan...

Joe:  Did you know I'm in love with you.  That's why I came right out to fix your fan.

Me:  I did know that.  That's why I asked you.



*Not his real name.

Snow!

I woke up to a light dusting of snow on the back steps this morning.

 Since I had to go in at 6, it wasn't light enough to see how much snow was really on the ground.  By the time I left for work-- having had electricity to get ready this time, thank goodness-- it was snowing pretty hard.  I was tempted to call in sick, because I really, really wanted to stay home and play in the snow.

And by play in the snow, I mean sitting inside with my knitting, sipping hot chocolate while watching the snow falling outside my window.

Wait, you thought I meant outside?  In the cold and in the wet?  No, I don't think so.  

But, knowing it would be all gone by 9:00 anyway, I decided not to waste a call in, so I went to work. Sure enough, by the time I got off, it was mid 40s and the snow was gone.  The official word from Jackson is that they got 1.7 inches.  The guy who orders our skids said there was snow everywhere at his house. 

Grenada just doesn't get a lot of snow, even when everywhere else is getting it.  Snow, that is. 

The good news is, James got a deer.

 

The bad news is, my cat is not normal.

She won't chase the red dot, either.  Sigh.

The knitting mojo is still wandering off somewhere.  I tried to cast on a hat last night, and didn't even get through the cast on before I was ripping it out.

I'm not going to worry, though.  It'll come home when it gets hungry enough.  

That's what my mother always said about our cats.

And us.

That reminds me of a story.  It is totally not related to anything I just posted, so I don't know how I thought of it, but nevertheless, I did.

When I was about 4 years old, we -- as in my family-- went on a big, long camping trip.  Once we were back home, my daddy set up our tent in the back yard to let it air out really well before packing it away.  My older brother and I, and two of our neighbor boys decided we were going to spend the night in the tent.

We were having a great time, telling ghost stories and all, when the three boys suddenly decided that they all needed to go to the bathroom.  I stayed in the tent.

I waited and waited, they didn't come back.  I think I actually fell asleep for a while, and when I woke up, they still weren't back.  I went and knocked on the back door, of my own house.  Why I didn't just go inside is beyond me, but I didn't.  I knocked.

When my mother answered the door, I asked her where Russell was, because he said he was going to the bathroom but he didn't come back.  She told me he'd been in bed for 30 minutes, and it was time I got in bed, too.  I turned to go back out to sleep in the tent, but my mother wouldn't let me.  She made me come into the house and sleep in my bed. 

I was so disappointed that I couldn't sleep in the tent that night. 


 And you know, I don't think we ever went camping again after that.  Until Cody was in cub scouts, that is.  We did enough camping then that I have no desire to do it any more. 

Except maybe in an RV, at the lake or something like that.

But I've had my fill of tents. 

For good.

Lights, Bosses, and Koalas

I woke up this morning, somewhere in the 4:30ish hour, needing to go to the bathroom.  It was only 45 more minutes until I had to get up anyway, so I got this bright idea that, since I was awake, I'd turn the heater up to daytime temps.  That way, when it was time to get out of bed, the house would be nice and toasty warm. 

I ran in and turned the heater up, then snuggled back down in the bed to wait for the alarm to go off.

Somewhere in the 5:00ish hour, the electricity went out.

I lay there in bed, hoping it would come back on before I had to get up.

It didn't.

I got up and dragged Rylea around the yard, then pried Jesse out from under the bed and dragged him around the yard.  Jesse is a very nervous dog.  Anything out of the ordinary, anything out of the routine, and he's scared to death.  Just a simple act like turning the ceiling fan off sends him into hiding.

Needless to say, everything was out of the ordinary this morning, and he was being a little cling-on.

I brushed my hair and put on my makeup by lamplight, tripping over Jesse all the while.  Then, because I couldn't cook my usual oatmeal, I ate leftover sweet potato pie for breakfast.  And, I couldn't run the coffee maker or the microwave, so I tried to make coffee with hot tap water, hoping it would taste all right.

It didn't.

I sat there for a few more minutes, hoping the electricity would come back on so I could fix my hair, but it didn't.  I finally just pinned it all down to my head with clips.  By this time, the house was getting colder and colder, so I went to work a little early, because I was tired of sitting in the dark.

Once I got to work, my group leader Fernando was really starting to get on my nerves, so I set up my own little Fernando Free Zone.   I even made a sign.

It says

No Fernandos allowed beyond this point. 

I thought it was hilarious.  Fernando, not so much.

After I got home, thank goodness the electricity was back on.  I was flipping through the TV channels when I saw a scene that disturbed me greatly.  It was two koalas.  And they were fighting.

Fighting, y'all!

Fighting.  One was biting the other one, and the other one was scratching at the one, and I shouted, "STOP IT!!" at the TV.  Koalas aren't supposed to fight. They're supposed to be cute and cuddly, and little balls of snuggly fur.  They aren't supposed to fight. 

All my illusions have been shattered.

Speaking of shattered illusions, I'm laughing my hiney off at all the Obama supporters complaining of their taxes going up.  Seriously, people, the man ran his entire re-election campaign on the promise of raising taxes.

Or did you think he meant on everyone but you?

Elections have consequences, folks.  You voted for this.  We tried to warn you, but you didn't want to listen.  Instead, you just called us racists. 

So don't expect any sympathy from me. 

Fire and Ice

When you live your life as a brazer, getting burned just comes with the territory.  Or, as I like to say, there are two types of brazers:  those who have been burned, and those who will be burned. 

Me?  I'm one of the former.  I've been burned so many times I've lost track. 

If you haven't guessed by now, yes, I've managed to brand myself again. 

Pay no attention to how very dirty my arm is.  They get that way where I work.  That's why God invented soap and water. 

I did that yesterday morning.  I was going to come home and write a cute little post about how my day started with fire, and ended with ice, but alas, the mojo escaped me and I just didn't do it. 

Ice?  Oh, yes, we are having an ice storm.  It's not too bad here where I live, but in some areas, there was quite a bit of accumulation.  I did have some cute little icicles on my car when I got off, but fortunately, there was no ice on the roads.

Now, about that there mojo...it's gone.  Completely.  Even my knitting mojo is gone.  How gone is it?

It's so gone that I got this far in a hat and ripped the whole thing out because I just didn't like where it was headed. 
 

 No pun intended. Especially not one as groan worthy as that one was.

One of my friends put out a call for washcloths to donate to a nursing home.  I thought if I whipped up a few of those, it'd stir the mojo up.  I knit this one.  

The motif is kind of hard to see, but it is a butterfly.

Needless to say, it didn't work.  The mojo seems to have headed somewhere warmer.

If you see it, could you please send it home?  I'd be most appreciative. 

That's Not What He Said

Most of y'all already know that I work in a factory, and we are required to wear earplugs all day.  This often leads to some interesting misunderstandings.

So, they've started up Line 3 for the summer busy season, and they've mostly got temps manning it.  Today, they were looking all over for a brazing jig.

My group leader asked me if I'd seen it, and I said no.  "It's probably over there in the rack, just in the wrong spot.  If I go over and find it, do you think [the supervisor] will give me a bonus?"

"No, he'll probably just spank you."

"What?"  I said.  "He'll spank me?????"

 

"I said, 'He'll thank you.'" 

Yeah, it's been that kind of day. 

Strange Things

My knitting mojo and my blogging mojo seem to have run off somewhere together.  But all the so-called experts say to keep writing, even when it seems like you have nothing to say. 

So, here goes...


I have a plug in on my blog called Site Meter.

It's a hit counter.  Now, I don't normally pay much attention to Site Meter.  In their weekly summary, they show that my blog averages about 6 hits per day.  I was getting really discouraged, until Blogger started putting hit counts on the dashboard.

Those numbers are a little better.  They vary, of course, but most of my posts average 20 views per day.  But I noticed that two posts have over 100 hits each.

I can't figure out what is so special about those two posts that they got so many hits.  They aren't political, or deep and philosophical.  One is about getting seed catalogs in the mail.  The other is about letting my car battery run down. 

The very next posts are back down to my normal 20ish hits.  Curiouser and curiouser. 

By the way, I got a couple more seed catalogs since I posted the other day.  Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

I think I'm going to try something different this year.  I'm going to start my plants in seed trays, like I usually do.  Only this time, since it doesn't stay cold much down here, I'm going to put the seed trays outside.  That way, if it happens to dip below --say 40'-- I can just bring them inside for the night, and put them back out after it warms up.

Maybe that'll work. 

The bad news is, someone seems to have gotten ahold of my credit card number.  I came home from work from the credit union saying I needed to contact them.  When I did, they said that there were some suspicious charges on my card that I needed to verify.  Turns out I didn't make any of them. 

My credit union is really good about monitoring for fraud, so as soon as the first charge went through, they put a lock down on my card, so the other two charges were not authorized.  They cancelled my current card, and are sending me a new one, but I'm just wondering how my number got out there.

I haven't used my card at any place new lately. Nothing on any place like e-bay or anything.  Just the same old places I'd been buying stuff at for years.  Amazon, Netflix...and that's about it. 

I did buy Cody a gift card from Barnes & Noble, and I renewed my NRA membership, but you'd think those places would have good internet security.

I'd like to buy some of that LifeLock protection, but it's like $300 per year.  They have a cheaper version, but it's not much more than what I could do for free.

In the meantime, I'll just keep an eye on things. 

Sporks and Alexander

I was there at school, eating my cheesecake.

I had three of those little cheesecake tarts to eat with my lunch.  I ate the first one, and it was so creamy, and grahamy and good.  Then I threw my fork away.

I started to eat the second cheesecake, and realized that I had no fork.  I got up and went to the rack near the drink machines.  You know, where they keep the salt and ketchup and stuff.  They have a container of sporks there.  I got a spork and ate my second cheesecake.

Then I threw my spork away.

I started to eat my third cheesecake, and realized I had no fork, nor spork, neither.  I got up to the rack and got another spork, and ate my third cheesecake.

Then I woke up to the sound of driving rain, and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out why I kept throwing my spork away.

And I went to work in the rain, and somehow managed to set off my own car alarm.  Then I got to work and tumped over my lunch cooler, and that's when I realized I'd forgotten to put a drink in my lunch.  Fortunately, I had picked up a couple of dollars before leaving the house, so I could get a drink out of the machine.

I got halfway across the parking lot and had to turn around and go all the way back to my car, because I'd left my coffee in the car.  I was just glad it was in the car, and not on the kitchen counter at home.

By this time, I was starting to feel a little like Alexander, and it wasn't even 7:00 AM yet.  I wish I could say that things got better, but they didn't.  The day just went downhill from there.  The only redeeming thing was a new episode of The Big Bang Theory.

And that I have a new appreciation for sporks. 

First Finished Object

of 2013, and I'll bet you can't guess what it is!

If you said a hat, you're right.

How'd you know? 

Now that Christmas knitting is finished, and things are getting back into the normal routine of day to day living, I intend to get back to work on my WIPs.

If only I can remember where I put them all.

Sick

as the proverbial dog, barking like the proverbial seal.  And yes, Mr. Fever finally showed up.

I'm going to take a hot bath, then lay down for a bit.  But I'll leave you with something to ponder:

Just Stuff

I'd planned on posting yesterday about my goals for the new year, but I didn't. 

After listening to Talkin' Cowboys,
finishing The Handmaid's Tale
starting Walking Across Egypt
and watching three episodes of Gray's Anatomy via Netflix

time just got the better of me. 

So I didn't. 

But I'm here to tell you now that my goals for this year are pretty much the same as my goals for last year.

Don't buy yarn.
Knit from stash.
Pay my debts down.

I did pretty well on all three goals last year.  I didn't buy any yarn at all until August, and what yarn I did buy was for specific projects.  The vast majority of my knitting came from stash yarn.  And I did pay off one of my credit cards completely. 

That is the best feeling in the world, I'll tell ya.  Sending off that very last payment.  Too bad the government will never know that feeling...

This morning, I got up and my car wouldn't start.  My battery was dead.

I didn't tell anyone at work what happened, because I didn't want anyone to know how silly I was.  But I'll put it here on the internet so the whole world can see. 

When I got home yesterday evening, I was so tired, and so sick, and I don't know where my mind was.  I got out of the car and walked into the house...

and left my car door wide open.

All night.

Needless to say, the dome light ran my battery down. 

I sent a quick text to one of my friends who drives past my house anyway, and he stopped and picked me up.  Since he works later than I do, I found another friend who drives by my house anyway and she brought me home. 

I got James' battery charger and put it on my battery.  I left it until the light said Full Charge, but I didn't try to start it.  Hopefully it'll start in the morning.  But I shot a text to my friend letting him know what was going on, so I have backup.

Just in case. 

Gloomy Days

I got the last of my Christmas decorations taken down today.  The house always looks just a little sad for a few days when the decorations first come down., and we move into the gray winter days of January.   


What makes the gloomy, gray winter days just after Christmas a little brighter?

Seed catalogs in the mail!

Now I get to spend the next few weeks planning my flower bed.  Deciding which flowers I want to put in this year.  Do I want to try a rose or not?  If so, which one? 

How do I want to lay out my bed?  I know I want Zinnias and Four O'Clocks, but where, and how many?  Marigolds?  Yes, but which varieties? 

Oh the planning and scheming! 

Of course, the downside is that I have to sit here for three months, looking at my frozen ground and waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

In the meantime, I've got some very confused daffodils coming up.  

It's going to be an interesting year.