Time. Zoooooom, there it goes!

I thought it had been about 4 days since my last blog.  Ahem.

Not.

So, Just to let you know that I am among the land of the living...  Yon update on Le Doings.

I read all the comments.  Then tried to use my computer, which promptly committed some random blast of poo, rendering it useless for such things as GOING ONLINE.  (I am writing this at the cop shop, and Husband has said that I can use his computer when he's out in his shop.  And since he has a big order from the company he works for, I should be able to get some computer time...)  I still get emails.  That is something, I guess.  I just can't convince the computer that google.com is NOT a virus.  I have narrowed it down to my Norton program, I think, so with any luck, I hopefully shall get some sort of solution after running a restart.

Again...

I want to say that on the comments, La Shaune, your comment that there should be a knitting bag in the shape of a Tardis has given me an idea, which I hope to work on soon, and will post in the (hopefully) near future. 

Sharon, you should email me and I would see what I could do about the bag... If you don't mind a wait. :)

messymimi and Danielle, the even more annoying part, I exercised all week, and he didn't! Bah!!

Rain and Dreaming, this is the first time I have ever had dealings with a GPS, it was beginning to make me wonder what the fuss was about.  But in the city, it was a huge help, especially when I missed a turnoff...

bon bon, yes, I have found that knitting and sci-fi seem to go together.  Guess it's all that string theory, heh heh heh...

So, I have been helping at the Ren Faire site, cutting grass and weeding, putting off my garden, where I would be... cutting grass and weeding.  Life can be interesting that way, sometimes. 

My llamas... Have been very friendly with one another, all except Llama.  She just walks away from the fray, grunts, and just watches the antics.  If I don't get a cria* out of this, it won't be for lack of (Lorenzo's) trying! 

I have now had cucumbers, a few zucchinis, and 2 crookneck squash from my garden.

I have had a few tomatoes, but every one of them so far have been cracked because of all the rain we have had.  I keep thinking we could trade, give a few days of rain to some of the other states that are roasting, and they could give us about a 5 or ten degree up in temp to help with growing.  Right now, we are having weather more suited to April in this area, then August.  One bright spot, the fire danger is relatively low...

I was watching a movie, just getting into it, and our lovely digital programming got me, the signal went out.  (Insert various non-lady like words here).  I had a little bit of time before I went to the cop shop today, and went to the library.  I remembered they had videos.  I started snooping, and TA DA!  The movie that I had been watching was there.  I snapped it up, and most likely will watch it tonight or tomorrow.  Hey, I have the card, might as well use it, right? 

I was reading that if you just do the same exercising, that your body can adjust to it, and you don't lose weight as quickly.  So I have added a daily set of sit ups.  I started at 100, and am now up to 300.  It seems to take forever.  But this week I lost about 1 1/2 pounds.  So we shall see.  I keep trying to figure out how to add push ups, but so far my knee won't cooperate.  (I have no kneecap on one side, so pressing on it for long periods doesn't work.)  I might a "knee pillow" of some sort, and start with like, oh, 10 push ups, see if I go into paroxysms of agony, if not, increase.  It's one of those things that I just have to go slow.

And I am up to the 8th handwritten page on my book.  It's a start!  Few hundred to go...
Heh.

Wishing all my readers GOOD computer time,
Cat

* cria is the term for a baby llama.

Little piffle bits 'o stuff...

(I was going to put this on Wednesday, but didn't get it put on the blog.  So, Thursday is a day, right?)

I haven't anything that is really enough for a good blog, so I just threw a few things in, and pick what ya want.  Sort of like tapas, but less calories.

***

Well, I should have bought a lottery ticket...

I told Husband last night that today was weigh in.  I added, "I just hope I haven't gained anything, I tried to exercise more, but I had also been nibbling a bit more than usual.  I would be happy if I just stayed the same." 

I am exactly the same as last week. No gain, no loss... I stayed the same.  I am not going to complain.  I will need to work harder next week, but at least it wasn't a gain.

***

I am making split pea soup for dinner.  Husband looked at me stirring it, then said, Hey, we have Whirled Peas!  (He's been around me much too long if he comes up with puns like that!  But then he's the same guy that comments about my needing some cheese when I have so much "whine".  Eye roll, please!)

***

Christmas gave me new pants (ONE SIZE SMALLER, not that it's important... cough... Grin.) 

It also gave us a new bed cover, and skirt. 

It also made me nearly want to thump Husband's melon.  I will add the proviso that I was in a nasty, foul mood, and he had the bad luck to come in when I was putting the new covers on the bed.  I had purposely tried to work on this when he was outside, as his help can vary from helpful to... just leave. Please. 

Sooo, he decided that he wanted to help.  Okay.  I get out the bed skirt.  In case you don't know, it goes between the box springs and mattress.  Husband didn't know this, thought it was a sheet, and put it on the top.  I promptly took it off, and asked him to lift the mattress. 

But it's a sheet.

Noo, it's a bed skirt.  It goes (pointing) there.

I think that would get wound up in the vacuum. 

(Snarl.) It won't reach the floor, so no, it won't. (Besides, I vacuum, not you, why should it matter?)

What do we need a skirt for?

This went on for a few minutes, until he realized I was bearing my fangs in a very threatening manner, as well as twisting the skirt into something more resembling a large croissant... He then just stopped talking and lifted the mattress.  I put the skirt on the bed, we put the comforter on, and he left.  I finished with the pillows and throws, and decided it looked nice.  Husband decided it was fine, after making sure I was not going to lunge at his throat like a rabid wolf.  But he still doesn't really "get" the skirt thing.  As long as it is where its supposed to be, I don't really care. Hmph.

***

I found out the term "snow line" can be extremely literal.  We were warned last night that it was going to snow today.  When I started to exercise, it was snowing at the house.  I walked to the top of the place, and it was not sticking on the way up, except to the back of Rudee, and occasionally to my nose. (Yes, I sneezed.)  But I reached the upper pasture, and there was just the barest start of a blanket.  I did my walking, and it takes me about 45 minutes to an hour, total.  This was long enough to see the green of the pasture turn almost white. (And sneeze several more times.  Darn flakes...)  But walking back down to the house, not a bit was sticking.  It felt sort of surreal.  

I saw, looking at the area around, no snow to a certain point, then pouf, like someone had stuck a ruler on the ground and edged everything to that point on all the local hills.  I also found out, that when I am walking, and it's snowing, I can't walk without my coat.  Oddly enough, my arms started to ache.  I should have known better, it isn't the "nice" dry fluffy snow, we had that white cow plop that does nothing but make things wet and cold.  But the pasture did sort of look nice.  Here's hoping that it doesn't freeze tonight...

***

  I have been trying to buy a t-shirt online.  This really shouldn't be such a trial. I thought.  Ok, my first plan, find the shirt, find how to pay by check, (I don't have credit cards), and get shirt... 

I tried this, send the check off, got it back, wrong address.  Huh.  Well, okay, it's the one on the site, but there are two others, try again.  Return, wrong address... again.  Huh?  They had that address on the site...  That doesn't make sense.  I tried the third snail address, with the same result.  I decided to stop pounding my head against the wall at that point. 

I was supplied with a gift card that should cover the shirt and shipping.  So, I look on the site.  But by this time, the shirt is available in Small, or XXX Large.  I can't wear either.  So, I email them, last week sometime, right before Christmas, "do you have, or will you get a size Large?" 

Today, my inbox had the response to the effect of, we received an email from you, please call or email us if you have a question. 

I am truly thinking this could be a Perry Mason title "The case of the Sh*tty Shop". Or, "The case of the WTF Website."  (Sorry... But it is beginning to bug me.)  So, I will try calling the number, and see if TALKING TO A REAL PERSON might help.  But, I have the sad thought, just because it's a phone number, doesn't equal a real person. 

Voice mail hell, anyone?  Maybe I will just roll up into the fetal position right now...

Dang it, I really want the stupid shirt...

Gagets, they are a dangerous thing...

Made the mistake of showing husband CNC/lathe videos on YouTube. I have created a monster. So, while he is out pondering whether he can do some of the neat and wondrous YouTubity stuff on his machines (he does contract work for a local company), I commandeer the computer for a quick blog. (I feel like I should be wearing an eye patch and petting a parrot.)

Anyway, I have sort of figured out how to use the side bar. I think. Maybe. It looks right to me, anyway. It gives me some idea how I am doing, and I can't wiggle out if the Weekly Weigh In isn't so great. Can also be some motivation, gee, more DOWNs than UPs.

I have been rather annoyed that I haven't been able to exercise, I was grumbling about not being able to bike. (That might change, I am going to try later, using my leg brace. It ain't pretty, but if I can stop the hurting, I might be able to accomplish my goal of biking to my parents house, about 3 miles away. Right now, I have a goal of biking to the end of the road, about... Not very far away, 1/8 of a mile or so. )

Can't safely walk the hill, yellow jackets are on the warpath. Little demons. One of my friends keeps chiding me, they are God's Creatures, you shouldn't be upset with them. Um. Poison Oak is, too, but I don't have a lot of use for that, either. Oh, well.

After much consideration, I figured I would try my Tae Bo tapes. I was mortified that Husband would come in and comment, (he isn't mean, but I get heavily self-conscious sometimes), or worse, the In-Laws. (I hate jiggling and sweating, and I am as graceful as a drunk on skates doing some things that need coordination.) And I was going to use it for this winter, when it was raining. And I hadn't watched it, so would I even be able to do it? All of these thoughts kept running through my head. All the reasons I *can't* do it. Then, thankfully, my inner two year old spoke up. I WANT TO! NOW!

Smart kid.

I did want to exercise. And so what if someone saw me? Isn't it a bit better to be caught sweating and working out, than to be caught stuffing my face? And somewhere in my few braincells, something about dancing like no one is watching. Well, ok, it isn't DANCE, exactly, but it's something. For me. Something GOOD for me.

Good for me. Yeah. Hmm. So I put in the tape. I was floored. I knew this stuff! I had taken Tae Kwan Do before my accident, (and miss it a LOT) and this was familiar! I could do, well, most of the stuff. I even started counting out loud, and "Woo" ing with the tape.

Then Husband came in. I was startled. He smiled, waved and went in the back room. I swallowed, chuckled, then went back to work. I was jiggly, sweating...

And I FELT GREAT!

I still have the coordination of a lobotomized orangutan, but I am familiar enough with what he's doing for it not to be a washout. If I don't understand, I just jog in place until I either understand, or it goes to something else. I will have a few places where my lack of balance might work against me, but for now, I can do something, I don't have to worry about being stung, I don't have to worry about hurting, (much), and I enjoy it!

Pretty good for 5o cents at a used stuff store, huh?

2 year olds are quite wise, on occasion!

I had a great day yesterday! Ow...

I had so much fun yesterday!

I was a little behind the 8 ball to begin with, Mr. D was going to pick up hay with his (kids? grandkids?) help, and he showed up at about 6 ish. Would be the day I slept in... I was just finishing breakfast, and Husband said he was going to go on ahead. I showed up, helped move a few bales, but most everything had been pretty well finished by the time I arrived. Dad came out, (it was Mom and Dad's pasture), and we talked, and watched Mr. D and Sidekick go about with a hay squeeze, picking up ten bales at once, then setting them on the back of the trailer. I remember many a year picking bales one by one, this was a definite plus in my book.

Sidekick mentioned that he had calves, and were we going to do anything with the broken bales, and strewn hay? I hadn't planned to do much with it, just see if the llamas wanted it, so I said he could have it. He was quite pleased with this, and then Dad came up with the idea to go rake up the hay into one spot, as a surprise for Sidekick. I thought it sounded good, so we hooked up a trailer to Dad's lawnmower, and proceeded to get the big stuff raked up and to the front. This worked great, but soon we were stopping every few feet to pick up more little 'tufts'. Dad said, let's use the buck rake. I thought, fine, we'll have to get out the big tractor. Next thing I know, Dad has undone the trailer, and has me back up to the buck rake. HUH?

It worked slicker than wet ice! I drove, Dad rode the rake, and we went all over the pasture, raking 'tufts' into big rolls, which then were deposited in the pile. I'd seen Dad's buck rake for years, (I have no clue how old it is, but it's meant for horse drawing, Dad modified it for being pulled by motorized equipment. 1800's wouldn't surprise me...), but I had never seen it in action. We kept moving, slowly, and then Dad would push a lever, the rake would lift, and TA DA, a nice roll of hay, right where you need it! I have a feeling we were a sight to behold, several cars slowed waaaaaaaaaaay down to watch us. I was getting tired about 1, and so asked if we could take a break. We went into the house and made lunch.

And Sidekick showed up, just as we were sitting down to lunch. He said that Mr. D had mentioned we were raking the hay for him, (Ah, life in a fishbowl), and so Sidekick had driven by. He saw the amount of hay we'd raked, and brought his horse trailer. I didn't think it was that much hay, and it was loose, but when he finished up, it was nearly level with the windows. And I believe it was a two horse trailer. So I guess he got quite a bit of hay.

I have about 2 tons to sell, Mr. D and Sidekick had about 2 tons each, and Sidekick had extra for his calves, so it's all good.

Oh, and the ow? I found out, I haven't raked hay in a while. I have become slightly enamored of Tylenol... My shoulder blades hate me. Just wish I could do some more... LATER...

Roadkill 'r us...

Spun yesterday. Now have a full bobbin of grey.

Plied yesterday. Now have 2 full bobbins of "mystery batt". (Quite pretty, too.)

Walked Rudee yesterday. Now feel like I was a victim of assault and battery.

Other than that, just a laid back day. Except I could really use some more Tylenol. And maybe a leg rub. A soak in the tub?

Neh. I still should walk the dog again. Possibly not two miles today, however.

That is all...

Honest, I have been knitting!

Well, I noticed I haven't put a thing in for a long time about what I have been knitting. Some items went to Rabbitch, mostly hats, and I think a scarf. But as you can see above, I have been knitting a lot for Dulaan. And Buc had to pose with the hats, as you can see... I have made socks, (in fact, have a set on the needles), hats, scarf or two, and I also have a kid sweater I am making in two colors. I will have to take a picture of it when I am finished with it, I really like the pattern, I just had to adjust it, it was for a light weight sweater, I just doubled the yarn, and made the smallest size. Since it's for children (mostly, but I made more adult size socks, as I saw lots of pictures of barefoot adults... -60* F, and they are barefoot! GAH!!!) I am also knitting a purse, for me. I have a knitting pattern a day calendar, and the sweater, and purse pattern both come from that.

The sock pattern is one I have had for a long bit, it's two needle socks. When I was first learning to knit, I had a terrible time with double pointeds, but still wanted to make socks. I came upon this pattern "Mary Ann Croisant's Two Needle Socks". If you look up the pattern, it has a little blurb about her being in seminary, and this was around 96ish. I was curious about whether she had graduated, (or whatever it is seminarians do...), and started hunting for her name. I was just fishing, more or less, but I did find her! After a little email chat, I found out she has indeed graduated, or whatever, and is now ministering to the elderly. I think it's neat, someone who helps other people, made a pattern that helps me keep other people (well, and me, I have three pair), warm!

I mowed today. This started out as a good idea. However, I really need to grease the reel, it was pushing waaaaaaaaay too hard, but I know partly the grass was higher than a reel mower is good for, so I did finish about a 1/4th of the yard, anyway. I will just plug away. What the heck, I was told by my doc I need to excercise, so mowing the lawn with a non-motor mower definitely drew a sweat! I will either mow the lawn, or get really good upper arm and leg strength! But, I hope I do get the lawn mowed... Sometime. Eh. Pray for dry weather. Hmm. Then again...