Obsession

2 Santa's and some other stuff I'm too overwhelmed to mention (PLANET!)

I think it's fixed now!

So I had a big birthday this past October and my family threw me a party.

One of the cool gifts I got from Bezzie is this yarn bowl. Very cool!

iPad annoyances

About a month ago my iPad underwent a complete system upgrade. I synced it, updated it, re-synced it and now everything is in the wrong place, my playlists are messed up, and the photos I have on here aren't what I used to have. I like publishing from the iPad since I always have it with me, but before I can show you what I've been up to the last year I need to clean everything up.

Which may take days because I can't sit for too long.

More fun to come, I promise; until then another kitty photo!

I forgot I still have a blog

Really I didn't, but there has been a lot of crap going on in my life and so I felt there was no reason to bore you with moaning and groaning about pain about chronic back pain.

We'll start off small and cute: Fanny is a big girl now!

It followed me home. Honest!

Oh Hai!

Dat lalee been callin me Fanny. Iz dats me?

Oh hey! Cool! A little one!

She did it to me again. Sigh.

So, I think I have a Boy Friend

Remember this? The guy who lives out of state, who I get along with really well? That relationship has stepped up several notches.

We talk every day and have been for a couple of months now. I either get an e-mail, or we IM, or I get a phone call, or like yesterday, all three. When we do talk, our conversations average about an hour.

But there’s the distance thing. And he doesn’t like cats. And I have a kitten all picked out because they’re ready to be adopted. And he’s a smoker. God! But I guess none of that matters since he’s at the other end of the country, and neither of us is moving any time soon.

He’s invited me down to visit. I’m thinking about taking him up on it.

(I know! I promised photos of knitting and kitties. They're coming.)

Plans Change and Disappointment Ensues

I’ve been stressing out about a big thing in my life that I’ve been mulling over and “processing” (thinking about obsessively).

I need another surgery on the knee I just had surgery on last summer. It’s been making a horrible crunchy noise for a while now. The doctor was convinced that once all the muscles in my knee were strengthened up again, the new knee cap component would align properly and the crunching would stop.

That didn’t happen.

So the last time I saw my ortho surgeon (a month ago), he said that I needed arthroscopic surgery to clean out the scar tissue and fascia that has built up and is catching under the knee cap. (Oh and Yes! It’s painful!) He’ll also cut the tendon that holds the knee cap in place, because my tendon didn’t tighten up like it should have (and does in every other human who has this surgery!) BUT, while he’s in there looking around, and when he cuts the tendon, he may decide that the patella implant needs to be moved because the cutting of the tendon won’t help on its own. That means he’ll cut the knee open again, and put in a new knee cap component.

The crappiest part about all this is that I don’t get a real vacation again this year. It’s like the 3rd or 4th year in a row that I won’t get to go to NC for the family vacation. But the knee needs to be taken care of.

I’m so bummed out.

I promise knitting content, kittehs and the present I bought myself in the next posts.

I really needed that

The three day weekend was just what I needed. Although I really wanted to go to CooknKnit’s annual BBQ, I had made other plans. Next year I’ll make sure to keep that day opened.

I spent a good part of Saturday with Jen and her sister who was visiting from England. It was so nice to see her again, and as always I love spending time with Jen. We went to one of the yarn stores we get to every few months. We never fail to walk out with their largest bag full of yarny delights. This time – not so much.

We didn’t buy anything. Jen and I were in shock. Her sister, who is a quilter, not a knitter, did buy one skein of yarn for couching. It came in this very cute little bag. A bag neither of us had ever seen. Jen and I were in shock.

The biggest problem was that the yarn selection was either very drab or kind of off the wall. It seems like if you are looking for something other than basic Rowan or Sublime, forget it. They do have other yarn lines, but the colors are all kind of baby colors, or bright baby colors. I’ve looked at the same yarn the last few times we’ve been there.

Very disappointing.

So we didn’t buy any yarn. I’m still in shock.

Sunday, because of the lack of yarn purchasing, I was kind of going through withdrawal, so I texted Shannon to see if she was working and if not would she meet me at the LYS in Basking Ridge. After a bit of planning, we ended up in Princeton at the yarn shop there. Shannon bought yarn for a cardigan and I bought… nothing. Again. Nothing was calling out to me. They do have a nice selection of yarn, but nothing needed to come home with me. I have three patterns for shells I want to make and I don’t have yarn for any of them. It’s crazy.

I did have a great time with Shannon. The day was perfect to window shop, grab a bite to eat, and sit and knit. We definitely have to do that again.

Monday was hang around the house day. I didn’t get my usual chores done on Saturday, so by default they had to be done on Monday. That’s OK. It felt good to putter around the house.

All in all a stellar weekend. Except for the no yarn parts.

(Oh, and I did make a purchase. A “YOU LOST 75LBS!” present to myself but that’s for another post.)

It's official!!!

And FINALLY

I've lost 75 lbs!

It took forever to get 6 lbs off this body to get there. Forever = a little over 2 months. Although I have been losing inches all that time, the scale didn't reflect the lost inches. It was very frustrating.

But I'm there. Finally! I'm in the home stretch.

When I reach my goal I'm getting myself an iPad!

Yeah, I'm having one of those days

Did you ever have an e-mail conversation with someone about a work topic and you're sure they just aren't reading what you're saying and that they aren't going to give an inch on what they are doing instead of compromising?

So instead of having a tool I used a lot, someone else decided no one used it and took it over for their own purposes.

That put me in my place I guess huh?

MD S&W

You've all seen the photos and recaps around the blog-o-verse, so I won't bother posting my recap here, except to show you this...


Kilt or man in a skirt? I think man in a skirt. There are plenty of guys in kilts at these fests, but the pockets make this just a skirt. And a CARGO pocket?

Comment with your thoughts.

And so…

… what’s happening with EC2.0?

I asked him out. He told me he is still legally married but has been separated for 7 years. He owns his own house and all. But there have been several attempts at reconciliation to no avail, but they're going through another one again. He hasn’t gone through with the final step of the divorce because his wife is “very fragile”. Then he said “but otherwise, yeah”.

Yeah, I don’t know what that means either. Gah!

So for a couple weeks we’ve kept up the flirting and all that crap. I thought about his still being married and decided that things would just have to continue the way they have been. Not a good situation for me to get into.

I'm really good at attracting unavaliable and uninterested (dude from on-line dating) men aren't I?

*sigh*

What’s Happening…

… with getting a new kitten? (thanks to Kim for commenting)

Well, they’re still too little to take away from their momma. EC2.0 showed them to me last week and they still have their eyes closed. But – CUTE! There are three of them and they’re black and white spotted. CUTE CUTE CUTE! I told EC2.0 that if it was at all possible I want a male. I decided last night that if I do get a male, he will be named Otto. I’m serious.

This month is kitty well visit month for the furry girls. So I had them at the vet last night and discussed getting a kitten with her. The vet was very supportive of my adopting her and asked if she thought I could catch the Mom and get her spayed. That’s something I’d love to do, but after the $450 visit last night, I don’t know if I can swing it.

Why that much you ask? Well, first there were the 2 distemper shots they needed which are good for 3 years. So that was like $110, for the shots alone. Then their yearly rabies shots, Noel’s butt shave (Kitteh Brazilian!) and Katie got blood taken for blood work.

It seems that now Katie is a senior aged pet. Here I was thinking she was 6 years old. I adopted her from the vet’s office and I was under the impression she was 2 when I got her. Apparently, she was 4 when I got her because she was born in 2002. Anyway, she needs some dental work done. Poor little thing has a genetic condition where her gums grow up and over a tooth. So they need to remove the tooth. They gave me an estimate for that and I nearly passed out. I’ll be saving up for that.

Oh, and Noel gained 1.5 pounds this past year, bringing her up to just over 18 lbs. I have to start her on a diet and feed her separately from Katie. Technically, I am not allowed to lift her since I can’t lift anything over 10lbs since the knee surgery. LOL! Katie gained a whole .2 of a pound.

All this blather to say that the girls are healthy and have their shots up to date so a new kitten coming in with worms and fleas won’t affect them too much until the parasites are gone. Especially if I keep them apart till the vet gives the OK.

I *heart* Cherie Priest

Go here:

Here

Laugh and commiserate.

Nogo Mojo

I’ve been “un-creative”. Or maybe “un-creating” is the right phrase. I’ve ripped out one sweater that was partially finished. There are three more that I need to rip. I have scads of first socks that are in various stages of completion, and those need to be ripped too. Shawls, the same thing. I’m reclaiming a lot of yarn and I have no desire to knit anything with it.

A few years ago I was making and selling beaded jewelry. I participated in a few craft fairs and didn’t sell all that much. I didn’t even recoup the cost of entry. My jewelry was pretty, but the organizers didn’t realize they had several people selling beaded jewelry at all the events I was at. Anyway, I’ve been taking apart all the jewelry I made and reclaiming those supplies too.

Could this be a way of clearing the decks for something that’s coming? Is there a big ass project/event coming my way that I need to be mentally unfettered for? Should I worry about being so un-creative? I’m not even working on anything I had been working on. It’s pathetic.

Or maybe I’m preparing for a change in needle art again. I have a bunch of needlepoint canvases that’ve been calling to me. I wonder if that’s the next thing for me, for a little while anyway.

An open letter to a man we’ll just call Bob

Dear Bob,
I’m so glad we’ve found each other after all these years. I’m really enjoying catching up via e-mail. The book club for 2 that we have going on is a lot of fun, and I’m enjoying the books too. All the intriguing things you’re learning about and sharing with me (even tho I don’t want to know about things like HAARP) keep me on my toes. I kinda even like you’re a bit of a conspiracy theorist.

The problem is, I have a crush on you again. Yeah, a woman my age with a crush. And you’re single, never been married like me. And we’re both a bit broken which well, I think it works. So I figure I’ll ask; will you be my on-line boyfriend? It’s kind of the only relationship we can have with you being in another state and all. We can still see other people (LMAO!), but I just want to know that there is someone out there who wants to be mine, and vice versa. Do you?

Internet SWAK,
Me

Oh Noze!!!!!

Momma bought a new camera!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Mascara EVER!!!

As someone who is plagued by raccoon eyes, I couldn’t be happier with this stuff. LOVE IT!

Smoky Lash by Make Up Forever. Their liner is great too.

The Other Women

These are two of the other chicks that hang out at Big Oil Company. The site is full of feral cats. Most of them females and only the one male (it’s the way of feral cats). In the ultimate wisdom of the BOC powers that be, they’re going to start putting out rat poison this spring. Now there are very few rats around because of the cats. So when the remaining rats eat the poison and the cats eat the rats… You know where this is going right?

The guy who works at BOC that is a cat lover and flirts with me all the time (herein known as EC2.0), is working on getting the girl on the left comfortable enough with him so he can adopt her. The guys have named her “Rocket Socks”. How awful a name is that? Good Greif! Anyway, she follows him around, and hangs out in his office in the construction trailer. Soon she’ll be living in his cozy house with the resident big fat cat. Lucky little one.

The other girl, and I forget what they call her (but it is equally as awful), would probably be a prime candidate for adoption, except for that she is obviously pregnant. This is not something I need to know on top of the whole rat poison thing. And there is another female around who they think just had kittens. Gah!

Before I knew it I said “That’s what I want, a kitten.”

“If I find where she had them, and I can get one, do you want it?” EC2.0 asked.

“Yeah.” It was out before I thought about it.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have too soft a heart when it comes to animals. Too tender hearted. I know I can’t save them all, but I can do what I can.

Right?

OMG! A kitten.

COOOOFFFFFEEEEEEE

I need my coffee in the morning. On the days I work at project sites, I stop and get an extra large cuppa at Dunkin Donuts. Coffee at the sites is weak at best, so it’s wise for me to stop and get a decent up of coffee before I get there.

When I work in my main office I drink the swill they call coffee because I won’t make a pot of coffee before I leave in the morning. Besides I can’t find any coffee that I’m thrilled with. I just don’t make a consistently good pot of coffee.

So yesterday, when I was up in the middle of the night, I ordered this:


I’ve used the Keurig coffee maker before. We had one on a trial basis at the main office and then there is one at BOC, but there are never any K-cups. Besides, it’s really for the client and don’t want to use it when there is coffee for it.

Well, now I have my own and I can have my coffee before I go to work, and on the weekends I can have a consistently good cuppa. I’m so excited I can’t wait for it to be delivered!