but that doesn't stop me from blathering.
So what's new? My friend from England came over for two weeks, and we had a wonderful time. There was lots of knitting, a trip to Warner Brothers Studio, dinner on the beach at San Diego, bumming around downtown Idyllwild, working on orders for the shop, organizing my studio, and lots of other fun things. Hubster took her out some days because I was sound asleep, but they seemed to enjoy themselves. All in all, I think it was a wonderful two weeks.
On the medical side of things, I went to see my new pain doc. He has me on a new pain med (Dilaudid), and another new pill for fibromyalgia. He also ordered scans of my lower spine and left knee. His fear is that a virus has attached itself to my spine and is eating through the bone. If that's the case and it reaches my spinal cord, well... let's just say that i won't be writing many more blog entries. I'll find out the results when I go see him next week.
There was another contact from that bitch who apparently thinks she's hot shit in this town. This time, she left a message on the post that included the letters we traded, saying I had hand-delivered her items and not refunded her shipping. She also said that she questioned my business integrity. I sent her a reply, left up the comment until I got bored with it, and then deleted it. I also refunded her $7.00. Since I apparently talked about nothing but my health at the SnB meetings, she should have heard that my short-term memory has been affected by the disease and drugs. Heh. Like I give a shit. What puzzles me is why she waits a few weeks and then attacks. I had no idea I was so interesting. Unless the meetings have been moved to a secret place, they've been shut down at the coffee house; the blog has also been removed. Since there were only a few people attending each meeting, that seemed to be the most logical thing to do. Either that, or I'm Typhoid Pam.
Hubster and I went out the other night and returned with a new car (new to us, anyway). We only have the truck, and if it breaks down, we're stuck with just the bike (like Hubster would ever ride behind me). Being Memorial Day weekend (and a really sucky economy), there were sales galore. We found a Jeep Liberty for a terrific price; the thing looks brand new. I've claimed it as my own. It's a deep garnet pearl - my first red car. I just love it and can't wait to take it to work this weekend.
I think our daughter is coming this weekend, too. There's lots to do around here on Memorial Day weekend - art shows, a community-wide garage sale (complete with map so you can find all the houses having one), spaghetti dinners, etc. We're attending a few of the events, but since I have to work and the kid will be here... It'll be nice to see her. She's moved into a house with lover boy and his sister, so I'll get all the gossip.
We're also currently under an ant attack. The bug guy is coming tomorrow to get rid of them. We have these huge black ants and these red, hairy things (I'm not sure I like living in the forest yet). I'm also covered with bites from spiders and skeeters. So much for being Nature Woman.
The shop is close to being open again. I've been trying to get out vendors' packages (those who are leaving), and listing new ones. We're also changing the look of the shop. One new thing we're having are grab bags. For $50, you get five skeins of top-name indie yarns. I'm also having Opal grab bags and Lorna Laces grab bags. I have so much yarn that it just isn't feasible for me to photograph and list every one, so my friend came up with the idea of the grab bags. I'll try to honor color requests, but these are all multi-colored skeins. I think it will be a fun thing, and everyone will be getting a bargain on the prices. Hopefully, it will go over really well.
I think we're going to take a surprise trip back home next month to celebrate my and my mom's birthdays. I'm in the mood to have a good seafood dinner in San Francisco. I'm sure that Emma will enjoy the ride, too. She gets groomed tomorrow, so she'll be sweet-smelling and clean.
Knitting is going along really well. i have two socks on the needles - one pair for me, one pair for Hubster, His has a pretty pattern (stranded knitting), whereas mine is just plain and simple. I've decided to crank out a bunch of socks for both of us (well, some for him if I have enough yarn). I like doing stupid simple socks for me because they go fast; I can also talk and watch TV while I'm doing them.
I think that's all that's going on around here. I'll try to write another post next week; after all, I have to get in the habit for SP14. That's coming up next month, but I can't say anything more about it.
After all, I have that short-term memory loss thing going on.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
I've Got a Ticket... and Not to a Ride at Disneyland, Either
Quite the provocative title, huh? Is it a speeding ticket? A lottery ticket? More to come in just a minute.
First of all, Sheryl arrived last Sunday after a horrendous 11-hour flight. It took her a few days to acclimate, but now she appears to be on our schedule. It's been difficult for me to get on a "normal" sleeping schedule, and since it's 5:10 a.m. (and I'm typing), it's obvious that I'm failing miserably. I've been getting up at a reasonable hour and going out to do some things with her, but it's been up to poor Hubster to take her into town and go shopping on those days when I've slept most of the daylight hours away. I feel terrible, but I'm doing the best I can. She's been a tremendous blessing - she got all the orders packed and sent out, is helping me go through the stash and sort it into piles (throw away, give away, sell, keep), and is helping me list new artists this week. She's also a lot of fun to just hang out with. I've yet to feed her a traditional breakfast, go to the day spa for a day of pampering, and do a bunch of other things - but she's going to be here all week (and maybe another week after that), so we've still got time. Unfortunately, we're about to undergo a big warmup - she doesn't do well with warmer weather- so there goes Disneyland. We've got a lot to do, though, so I doubt we'll even miss it.
Today, we decided to go to San Diego. After doing a bit of research, we found a yarn shop we wanted to go to. It was okay - kind of small - but we both found some things to buy. I wound up putting all my yarn back because I realized I had more than I would ever knit in a lifetime, so I just bought some books and patterns. The shop owner informed me that she was converting to all indie yarn and was quite pleased with herself... until I told her that's all I sell and wasn't doing well. I'll have to go back to see if she really does it. I saw several labels which I carry, so I know I've got some modicum of good taste.
Anyway, we went to Old Town afterward and found that a fiesta was still going on (I forgot that Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow), and a lot of street vendors were still open. I scored big at a pottery place, buying some new chimes, a hummingbird feeder, and a peacock for the front yard (don't ask). Hubster was less than pleased. Then we decided to head over to the main drag, where I found a Chuck Jones gallery. After seeing the prices on the cels, paintings, and sculptures, i found a little original drawing of Marc Antony and Pussy Cat (you remember that cartoon - Marc Antony the bulldog finds a stray kitten whom he adopts, only to get into a lot of trouble with both the kitten and his mistress) which I could afford. It now resides on an end table in my front room. Then Sheryl was hungry, so we grabbed some food at Pizza Hut and headed to our favorite beach to watch the sun set over the ocean and eat our dinner. That's when the trouble began.
After eating, I lit a smoke and sat there watching the waves. It was then that I noticed a truck driving across the sand. The truck stopped at the people next to us - they had a fire going in a pit - and then drove over to us. Huh? What did I do? It turns out that you can have a dog who shits on the sand, but smoking on a public beach is illegal. Instead of just warning me, the asshat wrote me a ticket for smoking. I couldn't believe it. So now we have to call the courthouse to find out what my fine is. Had I been thinking, I would have given him false information. So now I have a point on my record, got Hubster all pissed off, and had the perfect ending to a less than happy day. Sigh. I think today will be much happier, though - we're going to stay in and knit all day.
Speaking of knitting, we're both using these 9" circulars by HiyaHiya. I thought they were silly at first, but then I transferred my work to one of them. It's fantastic! Going round and round beats the hell out of dealing with the joins of each new DPN. I'm working with size 1 on this project (socks, of course, and basic ones at that), but I've got up to size 3. I was kind of leery of using them (that's the snob in me coming out - any needle which I didn't pay more than $20 for had to stink) - but I'm really happy with them. I got stainless steel instead of bamboo because I like the speed steel affords me... and I always seem to break bamboo or at least get them splintered. I bought a set for Sheryl and also got a set of Darn Pretty DPN's for other projects (from Grafton Fibers). I had to find a new DPN since Golding no longer makes them, and these are an acceptable substitute - they're strong, sharp, and... well... darn pretty. They're also inexpensive, which I know makes Hubster happy.
So that's it for now. I've just fallen asleep and slept for an hour, so I'm going to wrap this up and do some knitting before I fall asleep again. I have lots more to tell you all, but that will wait for my next post. My lovely disease is attacking my left knee, so I can barely walk without excruciating pain. A day in sounds like just the ticket.
And once I find out the fine for the ticket, I may just be knitting and not going out for some time to come.
First of all, Sheryl arrived last Sunday after a horrendous 11-hour flight. It took her a few days to acclimate, but now she appears to be on our schedule. It's been difficult for me to get on a "normal" sleeping schedule, and since it's 5:10 a.m. (and I'm typing), it's obvious that I'm failing miserably. I've been getting up at a reasonable hour and going out to do some things with her, but it's been up to poor Hubster to take her into town and go shopping on those days when I've slept most of the daylight hours away. I feel terrible, but I'm doing the best I can. She's been a tremendous blessing - she got all the orders packed and sent out, is helping me go through the stash and sort it into piles (throw away, give away, sell, keep), and is helping me list new artists this week. She's also a lot of fun to just hang out with. I've yet to feed her a traditional breakfast, go to the day spa for a day of pampering, and do a bunch of other things - but she's going to be here all week (and maybe another week after that), so we've still got time. Unfortunately, we're about to undergo a big warmup - she doesn't do well with warmer weather- so there goes Disneyland. We've got a lot to do, though, so I doubt we'll even miss it.
Today, we decided to go to San Diego. After doing a bit of research, we found a yarn shop we wanted to go to. It was okay - kind of small - but we both found some things to buy. I wound up putting all my yarn back because I realized I had more than I would ever knit in a lifetime, so I just bought some books and patterns. The shop owner informed me that she was converting to all indie yarn and was quite pleased with herself... until I told her that's all I sell and wasn't doing well. I'll have to go back to see if she really does it. I saw several labels which I carry, so I know I've got some modicum of good taste.
Anyway, we went to Old Town afterward and found that a fiesta was still going on (I forgot that Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow), and a lot of street vendors were still open. I scored big at a pottery place, buying some new chimes, a hummingbird feeder, and a peacock for the front yard (don't ask). Hubster was less than pleased. Then we decided to head over to the main drag, where I found a Chuck Jones gallery. After seeing the prices on the cels, paintings, and sculptures, i found a little original drawing of Marc Antony and Pussy Cat (you remember that cartoon - Marc Antony the bulldog finds a stray kitten whom he adopts, only to get into a lot of trouble with both the kitten and his mistress) which I could afford. It now resides on an end table in my front room. Then Sheryl was hungry, so we grabbed some food at Pizza Hut and headed to our favorite beach to watch the sun set over the ocean and eat our dinner. That's when the trouble began.
After eating, I lit a smoke and sat there watching the waves. It was then that I noticed a truck driving across the sand. The truck stopped at the people next to us - they had a fire going in a pit - and then drove over to us. Huh? What did I do? It turns out that you can have a dog who shits on the sand, but smoking on a public beach is illegal. Instead of just warning me, the asshat wrote me a ticket for smoking. I couldn't believe it. So now we have to call the courthouse to find out what my fine is. Had I been thinking, I would have given him false information. So now I have a point on my record, got Hubster all pissed off, and had the perfect ending to a less than happy day. Sigh. I think today will be much happier, though - we're going to stay in and knit all day.
Speaking of knitting, we're both using these 9" circulars by HiyaHiya. I thought they were silly at first, but then I transferred my work to one of them. It's fantastic! Going round and round beats the hell out of dealing with the joins of each new DPN. I'm working with size 1 on this project (socks, of course, and basic ones at that), but I've got up to size 3. I was kind of leery of using them (that's the snob in me coming out - any needle which I didn't pay more than $20 for had to stink) - but I'm really happy with them. I got stainless steel instead of bamboo because I like the speed steel affords me... and I always seem to break bamboo or at least get them splintered. I bought a set for Sheryl and also got a set of Darn Pretty DPN's for other projects (from Grafton Fibers). I had to find a new DPN since Golding no longer makes them, and these are an acceptable substitute - they're strong, sharp, and... well... darn pretty. They're also inexpensive, which I know makes Hubster happy.
So that's it for now. I've just fallen asleep and slept for an hour, so I'm going to wrap this up and do some knitting before I fall asleep again. I have lots more to tell you all, but that will wait for my next post. My lovely disease is attacking my left knee, so I can barely walk without excruciating pain. A day in sounds like just the ticket.
And once I find out the fine for the ticket, I may just be knitting and not going out for some time to come.
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