A Rare Day Off

I got a rare Saturday off tomorrow.  They're shutting down part of the plant to work on a machine, and I just happened to be working in the part they are shutting down.  Supervisor Ronnie asked me if I would be willing to work anyway, if they needed someone somewhere else.  I said yes, but then prayed nonstop for two days that he wouldn't ask.  I've got a lot of stuff I need to catch up on at home.

You tend to get behind when you work 6 days a week. 

Rylea apparently didn't think I had enough to do, so she promptly threw up on the carpet.  Add "Shampooing the Carpet" to my list of things to do.  Sigh...

I'll need to do the ubiquitous laundry, and I will have to go to the store, because I didn't go today.  And I need to get my taxes done, because I keep putting it off.  And I want to get out and take pictures of the daffodils that are already blooming. And maybe do some prep work in my flower beds, and, and, and...

Aww, heck.  Who am I kidding?  I'll probably end up sitting in front of the TV all weekend. 

But the first thing I'm going to do is to sleep past 3:30 AM. 

I think that's what I'm looking forward to the most.

Not Spring Yet

Despite having daffodils blooming in my yard, winter isn't quite ready to give itself up just yet. 

The Farmer's Almanac predicted a long, bitterly cold winter this year.   I think from now on, I'm going to listen to them instead of to these guys.

My dad used to call them the weather guessers.  He had a point.

Finally!

I finally feel like I'm about to kick this cold.  Hopefully, once it's gone, my brain will wake up and I'll have something interesting to post again. 

In the meantime, I'm still plugging away at Kyle's blanket. 

I've gotten the second row of squares started, but it's going a bit slower.  The black is a bit harder to see than the gold, but there's no time limit on it.  It'll get done eventually. 

Ummm

I'm sitting here racking my brain trying to think of something interesting to say, but I got nothing.  I just want to go to bed. 

So, goodnight.

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

After a few warm days, we're in for a bit of cold weather again.  Since that is the case, how about we gather round the kitchen table with some hot tea or coffee instead of chatting on the porch?

1.  What is your favorite kind of bread? (wheat, white, rye, sourdough, a gluten free type, etc.)

I love sourdough bread.  My aunt and uncle used to make some years ago from a starter they made with potato flakes, sugar, and some other things.  Otherwise, I like white bread.

2.  Would you go to an opera if someone you know was in it?

Not likely.  I don't get out much anyway, and opera just isn't my thing. 

3.  What is your favorite kind of citrus fruit?

Oranges are my favorite, but I am allergic to them.  Other than that, I'd have to say ruby red grapefruit. 

4.  Are you doing any home renovations or decorating projects?

No.  I don't have sense enough to decorate, nor money enough to renovate anything. 

5.  If you could sit in a rocking chair and view a beautiful scene, where would you be and what would you be looking at? 

Not sure where, but I'd love to be sitting over a field of wildflowers.  Or maybe a lake, with the mountains behind it.  Anywhere nature flourishes.  

Except on the beach.  Rocking chairs just don't belong on the beach. 

First Seeds

  First seeds of the spring are in the ground! I know it sounds early, but I read the back of the package, and it said to plant them between December and February in my planting zone.  They supposedly thrive in cold weather.  We shall see. 

The funny part is, the package said to soak the seeds 24 hours before planting them.  Saturday evening, I put them in to soak, the promptly forgot about them.  Until about 8:00 PM Sunday night.

I didn't want to leave them in the water too long, so I was out planting seeds in the cold and dark last night.   Now, we wait.

In other news, I got my new bridges in today.  You know, for my teeth.  The dentist told me that they would take a lot of getting used to, and he was right.  I could only stand to wear them about 2 hours today before I took them out. 

I shall try again tomorrow. 

Blanket Squares

I've gotten 12 yellow squares done.  I think that will make Kyle's blanket wide enough.

Once I've attached them all together, I'll know if I need to do a couple more.

Hello, Sweetie

First off, I want to thank everyone for your kind words regarding Jake.  Some of you may know him better as Not My Dog. He was Cody's dog, but he lived with Beverly and James.  Still, he spent so much time at my house that he was about half mine.  When people asked me how many dogs I had, I'd say, "2 1/2".  Jake was the 1/2.

He had apparently been hit by a car, and the scum sucking maggot who hit him never even stopped to see if he was OK, or to try to find out whose dog he was.  What is wrong with people today? 

I want to be River Song when I grow up.  If you don't know who River Song is, well, you need to find out.  She is the baddest of the bad.  She made a Dalek beg for mercy.  Smart, sassy, and tough.

Naturally, when I saw this t-shirt, I had to have it. 

I ordered it from a place called Fresh Brewed Tee.  They have lots of cute designs.  The only drawback is that you have to be patient.  It took nearly a month for this shirt to get here. 

Remember the small holes I found in my sheets last fall?  Well, I was putting them in my imaginary husband's side of the bed.  And one night, my imaginary husband put his imaginary foot through the small holes and turned them in to a big hole. 

Oh, wait, that was me.  Nevertheless, I think these sheets have finally had it.  I hate to just throw them away, though.  I'm thinking about trying to sew them up and making a dog bed out of them. 

I don't know.  I'll figure something out.

Goodbye Jake

You left us too soon.

August 21, 2009 - February 18, 2014

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

1.  Have you been watching the Olympics? 

 Yes, I love the Olympics.  I'll watch things during the Olympics that I don't normally watch otherwise-- like hockey and basketball.  I just hate that NBC has such sucky coverage.  They must think everyone does nothing but stay up all night watching TV. 

2.  Does the grey winter affect your moods?

Yes, but in a good way.  I love chilly, gray, overcast days.  Days I can snuggle down with my blanket, knitting, and some hot chocolate and watch my favorite shows on Netflix.   Or with a good book.  It's the sweltering, blistering, humid days of summer I can't stand. 

3.  When was the last time you held a baby? 

Let's see...the last baby I held will turn 18 in April.  I hate to sound ugly, but I'm not one of those people who just looooves kids.  Send them to me when they turn 30.  

4.  Do you do a thorough spring cleaning each year? 

No.  I probably should, but I don't. 

5.  Please tell Wendell a bedtime story. He asked. I said I'd ask you.If you don't feel that creative, tell him a favorite book you think he might like. please:) 

Hmmm, I can't think of any good stories to tell right now, so I'll recommend some books.  Horse books, of course.  How about Billy and Blaze, and all the sequels.   Well, pretty much any book by C.W. Anderson.  Then there is my favorite childhood horse book, Little Black A Pony.  There you go.  I hope you find something you enjoy. 

Married Men

*Parental info:  this post will contain some blunt and slightly crude, but not vulgar, language.  Proceed with caution if you have young children hanging over your shoulder.

I swear if I have one more married man try to make me his little something on the side, I'm going to go bat poop crazy.  I'm not kidding.  I'm sick of it.


Case in point:  two conversations I had at work today.

Conversation #1:

Married Man #1:  I think you're trying to seduce me.

Me:  Why the heck would I do that?  You've got a woman.

Married Man #1:  Well, everybody's got a woman, but you have to have one or two on the side, too. 

And Conversation #2:

Married Man #2:  We're going to go out in the woods and take our clothes off.

Me:  I'm not.

MM#2:  Yes you are.

Me:  No, I'm not.

MM#2:  But I love you.

Me:  No, you don't.

MM#2:  Yes, I do.  I love you.

Me:  If you loved me, you'd respect me.

MM#2:  I do respect you.

Me:  No, you don't.  If you respected me, you wouldn't be trying to make me your whore. 

MM#2:  But you won't be a whore, because we're tight.

Me:  I will be a whore because you're married. 

MM#2:  No, no, no, it's not like that. 

Me:  It's exactly like that.

MM#2:  Just think about it.

Me:  I have thought about it, and the answer is still no.  It's not going to happen.

And that was just today.  In the past, I've had MM #3 tell me that everybody needs a spare tire, and MM#4 actually said there wasn't anything wrong with cheating on his wife, and MM#5 actually showed up at my house, marched his behind into my living room and asked where the bedroom was.  MM#6 told me he was no longer married (he was, though), and MM#7 actually told me his wife said it was OK (like I'm going to believe that).  And I could go on.  

So, what's up with that?  Is it just me, or do the rest of you have to go through this kind of thing day after day?  And why me?  I mean, I'm 49 years old, slightly pudgy, and my boobs aren't that big. Do I look so desperate for a man that I would debase myself that way?

I'll admit that there are a lot of the social subtleties that I don't understand, and I totally don't get this. 

All it does is solidify my desire to eschew humanity and become a hermit.

*Please don't tell me to report it to HR.  Our HR dept isn't worth a flip.  If they were, I could probably get half the men in that plant fired. 

Reflections On Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. 

It's a day we celebrate love and relationships.  For many single people, though, it's a day that can drive a spear through the heart.

I am not bitter about Valentine's Day, I'm really not.  But some years it hits me harder than others.  It seems the older I get, the longer I'm alone, the less chance I have of finding love.  The older I get, the harder it gets to watch others in love, and I wonder if I'll ever find someone.  

I know it's largely my own fault that I'm not married.  The men are there.  They are asking.  I had a man beg me for ten years to marry him.  Ten years.  A decade. 

He finally asked me what he needed to change about himself to make me love him. 

I was glad we were chatting on instant messenger, because it gave me time to compose a truthful, yet not hurtful, answer to give him.  I finally told him that he couldn't change himself to please someone else.  He would be living a lie and the stress of maintaining that lie would cause him to resent me and eventually come to hate me.  He had to be himself, and he had to find someone who could love him just as he is.  He seemed satisfied with that answer, and I believe he has finally found someone with whom he could be happy. 

There are a couple of others at work who still remind me from time to time that they would like to pursue something other than friendship.  And I won't even mention all the married men who want me to be their little something on the side-- mainly because they aren't worth mentioning. 

The point is, it's not the men.  They are there.  It's just that I haven't found one yet who could touch my heart, much less capture it. 

Dr. James Dobson is credited with the saying:   You don't marry the one you think you can live with.  You marry the one you think you can't live without.

That was the mistake I made the first time.  I chose to marry the first man that came along that I thought I could stand to be around.  I didn't love him, and I knew it.  It wouldn't last, and I knew that, too.  I remember sitting in the bride's room the day of my wedding thinking, "What am I doing?  I don't want to marry this guy."  But I went through with it.  We'd spent so much money on the wedding, and people had driven so far...and I was pregnant.  So I went through with it. We all know that turned out.
  
I won't make that mistake again. 


I'll be content to wait until the one I can't live without comes along.  And if he never does, then I'll be content to be within God's will for my life.  I'm not saying there won't be difficult days. I'm not saying there won't be times I long for someone to take care of me.  I'm sure there will. 

But those moments will be few, and enduring them will be so much better than enduring a lifetime with the wrong man. 

Difficult Day

After a difficult day at work, Wal-mart on a Friday, Wal-mart on a HOLIDAY Friday, and unloading groceries in a driving rain, I was pretty beat.

But what makes all things better?

Gooey chocolate chip cookies and a new journal.

And a very sweet Valentine date. 

I'd needed some new work shoes, so when I found this pair on sale at Cabela's for $49.99, I ordered them.

They arrived today, which isn't weird.  What is weird is when the UPS man handed me the package, he asked me, "How many snakes do you have?"

How did he know I have snakes?  That's just weird. 

Viking Valentines

Hey Girl,

I just met you and this is crazy,

But here's my broadaxe

Let's pillage,

Maybe

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

I've been staying up late watching the Olympics and am kind of brain dead today, so I decided to cop out and do a Chat. 

I know we normally do Chats on Tuesday, but Patrice and the whole family are down with the flu, so we didn't have one yesterday.  Let's take a brief moment to say a prayer for their healing.


OK, so what I decided to do was to go back and get an old Chat from before I started participating and answer those questions, so here we go...



1.  What season was your wedding? If you aren't married, the what season is your birthday? 

 Spring.  Well, technically still winter since I got married on March 6 and spring doesn't officially start until the 21st or thereabouts.  But in the South, spring usually starts mid- February.  I don't think we're going to make it this year.  Oh, and my birthday is in the Fall.  November. 

2.  What names did you call your grandparents?(ie- grandma, granny, gran, grammie) 

 My mother's parents were Grandma and Grandpa (or as my grandpa used to sign birthday cards G-paw).  After Grandma died and Grandpa remarried, my step grandmother was Granny.  My father's parents were Mammaw and Pappaw-- only Mammaw spelled them Mamo and Papo.

3.  What's your favorite smell that comes from your oven? 

Chocolate chip cookies.

4.  If you eat eggs- scrambled, fried, over easy, sunny side up, or other? 

 I love them any old way!  My favorite is sunny side up, with runny yokes.  Except that I'm allergic to eggs, so I'm mostly going by memory now. 

5. What's the tidiest room in your house? What's the messiest? 

The living room is the tidiest, and the messiest are the office/craft room and the room that used to be Cody's bedroom and has now become a storage room.

That's it for the Chat.  You're welcome to hang around and watch Olympics with me.

Speaking of Olympics, I'd like to extend a very special thank you to NBC for announcing the results on their nightly news BEFORE showing the coverage of the day's events.  Way to spoil things, NBC.  

Blanket Square

Number one is done.

I used a 41 stitch cast on with size 8 needles.  It resulted in an almost 5 inch square, which I think will be a good size.  I don't know how many squares I'll need.  I'll just keep laying them out until I think the blanket will be big enough.  I'll keep you posted. 

They also make for good Olympic watching knitting.  NBC's coverage, as usual, sucks.  Big Time.

Why, oh why do they show qualifying rounds of stuff during prime time, then you have to stay up until 2:00 AM if you want to see the medal rounds.  Considering it's all pre-recorded anyway, they could show the important stuff.  You would think.

Our weather last night didn't get quite as bad as they predicted.  Still, a lot of people didn't make it to work today.  So many people were out that they shut down two lines.  It's been snowing tonight, so I wonder what tomorrow will be like. 

I'm just thankful I've got access to a garage to put Jimmy in.  This is not good weather to not have a defroster in. 

Winter Weather

Winter weather is the perfect time for knitting.

I've been neglecting Kyle's blanket for far too long.  Truth is, I've gotten this far and have decided I don't like the way it's turning out.

 It's puckering too much, and being an acrylic yarn, that pucker won't block out. So I decided to rip it all out and start over, much to Rylea's dismay.

"I wuv dis bwankie," she says. 

I think I'm going to do it in mitered squares.  Before prying it out from under the dog, though, I had to find my needles.  I finally found them, in this project.

 It's an afghan square that I will finish tonight while watching the Olympics.  I started the afghan back in March or May and it was going to be  Christmas present, but this square kicked my hiney.  You can see the dirty grey stripe where I'd tinked that row about five times. I finally figured out there was an error in the pattern and managed to work out with a solution.  I sure hope that stain washes out. 

Speaking of tonight...we are in for some weather. 

We are in the green part-- the winter weather advisory area.  They are saying we could get some ice and snow accumulation.  Hopefully, we won't lose electricity.  If we do, I'll just go next door and hunker down in front of the fire place. 

I told Group Leader Fernando that if I didn't show up to work tomorrow, it's because I slid off the bridge and down into the creek below. 

(They've already sanded the bridge, so hopefully that won't happen.)

Dear Everyone Everywhere

If you see me sitting there quietly reading my book, do not--I repeat:   

do not

walk up to me and tell me to wake up.

You are not cool.  You are not "cute".  And honestly, if you are too blanekty-blank stupid to know the difference between reading and sleeping, you are too blankety-blank stupid for me to want to talk to anyway.

So just stop it already, before you end up with a broken nose.  Or worse.

Seriously.

Thank you,

That is all.

Popcorn

I was eating lunch at work, when halfway through the break, I smelled something. 

A very familiar smell. 

OK, not one that I smell that often, but one you never forget once you've smelled it once. 

Now, I must point out one thing to you.  I don't eat my lunch in the break room.  I just sit there at my work area and eat, and I must point out that my work area is a good distance from the break room. 

Since we've got that settled, let's get back to the smell I smelled. 

Popcorn. 

More specifically burned popcorn.   I looked around to see who had popcorn, and who had burned it, but I didn't see anyone.

Later, after lunch, The Other Rod-- not to be confused with Former Group Leader Rod-- told me the story. 

Seems we have a coworker who isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer.  I won't call his name, but around these parts, we call him Forrest Gump.  Only this guy makes Forrest Gump look like a genius.

Well, Forrest Gump decided he wanted some popcorn for lunch.  So, he got a bag of microwave popcorn out of the vending machine

put it into the microwave and set the microwave for ten minutes. 

Yes, that's right.  Ten minutes.  TEN minutes. 

Yeah. 

Not only did it burn the popcorn, but according to Rod, it blew the door right off of the microwave.  (I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but I like the visual.)  The entire break room filled with smoke, which then billowed out into the parking lot.

There was so much smoke, that one guy thought his car was on fire, and opened the hood to check his engine.  (I'm sure that's also an exaggeration, but I like the visual.) 

And Forrest, when he saw he had burned his popcorn and filled the room with smoke, well, all he could say was,

"Well, dag nab it." 

Yep, that about sums it up.

Dag nab it.

Wednesday Knitting

First of all, let's start this post off with a great big old "well crap!".

Remember the completed pair of socks I recently found in a bag of yarn? I took off my shoes today after work and felt a cold draft in my heel.  I looked down and found this.

All together now:  Well, crap! 

I'd only worn them four or five times.  The entire heel is threadbare, so it wouldn't even be worth trying to darn it.  Darn it!  And this was one of those high dollar yarns, too.  JaWoll Jacquard, that I bought in a fancy schmancy yarn store up in Memphis back in 2007.  Well, I won't be buying any more of that.  Honestly, I'm getting better durability out of my cheap yarns, like Patons Kroy and Knit Picks Essential/Stroll. 

On to better news, I got two squares knit into blanket #1.  These are from some of the yarns Sue sent me. 

Slowly but surely, both blankets are coming along.  One of these days, I'm going to lay them both out and take pictures of them.  Today will not be that day.  One of these days, I'm going to find and drag out all my WIPs and photograph them.  Today will not be that day, either.

Moving right along...

For the last year or so, I've been taking cartoons to work from time to time.  A few weeks ago, I downloaded the Bitstrips app to my phone, and have been having great fun starring in my own cartoons.

Today, I took this one to work.

Everyone got a big kick out of it, especially Vanessa.  She was calling everyone over to look at it.   They all laughed, except Group Leader Fernando.  He just shook his head and said, "I'd like to know what goes on in that head of yours." 

And I spent the rest of the day practicing my evilest of evil grins. 

Bwahahahaha!

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

It is a cold, rainy winter day, so let's not chat on the porch.  Join me around the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee, why don't you?




Questions:


1.  Do you worry about what other people think? 

 Not so much.  I'm to the age where people's opinions just don't matter any more.  I figure as long as I'm living a life pleasing to God, everything else will fall into place. 

2.  Do you own a sewing machine? 

Yes, I do.  I used to sew all the time, but not so much any more.   I did sew myself a new skirt last fall, and I have a dress for the spring/summer in the works.  It still needs a zipper and to be hemmed, but it's almost done.

3.  Tell us about someone interesting in your life. Please.

Being a bit of a hermit myself, I don't really get out and meet people, therefore I can't think of anyone right now.   Unless you count the people on FB I know.  Then I could tell you some stories! 

4.  Did you watch the Super Bowl? 

Yes.  Seattle safety Earl Thomas III is from my hometown, so I had to support the Seahawks.  I didn't expect them to put that big of a smackdown on the Broncos, though.  

5.  What's the best dinner you had last week? 

Homemade tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.   Or maybe my homemade potato soup.  That's all I've eaten since I made it.  I'm telling you, if people don't stop sharing such good recipes, I'm going to have to break down and find me a feller to help me eat all this stuff up. 

Maybe I need to add  line to my personals ad:  Must love soup. 

Groundhog Day

I hope that doesn't mean we get twelve more weeks of winter. 

The least he could do is send some snow to go along with the cold rain and mud.

Planking Challenge

No, not the weird photo poses kind.  The exercise kind.

This kind.

I've decided to give it a try, depending on how badly it irritates my bulging disc.  Anyone care to join me?