There Must Be a Full Moon!......

This has been one very weird day! There must be a full moon tonight.

Got the housecleaning done. Yea! But......

I totally forgot to take the car up to the mechanic for an oil change and tune up as well as check to see why it's rumbling underneath! I'll have to stop there on my way to work tomorrow, make my apologies and re-schedule for next Thursday. I hope. Then I'm going to put a big note on the fridge so I won't forget again. (I did have a note next to the phone, on the kitchen counter. I cleaned the counter today and never noticed the note!)

Son and company were coming up this weekend for fishing. So I thought I would make 2 pies for dessert on Saturday - a Dutch apple and a strawberry/rhubarb. Just got the pie dough all rolled out and Son calls. Fiance is down with some kind of bug. She's been fighting it for a couple of weeks. Re-schedule in another 2 weeks.

Hmmm. The apples, strawberries and rhubarb are partially thawed, pie dough is in the pans. Better finish the pies. They can go into the freezer. BH may want to keep one out, though. Ok. I have enough of each fruit to make up another in 2 weeks.

BH was out sawing and chopping wood today. Out of my hair all day. Great. But by 12:00, I finished my work and I don't hear the chain saw or the mallet. Oh well, he's probably puttering around back there. At about 1:45 I hear the outside spiquet turn on. Oh well, he's busy with something. Then I see him coming up the stairs. He's limping. What's wrong? Nothing. He sits down on the deck to take off his shoes. There are strange spots on his socks; there's dried blood on the side of his knee. What happened??

Well, he was hitting the wedge with the mallet when a piece of steel broke off the mallet and flew into his leg. Shrapnel. It hit the bone on the side of the knee. A bloody gash about 2 1/2" long. Dried blood, thank goodness. So it's onto the recliner, ice pack and pillow under the knee. He then proceeds to tell me that when it happened, he washed the blood off and started feeling nauseous, lightheaded. He had to sit outside, in the back yard, for a while before he could manage to come in the house! We are on "wound watch" now. He is still in a lot of pain.

"This is why you cannot be outside by yourself. This is why I'm constantly asking you what you're doing" was my statement. "No more outside by yourself for you" is my ruling. Which he will overrule.

Then I forgot all about the bills that I wanted to get written out tonight so I can drop them in the mail tomorrow morning. Geez. I will have to write out a couple in the morning so they get out on time.

I keep thinking today is Friday.

We sat down to watch "Sherlock Holmes" with Robert Downey, Jr last night. Got our strawberry sundaes ready; put the dvd in. 15 minutes into the movie, BH says "are you sure this is the right movie?" "Of course it is" I spouted out as soon as he finished his sentence. Ten seconds later: "wait a minute. Did you see his name in the opening?" "No" says BH.

I get up, get the sleeve it came in and read the movie plot. Son- of- a- pup! IT'S THE WRONG MOVIE! THEY SENT US THE WRONG MOVIE! This has actors we never heard of and the plot has dinosaurs and a giant squid!! It IS a Sherlock Holmes movie, though.

Go to the computer. Get the movie provider up. Go to our que. Check our listings. Check "Sherlock Holmes" movies. One listed for 2009. Check the plot and actors. Yep. That's the one we wanted. BUT NOT THE ONE WE GOT! The bad one was not even listed.

Clicked on "report a problem". You bet. Checked "rate this movie". WHOA, BABY!! You wouldn't believe the tens of people who got the same wrong movie! Lots of anger out there! So I added my 2 cents. And re-ordered the movie we want. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

Let's see. What else weird happened? Oh. I started putting pictures together for my collage frames. On the computer. Got the first four frames all printed out. 4 pictures each frame. The next 2 frames have 5 picture slots each. The pictures I want for these ----- well, the number 8 total. That leaves me with 2 blank openings to fill. I do not have any more pictures for these. They are supposed to be candid photos of all our grown kids - 8 kids. Crype sakes!

So, on the computer. Look up clip art. Find Irish symbols. Yes!! The "Tree of Life" and the "Claddagh". Perfect! Now I'll just print the pictures and symbols out tomorrow. Geez, I hope the printer doesn't run out of ink!

Pictures!.....

Well, someday I'll figure out how to arrange pictures! But anyway, here's the new Traveler all put together. Some painted BFL on the bobbin. The orange, which is really a golden pumpkin color, NOT orange (damn camera) on a bobbin. The blue (it is a beautiful baby blue-camera again!) yarn ball is a 3ply with glitz, worsted weight. And the pinky ball is Merino 3ply, 2 white singles and a pink, blue and pale green painted ply, sport weight.

Can anyone tell me how to get these pictures lined up? This is frustrating! I can't move them into position once they're downloaded onto the page.

Aaarrgghhh!

Well anyway. I've managed to do a lot of spinning these past couple of weeks. A lot, for me, that is. I still haven't frogged the shawl. Just can't bring myself to do it. I keep looking at it thinking "this will work". But I know it won't! I will frog. I will frog.

Son, fiance and grandson are supposed to be coming up this weekend for fishing. Haven't seen fiance since Christmas! I think we'll have a great time. I hope. I think it's supposed to rain on Saturday. Good grief.

It's A Gold Star Day......

Yep, a gold star day for me! Did the housecleaning (except the 2 bedrooms, for tomorrow); balled up 8 skeins of yarn; washed the 2 pair of socks and a knit hat that were finished sometime ago and spun for about 2 hours this morning.

What's next on the list?

I'm going to frog the shawl I started. Don't know what I'm going to do with this yarn. It's just not talking to me. The patterns I've tried scream "NO, NO, not this one!"

I've got paperwork to do tomorrow; some filing. And I have to call daughter's dentist and find out what the hell is going on; why her medical coverage will pay for only 1 cleaning per year now!!

Good grief. I could make a job out of this. People have problems with the powers that be, I could make the calls and get the answers or get things straightened out. Don'tcha think?? I'll have to put some thought on that. Could be a gold mine!

Tomorrow I want to make potato salad. I have been craving potato salad. I love potato salad!

Weather might be nasty. Supposed to have more rain. If it doesn't come during the day, then weedwhacking will be in order. And maybe I can finally get the window frame in the utility room painted. Inside and outside needs to be done.

And then there's a few errands that need to be done. Sounds like a full day for me. Maybe I can get another gold star!

One Step Forward....Five Steps Backwards

That's right.....5 steps backwards! Not 1. Not 2. Not even 3.

Things were going along pretty good these past couple of weeks. Spinning wheel assembled, oiled, used. Grandkids pictures in new frames, hung on the wall. 8 bobbins of spun wool have been plied, washed and are now dry. Pictures of the unassembled wheel have been taken. Laundry and shopping done. Wool that was half spun some time ago for socks is now being finished spinning (does that make sense?) Now this is where it starts sliding backwards:

So the goal is to finish spinning all the roving that has been partially spun up for a specific project. Before moving on to the roving that has been sitting, waiting for it's turn to become something gorgeous and usable!

I digress. I have taken pictures of the wheel, unassembled; need to take photos of it assembled with said bobbin of spun wool. I will do that. And then put it in a future post.

In the works: find pictures for the other collage frames, print, frame and hang on the wall.
My 8 skeins of washed yarn are still waiting to be balled up and weighed. I will get to that by the end of the week. This week. I hope.

Regular housecleaning tomorrow. Maybe Spring clean the utility room on Thursday. Or continue spinning. Depends on the weather and humidity.

Work has been excruciating. Weekdays are seeming like weekends. Very busy. Long hours. Makes me very tired when I get home. Can't get much done.

The humidity has not been conducive to my energy level. Therefore, things are put off, waiting for a better day. Not good.

Daughter called last night to tell me she fell while cleaning her bathroom on Sunday. Outside the shower stall, she stepped on a patch of water and WHOOPS down she went -- on her knees -- legs "spread eagle". This is not good for her hip replacement.
"Why didn't you call the doctor this morning and get an appointment?"
"Because I really didn't have that much pain until tonight".
"Julie, when things like this happen, you have to call the doctor as soon as possible. You can't put this off".
"I know. I'll call tomorrow."

Well, she did call "tomorrow" - today. Get this: the receptionist tells her "the on-call doctor is in surgery all morning. You need to leave a message with the triage nurse".

What??? There's no other doctors in the office to see patients today?? "I'll call" says I. I call. I get the same answer. "You mean there's no doctors in today?" "Oh yes", says she. But the on-call doctor needs to make that decision. I can call him and ask him what he recommends", says she.

Wait a Bloody Minute!!!! The doctor is in surgery and she's going to call him to see what he wants to do about my daughter???

Yes, ok. Call me back with his answer. In the meantime, I call daughter and tell her if she doesn't hear from the triage nurse by 8:45, call the Urgent Care clinic and make an appointment for today.

Receptionist calls back. The other doctor, who is in the office today says he can see daughter tomorrow at 1:45! But, says I, she needs to be seen right away. If the hip has come out of socket, her surgeon needs to know this. The hip joint needs to be put back in place as soon as possible. Well.........says she. I think we'll take her to the UC clinic today, says I. Ok, let me know if there's anything else we can do for you, says she. Riigghhtt!! thinks I.

Call work; explain the situation; ask for the day off. No problem. Off to the clinic. Mind you, I see the board in the entryway with all the departments listed in the clinic. There Is No Orthopedic Department in the Building!!! You know what this means.

She is seen - not by a doctor - by a PA who looks like he just graduated high school and this is his summer job. Arranges for an xray. Xray shows no dislocation, "as far as I can see", says he. Take this prescription, which may cause problems with your coumadin so take it sparingly and apply ice to the sore area for a few days. P.S. We never did see a doctor!

What the hell!! I tell her if she is still in pain by Sunday, call the orthopedic clinic on Monday and get in there.

2 1/2 hours later we are home. I am exhausted. I need a nap. I'm hungry. Have a sandwich, take a nap. Light supper and a movie. And here I am. Blogging. It's very late. I'm tired. I have a busy day planned for tomorrow. Unless I get out of bed backwards! Then all bets are off.

I Did It!.......

It's done! Finally after almost 2 years of sitting in the box, my Traveler wheel is completed -- and in use! Hey, no grass grows under my feet -- after 2 years, that is.

My first double treadle wheel. Using both feet came pretty easy, but the spinning......... I felt like I was just learning how to spin! That took me a day to get the hang of drafting and controling the feed onto the bobbin. Don't know why. It just seemed to be happening all that much faster. Anyway, wheel and I are doing fine now and I love it.

I did 2 coats of Danish oil instead of the staining and varnishing. The oil worked beautifully and much, much faster to finish so we (BH and I) could get on with the construction.

I love spinning wheels.

I see on the weather report on our local news that we're in for another jolt of heat for Saturday and Sunday. We're even supposed to have severe thunderstorms with damaging hail, winds and tornado watches -- same as we had on Wednesday. And guess what? Yep, we're supposed to take our daughter out for a new dresser tomorrow afternoon when I get home from work. This was supposed to be done this past Wednesday, but -- severe thunderstorms, damaging hail, winds and tornado watches cancelled out the day. Good grief! This girl won't get her dresser until October if this keeps up. I wonder what she'll say if I have to call her tomorrow and cancel until -- Wednesday -- again!

I finally redid all the grandkids' pictures to put into new frames. I've had the frames for about 2 months, and the pictures have been off the wall about that long. Now all I have to do is put them in the frames and back on the wall. Well, at least it's not 2 years!

Still have to get some pictures of the family together for the collage frames. That just might take another couple of months.

I'm thinking I might get back to the Spring cleaning next week. Probably Wednesday -- if another storm hits!

Wheels and Yarn and Daydreams, OH MY!!

Yea for me! I finally did something before schedule. I oiled my spinning wheel parts today. It was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but the the severe thunderstorm warning with possible tornado activity this morning put a halt to the trip to daughter's for dresser shopping.

So after spending most of the morning watching and listening to the storm (which didn't turn out all that bad), dealing with the high humidity again, writing out the last of the bills for the month, I decided "what the hell". Threw caution to the wind and started unpacking the wheel. Wow. I had forgotten how many wooden parts there are to a spinning wheel. Then it was lunch and nap time.

I had to go to training class this afternoon. I somehow agreed to be an election judge for our town. I don't know how this happened. I remember the phone call asking if I could please do this thing. I must have said "yes", because I then was given the option of afternoon or evening session. Then I was informed that the Primary vote is August 10. And was asked how many hours could I work. And could I work in the morning because a lot of people don't want the morning hours. "Sure" says I. "I can be there at 6:00am and I'll work til 12:00pm. That'll be fine".

So as of this afternoon, I have an 85 page manual that I have to study before Aug. 10 and I'm also locked in for the General election in November. What??!!

I would say all of this happened before I had my first cup of coffee, but I know that's not it. I can down a POT of coffee within the first hour I'm out of bed. And I've been getting up at 5:00am for some ungodly reason every day.

C'est le vive.

Anyway, now the plan is to rub down all the wooden parts tomorrow and hopefully start putting the wheel together tomorrow evening. Oh, the best part about a new spinning wheel? I now have 4 MORE bobbins!! I think that brings the total to 26 bobbins.

I did skein the 8 bobbins of plied yarn and washed them. Can't wait til they're dry so I can ball them up and dream of what they will turn into.

I've also had this euphoria overtake me about retirement these past many days. We housekeepers have been talking about work, the hotel and what's down the road (the owner has put the hotel up for sale and had a prospective buyer look at the place on Monday). I've been telling my co-workers that "I'm outta here in another year and a half. That's right. As soon as I turn 62, I'm grabbing that money and I'm gone!" This floors them all. All of them diehards. Will work until dirt is thrown over them. Not this chick. I've got places to go, things to see, Spring cleaning to finish, knitting to be done and 150 pounds of wool so be spun up -- on my 3 wheels and 26 bobbins!

Ahhh, This is the Life!.........

This was a great weekend! Hey, the week wasn't bad either. Except for the heat and humidity. But I'm going to ignore that for now.

We have had a quiet, peaceful week. I love quiet, peaceful weeks. I've waited for them all my life. I relish every minute of every day that the phone doesn't ring. But I digress.

BH and I did some yard work this week. This seems to be a constant. Every few days the yard looks like it really needs mowing and weedwhacking. What's up with that?

Did some housework, always a "plus". And I've been spinning every day. Managed to get 4 bobbins plied; finished the white merino. Going to move on to a beautiful deep red wool and some black Shetland that I want to eventually ply with black alpaca and grey merino. Yum!!

I still have to skein the plied yarn and wash it. I also have 2 pairs of socks to be washed. Maybe I'll be able to post some pictures.

I even got out the Danish oil because ----I plan on putting my Traveler spinning wheel together Thursday ------ this Thursday. Yup. After it's oiled, of course.

We were invited to our friends for dinner today. Had a very nice time. The husband just turned 82 and has Alzheimer's. This is sad. The progression over the last 6 months has been dramatic. We've known this couple for 19 years and he doesn't know our names now. But he still has a great sense of humor and he enjoys having company at the house.

BH is going fishing tomorrow; wants to leave at 5:30am. I have to go to work. This is against the rules. The rules say "fishing on Wednesday and Thursday", my days off. I just hope I get to have some time alone when I get home before he gets home from the lake. Otherwise I will not be a very happy camper. Why can't they just follow the "rules"??!

Wednesday we have to go to town to our daughter's and take her to the furniture store for a new dresser. The one she has has been falling apart for the past year or so. I have put it back together so many times, it's ridiculous. Of course this is because she packs so much clothing into the drawers that the bottoms fall out. You know, it's made of that stupid thin plyboard that slides into grooves on the sides and front of the drawer. Enough, already! A REAL wood dresser is what she needs. Do they make such things anymore? We'll find out.

And I suppose I better call our car mechanic and make an appointment. Before something important falls out or off. What a racket it makes. Thank goodness I only have to drive a mile to work. I'll make the appointment for next week and keep my fingers crossed. Because this week I have plans for a spinning wheel. And I will not be deterred. I.will.not.be.deterred.

Since last weekend the weather has been very hot and humid. Not East Coast hot, but still too hot for me. Very uncomfortable. It's supposed to cool off this week. I certainly hope so. I was not made for anything over 75 degrees. I must have been an Eskimo in a past life. Or at least a Canadian from the Northern Territory.

Is It Really Hotter Than Hell??

It certainly seems so; although I would not want to sample the other! It reached 89 degrees here today, humidity felt like 100%. You know, one of those days when the scorching hot wind takes your breath away. If you noticed the time of this blog --- yes, it's 2:12 AM!! I cannot sleep. I went to bed at 11:00pm. Got up 3 times. I think I did doze off for about 10 minutes in between each time. I have to get up at 6:00 and get to work; which will be another hectic, crazy, maybe long day. Crap.

Right now it is still 79 outside; humidity hasn't changed much. The air conditioner and 7 fans have been running non stop for over 24 hours. Needless to say, they have not made a bit of difference in the house. When I saw the inside thermometer read 89 in here, I knew I was cooked!! HA! Cooked! Right now I can hear the windchimes tinkling and the curtains are moving a bit. We are supposed to get a rain storm tonight -- eh, this morning(?). I'm still waiting for it. How do people live like this down South?

On top of all this, I think I'm going deaf. I had to apologize to a co-worker today when I had to keep asking her to repeat herself everytime she said something to me. I told her with all the fans, the dehumidifier, the airconditioner running, all I hear is a constant loud whirring in my head!

Son came up last night to go fishing with BH this weekend. They left the house at 4:00 this morning and got home at 5:45 tonight. I had pot roast and roasted corn-on-the-cob on the grill; salad in the fridge and warm home-made bread ready. I was starving! They had to unload the car; put the fish on ice - 2 nice trout already cleaned (yea!) and have a drink before dinner. I'm starving here!!

They're supposed to go out again today -- much later -- for bass. Depends on when the rain(?) lets up.

Monday is supposed to be another fishing day. I will be at work until late. Son will probably leave for home before I get home. Then I will collapse!

I'm taking a break from "Spring" cleaning this week. Gotta take our 17 year old cat to the vet for her shots on Wednesday. And I definitely have to call our auto mechanic for an appointment. The car is making weird noises. Sounds like the undercarriage is going to fall off. Not good.

Ya know, it just occurred to me as I got up to get another glass of water - I think I drank about 2 gallons today - that's probably one of the reasons why I can't sleep. Coincidentally, every time I got up, it's because I had to go to the bathroom! See how things just come together?! Hmmmm.

Ok, I do think I'm going to go back to bed. If I still can't sleep, I'll get up and spin for a while. Then I'll put the coffee on and make breakfast. What the hell.