It's My Birthday... and I'm Bored

Yep. I made another one. Today is my 52nd birthday.

I think I've mentioned this before, but I so miss the birthdays of my youth. Since it falls almost exactly six months to the day from Christmas, I have two major holidays evenly spaced out. I miss the parties, all the family and friends coming over, pool parties, presents... all the shit that kids and younger people get. Then something happens when you hit your twenties. Birthdays begin to lose the significance they once had. I actually threw myself a 30th birthday party with about 50 people - Grandpa had just come home from the hospital, and I wanted to celebrate. Anyway, this downhill slide continues until, when you hit my age, nobody gives a rat's ass anymore. It makes it worse that my family is up north and Hubster and I (and Emma) are down here in the boonies. So what does that mean?

It means that I'll take a nap this afternoon, knit on some socks, and go gambling at an Indian casino tonight. I'd much rather go to Vegas (it's only four hours away), but we just can't afford it. That's the other shitty thing about birthdays now. We can't afford to do anything other than grab a Fatburger and drop about $50 in a slot machine. Sigh. I'm really trying to not get depressed like I do every year.

The good news is that we're leaving Saturday for the Bay Area and bringing the kids home with us. They'll be with us for a week, and we can't wait to have them. I'm sure I'll be totally wiped out, but I don't care. I miss them so much, and we're really looking forward to doing some fun things with them. We also have all this land that they can run around on, a trampoline to bounce on, and a cute downtown where they can get an ice cream at an old-fashioned parlor. I think they'll have a ball. Then it's back up to the Bay Area and testifying in court against the child.

Speaking of the child, she's on a campaign to get back in our good graces. She sent me a birthday card and Hubster a Father's Day card. She speaks of wanting to make up with us, to forget the past and get on with the future, to be a family again. I wish that were true, that it wasn't a scam on her part to get us on her side right before we go to court. But I know she has an agenda, and we can't buy into it. It really hurts me that it's come to this. I had such dreams when she was little, such hopes for having a friend when she grew up, dreaming of talking with her about boys and the other kinds of things young women talk to their mothers about. I had fantasies of us being close and talking every day. Instead, we got a child who hates us and only wants us to talk to her so we might not testify against her. I can't do it. I have the kids to think about. Amber is 32 years old and capable of taking care of herself. Our kids are six and deserve a happy childhood. They were interviewed by a social worker last week and told the lady that they don't want to stay over at their mother's house, that she doesn't take care of them, that she spends all her time with her crackhead boyfriend. I pray that my mother gets permanent custody of them, because if she doesn't, Amber will take the kids and won't let any of us see them. It's really stressful, and I can't wait until it's over. We have to go to court in Berkeley, so we'll be up there for a few days. Then it's back home to the heat. Argh.

I've been flip-flopping between sock projects lately... when I'm awake, that is. It seems that all I do is sleep. When I am awake, I've been working on a really cool pair called... uh... "Fishbone Gansey". It's by Knitspot and has highly detailed designs until you hit mid-calf where the design changes over to a K3 P1 rib. You do that until you get down to the heel flap, and the rest of the sock stays in that pattern. I'm going to do an Eye of Partridge heel because I think the design will compliment the rest of the sock. This is the pair I'm using The Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga for. That yarn is really lovely to knit with and shows off stitch definition beautifully. I've got two other skeins of it in a different colorway, but I'm not sure which pattern to use it for. It's got greens, browns, golds, reds, etc., in it and is on the dark side. Gorgeous.

We're not taking Emma with us on this trip because of the kids. She'll also be boarded when we take them back because we can't leave her in her carrier all day while we're in court. Grandma can't handle her (Emma is now over 50 pounds), so we think it's better to leave her with her groomer for a few days. Besides, she loves it over there. It gives her a chance to see all her doggie friends.

I'm getting sleepy again, so it's off to nap before I have to shower and get ready for tonight. It doesn't feel like my birthday, but maybe going out with Hubster instead of just snoozing in my chair will help. Please don't think i'm not grateful, because I am.

I'm still alive.

I Think I Finally Might Have Something to Say

Wow. Over a month since I last posted. It's really difficult to think of things to say when your life is centered around your chair.

I actually have some knitting photos this time. Don't fall off your chairs. Keep breathing. Don't pass out from shock. I keep saying that I've been knitting, so I thought I'd show you the beginnings of some new sock projects.





I can't remember the name of most of these, but here's the first one anyway. It's being done in Dream in Color Smooshy. The entire sock is textural; those little swirls are sort of fake cables.





This one has offset ribs throughout the entire body. You can sort of see them. The yarn is by Alaskan Nancy (Etsy) and was custom-dyed for me. It's a pastel rainbow. I also noticed that I took the picture upside-down.





This pattern is called "Apollo and Artemis". The yarn is Fannie's Fingering and is actually what the pattern calls for. An unusual occurrence, since I rarely use what the pattern calls for.





I can't, for the life of me, remember what the hell this one is called (the yarn or the pattern). The top will be folded over (I don't know if you can see the yarn overs) to form a picot edge. I could have knitted it folded over and attached to the body of the sock, but it was a huge pain in the ass. I'll sew it down once the sock is completed.

I've got two more on the needles, both cashmere blends, but I forgot to take a picture of one of them (the yarn is by Spirit Trail), and the other is just a 2x2 rib at this point (how boring can you get?). The yarn on that one is The Sanguine Gryphon's Bugga.

I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures, but I shake like crazy when I'm trying to take a picture, I used my phone, and trying to get a closeup is damn near impossible.

While I was doing all that (and while I'm doing this, too), this is what the fire hydrant was doing.





She just got groomed today. She's also gained quite a bit of weight, so she's got to go on a diet. Bullies shouldn't get fat; it's really hard on their joints (I mean, their legs are only a few inches long) and causes them to snort and snore even more than they normally do. She's not going to like this, especially since this means she won't get any more dinner treats. I feel her pain. Anyway, she loves going to the groomer's and getting to play with all the dogs there (he has a room where the dogs are allowed to run free and play while they're waiting to be groomed, picked up, or if they're being boarded). Her coat is silky smooth and smells really good; she also had her nails done. He got most of her winter coat off. it's always amazing to me that dogs with hair as short as hers still get a really heavy, fuzzy winter coat.

I'm doing another test knit and will be working on that for a while. Once the yarn arrives, that will be the focus of all my knitting. I absolutely love doing that kind of thing; it sort of validates what I do. It also makes me feel like I'm not wasting my time sitting in my chair doing nothing but knitting.

So there are my pictures, lousy as they are. That's what I've been doing with myself.

Things are progressing pretty well on the store front. I've sent back a lot more work to vendors and paid out quite a bit of money to people who had things sell (that took up the vast majority of our tax refund). I'm just about done - there are about six more to do, I think. I do what I can as I can. Hubster is working so much (usually until he goes to bed, and he begins around 9:00 a.m.), that he's not able to help all that much. I still have to finish photographing the yarn for the shop, but I haven't been feeling up to sitting there and taking a lot of pictures. It'll get done when it gets done - I'm not worried about it. It isn't going anywhere.

Next month, we're driving up to the Bay Area for a few reasons. Hubster and I have to testify in the final court hearing to see if my mother gets permanent custody of the kids. Judging by how our dear daughter is doing, I don't think there's going to be any problem. Then we're celebrating our birthdays - mine and my mother's. Mom's is June 13th, and mine is June 23rd (yes, I'm happy to accept hand-dyed yarn dyed just for the occasion, gifts of any kind, etc.). And yes... I'm kidding about that. Then we're bringing the grands home for a visit. Let me amend that - the kids are coming home with us before we go to court (Mom wants them away before we all go to court because otherwise, Amber would have them - and who knows what she would do to avoid going to court), and we go to court when we bring them back. We're really looking forward to the visit. They have over an acre of land to romp around on, the trampoline is in the backyard for them to bounce on, and Mom is paying for us all to go to Disneyland. Hubster and I have saved enough of our tax refund so we can take them to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and maybe to Legoland or Knott's Berry Farm. We're also all going to the beach in San Diego (that means Emma is coming, too), so the kids can play in the surf. They've seen San Francisco Bay, but never the ocean. I'm trying to rest up as much as possible so I don't absolutely collapse.

I got my birthday present from Mom early - a 64G iPad. I told her I was writing a book, and I guess she figured that it would be easier for me to work on that, as well as play on the computer, if I could stay in my chair instead of trekking over to where the big computer is. I love the thing. There wasn't one available anywhere in SoCal (it seems you can only get them at Best Buy or the Apple store), and I didn't want to wait a month for it to arrive if I ordered it online, so she found one up there and mailed it down to me. I didn't need the big one, but it was the only one she could find. I can't say that I'm sorry to have it; I can put crap on that thing for the rest of my life and still not fill it up. Grandma gave me the wireless keyboard to use with it, and the kids gave me this cool case for the iPad. It's made by a company called Sena:

Sena Cases

They have the most beautiful cases - all leather - much nicer than the ones Apple and some other companies make. I got the one which zips all the way around, since I seem to have a problem with spilling things, most notably my coffee. It allows me to plug the charger into the device without removing it from the case and also has a stand built in to the back (it snaps shut), so you can stand the iPad up in landscape mode at an angle. It's really nice for travel, too, since it's lightly padded and won't allow anything to damage the iPad.

So I think that's about it. I'm watching "Billy the Exterminator" right now (there's a marathon going on) - talk about being grossed out! Hubster is just shaking his head at it. We're about to eat some hot dogs (with BTE turned off - even I can't eat while watching wasps and roaches), so I think we'll put "Gia" in the player and watch that instead. Thank goodness for Netflix. Then it's back to knitting and sleeping much later - most likely tomorrow. Emma has already conked out for the night - going to the groomer's always wears her out.

I can understand that. Walking across the room has the same effect on me.

Well... It WAS a Lovely Day

WARNING - THIS IS A RANT. I APOLOGIZE TO THOSE OF YOU WHO WOULD RATHER NOT SEE THIS.

As I stated in the title, it was a lovely day. A perfect day. It started out with black skies which opened up and released, at various times throughout the entire day, snow, sleet, and hail. Fog rolled in and covered the surrounding mountains. The wind kicked up, but not to any damaging speeds. My kind of day, and a perfect day to sit and knit... which is exactly what I did, interspersed with periods of dozing. As I sit here and write this at 4:00 a.m., it's still snowing hard. There is well over a foot of snow covering the decks and everything on them.

It was a perfect day... but the night abruptly screeched to a halt when I decided to try and find my blog on my iPhone. I decided to use the Google app and looked up "Yarn Goddess". I found my blog just fine - and a lot of other things. The thing which floored me was an entry on a site called "RipOff Report". There, in living color, was my name, Hubster's name, my Ravelry name, my town and state, Yarny Goodness, Liar, Thief, and I can't remember what else. I had Hubster bring up the site on my computer. This is what he found:

"I am one of many who've been ripped off by this woman and her husband. Pamela contacted us all soliciting entry into her shop. She took thousands of dollars in merchandise with signed contracts, sold some of it, kept the rest and is not returning money, merchandise or email. She is not following the terms of her own contract. She and her husband respond to increasingly annoyed and frustrated emails with childish insults, empty threats and little, if any, action. Some of us have been trying to get our things back/money we're owed for a year now. They simply don't care.

Pam likes to play up her illness and her 'quirks' but several people who've had real life dealings with her have told stories of con games and lies that end with temper tantrums and petty revenge when discovered. Currently she seems to be engaged in smoking a lot of dope and giving tarot readings over the phone.

Steer clear of this woman if you value your business or finances! She and her husband both are shysters and have no remorse whatsoever about putting very small, women owned businesses out of business and ripping off fellow fiber enthusiasts."

It was written and submitted by "Disgruntled Artist (Nationwide).

If you wish to see the site and what the entry looks like, you can find it at:

RipOff Report

I have never held anything back on this blog, and I won't do so now. Trying to hide and hoping that nobody will see this is ridiculous. I've never been one to cower in corners and not put myself in the middle of things. Those of you who know me also know these things to be true. So, in the true spirit of who I am and what I believe in, I have copied and pasted this "anonymous" author's work on my blog for all of you to see.

I'm always amazed when people attack me but won't sign their names to the post. I have a really good idea of who this person is by the way she wrote the post and the language she used, but I'm not going to name names. Since you obviously read this blog, why don't you tell us all who you are? Or don't you want the spotlight falling on you? Fucking coward.

We're filing a rebuttal (just so you know, lady), but I'm also going to address her accusations here. Again, if those of my regular readers dislike rants, I thank you for reading this far and suggest that you might want to stop reading here. For the rest of you, here we go.

This bitch doesn't have the slightest idea of whom I've paid and what merchandise I've returned. Has she asked every single one of my artists who has been happy with the shop and/or me? No. She doesn't even have any idea of what merchandise I had, especially at Sock Summit. No... she seems to have talked to only one or a few people, disregarding what the others have to say. Do I still have merchandise? Yes. Do I still owe money? Yes. I send back what I can when I can and pay people as I can afford it. So far, we've spent about $500 in postage alone, not to mention the items I've had to purchase because I can't find them, as well as paying people for their sales. Those people who wrote to me and said they had shows to go to got their merchandise back first. Those people who sent rude and nasty letters are getting their work back as well, although not by Priority Mail. It will all get done.

I do not issue childish insults or threats, and nobody knows what kind of action I've taken. I'm assuming she means sending items back. She has no idea of what other action I've taken, and I don't care to enlighten her. If you read some of the letters I received, it would curl your hair. If she wants to see what a childish insult looks like or hear what a threat sounds like (such as contacting the DA, police department, BBB, etc.), I've got plenty of those letters, too. She also has no idea if I care or not. It seems to me that if I didn't care about indie artists, I would never have opened the store in the first place. A lot of people whined about wanting such a thing but not doing anything to make it a reality. That's what I get for actually doing something to help people. Do I still care? Yes, I do. I don't give a rat's ass if she believes me or not. My life won't be impacted one bit by what she thinks.

I like to play up my illness and "quirks"? What quirks? Just so you know, you stinking bitch, I don't have an illness. I have a disease. Get it right if you're going to write about it. As for smoking a lot of dope and giving tarot readings over the phone, I still have the dope I originally purchased. I smoke it when I absolutely have to. I haven't given a tarot reading over the phone (or in person) for months. And I don't play up anything. I simply tell people what's going on with my life so they don't have to write me letters. Believe it or not, people do write me for the fun of communicating with me, not just to harangue me.

Con games? Lies? Petty revenge? Temper tantrums? What a load of horseshit. Just for your information, Hubster writes most of those letters because I'm too angry to write anything civilized. He's extremely professional and spells it out as it is - but without the swearing I would most likely put in letters. If I wait a while and cool off, then I write them. Even after I've told people to stop writing, they continue to bombard me with letters up the ass. That is precisely why I shut off my Ravelry mail. I got tired of receiving letters at every single email address I own.

The other thing which really pissed me off is that this useless piece of humanity put my home address on whatever form she filled out. I realize my address is easy to get ahold of, but that was just plain mean. Do you want any other information to put on there? My SSN? My measurements? My birthday? (Oh wait... that's on another blog entry.) The size of Hubster's dick? (I think I've mentioned that, too, and for those of you who do want that information, you have my email addy.) Just let me know, and after I have a temper tantrum and smoke a bowl, I'll lie to you about it.

I think that about covers it. Be sure you all steer clear of me, especially if you have a business. Make sure that you hide your checkbooks before you write - I might see them with my special glasses which I bought from the back of a comic book. God forbid that I con you into joining forces with me in some new business venture. I'd say that I'm sorry I ever opened the shop to begin with (and I have said it when I'm really upset), but at the end of the day, I did some good things for a lot of people and gave them exposure they might not have gotten otherwise. For that, I'm proud. I'm not proud of how things ended up, and I know I could have done things better and faster. But for whatever reasons, I didn't, so I'm trying to make it right now. As I said, it's a slow process, but it'll get done.

How I wish the Pony Express was still in operation...

(I just realized something. If you go to that site and look at the bottom of the post, there's a link you can click to see any other reports which have been filed on me. There is one additional one which was posted about two hours after the first one (if I have the times/days right). I won't copy it and waste your time here - go on over and read it if you're interested.)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ... Winter?

Don't get me wrong. I love winter. In fact, it's my favorite season by far, followed by autumn, spring, and summer. So imagine my delight yesterday when I was sitting in the old chair knitting and looked out the window to see ...

SNOW.

Lots of snow. Big, fat, fluffy flakes of it. Then it hailed - lots and lots of little round ice balls (I've known some dudes who have ice balls, too, but that's for another post). Then it snowed again, this time with the wind blowing and making the flakes dance and twirl like they were in a ballet. Then it warmed up from around 34 degrees to 38, and the snow turned to sleet. This went on for most of the day, finally ending with another huge dose of hail. Today is sunny and cool, but the sunshine is rapidly melting the hail which coated the ground. Ah well. It was a lovely treat, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hubster, on the other hand, is hoping that spring will hurry up and stay so he doesn't have to shovel the driveway again. I can see his point of view, especially since I'm not the one who has to do the shoveling, but I'm a selfish bitch. I can't stand the heat, so the thought of it returning makes me want to barf. I am definitely NOT a SoCal broad. They seem to worship the sun down here.

Hubster has been working on a huge project for work, so I haven't been seeing him a lot these days. Hopefully, he'll wrap it up today and things will return to a semblance of normalcy. The upshot of this is that I'm getting a LOT of knitting done, with a test knitting project about ready to hit the needles. I was fortunate enough to be asked to do a sample for Unique Sheep's Ram Club (I don't know if I can tell you about it or not, so I'll err on the side of safety and keep my big mouth shut), but suffice it to say that it's not socks. I've also decided to do something else that's crazy and may never get done, but I'm going to give it a shot.

I'm writing a book.

Yep, I'm going to try and get this thing finished before I'm finished. If nothing else, it will give my grands something to tell them all about their grandma. Racy? Yes. Full of foul language? Yes. But it's an autobiography, and that's who I am. Even if I have to self-publish two copies for them, it will be worth it. I don't know that I want my mother reading it - some of the things I've done are still unknown to her - but even at her age, she can take it. I just feel this need and urgency to do it, and Hubster has been telling me for years that I should do it. I told him it will have to be classified as fiction, since nobody will believe half the shit in there. Now I'm on a mission to get an iPad so I can sit on the ratty old chair and write with it in my lap. Hmm ... maybe he'll get a bonus for doing this project at work. I love spending money that I don't have.

I got two phone calls about the bike, and one of them looks promising. The dude is supposed to call today, so I'm really hoping that he'll follow through with it. He even has a trailer, so he can pick the beast up and trailer it home instead of riding something with outdated tags. We didn't bother to register it because it isn't being ridden (I'm supposed to let the DMV know about that situation and pay a non-registration fee, which strikes me as stupid for something that's just sitting in the garage), but if this dude buys it, we'll take care of all that. It would be lovely to have the extra money every month. I just wish we could keep the money from the sale - that's a down payment for a house, if we ever get our credit fixed - but, alas, we have to pay it off. Shitty loan.

The sausage has been acting more and more like a human lately. She sits on her ass with her front legs draped over the back of the couch and her back legs sticking straight out; she lays under the quilt with Hubster and snores almost as loudly as him; I have to share a bite from dinner (with her eating off a fork); and any other number of hilarious things. She guards me like I'm going to be attacked at any moment and uses Hubster as her personal toy. I'm so glad we got her; she's a tremendous source of love and amusement. I wish they lived longer, but they don't. That just means we'll have to enjoy her lifetime to the fullest.

I have a bunch of pictures on my phone, but I haven't downloaded them onto the computer yet. I'll have them for next time. Aren't you proud of me, though? Its been a week instead of a month since I blogged. Maybe I'll get back into my old habits and blog even more frequently than that. The problem is that I don't have a lot to tell you. I'm in the house most of the time, so I don't have any funny stories about my adventures outside. However, we have to hit a quilting shop later this week, so maybe I can stir up some shit. We also have to find a knitting shop. There are some good ones in San Diego, so I'm going to try and talk the old man into going there. Then we can grab sandwiches and eat on the beach. I just have to remember to not smoke there. God forbid that my smoke competes with the smog.

Tomorrow is Hubster's day for doing our taxes, so keep your fingers crossed that we don't owe any money. Nothing puts him in a worse mood than doing taxes, except for doing taxes and finding out that we owe. We have to get a house; that way, we're assured of getting money back. Besides, I want to go swimming in my own backyard again.

Speaking of swimming, my swim with the dolphins is coming up. I'm hoping to do it next month instead of June when all the screaming monsters ... uh ... lovely little children are out of school and running around like Attila the Hun's hordes. I have to wear a wet suit, which has the benefit of smoothing out all your bumps and bulges due to their snugness. I can groove on that. Hubster will be taking a lot of pictures, so you can all giggle like fiends at seeing me in the water with a bunch of dolphins sailing over my head.

And with that, I'm bringing this entry to a close. Forgive me for the boring content. I feel like a mother with small children who never goes anywhere and has nothing interesting to say. I'm going to finish up the cuff on the new socks I cast on this morning (I'm using a yarn by Selah, which I can't even remember buying, in a rainbow colorway), and then I'm taking a nap. I'm half asleep now, but I really want to get this thing going before the yarn for my test knit arrives. Once the club members have received it, I'll post a picture of it. Until then, I'll have to keep it a secret.

Bet you think I can't keep my big mouth shut, huh?

We'll see.

Just Want That Old Time Rock and Roll

So the Hubster and I were sitting there yesterday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. when I noticed that my ass was beginning to quiver. Mind you, it doesn't take a whole lot to get any part of my body quivering, but this was weird - like I was sitting on a whoopie cushion gone wild. Then I heard it - that familiar low rumbling which I haven't heard in quite a while. I looked at Hubster and said, "earthquake". He looked at me like I was nuts... and then the entire house let out a huge creaking noise and began to shake.

It was slow at first, but then it picked up speed and intensity. He sat there with big eyes while I continued knitting. Emma didn't much care for it - it was something new and she couldn't control it. The house snapped, creaked, and shook HARD for about 30 seconds or so, and then it was over... but not until we heard a loud crashing sound from upstairs. "Oh shit", said the ever-diligent Hubster, who immediately ran upstairs to see what had fallen. I continued to sit in my chair knitting. It turned out that a porcelain pig chef holding a covered platter which was meant to hold votive candles (don't ask) had fallen off the baker's rack and smashed to a million pieces on the floor. Shit. I can't get those anymore (there's an entire kingdom, as it were, of this particular artist's work, and she doesn't make them anymore). My huge Shiva Lingham (it's a torpedo-shaped stone - mine is mahogany-colored with lighter brown splotches on the top - which is harvested once a year on the banks of the Ganges River by families specially trained to do it) had also toppled over and rolled across the front room floor. Fortunately, it weighs about 25 lbs. and didn't get damaged. They're meant to bring harmony and happiness to whichever area they're placed, and they come in all sizes from very small to the size of a torpedo (literally). I bought it when I owned the metaphysical store and got it wholesale; otherwise, I couldn't have afforded one that size. Anyway, that's all the damage we noticed, but aftershocks continued on and off during the rest of the day. The epicenter of the quake was around Calexico, and the magnitude was 7.2. We felt it at about 5.2, and we're pretty far away. We're on the fault, though, and it travels straight up.

This morning, I woke up around 6 a.m. to the sound of dripping. It had been raining all night, which I didn't notice because I fell asleep fairly early (for me), and the TV tends to mask the sound of rain unless it's coming down hard. Right now, at 10 a.m., it's raining/snowing pretty hard, the wind is blowing, and we're in the middle of a cloud (we're so high up that we don't really get fog, we get clouds). It promises to be like this all day. Happy Pam. :)

What else? That chick who wanted my bike so badly pulled out of the deal. Her boyfriend bought her one (yeah, right). Hubster sent her a letter thanking her for leading us on for three weeks. Oh well.

We're also making good progress on yarn/stitch makers/other assorted items which we still have left from that long-ago show we attended. Yes, it's been forever. Yes, I owe people a lot of stuff. I'm working on it, and we're also working on making payments to those folks to whom we owe money. Sigh. I really did try with that fucking store, and I still don't understand why it didn't take off. I noticed that a couple of stores which have the same concept I did are popping up. I guess I was ahead of my time, which is nothing new.

I finished the cuff on a new sock and have begun the leg portion. It's fairly simple, just an offset ribbing, but it's all knit into the backs of the stitches. That means I have to loosen up a little so I can actually knit it. I'm using a gorgeous yarn by... uh... somebody; the color is called "Mums". It's got purple, green, yellow, and a couple of others in it, and the way it's knitting up bodes well for a non-pooling sock. I've also got five others on the needles, and I switch off when I get bored. The other day, a needle case I ordered for the 9" Hiya Hiya circs arrived, so now I have them all organized instead of having a hundred packages laying around getting lost. I also found 50 sterling silver stitch markers I had purchased a year ago to sell in the shop, but nobody bought them (I think it was the price, although I thought it was reasonable), so I'm keeping those and have them all in a little silk pouch. I love those things - they don't leave ladders in your work.

While rummaging through my studio last night, I found a shitload of stuff I forgot I had, so I'm well-equipped to knit pretty much whatever I want. Between the stuff that was in the shop and paid for ahead of time, and the lovely things that many of the artists gave me, I don't need to buy another thing. I'm still selling the "old" stash (if we ever finish taking those damn pictures) and some odds and ends (including most of my Green Mountain knitting bags, since I now have the rolling Zuca cart), but all the new stuff (and the found stuff), I'm keeping. It was like Christmas, until my back went out from stooping over and looking in boxes.

I had a doctor's appointment the other day, and the news wasn't great. Apparently, the cartilage in my left knee is gone, so when I move that joint, I feel bone on bone and hear it snap and creak. The other new and fun thing is that bits and pieces of my spine are breaking loose and floating up into my neck on their way to my brain. The doctor told me that if too many pieces break off, or if the cartilage deteriorates up to my neck, it's time. The next stop is my brain and, as I've said, once it hits that, I better start saying good-bye to everybody. Fast. Do you remember that bitch who wrote me that horrible letter a few weeks ago about being hated because I was a lying, stealing bitch? Well, she had also told me I was a "poor me" sort of attention-getter, and that I had a cult of followers who believed everything I told them. I hate to say this, but I think she meant anybody who even remotely likes me, which would mean those of you who actually read this silly thing. I know who got her started on this rant (it's somebody whose stuff I had/have), and I'm going to have a polite word (or series of not so polite words) with her when the time is right, but if she knew me, she'd know I was honest to a fault. I think the broad needs a high hard one, although I suspect her bearded taco has moths flying out of it, which is a turnoff for any electric eels seeking shelter from the cold.

That's about it. It's been an exciting weekend, what with the earthquake and all, but now I'm getting sleepy from my morning pills and think I'll probably sleep for a while. I don't want to miss the rain - the rainy season seems to be pretty much finished down here as opposed to NoCal, where it lasts for another month - and I would be surprised if there were any more days filled with rain and darkness. Since I'm a witch, it's natural that I would love this weather.

Or is that a bitch?

The Sausage Turns Two

I can't believe it, but today is the sausage's birthday. And that's not an April Fool's joke - we've really had her almost that long. We're buying her some sort of gift tomorrow night. I did have a doctor's appointment today, but it's snowing off and on, and I don't want to get stuck on the mountain roads if it decides to snow hard. So I'm lounging around in my ratty old jammies, knitting away on whichever pair of socks strikes my fancy.

The big news this past week has been Amber. As you all know, she left her husband and was living with some meth head. Well, she kicked him out and tried to come back to her hubby. Fortunately, he was aware of her proclivities towards lying and only doing what benefitted her, so he turned her away and wrote her a rather nasty letter, going so far as to call her a lying whore. He had a long conversation with Hubster, and I think that helped him realize that his decision was the right one. So what did the kid do? She moved the meth head back into her apartment and told her soon to be ex that since Hubster and I had chosen his family over her, she didn't want anything more to do with us, that she was doing just fine without us, blah blah blah. It's nothing she hasn't said before, so my feelings aren't really hurt. In fact, I'm not really hurt by anything she says or does anymore. I think it's a protection mechanism on my part. I had to do that in order to save my sanity. Otherwise, I tended to dwell on it and cry a lot. I've got enough going on in my life that's hurtful or painful, let alone having her add to my problems. I think she figured we'd come crawling to her. Since it hasn't happened, maybe she's finally realizing that nobody really gives a shit about what she's doing. It seems that she can't live alone, so she moves in whoever shows any interest in her. Of course, the kids are well aware that different guys are coming and going, and it's beginning to traumatize them. I'm really worried about them, and if Mom gets permanent custody, she's informed us that we'll be getting them soon because she's getting too old to raise them. That's great, except we've got that little health issue of mine. If we're able to qualify for a new house (more on that below), it's got to be a large house to accommodate them. Oh well - things will work out the way they're meant to.

As far as the kids go, Mom goes to court in July for the final hearing on custody. With Amber living with that creep, I don't think it's going to be a problem to take the kids away from her. We also found out that she was definitely pregnant and had an abortion - the ex took her to get the pills for it. That's going to hurt her standing with the court. It makes me really upset to think about the kids around that guy, so I'm hoping the court sees things our way. Mom has spent about $23K so far fighting this battle, and we can't help her monetarily. All we can do is stand by and wait to see what happens.

We did have a bit of bad news. As I said in my last post, we were trying to qualify for a house loan. Well ... we didn't get it. I wasn't surprised, since our credit report isn't up to date, and there's a lot of shit on there that's long been paid off. Now we get to go through the agony of trying to update the fucking thing. Our mortgage guy is really difficult to get ahold of, so I don't know when we're going to start the process. Fortunately, we love the house we're in right now, and I don't think our landlord is going to kick us out. There are worse places to be stuck, so we feel fortunate that we're here. It's just so difficult to save money, especially with Hubster's salary cut, but I suppose I should be grateful that he's even got a job. What pisses me off is that there are programs for people who are about to lose their houses and people who are first-time buyers, but nothing for people in our position. Once again, the middle class gets shit on. We make too much money to get help from any agencies and not enough to be rich. Oh well. At least we're not on skid row living in a refrigerator box on the sidewalk.

The hate mail continues to flow in, so I've taken to making Hubster read my email. Some of it I can deal with; some of it I just can't. The piles of shit I've got in my studio are slowly but surely disappearing, but it's the stitch markers I just can't figure out. Most people didn't mark them in any way, so I have no idea what belongs to whom. I just don't want to send the wrong things to the wrong people. That would be a nightmare. Then I'd have to have things going back and forth until I found their owners. Sigh.

That's really about it. Nothing exciting has come in the mail, my socks are making progress (but not enough to take any pictures), the sausage has stopped limping and has taken to barking all day because Hubster isn't paying her constant attention, and I'm exhausted. I think I'll go knit, take a nap, and then go rummage around in my studio. Maybe I'll have good luck and find things.

Now that's an April Fool's joke.

Spring Has Sprung ... and it's Going to be a Hot One

Geez. I just don't know where the time goes. The older I get, the faster it goes by.

Here it is, spring already. It was 80 degrees in the City of Angels the other day, and even though we're about 20 degrees cooler up here than in the flatlands, it looks to be a rather warm spring. I know what that means. It means a beastly summer is on tap. Fuck.

Those of you who have been faithful readers of my rather sporadic blogging know that I don't deal well with the heat. So what are we doing? We're looking for a house in the Delta region, where temps well in the 100's during the summer are common. We can't afford to move close to the Bay, so it's out in the mud flats for us. We're only looking at houses with pools, which is how I survive in those regions. We're also going through the pre-approval process for a loan right now. Damn... I knew we should have fixed our credit report before now. We haven't heard yet if we'll be approved or not (and if so, for how much), so keep your fingers crossed. We have to look at larger houses because if my mother gets full custody of the kids, that means we'll eventually get custody of them when she gets too old to take care of them (which also means that should be next year). I don't mind, though - as long as I'm still here and can take care of the little monkeys. They're already excited that we may be coming home. It's not me they're excited about - it's Grandpa and the pool that floats their boats. Oh well. The prices are amazing. We looked at a 3700 sq. ft. house (pool included) that's listed for $275K. You read that right. Of course, people are putting in offers like crazy on these things - the banks now have no vested interest in getting rid of properties quickly because of that stupid bill our president pushed through - so houses are selling for quite a bit above their asking prices. The deals are still good, though, so if we qualify for a decent loan, we should be able to get a good house.

Speaking of children, Daisy (our blabbermouth grand) told my mother that "Mommy is going to have a baby". Mom had her suspicions - I guess Amber's ass is as wide as two axe handles. I haven't seen her since she's cut off all ties with us, but I have a feeling that it's true. If it is, that bodes well for the court hearing in July. She'll be about eight months by then, and the judge isn't going to feel charitable towards her. This is the final hearing for permanent custody of the twins, and for someone who can't take care of the two she already has, it's not likely that a judge is going to grant custody of them to a pregnant mother. I just don't know where she went wrong. I regret the day I popped that monster out, and a monster she is. I may have been a wild child, but I never hurt people and always put my family first. Not Amber. She only considers us family when it suits her. Hubster and I have disowned her. We refuse to be hurt anymore. The one I feel sorry for is Amber's ex. He's a sweet young man with a lovely family, and I would have loved to be related to them. She seems, however, to like men who mistreat her. Sigh.

Not a lot has gone on in the past month, but we did manage to make it up to Stitches. I spent that Friday going through the marketplace with my dear friend from KaratStix, and then spent Saturday in Rabbitch's booth. I met some more people I've known for years online, and a good time was had by all. Saturday night, we took Rabbitch to San Francisco for dinner - we didn't have time for sightseeing - and had a wonderful meal full of great food, lovely conversation, and just plain enjoying each other's company. Hubster dozed off in the truck while we had dinner so we could spend time together without him. I'm glad I went - not only did I get to spend time with dear friends, I also picked up a few odds and ends, the most exciting of which is a rolling yarn cart with wheels that light up when they turn (I'm such a bag and bling whore). I can stuff more crap in this thing than I can in any of my other knitting bags. So, in addition to my stash, I'll be selling most of my knitting bags. We're still working on photography, but as soon as I'm done listing enough things to open the shop, I'll post it here. It should be soon because I don't want to haul a lot of extra yarn with us if we're lucky enough to move.

We have a good prospect for the bike, but I haven't heard from her for a few weeks. I dropped her an email last night asking if she's still interested in it, and I'm just waiting to hear back from her. I sure hope she still wants it. That would go a long way towards helping us qualify for a good loan, and it's one less (expensive) thing to have to truck up north. Again, keep your fingers crossed. Something good has to happen this year.

I've closed (or am trying to close) my account on Ravelry because I've had it with them. I posted an innocuous comment on one of the forums and saw the next day that it had been removed. When I wrote to the moderator to ask why, she wrote me back a horrible letter telling me, among other things, that I was a "lying, thieving, cheating bitch" (or words to that effect). She then proceeded to tell me that a friend of hers had been ripped off by me, that if I answered her letter, she was going to call the police department in my town, blah blah blah. I keep telling these snatch whores that we don't have a local police department, but they don't seem to believe me. It was a terrible, uncalled-for letter. Not only did she remove my comment, she deleted the entire thread the next day. Ravelry may have a lot of good things going for it, but it's changing from a knitting thing to a group of nasty women who form cliques and attack people whom they don't like for whatever reason. I thought I had left all that behind in high school. In any event, I'm tired of dealing with women like that and refuse to patronize a place where they congregate. So far, the powers that be over there haven't closed my account, so I'm just not logging in. I'm not impressed with the speed and/or quality of help you get when you log a complaint. I personally think that Ravelry has grown too large too fast, and whatever it was originally meant to be has long since disappeared. I think they've lost control of it, and when that happens with something that large, it tends to grow into something other than what it was meant to be. I don't see any way they could turn it back into a knitting/fiber forum-type place at this late date; it's already morphed into a living, breathing beast. I know a lot of people spend hours every day on it, and I also know that it has a lot of good qualities. I don't wish to partake of any of them, however. Please don't send me any more hate mail because of my opinion; I've also had it with that.

Emma is doing well; she's not limping any more. I got a really good referral from a good friend to a vet near us, so we'll be using him if anything happens. He doesn't take appointments, but we don't mind waiting. Anything for our Emma. She loves it here, but I think she'll love it no matter where we live as long as we're with her. She's gotten huge - big head, enormous chest, huge paws - and she's strong as the proverbial ox. She's also gotten in the habit of barking when she hears a noise and protecting me by inserting herself between me and the perceived danger. Whoever said that bullies aren't good guard dogs hasn't met the M.

I don't have any pictures for you this time, but I'm hoping to have some pictures of completed socks the next time I blog. I've got four pairs on the needles (I did have six, but got rid of two of them), and even if I only have one of each pair completed, at least it's something to show you. One of them is a plain pair, but the others are lace or have fancy features. I've got socks to make for friends (you know who you are), and a couple of those fall into that category. I'm actually using some yarn from my "new" stash (thank you, ladies), and have done really well with my buying habits. It helps that we don't have any expendable income and are also trying to save for the new house. Besides, I still have enough yarn to open another yarn shop. However, I have an army of people who are sworn to kick me in the ass if I even consider such a thing. While I loved my shop, I'm just not cut out to be a shop owner - not anymore. I met a lot of wonderful people, but it's just too much.

Nothing has changed in the health department. It's getting time to stock up on the magic herb again, which means I have to find a dispensary close by. Palm Springs has 27 of them, so I don't think it's going to be a problem. We don't want to drive all the way to Van Nuys, which is over a two-hour drive with traffic (and when isn't there traffic around here?). Oddly enough, there aren't that many of them in the Bay Area, so I need to make sure I have enough to last a while before we leave. I carry that letter from the doctor whenever I'm holding (I had the damn thing laminated), so we don't get pulled over and thrown in jail. That's all I need. I have a problem using the bathroom in other people's homes, let alone using an open toilet in front of a group of women and guards. I'd be plugged up for the duration.

One thing that's coming up is my "swimming with the dolphins" outing. I've always wanted to do it, and Sea World has a deal where you go to a class for a few hours to learn how to behave around them, and then you don a wetsuit and jump in the tank with them. I told Hubster to give me that for my birthday, so we're probably going to do it around late April/early May (before it gets really hot). I can't wait - it's a lifelong dream come true. Sea World is doing the "buy one day, get the rest of the year free" ticket deal again, so we'll take advantage of that. I love going there and seeing the whales. Now if only Disneyland would do that ...

I think that's all that's going on around here. I'll try and blog more frequently, more like I used to. I've been working with the voice program Laura told me about, but it takes time for it to learn your voice and mannerisms. You should see some of the sentences which pop out. It's easier than typing, though, and I might even get caught up on my email. Hang in there - if you have a letter coming, you'll get it.

It may be unintelligible, but you'll get something.

Sleet, Snow, and Sickness

WARNING: THIS POST IS LOADED WITH VERY BORING PICTURES.

If you choose to continue reading, I'm really happy to hear that. If you choose to shut this down, however, you will still show up as one of the cities who took the time to look at this piece of shit.

Thank you.

Hey! It's me! I bet you all thought I had finally kicked the bucket.

Nah... not this past month, anyway.

So what's new and exciting? Not much, really. The weather up here continues to confound the weathermen. They just can't seem to understand that we actually do exist and that our weather isn't the same as Los Angeles. I woke up to this the other day:





That's my front yard.





That's part of my backyard.





That's another part of my backyard.

As you can see from the date on the photos, this happened a few weeks ago. It happened the day before yesterday, too. And when it snows, someone goes apeshit.





Yep. It's the Flying Sausage. But she's just standing there, you say. She was taking a break from the racetrack:









She loves to run at full speed around the table. (You can tell it's really an action shot because her ears are flapping backwards.) She'll then run like mad into the house, make a turn around the coffee table, shoot back outside, and then race back inside, jump on the couch, and fall asleep for the rest of the day.

And then, at the end of the day when it stopped snowing this last time, this is what sunset looked like from my kitchen window:





That bright pink in the middle of the picture is the Pacific Ocean. People never believe me when I tell them we have an ocean view. You have to catch it when the air is clear, though.

Since only a few of you have seen my house, I figured I'd bore you with some pictures of it. This is the view of the stairs going down to the front room when you first walk in. If you go up the stairs to the left, the master and another bedroom are up there.





This is the front room looking out through the French doors onto the racetrack... uh... main deck:





Same room, different glass:





My fireplace, also in the front room:





That's where the wood is stacked. It even has a light in the top... why, I don't have a fucking clue.





What looks like a set of closet doors under the quilt (that's an antique - it's about 100 years old) is actually concealing a wet bar complete with a glass/booze cabinet and refrigerator. To the left of that quilt is the master; the other bedroom is to the right. The quilt hanging on the wall at the bottom of the picture was purchased at an auction to raise money for cancer research.





This is looking down the stairs leading to the lower level; i.e., the TV/knitting/sleeping/shithole room:









Some boring artwork:





And after chasing Emma, knitting, and watching court shows all day:





Whew. Enough of that.

Speaking of Emma, she's still limping. I think it's from all the activity. Bullies aren't known for their athletic prowess. We also just found out that our vet is a roaring drunk and mean to boot. I think we need to find another one. However, I do have some news which may impact our choice of vet.

We may be moving.

Come Thursday, we're driving up to the Bay Area for four days. On Friday, Hubster is going into the office and dropping me off at Stitches West (I'm going to partake of the festivities with a dear friend), so if you're there and I'm not on your shit list, come on up and say hey. Then we have to go to Mom's for Hubster's birthday dinner (his birthday is on Tuesday, the 23rd). On Saturday, I'm going back to Stitches and working in Rabbitch's booth; then Hubster is picking us up and dropping us off at some restaurant. I think getting plowed is also part of the evening's festivities. Then he'll pick us back up, take Rabbitch back to her hotel, and I'll most likely sleep on the drive to our motel. I'm thinking that going into San Francisco might be a grand idea. On Sunday, we're going to look at houses all day. I think we're looking in the Brentwood area - big houses with pools for reasonable prices and also home to Alpaca Direct. Finally, on Monday, we're going to see the kids and then head for home. The sausage will be with us, of course, although I don't know what we're going to do with her on Friday and Sunday. We might drop her off at Mom's while we're gone. Normally, we put her in her carrier, but we're going to be gone for hours. I don't like leaving her cooped up for that long.

I've got six pairs of socks on the needles for the trip, so I'll have a lot to work on. Only having one project going drives me apeshit. Hubster just looks at me in amazement and wonders how I keep everything straight (truth be told, I don't have a fucking clue which pattern goes with which sock - they all have the same number of stitches for the cuff).

The other big thing is that I dragged myself into the kitchen last week and fried chicken for dinner. We had two of our favorite people in the world over for dinner, and I wanted to make some comfort food. I wound up having to have one of them help me whisk the eggs, and I had to sit on my guitar stool in order to do the actual frying. Sigh. Things aren't going well with me personally, although our evening was incredible.

I'm slowing down. That's the sad truth, and I can feel it in every part of my body. My knees have arthritis in them and have been acting up (due to the cold, I'm sure). Headaches are an everyday occurrence now. I sleep in two to three hour bursts and rarely leave my chair. I'll be hobbling around Stitches with my walker, and I can honestly say that it will be the first time in almost two months that I've left the house. I'm depressed a lot of the time, but I try to not let on to Hubster. He's freaked out enough.

I'm so sorry for such a boring post (hence, the boring pictures to pad it). Otherwise, all I'd have to say is that I have a bad cold, feel like shit, am smoking more dope, and sleep/knit all day and night. If someone had told me that I'd be falling apart at this age, I would have laughed at them.

Better living through chemistry. And herbs.

She's Alive... Sorta

Yes, it's me. I bet a lot of you thought I had kicked the bucket. Nope, not yet. I'm too fucking mean to die before Stitches West.

This won't be a really long post because it's so difficult for me to type, but I was feeling guilty for not saying anything for so long. I'll try to do better in the future because I know how amusing I am and how much you all love reading my posts (snort).

I'll be opening the shop next week to sell the rest of the stash and my knitting bags, so if anybody wants a good deal on top-quality indie yarn and Green Mountain knitting bags, make sure to stop in. I've got too much stash left to take pictures of it all at once, but I'll put up as much as I can. Each skein will be $10, no matter what the yardage is, the fiber, or the artist who created it. As for the bags, I might set a price or take offers. We need the money, and I can't do any more shows, so...

Hubster was out of work for four months, but I'm happy to report that he started a new job a week ago. It was a large cut in pay, but at least we won't be homeless. I don't know if we'll be able to afford this house anymore, but I'm sure something will come up. One interesting thing which has happened is that my faith has increased dramatically. I'm sure that we'll wind up wherever we're meant to be.

Emma has something wrong with her legs - she's been limping quite a bit. We took her to the vet; he took X-rays and said that her bones look like shit (but so do most bulldogs), and is having us give her Advil or something like it. It seems to be helping; she's walking much better and is still my pudgy little helper. Right now, she's snuggled up against me and snoring like a thunderstorm. It's supposed to snow tonight - we're having a series of really intense storms all week - so I'm sure she'll be romping in it tomorrow.

My health is for shit, but what else is new? The dope I'm smoking (and the hash) help more than anything else I'm taking, but I don't use it unless I really need it. It does make watching TV a lot more fun. Gaining weight from all the cake, ice cream, Doritos, and other munchies I'm porking down is the bummer part of it.

My new tattoo is finished and looks great. I've decided that I'm going out with as much color as possible. It fits in with my flamboyant nature. Since this one is on my thigh, nobody can see it. If I'm still here next summer, it'll be visible at the bottom of the leg on my shorts - like I give a shit what anybody thinks.

Hubster did tell me that in August, we're going to Chicago for a week. I guess his new job has an annual meeting which he has to attend, so he's dragging me along. I haven't been there for 20 years, so it'll be a blast. I used to love partying there (and they've got the best cheeseburgers I've ever had, hands down), and I'm really looking forward to it. I have to find some good yarn shops, and if any of you live there and would like to have lunch, let me know. I think we'll be there the first week of that month. More details will follow.

I'll also be at Stitches West on the Friday of the show. I'm going with someone, but if anybody wants to meet up to say hey and maybe grab some grub, let me know that, too. I now have a stash thanks to some very kind and loving people, and I don't have money to shop with, but I want to see the show. It never hurts to drool. :)

So what else is new? Not a lot. We went to Disneyland for the day (it was great), had a nice Christmas (went to the Bay Area for a week), and I've been trying to knit. It hurts my hands a lot, but it's also good therapy. I owe some of you socks, so when you finally get them, they'll have a whole lot of love knit in them. My mom and grandmother are both cancer-free, so that's really great news. Oh! I do have news which I don't think I told you about. If I did, please forgive me for repeating myself.

It turns out that our daughter got married to The Lump and lost custody of the kids to my mother. Mom has temporary guardianship and has to go to court in February for permanent custody, and it looks really promising that she'll get it. Amber already has cancelled picking up the kids for one of her visits with them (Mom lets her have them every other weekend or something like that), so I think the novelty of having them has already worn off. She doesn't talk to us (Amber, not Mom), so I don't know what's going on in her life. Surprisingly, we don't miss her one little bit. Enough is enough.

My hands are about to fall off, so I'm going to close. I'll write more soon, I promise. I'll also confirm that the shop will be open next Monday, so save your pennies and help out an old, decrepit broad.

I love all of you. :)

Good Lord ...

... where has the time gone?

I took a look at the last time I posted and damn near fell off the couch. Lots of things have happened, so I'll try to cover as much as possible.

Hubster still isn't working, but he has a really good bite. Some company has a job opening which is a perfect fit for him; they're also really excited about having him come onboard. He has to work a "test day" with them (hopefully tomorrow), and then we'll see. I hope it comes through; we're running out of money, and the thought of living in a refrigerator box on Skid Row isn't exactly appealing to me, especially with the rainy season starting.

Health-wise, things aren't great. My hands and wrists look like balloons, and it hurts a lot to type or knit. I have a LOT of emails to answer - most of them thank you notes for gifts of yarn, notions, and even entire stock from the shop - and I'll answer all of the letters, but right now, I can barely get a letter written. I felt that I had to write a post, though - I've had people trying to be tactful in asking if I was still with you all! I'm here, although a little worse for wear. The good news is that I went to a doctor who prescribes medicinal marijuana and now have my certification letter. Our first stop after seeing her was to a dispensary. It was really strange how it came about. We were in a head shop in Hollywood and met this guy who runs a dispensary. He gave us the card for a doctor who works with him and got us in the next day. Not only that, even though his dispensary isn't accepting any new members, he told me that he would give us a membership. I was blown away by the place; neon lighting everywhere, clean as a whistle, and arranged like a deli. The difference was, of course, that instead of roast beef and pastrami, there were different grades of pot and hash. I left about a bill lighter but with enough supplies to last a while. Once you know what you're looking for, you see dispensaries and doctors who give the certifications everywhere. It sure helps with the pain, so I've been smoking about a bowl a night and a little during the day (I have daytime and nighttime grades of the stuff). I feel like I'm 14 again. Yeah, I know... I was an early bloomer. That's not the only thing I began doing at 14, but I'm sure you can guess what that was. The problem was, I didn't know shit about how a dick worked. I thought it moved by itself - like a piston. The first one I ever saw, I thought was broke. That's a story for another day, though ...

The bike hasn't sold, so we're keeping it. Hubster is going to learn to ride, and I'll ride behind him. That wasn't the original plan, but it's better than nothing. We might put a sidecar on it, too. That way, I can ride alone. I told him that if we go the sidecar route, we'll get Emma a leather helmet and goggles, and I'll hold her while we ride. Talk about causing accidents on the freeway ...

What else, what else .... If we're fortunate enough to be able to stay here and buy this house, we're going to turn the downstairs into an apartment for me. There's already a full bath which just needs to be finished, another room which can be my bedroom, and the large room for watching TV. There's also a fire pit where I'd like to put a fireplace since it gets so cold down here in the winter. It would be ideal, especially since I can't make it up stairs very well. We'll see what happens. This house has so much potential that even though I'd love to move back home, we couldn't afford anything even remotely like it. I've got too much shit for a small house - and thanks to many of you, a fantastic stash again - that I need a larger house. I've also got the kids. Oh... that's what has happened. I am NOT pleased with this development ...

Our daughter showed up at Mom's house with her boyfriend, his parents, and the police and took the kids away. They were crying and clinging to Mom, terrified to leave. Amber didn't give a shit. I was right all along; she doesn't want them other than to use as pawns. So Mom has filed a court case against Amber to gain custody. They go to court next Monday. I want to be there, but if Hubster starts a new job, we can't. It's probably best, because I'd strangle her. Mom has only seen them once, and she said they were dirty, had lost weight, and were afraid to come to her. Then today, Social Services shows up at Mom's to check on Grandma. Another ruse; Amber is obviously trying to show that Mom is too old to take care of them. It backfired, though. Nasty little bitch will get hers.

I think that's enough for now. My hands are barely working, so it's time to go rest. I'll be in touch soon, I promise. Thank you again to those of you who have sent letters, shown your love, and been there for me. I won't forget it.

I think it's time to fire up a bowl, put "Up" in the DVD player, and try to knit. Of course, I don't know what the sock will look like.

Maybe like a penis that works like a piston ...

New Post to Come by Tomorrow

I'm so sorry for this enormous delay in posting, but I wanted to let you all know that I'll have one for you by the time you get up tomorrow morning. See you then!

The Summit - Continued

I think I left out a bunch of stuff in my last post, so I decided to bore you further with some more details about my fun and games before, during, and after the show.

Most of you know that I'm barely able to walk most days, so first, I want to give big thanks and hugs to my beloved Hubster and my booth mate, Kate of Spindle Cat Studio, for not only setting up my booth, but also for all the help they provided during the show. I couldn't have done it without you guys (especially when we got really busy). I sat on my little folding chair while you guys wrote up orders, helped customers, and did the myriad chores that come along with doing a show. Don't get me wrong - I didn't just sit on my ass looking gorgeous uh... fat and dumpy... but there's no way in hell it was a one-woman operation.

That done... on to the dish.

It was absolutely amazing to me the number of people who knew who I was. To be sure, I kind of stand out in a crowd, but I was still floored by how many people came up to me and greeted me by name or told me that they were looking forward to meeting me in person. Talk about an ego booster! Then there were all the lovely people who read my blog and wanted to meet me, foul mouth and all. I was able to get up and walk around two or three times, and it was then that I met even more wonderful people. I would stand in front of a booth, wait until they looked up, and then watch the recognition dawn in their eyes. Lots of hugs, some crying, and people whom I've considered family for years. Too good.

I may have said it before, but a lot of vendors were complaining about the number of customers who came through the marketplace. We had heard numbers ranging from 6,000 to over 10,000, so I think many of us packed accordingly. I know that I brought way too many goods for the estimated numbers, but I would rather have too much than not enough. There were vendors whose booths were almost empty and others whose booths were bursting at the seams with items for sale. I also saw a lot of shoppers with no bags or goodies (other than the freebies) just walking around. I know that none of the people who put this thing together even know who I am, but I want to put in a good word for all of them. They accomplished an incredible feat - from getting all the teachers togethers (all that talent in one room!), to giving the vendors a place to shine, to offering goods not usually seen. This being my first show, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was delighted with it. I even had the Yarn Harlot open the door and hold it open for me as I lurched forward into the room. I didn't know what to say, so I blurted out, "You're the Yarn Harlot", to which she replied, "So I've been told!". I loved it so much, in fact, that...

In a minute.

The couple of times I did get up, I managed to do a fair amount of damage (so it's a good thing that I couldn't get out more). I got a set (sizes 1 to 5) of Signature Needle Arts DPN's (even though I now use Hiya Hiya 9" circs as much as possible) because I've been drooling over them since they came out, and some incredible yarn from a couple of vendors (as usual, I can't remember who the hell I bought it all from). Then there was the mysterious skein of yarn waiting for me from Berocco when I returned. They specifically asked the lovely lady helping out in my booth to make sure that I got it. I'm not sure what they want me to do with it - whether they want me to try it out or just to see it - but it was a honor for me to receive it. It's absolutely lovely - beautiful colors, easy to knit, plenty of yardage - and I've got a pair of socks slated for it. I've got some other socks I have to do first, but they're in the queue.

So that was my experience at the show, and I hope that when/if we make it to Stitches West, it will be as much fun.

Back to home matters...

I intimated last post that I was getting another tattoo. I had no idea of where to look for an artist out here (it's amazing how many artists there are in LA), so I wound up on Yelp looking for recommendations. I found a place called Studio City Tattoo and, as usual, we were late, but off we headed. It's about a two-hour drive there (they're in West Hollywood) and we were terribly late, so I spoke to my artist about what I wanted, gave him the draft, and made an appointment for him to actually do the work. That appointment was yesterday (Saturday night), but we couldn't go because there's a huge fire at the base of the mountain we live on; in case we had to evacuate, we wanted to be home for that. Anyway, my new appointment is next Saturday afternoon. And what am I getting?

The Sock Summit logo. Right on my thigh. I was going to get it on my ass, but that's so saggy and wrinkly and bumpy that it would look like a cheap decal which had come off and been stuck back on. Why that logo? Because it was my first show, it was so wonderful for me, I made so many new friends and finally met old ones, that it carries enormous significance for me. It may sound silly to everybody else, but I don't give a shit. It's my body, and since I don't know how much longer I have to inhabit it, I'm going to decorate it any way I see fit. So there.

Hollywood is a kick in the ass, especially at night. People think that San Francisco is weird? Heh. Not compared to this place. Hit Hollywood Blvd. on a weekend night, and you see things that are just incredible. There are people who dress up like superheroes willing to take their picture with you (for a hefty price, of course), the Kodak Theater, Graumann's (now the Mann), El Capitan, and the Kodak Theater (where the Oscars are). Angelenos LOVE their donuts, it would seem - there's a shop on every corner - so I just have to find the best one and have Hubster bring a box to the parlor while I'm being worked on. And then there's Pink's, the famous hot dog stand which has been there since the 40's, I think, and who makes one of the best hot dogs I've ever had. I would love to walk up and down the street on a Saturday night, but there's that walking issue. Maybe if Hubster holds me up...

We're still sorting everything out, getting the shop put back together, getting payments ready for everybody, trying to get things ready to send out - holy shit, it's a lot of work. I have a meeting for the Haunted Town here this coming Friday night (leave it to me to open my big fucking mouth and volunteer for something), so I have to have some semblance of order in the house by then. That's okay, though - it will light a fire under my big saggy ass to get all this finished. So I think I'll knit tonight (I'm really, really tired) and get to working on it again tomorrow.

Hubster is still looking for work, and I'm beginning to get a little nervous. I've come to really love our home and this town, and I think we're going to have to leave it. Of course, if he tells me that we have to live near the ocean in San Diego, I think I can manage the transition, but I really don't want to leave the state. I'm worried about finances, about finding a house, about finding a new doctor... the list goes on and on. He's looking, but with this shitty economy, I just don't know. I don't want to have to live with my mother again (Hubster has horrible allergies to cats, and her house is full of them), but we'll do what we need to. Fuck.

I'm waiting on whether or not for word if I need to drive back up to the Bay Area for my aunt. I know that she's going to be cremated and laid to rest in the Pacific Ocean, but my cousin Glenn is having a get-together at his house. I would love to go and see family and friends whom I haven't seen in years, but I also do NOT want to see my ex-boyfriend (who remained a family friend), especially since I'm fat, bald, and look like a biker chick. Oh, to ride up on my bike and scare the shit out of the weasely little fuck...

So I think that's about all that's going on around here, other than the fires. There are three huge ones, including one at the base of the mountain I live on top of and one that now encompasses about 65 square miles (the Station Fire). We don't have the biggest one, nor do we have mandatory evacuations, but it's large enough to stay put and not go away from the house. At one point, one of the ingress/egress highways (there are only two of them) was shut down; even though it's open now, if we can't get to Emma to save her, well... I can't even go there.

Off to knit. I have a lot to do, and never enough time to do it all. Life is a whirlwind of activity right now, and I don't know which direction to turn. Add to that the heat (close to 100 degrees), and I'm not a happy camper most days.

But then again, I have a reputation to uphold. Happy?

Not if I'm going to retain Queen Bitch status.

The Summit - and Other Stuff

Well, we're finally home from Sock Summit. What a trip, both figuratively and literally! Let's talk about it, shall we?

But first, more bad news. I just got a call from Mom telling me that my aunt has died. I called my cousin and talked to him for an hour. She had COPD and died peacefully in her sleep at 4:45 a.m. He's looking for her papers to see what her last wishes were. So far, he's found one from 2002 saying that she didn't want any services, just to be cremated and floated out on the Pacific Ocean. I don't know yet if I need to drive up there again or not. I didn't know she was so sick; otherwise, we would have gone to see her while we were visiting my mom. Glenn lives in the town next-door. We had left about two days too early. Glenn had moved her into his house and was using hospice. He was shocked when he found out I lived near Los Angeles. Anyway, I'll post if I need to leave again;

On to the show news.

Rather than rent one of those huge, uncomfortable trucks, we had a ball installed on our truck (it turns out that we had a towing package already installed on it - who knew?) and got a trailer instead. It was a lot less expensive, and Hubster was able to pack everything into it just fine. We bought those Space Bags - the ones you suck all the air out of with a vacuum cleaner - to put all the yarn in (worked like a charm and saved a lot of space), labeled the boxes we put everything else into, and just filled it up. Then we hooked it up to the truck and actually got out of here at a decent time.

We made it up to the Bay Area the first day and visited with my family. It was so nice to see them, and we got to spend a lot of time with the kids. Then it was off to Portland the next day. We made it up there by early evening, checked into our motel, and fell asleep pretty early. The next day, we slept in and then went over to the Convention Center to unload. I had a really difficult time with it. Hubster went over first to get started, and I tried to walk over (he got ready before me and wanted to started). I'm barely able to walk now, so I had to stop every few hundred feet to stop and rest. I finally made it over, and found that he had unloaded everything by that time. We went over so I could see the booth; I realized that we should have gotten twice to amount of space, so I freaked out about that. We were just leaving when I saw a petite, beautiful woman heading towards me. Who was it?

Rabbitch.

The first of my gang of miscreants had arrived! We slobbered all over each other, gave each other lots of hugs, and checked out each other's goodies. It was SO nice to finally meet her! We made plans to meet up the next day and headed back to our hotels.

The next day, we were at the Center bright and early to set up. This being our first show, we had no idea of what we were doing, but my boothmate, Kate of Spindle Cat Studio (also a show virgin) was there too; between me, her, and Hubster, we were able to get everything set up. I truly saw the need for more space then. Remember how I was so afraid that I wouldn't have enough stuff to fill the booth? Heh. I'll be renting two 10 ft. booths for Stitches West (yes, I'm doing that show). I think the booth looked great. Did I remember my camera? Nope. Did I remember my phone has a camera on it? Nope. Too much to think about. Then the classes let out, and it was show time for the students.

We had a good crowd, but nothing horrible. I figured the next day, we'd have a lot more people. Back to the motel for rest and then to the center the next day to meet the public.

I was shocked to find a huge line stretching down the aisle for my booth. They were there to buy the winning Ravelry yarn. I sold out of them in three minutes flat. Talk about bedlam! Then we got all the people who wanted it and whom we had to turn away (at least for those items). The booth was busy all day, though, and we sold a lot of things. Oh... you remember my using the iPhone as my credit card machine? It worked like a charm.

I heard a lot of vendors complaining about how slow it was, the lack of traffic and sales, and how the projected numbers were way off. What I noticed is that some booths had no business while others were constantly busy. I'm not sure why - there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for it, but it was true. We were truly blessed. In fact, I hardly got out to see any of the other booths. I did get to meet many of the other miscreants in my posse - Mrs. Q, Jen of Woolgirl, and a bunch of other broads (ladies? I think not), so I was a happy broad myself.

On one of the breaks I took, I ran into Ron from Buffalo Gold. After a smoking break conversation, he asked me if I would design socks for them. So now I'm the exclusive sock designer for BG and was sent home with a buffalo/bamboo blend to play with and come up with a design for them. I'll also be going to their ranch in Ft. Worth and to some other huge convention in Denver in February. Too exciting! I'm really looking forward to all this. Now I just have to actually come up with the pattern... I'll be doing lace socks in a very fine gauge for my first pair. I also met Cecil, his dad. They're a wonderful family, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.

Lots of other things happened, but I'll save those for my next post. I do want to say that we took Emma with us, and when Hubster took her out to go potty or just for a walk, he had women running up to him asking if that was Emma. He told them yes, and they went nuts meeting her! I was an afterthought - they asked if I was at the show since Emma was there - and she got more love and attention than she's ever received. I'm glad she was such a hit; she needs the socialization. Being such a loving dog, she was very happy to meet everyone. I kept telling Hubster that we should have said she was a service dog and put a back cover on her with our name and booth number on it. I really would have had good sales then!

I don't know what's considered a good take, but we took in about $6K. For our first show, I was thrilled! I can see why the other vendors were complaining, though - some of our lines sold very well, while others just sat there. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. I'll write more about it in the next installment, along with news of my new tattoo.

Off to work on Mt. Yarnsuvius. It's kind of like Chinese food - the more I take out of the pile to put away, the more it seems to grow.

It just doesn't taste as good.

Off to Sock Summit!

I just wanted to tell you that we're leaving tomorrow for Sock Summit. Wow, that snuck up on me! I'm not even ready or done with inventory. NOOOO!!!!!!! And here I thought I would be able to relax this weekend. Fat chance. I'll be tagging and bagging right up until I hit the show floor; then I'll be able to rest when we leave to go home. I think that a lot of the other show participants are in the same boat as I am. Now Hubster is sick from the stress. Great. I have to keep working, though. Oh well... I should be thankful that he's even helping at all.

As of now, the shop is closed down and will reopen some tine after August 12th. Please do not try to place orders during our absence; I won't be looking at email and will have the shop "with me".

Well, that was surreal. I was going to knit for an hour, sleep for an hour, and then get up. That was at 8:00 a.m. It's now 10:30 a.m., and I just woke up. So much for knitting.

Time for coffee and to get Hubster up. Hopefully, he'll be in a good mood. Today is inventory day, shrink-wrap the yarn, get a trailer hitch on the truck, pray that the trailer we rented is big enough, make sure we have everything, blah blah blah. Then it's to bed early tonight and hit the road by 9 a.m. Oh boy - road trip!


See you either at the show or back here on August 12th!

Projects Galore... and Some Other Things

I came to a decision the other day. Rather than work for hours at a time on Sock Summit, I'm going to work on it for a while, then knit, then work, then knit, etc. That way, I won't burn out on anything. Smart idea, huh?

No.

It's been so long since I've actually had more than one project on the needles (and one of them a shawl, no less), that I'm having way too much fun for it to be legal. And that translates into wanting to do nothing but knit - no work on Sock Summit, no reading, no sleeping, no eating, nothing... other than knitting.

So what the hell am I doing that I'm finding so much fun?

Well, you all know that I have a dear knitting sister (the darling lady who started out as a customer) for whom I knit socks. She started the whole thing off because I was late with her order and put some additional skeins of yarn in her package. Well, she was so blown away that she wanted to knit me some socks. Then I wanted to knit her some socks (the pair that I posted a picture of earlier). Now I have two pairs on the needles for her - the ones you saw a picture of (I had spilled a cup of coffee on them, but luckily found another skein in my stash). The other pair is a surprise, but I will say that they're killer good-looking - a pair of a simple Fair Isle-type made with a solid and a variegated. They're just too cool. Then I have another friend I'm making a very special pair of socks for. She had helped me through a bad time a while ago, so I wanted to thank her. This pair is intricate and will take me a while. They're beaded diagonally on the cuff with about 700 size 8/0 glass seed beads. I've done a pattern with the colors of the beads (there are five colors to match the colors in the yarn) and have to be careful that both socks are identical. That means a lot of Post-It Notes on my pattern. But it's fun stringing them, and I think they'll be gorgeous. Since I know she doesn't read my blog, I can tell you that the yarn is Anne by Schaefer; the color is an ivory with splotches of gold, green, purple, and wine. The beads are the same color except that I also have clear thrown in there. When I'm done with them, I'll post a picture.

As for the shawl, it's for my grandmother. It's a deep wine color with gold running through the yarn. The pattern isn't difficult - it's leaves done in lace - and I think even I can memorize it The yarn is Dream in Color Classy (I think that's what it's called - it's basically Smooshy with the gold metallic). She'll like to have it to throw over her shoulders since she gets cold in the evenings. I'm brining all these projects with me to Sock Summit to work on during my spare time. Ha! I have a feeling that I won't have any spare time, even after the day is over. Let's hope I don't, anyway. Spare time during the day means no sales; spare time at night means that I'm not tired because I wasn't busy during the day. I think it's going to go well, though. Even Hubster is looking forward to it. I know Emma is, too. She has to have a good grooming this week - maybe on Friday - so she's pretty for when she meets all of you who are going. :) Speaking of the M, here's a picture of the human dog.





Hubster is sick as a dog (not Emma... just in general). I think the stress from the loss of his job finally hit. He went to bed at 9:30 p.m., and I doubt I'll see him any time soon. We have nothing to do tomorrow other than work on the inventory for the Summit, so he'll get a good night's sleep. We're also going to go look at houses for sale around here. I'm a firm believer in some people being able to manifest things (and I know I'm one of them), so I'm going to behave as if we have all the money in the world. I picked out about 10 houses to go see. Hell, I don't even know where we'll end up, but it won't hut a thing to go take a look. I think once he gets some leads, he'll feel much better. He has people working on his behalf at Cisco to bring him back, but we'll see. I think he should start his own company, but it's his career, and I don't want to push him into doing anything.

I had a bit of excitement this morning. It was about 5:00 a.m., and I was sitting in my chair merrily knitting away. It was then that I noticed a rather large bug crawl up the side of the fire pit (we have a big carpeted hole in the TV room in front of a gas wall fireplace where you can sit and knit, read, etc.). Anyway, this thing stopped when it reached the top, raised it's head, and arched it's tail over it's back. Then it hit me like a brick what it was.

A SCORPION.

I damn near shit my jammies. It was a baby, but they can sting just as badly as an adult. I couldn't believe it. We're way above the desert floor, so how on earth did it get up here?

I went running up the stairs as fast as I could and woke Hubster up. I don't think he believed me at first, but down he came armed with ant spray. He rolled the TV out of the way (I had thrown a book at the thing and missed, so it ran under the TV), and there it was. He sprayed the living shit out of it, then slammed a book down on it repeatedly until he was sure it was dead. Then he wrapped it up in paper towels and shoved it down to the bottom of the garbage can. Since Emma is now eating creatures and has always eaten bugs, he didn't want her to get it. I'm now creeping around the house because I'm terrified of them. In all the years he lived in Phoenix/Mesa/Tempe/Scottsdale, he's never seen one in a house or in the wild. I think he was ready to shit, too. They're evil-looking fuckers. Now I'm curled up in my chair keeping vigilant watch over the room lest another one comes creeping in.

In other yarn news, Laura of Drooling Over Yarn is knitting a pair of sockies for me. She's so sweet!! She's also a fast and excellent knitter, so I know they'll come soon. I plan on showing them off and letting everyone know who made them and what the yarn is. I have the privilege of showing off many of the contest entries for Ravelry in my booth, and hers is one of them. I've already made it clear that I'm purchasing it for myself. She dyes the most exquisite yarn. If you haven't seen her work, don't hesitate to go to my store or over to Etsy. I've felt like such a failure with the shop this past year - bad sales, no interest, spending every spare cent I have on advertising, etc., and not having anybody come look - that Sock Summit is my last chance to do right by all the artists who put their trust in me. I've still got boxes of work which some artists want back, and I want to get them mailed out, but there's money problems, the usual health problems, blah blah blah. Most of the artists have been very kind and understanding, although a few of them have been downright nasty. I guess I can't blame them, but when I'm accused of being a thief, that's crossing the line. I'm really hiding. Blow me.

One last thing - we may have a nibble on the bike! A man called last week and is very interested in coming to see it. He was coming Friday, but after he was about five hours late, I'm afraid I left a rather nasty voice mail message. Come to find out, someone in his family died. I felt about five inches tall. I'm writing him a letter apologizing for being such an ass. Since we're leaving a week from today (!?!!?!?!?!), I'm going to try and get him to come by later this week. That would be so wonderful to sell it before we leave. Then I can go shopping at the Summit!! Uh... I mean... we can save the money. Yeah... that's the ticket.

Off to go wind some yarn so I can cast on for another project. All I have to do is find the yarn I want. Unfortunately, it's right where the scorpion crawled out from.

It may have to wait until Hubster gets up

I'm Ready to Explode

You know, there are days when things are so fantastic that you can't believe your good luck. Then there are days when things are so shitty, you can't figure out what you did for the karma gods to take a big dump on your face.

A few days ago, things were fantastic.

I got a call from the doctor - the long-awaited call with the results of my spinal tap. There is no indication of cancer (bone or otherwise), the things floating in the fluid are little pieces of the damaged discs (expected), and it appears that the auto-immune crap has stopped for the time being. What does all that mean? It means that I don't have cancer and am in remission. We were both so happy that it seemed as if we had finally made it over some hump. Then it all came to a screeching halt today.

Hubster told me last night that Cisco was giving a lot of people the axe today because they're trying to save money by getting rid of groups and highly-paid employees. He thought he was safe because he didn't get an email telling him to report to HR for a meeting. I guess whenever you see someone from HR in a meeting, it's not a good thing. He did, however, have his weekly one-on-one with his bitch boss. So at 11:30 a.m., he went into his meeting. At 11:35 a.m., he came back downstairs, looked at me, and said, "Well." Huh? Then he finished the statement:

"I lost my job."

WHAT? WHAT?????????? After giving 15 years to that fucking company, all the vacations we couldn't take because he had to finish a project, all the times he stayed up working all night, all the trips we had to take the computer on because he had to work... well, you get the picture. He developed a tool way back when which was meant just for him. It turned out to be something which the entire company used. Hubster tried to copyright it (that would have meant Easy Street for us), but we were told that since a year had passed and the company was using it, it was no longer available for copyright. That little tool is still being used today and has saved the company BILLIONS (yes, that is millions with a "b") of dollars. Did we see a cent of it? Nope. In fact, I think that year he got a less than stellar review. This year, he didn't even get a bonus because they were trying to save money so they wouldn't have to lay anybody off. I'm telling him to tell them that since he's been canned, they obviously didn't save any money, so he wants his bonus. Shit. We did NOT need this right now.

The only decent thing about it is that he gets six months of severance: two months of work and four months of job searching. As far as he's concerned, his job ended at 11:35 this morning. For the first time in years, he's not working. In fact, he's not doing shit tonight. Neither am I. We're both in shock. I think it will sink in tomorrow.

So I called my mother to tell her, and the first thing she said was, "What are we going to do?". We? I pointed that out, and she said that she didn't mean to sound cold, but we owed her money. I came unglued and told her not to mention certain things to Hubster, to leave him alone, and that he wasn't going to be talking to her for at least a few days. After that fiasco of a phone call, I told Hubster that now we know why we moved down here. Silicon Valley is going to be a sea of empty houses because there will be thousands of people with the same skill sets looking for work, and there are no jobs available. Most of the companies are outsourcing to India or bringing in unskilled young people. They're getting rid of women over 40 and highly-paid engineers like Hubster - the people who built the company. They raped us and are now disposing of us like a used tampon. The people coming in won't know what the fuck they're doing, and they'll get paid dick (but to them, it will seem like a fortune). Down here, there are a lot of job opportunities, and Hubster is also toying with the idea of starting his own company. We also have the option of moving out of state, which I would hate to do, but I go where he goes. This is just so fucked up that I'm immobilized.

Enough of that shit. Let's talk about something a little more enjoyable.

I just got approved for a credit card machine for Sock Summit today. I didn't go through a bank, which means I didn't get one of those portable hand-held machines. I've seen those things fail miserably, especially inside concrete buildings. No, I went with my iPhone. They have a contract with a company who handles the transactions. I just type in the numbers of the card, and it gives me instant approval/declined. In fact, it works just like every other credit card machine except that it does more. I can sync it up with my computer, and it automatically records the sales, removes the items from inventory, transfers money directly into my checking account, etc. I applied for it last night and was approved today, so I bought the applications this afternoon and downloaded them onto my phone. At least that went right.

I also got my bike listed. Sigh. At least I rode it onto the driveway, gunned the engine (wow!), and almost dumped the damn thing because our driveway slopes down, and I was sideways. But we got the pictures taken, I filled out all the forms, and now I just keep my fingers crossed that someone will want her. She's such a gorgeous piece of machinery. But especially now, with Hubster having lost his job, we need to simplify. So much for saving money and looking at other houses.



There's my hot bitch.



Another picture of the sexy beast.

I had to start that sock over - the picture in the post before the questionnaire - because I dumped an entire cup of coffee on it, and it was totally destroyed. It was okay , though. I'm using this killer yarn from an artist I found who is coming onboard in the shop - the colors are incredible, and the way everything blends and flows makes it look as if it's moving and breathing. With the design of the sock, it's going to be incredible. This is for a customer who has become a sister, and we seem to be making each other socks all the time LOL. I just got the final element for a really special pair for her. I might cast on for those tonight, as well as another pair (I can't say too much because she reads the blog). I'm in the mood to cast on a bunch of projects. I'm sure there are many of you who feel the same way.

Things are beginning to pour in for Sock Summit. I got about 10 packages yesterday (well, so three of them were for me), and I'm expecting about 30 more. I don't think I'm going to add anything new to the shop before we leave; it's a waste of time and effort, since I have to put everything in a spreadsheet for SS. If I weren't taking the shop, then I would; however, since the shop is going with me, it's double the effort. Besides, this will give me a lot more stock and will also sell my artists' work a lot more efficiently.

So that's what's going on. I've been sitting at this damn computer all day, so now I'm going to go knit for the rest of the evening. We have a new ant invasion upstairs and I can't find the spray, so Hubster will have to deal with it when he gets home. Poor guy. If he's not cleaning up a mess at work, he's cleaning up one here.

Oh wait. He doesn't work anymore.

That one is going to take some time getting used to. Shit.