Going Home Again

I know, I know, I have been MIA again. But I was on a trip home to Tennessee, Sorry Dawn, I was going to call you and let you know I was in the area but time got away from me. 

I was going to post before I went, I swear, but again, time got away from me. 

Here is what I have been up to, I have half hearted-ly been working on a drop stitch scarf out of some yarn I got for Christmas. This is a crinkly cotton/linen blend which quite frankly I have not been digging working with. Hence the half hearted effort. It just plain isn't pleasant on the hands when you knit so I only work on it a couple of rows at a time, then I have to put it down. I have quite a bit of it and don't know what else to make out of it. 

I finished my purpley socks that I have had on the needles for ever- and even worn them once already ;)

Projects Scoop:

Pattern: Basic ribbed sock pattern

Yarn SWTC Bamboo 

Needles Size 2 DPNS

I have been on a dish cloth kick, easy take along projects. I adore the Darrell Waltrip Pattern! This is my new favorite pattern!! So easy to do and the difference in the designs is astonishing to me. All three of these cloths have been done in the same pattern. Same Peaches N Creme yarn, but look at how different the designs came out!!  The difference is from the length of the variegation of the colors themselves.

I have come to love watching the cloths take shape from this pattern. I even went out to buy a few more skeins of yarn just to make more with- so prepare yourselves for the pictures of "yet another Darrell Waltrip Dishcloth"...LOL

Project Scoop:

Pattern: Darrell Waltrip Dishcloth

Yarn: Peaches & Creme Variegated

Needles:Size 7 (Harmonys)

Now on to my trip home- I think I mentioned to you about my younger cousin who was diagnosed with cancer. I was going to put off going to see him until I have my life here settled...yah when the heck is that ever going to happen. So as an almost last minute decision, I felt I should go now rather than later. Robbie feels good now and I wanted to spend time with him while he still does. 

I left on Wednesday almost immediately from working. After packing up the truck with mine and Brodie's paraphernalia, I met with my realtor to look at 3 Model Homes before hitting the road, then straight to Peter's house who not only babysat for me but let me use his little Ford Focus for the trip (32 mpg versus 15). So by 9 am I was on the road home! 

Normally I would make the trip in one day, but having been up since 4pm the previous day I decided to stop in Frankfort Kentucky for the night. It Freakin' monsoon rained through the entire state of Indiana, then the blasted rain found me again in Kentucky after a brief ray of sunshine! 

One of my more quirky traveling habits is to take pictures out the window as I am driving. I often times get lots of pictures like this one... which I keep because they tickle my funny bone.

Then there are the beautiful shots like this one near my cousin's home.
...and the more quirky- missed the boat altogether ones like this!

I naturally had to take a picture of the rape of the hillside behind my Auntie's farm. I was none to happy to see the trees wiped away like that. But change is inevitable when when a farm changes hands I suppose.  But this is the only place I know of that basically stays the same. I could feel the stress that I didn't even know I had slide away from me the closer I got. 

Even though I was born in Illinois, I call this going home. My parents and my brothers and sister, were born in Tennessee. There is a certain level of comfort there for me, and I am always welcomed with open arms. I can remember playing with my cousins on the farm, and getting my butt whooped for bad behavior. I also lived in Crossville when I was in 3rd grade with my brother and uncle, and have some fond memories of my great aunt's home churned butter and some not so great memories of her mean ole rooster chasing me around the house.

I definitely need a GPS to find my way back from roaming the hills! Every time I try to find my way to the cemetery where my Dad, brother and sister are, I get discombobulated and well, just plain lost! I had a good time visiting people I was semi related to, shooting up old buckets and frying pans with Robbie in the mountains, and generally driving around looking at the gorgeous and sometimes unusual scenery.

I can see why my brother is fixin' to move back when he retires...maybe I will join him there.

Instant Gratification Week

I have had somewhat of a busy week. To start with, our new Computer Aided Dispatch system is going swimmingly. I am very happy about that. Work just got a hell of alot easier for me! Everyone is pretty much getting the hang of things and the majority of us are all about discovering new things to make life/work easier on our own. The company gave us the overview, how it works, what it can do for you and basic training. I had the benefit of some seventy hours of training, but everyone else got two days- the officers got 1. That makes me the go to girl. But after the first month, everyone has it pretty much down pat. It gives me a kind of free feeling and gives me time to concentrate on other duties. 

The only downside was that I have had so much data entry in preparation that my arm has revolted, and become so painful it forced me to go to the doctor again  (blast and damn)... But you know me, I won't let a little physical pain stop me- No Way Jose! I just keep plugging along (making it worse of course) and had myself a little knitting marathon.

I have also begun packing- which lead me to finding some yarn in my stash that needed knitting. I have had this ball of Noro Silk that has been laying around since I finished my Tilted Blocks scarf. I have been meaning to make a matching Calorimetry to match it. My first one ended up a little bit too big. It has a lot of stretch in it, so I adjusted the pattern, went from 120 cast on stitches to 100. This also makes it more narrow that in the original but it still covers my ears and it doesn't slide off. 

Not a very good picture I know but here it is. (all my model heads are packed already), and since my apartment is kind of small, I really don't have a lot of surfaces for photo shoots so I know my pictures are on the tad boring side, but it is what it is. And of course, my co-workers (the male ones) had been teasing me about how I am going to need this because it is sooo cold in the summer time. 

Men...whadda they know!

Doesn't this picture make it look like some weird scifi wormy thing?

Project Scoop:

Pattern: Calorimetry

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden

Needles: 7

More stash finds! I have had these next two balls of yarn since-who the hell knows when! 

I love working with Peaches & Creme yarn. It is so uber soft it makes knitting with it a dream. 

I spent some of my freed up work time surfing Ravelry for dishcloth patterns to compliment the yarn. I know St. Paddys day is past but since I am mostly Irish I can do Shamrocks any ole' time of the year. 

I spent one whole day off watching movies and knitting! 

Project Scoop

Pattern: Shamrock Cloth
Yarn: Peaches & Creme - Baby Green

Needles: Size 8

I love this pattern! Super easy and very cool to look at, I think it really shows off the variegated pattern in the yarn in a unique manner. I feel like running right out to Hobby Lobby to buy some more Peaches & Creme in variegated colors. The other thing I like about this pattern is the texture. I just love a good scrubby for my face. This one is earmarked for my new kitchen but I am needing some new face cloths too so I think I will be making more of this particular pattern. 

I do have a couple more instant gratification projects on the needles but I will save that for another day. (I seriously don't know how CA Dawn posts so much and gets so much knitting in)

Project Scoop

Pattern: Darrell Waltrip Dishcloth

Yarn: Peaches & Creme 

Needles: Size 8

Not wanting to jinx myself or tempt fate- I haven't said much about the whole housing thingy, but I think it is now safe to say - I found my new digs! I am going today to sign the addendum's to the contract. It is a townhouse of course, no outside maintenance for me. I neither have the time nor the energy to worry about things like that, plus I am just plain getting to damn old/broken for all that hard labor. 

But- there will be no more living below ignorant people who throw furniture- or what ever it is they do up there. No more kids playing by my bedroom window when I am trying to sleep. No more car dings from people who don't know how to park, and no more being nervous about walking my dog through the neighborhood. 

I have done  a lot of drive by's at different times of the day and night in the new neighborhood so I think I have a pretty good idea about the peacefulness, and how well they maintain the exterior of the properties and that sort of thing. Snow removal was a big one for me, so I also drove through after a good snow fall. I probably do things a little different than most people, it is all part of the inherent quirk, I think. Location was more important to me than finding the dream house. I picked the neighborhoods first, then checked out the affordable housing available. This poor housing market has really been a boon for me, since there has been so much to choose from in my price-range. 

But I won't really feel like it is happening for real until I actually have those keys in my hand, but there it is. I am prepared to move at the end of June regardless, hence the packing- I don't like to leave things for the last minute. 

I also didn't want to tempt karma so I have put aside any practical joking business until the deal was sealed. 

A Twisted Tale

Remember the broken swift? And how I had my Mr Fix It friend come over and fix it for me? 

Well- lemme tell you how that went. Peter had used some of that green As Seen on TV crap to glue it back together. After letting it set for several days (for my own piece of mind) I decided to wind that skein of yarn again. 

I am going along happy as a clam when I look up and all of a sudden the swift starts to close and my yarn is quickly sliding downwards! OH (BLEEP)! Next thing I know, my beautiful yarn is wrapped around the base of the swift. OBVIOUSLY -As Seen On TV did NOT work!  As carefully as I can, I untangle the yarn from the base of my swift and drape it over the back of a chair. 

Yah- it didn't look too bad...until I tried to wind it by hand. In the meantime, I call my Mr Fix It friend. "Peter...that As Seen On TV crap didn't work!"  So he runs over right away to look at it, like I lied or something... after he fiddles with it for a few minutes (he is running solutions over in his little man brain), he picks up the nested in of the yarn and tries to help me. "I think you should just throw out this string (string???) and get a new one. "What???? first off it is not String, and second- One does not throw out yarn! You should know me better than that! "

Of course what I don't tell him is how much it cost me to buy the string in the first place.

We must have sat on the floor and worked on that yarn for three hours before he had to leave. Then amazingly- he came over again the next day and worked on it some more... "Lets just break the string he kept saying". Absolutely not, the one thing that really pisses me of is paying for 400 yarns of yarn is to find it has been knotted together in the middle. 

It seemed like just when we would seem to be making headway- it would all tighten up again and get worse.  Before we were done- it looked like what TN Dawns kitties did to her yarn.

Three days my friends, that is how long it took us ( me more than him) to turn that big ass'd birds nest into the neat ball of yarn you see here!

Frankly- I don't know many men that would sit for nearly three days and help untangle a ball of yarn, and believe me, I appreciated it. And he did finally come up with a workable solution for using my swift - after he came up with some silly elaborate man game type solutions. (I did learn how to make a hangman's knot ). 

And that...is the rest of the story ;)

I have been knitting- but only a little bit- since my arm has been killing me again ( I blame work not knitting). Boy when they said it would take a long time to recover from that fall (last Flippin' February), they weren't kidding. It has been a year and three months now. I can't say this enough...Never never leave your car boogers in the driveway!

Finally - A Pair

Here they are! The long awaited Tidal Wave Socks!! TA DA! I know, I know, I can hardly believe it myself, and TN Dawn has already ribbed me about the number of blog posts it has taken to get them done. This has been the for-ever sock project, with multiple restarts! I was actually shocked to see I had started these in the beginning of December when I updated them on Ravelry. Kinda down right embarrassing in fact.



I'm starting to feel like I am getting a little bit of my groove back on. I am keeping it small to start with, and continuing to work on new goodies for my new digs. (That's if I ever get any new digs)

This was an easy start to finish project, another dishcloth to be packed away for future use.
And as always, Brodie is right there to help me take a picture! This was an easy pattern stitch to remember and I probably could have finished it in a day if I hadn't started it right before my beddy bye time. I used less than a ball of yarn on size 8 needles. I have to say, with this yarn a smaller needle would have been better. I like a denser fabric for dishcloths. I guess I really did not take into account this is a dk weight yarn instead of a worsted weight when I was following the pattern. Ah well...next time. and who knows, maybe by the time I wash it, it just might shrink up to a dandy little coaster size.

Project Scoop
Pattern: Waffle Stitch Dishcloth Rav Link
Yarn CotLin Glacier
Needles: Size 8
Size: 10x10

I had the kids come and pick up my dining room table and chairs the other day. I had been meaning to give it to them for a while now and finally got the lead out of my but and got it out of my place and into thiers. ( I just love dumping stuff on them...hehe)

Now I have this big empty space to fill, but I am not buying new furniture yet, nope, I am going to fill it with boxes of packed goods. I don't like to wait for the last minute to do things, and even if the right place doesn't come along, I will still move away from the ignorant neighbor upstairs and the usless landlord and into a different place.

Hopefully my next post will have another F/O to share, but failing that I will definately have a story.

Happy Birthday Brodie!

Hard to believe that this cute little furball...

...Is now this handsome little man only 1 year later!


Yesterday was Baby Brodie's first birthday! And to herald his birthday, Mother Nature let loose one last hooray (hopefully) in a white out blizzard after lulling us all into thinking spring was here. I think we ended up with something like 6 inches of snow, which is nearly gone today. Brodie was in doggie heaven playing in the white stuff. He sure has a fondness for it. We celebrated his birthday with some stinky canned dog food and hours and hours of Frisbee fun. Truthfully, the boy never stops with that damn Frisbee.

I finally got around to weaving the ends today and taking a picture of the one and only placemat that I finished last week. Not blocked yet but I think it turned out ok. Another item to be packed away for the new place (if I ever find one).

Here is the specs:

Pattern- well, that was made up on the fly. Cast on 87 stitches, stockinette stitch, with a seed stitch border. 16x11 inches

Yarn : Knit Picks CotLin in Swan 1.5 skeins

Needles size 4

The size 4's made and nice tight fabric, but seemed forever on the needles.

Another only project here...that seems to be the theme this year.  Just a plain ribbed sock in Bamboo from SWTC. I love the bamboo for summer, and I love the mindless knitting, makes for a great sneak to work project. Now that things have settled down a bit at work, I have a little more time on  my hands and have been able to knit a wee bit on the low down. 

I guess technically it is not a true only- I did cast on number 2 today, but then again, I have had that second Tidal Wave on the needles for a long time and it is still not done. I did work on that today while I listened to yet another Jo Goodman tale, "Beyond a Wicked Kiss". It is a good sexy historical tale with quite a bit of intrigue.  It did get a little distracting a few times and I had to rip back a row a couple of times when I lost count. But I managed to make some headway.

Taking a break from all that knitting, I decided that I needed to make use of my table before I give it to the kids. I set up my swift and started winding balls. I had just gotten to the fifth hank of yarn when horrors of horrors...
A little itty bitty piece of wood came off my swift. Who woulda guessed that tiny piece of wood could bring my productivity to a stand still! Can you see it in the picture??? It is so freakin small it is barely there! And yet, it apparently played a major roll in holding the bolt in place when you adjust it. I kept trying to make the yarn taut, but the bolt just wouldn't stay. Luckily my Mr. Fix It friend came over and fixed it for me, maybe, I haven't actually tried it yet but the little wooden piece is back where it belongs. 

I did get some hopeful, sorta, news about my cousin. He is not taking the doctors diagnosis lying down. He got a call from some treatment place in Atlanta, and went for some holistic cleansing. He is planning on getting healthy no matter what it takes. My belief is that the will to live has to be strong before there can be any hope. He seems to have that in spades, so I will support him in any treatment he wants to try. 

The work monster has released it's grip

Finally! The Evil Work Monster has loosened it's hold. Since I am not yet independently wealthy, I still have to do that working thing, but at least it is not 80 hours a week anymore. 

Jeanne's schedule, Get up-go to work-stay there til you drop-drive home on auto pilot-walk the dog on auto pilot-fall into a dead sleep-repeat often.

Notice anything missing? No knitting happening...what kind of a schedule is that!

First day off in 14 I took a little road trip with Brodie. He is not real big on riding in my truck, like he is terrified of it or something. I bought him a harness because he thinks needs to be in my lap for the ride. My fault entirely, I am a complete sucker for the puppy browns. He is awful in the truck. He  is fine if he is in my lap- looks out the window and watches traffic but put him on the passenger side and Oh no! he shakes, turns himself backwards in the seat, or lays down, looks at me with pathetic eyes and then he usually pukes. WTF! I think it is all a ploy. He just wants to be in my lap!

See the pathetic stare? I tell you- all a ploy!  I am going to take him for rides to the park in my friends car to see if maybe it will make a difference in his comfort level. He does seem terrified by the truck, silly since he came home in it. 
On a sad note, tragedy strikes again in my family. My beloved cousin Robbie, Grandson to Everett who just passed away and Nephew to Elizabeth who also just passed away, was just diagnosed with terminal cancer. It must be in that Tennessee water, or those moronic doctors they see down there. I am crushed by the news, Robbie is only just turned 35. It is not fair for someone who is just a baby and barely lived to have to be told -"enjoy the time you have left"

Somehow I will have to make some time for a trip down there, just to hold him once more.

First F/O of the Year?

It would appear so! I could hardly believe it myself! My little shopping spree at Knit Picks got me started  on my new home accessories. I grabbed a ball of CotLin in Kohlrabi, and took it to work with me. (Yes I have managed to get caught up with my work, after a fashion, and found time to knit). CotLin is a blend of cotton and linen, which I have to say, I did enjoy the feel of. I am used to a heavier weight yarn in cotton so the dk weight took some getting used to. 

This little project was a breeze to finish and is darn near mindless, you know how I like those mindless ones. I used a size 7 needle but I think I would have liked a tighter weave for the fabric.  

Now I am not saying that I have actually been functional in the last week or so but I have been somewhat productive.  I have New Girl Lisa trained and on her own -Yay!  That means Jeanne gets a little bit of a break, or at least I can take a personal day or two.  This weekend was the Special Olympics Polar Plunge, usually I pump that up quite a bit before hand but the energy has been lacking in that regard. Even tho I am not the one plunging into Lake Michigan  (just playing the part department photographer) it is still a completely exhausting day. Standing on the ice for hours waiting and watching a group of crazy law enforcement personnel dress silly and jump into 32 degree water then compound that excitement with a complete turnaround in waking hours and you get one pooped out chick with sticks. Is it any wonder I am unbalanced??

Ya'll know I suck at project stats so this year- since this is my first Finished Object of the year (pathetic I know) I am going to start out right.

Kohlrabi Dish Towel

Pattern: Basket Rib Hand Towel Rav Link

Yarn: 1 Ball Knit Picks CotLin in Kohlrabi

Needles Size 7

Size 11x17

I got my March installment of Art Walk Sock Yarn from Zen Yarn Garden. This month is another tribute to Gustav Klimit, Musique. 

Another beauty out of Canada!  Some day I may actually knit with these yarns...in the meantime, I shall become a collector of affordable art...LOL 

This picture does not bring out the beautiful greens and blues to it's full advantage. The colors are much closer to the painting that this shows. 

Another no brainer project-  A new place placemat! Same CotLin yarn but in Swan. This project is a winger, meaning a no pattern project. It may also be a do over because I am not sure that it will be wide enough to suit. Do you think 16 inches (unblocked) will be wide enough for a placemat?? I wanted this to be a tighter fabric than the dish towel so I am using a size 4 needle. I like how the fabric is turning out, I am just unsure of the size. Give me your thoughts. 

Another Winger- Impulse yarn buy of Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick n Quick. I bought this a while ago when it was still frigid outside ( I think spring is finally here). Big yarns make my hands tired when I knit so I don't get very far with with them at any one time. A few rows at a time and eventually I had a scarf. Not enough yarn left to make a hat to match so I may have to go back to the store. 

 
Chocolate and Vanilla Scarf

Pattern: Simple garter stitch stripe

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick n Quick in Wood and Linen

Needles size 13

Size 6x58

CA Dawn's question about my thrummed mittens prompted me to get out that one lonely mitt and finally finish the thumb. That was all that was lacking, so I did that this morning. Like I mentioned, they are not going to be pretty but damn they're warm! With any luck I just might have a pair by summer!

I think I have about 3 days of mids then another flip for the CAD training for a week and then I can finally settle into a single shift. That will be a blessing! At this point I don't care which shift, as long as it is only one shift.

Maybe then I can get caught up on all my blog reading :p

How many times can you hit undo before it is cheating?

I hate Spider! Solitaire that is, well real spiders too but I refer to that blasted game that Bill Gates implanted on all PC's across the free world! A subtle form of mind control, indeed. 

I have this theory that all Spider games can be won! So, I have made it my personal quest to prove my theory correct. So I play game after bloody game of Spider (damned addictive game) to see if I am right. So far, I have yet to be able to prove this theory. I continue to undo, retry and restart to see if I can beat the computer. Ok, and it's not like I am playing a real difficult level here...just two suits. One must be able to beat the computer-right? Because if we can't then why would we play! Why do I still play? Because I can lose this game in 144 feakin moves! 

Thank god there is no Spider on a Mac! 

Rant over, Pretty Brodie picture up! Last week ( I think it was last week but I can't really be too sure) I took Brodie to the doggie beauty shop for his first do! He looks so sleek and purty now. Not to mention he smells better too...LOL.  He is not so fond of my truck as I am and I had to buy him a little doggie car harness to keep him out of my lap. Generally I take care of his grooming needs myself but he is also not so fond of the brush and barks at the hair dryer. I figured this would be a good experience for him and he could see that other doggies get the same treatment. Plus the groomer always seems to get the white fur way whiter than I can.

The groomer said he did very well but didn't care so much for the brush near his butt. Kinda my fault, he had something unmentionable stuck there and I tried to remove it but accidentally pulled his hair...Whoops...sorry! Didn't mean to do that. He has been a little skittish over that part of his anatomy since. I suppose he will get over that sooner or later.

We have been working on Sit Pretty lately, of course he is more interested in the treat in my hand than the actual trick.

Now that I have my Trio instructions again, I have made some headway. I have a bizillion stitches on holders and ready to start the second sleeve. The trick here will be to make it match. Once I started following the instructions without trying to understand them I went along swimmingly. 

Happy Valentines to my self! I indulged myself at Knit Picks again. I just received my package today in the mail (poor Mr. Mailman had to be greeted at the door by Ms Every Hair Standing on End). I was a wee bit surprised when I opened the package, I remembered ordering the Harmony's Interchangeables, and the 7 balls of cotton yarn, but I did not remember that I had ordered 5 different sizes of Harmony double points. I must have been thinking to replace the Brodie enhanced needles I had in my case. I love surprises...even if I ordered them myself!

The yarn I have ear marked for new dish towels and cloths, or maybe placemats to be put away for when I buy my new house. I did go out and look at houses last week but as of yet, I have not found the one.

Not to be left out, Mr. UPS Man brought me some goodies too! I got Wii and Wii Fit from him, and some very fine hair care products ;) but since I spent the last three days in bed (yuky feverish flu type symptoms) I haven't even hooked it up yet... Maybe tomorrow. 

Eastern Union Telegram?

"The Pony Express has no mail."

or

"Charlotte's Web has a hole in it"

or

"The eagle has flown the nest"

or

"The chicken did not cross the road"

or

"The fox is in the hen house"

or

"Pandora's box is open"

or 

"Danger Will Robinson"

0r 

" Dragonheart fears the sword"

or....

What the heck does all that mean you ask? Well sorry....I can't tell you ...it is all top secret code phases. And if I tell you, then I have to kill you...hehehe (evil laugh)

Ok Seriously, Eastern Union Telegram? is code for.... (you're not going to believe this) Did the Chief leave yet. Of course the officer that asks this way never can say "did the Chief leave yet?" in which case I would either type back yea or nay. Oh no! We have to go through this ridiculous dialog every time she works, because for some reason, she thinks it needs to be a secret question. 

Sometimes - I get a little carried away (no way!) and I type back a ridiculous response. I know...it is just beyond belief that I would play a silly game like that you're thinking, but yes, I do... sometimes I even fire back several different responses.  I guess that comes from working with people sillier that I am. Yah, Yah...that's it! I couldn't have got this way by myself!!

Ans seriously...that New Girl...she is always laughing at me! What Up!

And speaking of silly....OMG...Did you know that there are TONS of silly shiat on Facebook?? I can keep myself entertained for hours!  Oh yah...it is quiet pathetic!

I finally finished up the last of my BBB Lesson 1 swatches the other day. The last one (with the lace pattern) I ripped out about a dozen times before I was satisfied. Now they are washed and blocking as we speak, and I just have to type out my lesson questions and mail them off. I am getting alot out of this course so far and can't wait for lesson 2!!

Blocking...Hmmm... not my favorite chore. I decided to wait til I was finished with all five before I blocked them and I darn near ran out of pins. I think I kinda suck at blocking, which is probably why I probably avoid it like the plague. I'd better get over that if I am going to finish this course.

Here is the progress I made (or didn't, depending on you're own particular glass) on my Hollyberry Jacket. Not so very far, See all those needle tips? Can you see why I was so confusered?? Well I think I am doing it right, so we shall see what comes off the needles.

I think some simple -brainless-knitting is in order for today.

Knitting? What's that??

I know...I can't believe it has been so long since my last post!! Where in the heck does the time go!

All this shift bouncing has me so discombobulated (remember when that wasn't even a real word) that I don't know if I am coming or going and I have not done much of anything besides work and sleep. I have way too much going on at work to be very productive at home. My brain is generally on shut down by the time I get home, so I have not even done the simplest of knitting. Mix in training New Girl, which has been my top priority, then throw in learning and training on new computer system for dispatching ( my other top priority) and you end up with one burned out knittereze person!

We are in crunch time for both training the New Girl, who goes live at the end of the month, and getting everyone up to speed with CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch), a much long awaited and longed for system, which is going live in mid March. I personally am very excited about both!I am so looking forward to scrapping the old and inefficient computer/paper system I can almost taste it.

New Girl (Lisa) is turning out to be a good fit with the rest of us unbalanced folk. She has been a joy to train, and after this week she will be ready for the Shadow Phase.

In between all these important goings ons, I also have the Special Olympics Polar Plunge coming up in a month. YIKES! ....Can you say follow the bouncing ball?

(IlovemyjobIlovemyjobIlovemyjob)

I managed to get one Tidal Wave sock done, but it took me so long to get the foot done that I am pretty darn sure I will have to learn the pattern all over again. Or I could just walk around one footed for a while...who needs a pair of socks anyway.

If you look real close...you can almost see the wavy pattern.

And did I mention I joined a sock yarn club? No? GUESS WHAT??? I joined a sock yarn of the month club. Oh Yah...Like I needed more sock yarn, and wait...Is that another hole in my head? Yup, I joined Art Walk, which is Zen Yarn Garden yarn (very yummy), and I really liked the idea of the colorways being inspired by materpiece artwork. Still, not your run of the mill sock yarn and maybe I will get some motivation by it... I could sure use some right about now. 

All my bloggin' friends seem to have motivation in droves and I am needing some of it to rub off on me. Dawn and Carrie always seem to have so much going on and manage to knit up a storm. I don't know how they do it. Kinda makes me feel like a slug-a-bug.

Here is my first shipment from them....Yum Yum! The Febuary selection Petunia, Don't ask me when I am going to knit it up...no clue there. But I like it!

...and a little art history to go with it...Taken from Art.com

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) was a groundbreaking Modernist painter who digressed from realism to express her own visionary style. Raised in rural Wisconsin, which gave her a love of nature and formed the basis for her revolutionary artwork, O’Keefe is best known for flower paintings which made up a significant percentage of her work. Expressing what she felt, rather than what she had been taught, O’Keeffe painted enormous close-ups of flowers, transforming their contours into fascinating abstractions, and highlighting their importance in a manner that commanded attention. One of the most influential and innovative artists of the 20th century, O’Keeffe was the first woman to have her own exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Now... if I could just get caught up with all my blog-pals...