Sunday, February 24, 2008

Checking things off..

That has been my mantra for this past week:

Finished Beach Bag Class Sample for shop................Check
Finished test knitting Sarah's sock pattern.............Check
Finished 2nd panel for Log Cabin Baby Blanket...........Check
Finished collar for Bree's Little Bolero Jacket.........Check
Finished Designing and knitting water bottle holder.....Check

Finished updating Shop Work Schedule....................Check
Finished updating Shop Class Book.......................Check

Finished and presented 4H Craft Projct..................Check
Took truck to dealer before it completely died..........Check
Met with yarn salesman (and made spreadsheet)...........Check (see Paige someone else who loves my spreadsheets)

Attended Orientation for school gifted program..........Check (Bree has been placed in gifted program now) - I hate the word "gifted" as it has such an odd meaning in my head - I prefer accelerated coursework - but, heck, who am I?

Update Blog (am doing now, so it gets a check)..........Check

Not checked off:

Clean House
Schedule Bailey's Grooming
Clean House
Finish Bree's Socks
Clean House
Schedule Haircut (haven't had one since SEPTEMBER) - Yes, SEPTEMBER..
Clean House

Hmmm.. I see a reoccuring theme here.. Guess I will have to correct that tomorrow

I've had to finish things so quickly for the shop, that I haven't even taken photos - I'll have to steal them from the shop website once they are up!

Doesn't feel like I did much, but Bree was off from school on Monday for the holiday and then home sick on Tuesday (just a touch of stomach flu) and then I filled in at the shop Wed, Thurs and Fri (and today)... So, that really didn't leave time for much else...

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The Bus is PARKED... Oh yea!

Well, the GOOD news is the sock is DONE, DONE, DONE and delivered to Peggy's for photos! Should be up soon on her site - http://www.strandsofheaven.com

The bad and good news is that the stuuuupid freaking microwave installers called last night and (who I now know as the "owner") said they would be here between 9am and 11am today. Can you SEE where this is going?

Well, at 11:12AM they still had NOT arrived.. Insert many, many curse words here.. So, I call the cell phone number of the guy (who I now know as the "owner") and he says - "Oh, they're on their way, be there in 10 minutes" - Uh-huh. .Yea. Sure.

They showed up 20 minutes later. So, now, it's um, 11:30am. They install the micro and the one guy says "gee, look with 5 min to spare" - I originally told the lady that I wanted it installed BEFORE noon. I gave this guy my best damn evil eye and said. Yea, just 17 days and 55 minutes late. Can you believe that shit? So, the OTHER guy fills out the paperwork and prints and signs his name.. I look, I read... SAME last name as the woman I spoke with - want to bet he's her husband?

Want to bet they PURPOSELY were late and made me call and ran over from their shop (which I have since found out is 6 YES 6 miles away from me) once I called as "retribution" for being an "upset" customer to his wife?

Huh. Well, I WILL have the last laugh. I plan on going to Sears ANYHOW with my guns loaded and blasting and plan on getting at least PART of my installation fee refunded. Screw them. Oh, and for anyone in Illinois, Chicagoland area who purchases an appliance from Sears - DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT allow TOP NOTCH QUALITY (isn't that a joke) APPLIANCE installation service install your appliance.

Trust me.

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Wheels on The Bus Go...

Round and Round, Round and Round.. The wheels on the bus go round and round all thru the day... That's what I am sitting here singing while knitting round and round on the foot of Sarah's new sock pattern that I'm test knitting - 55 rows worth (and on size zero's I'm wondering if I'm half way..) so, let's do some math (one of Sarah's favorite things) - 55 rows x 72 stitches.. um, let's see, carry the one, screw it -hang on - opening up my calculator.. ah, ok 3,960 stitches SO FAR... So FREAKING far.. I feel like I've been knitting this sock forever (when I started it on zeros just last Sunday - but had knit about 2 inches on ones realizing it was too loose)

I will say, however, I LOVE the pattern, I think its her best yet - (my biased opinion since I test knit the other 2 as well). The yarn is Jen's fabulous hand dyed softest stuff (thus the zeros) and its in a super wonderful eye loving colorway and will be kit up in the Peggy's Strands of Heaven sock club release coming later this month (http://strandsofheaven.com) - which Bridget (the owner) had better damn well be updating the site today (as she told me she was when I nagged her this am). The "goodie" along with this sock club release is a really neat Della Q silk drawstring project bag - way cool! I am HOPING beyond HOPE that I have this sock completed by Wednesday (at the latest) so I can move over to finish the other shop sample I'm working on... (and maybe the last sleeve of Bree's Bolero) - saying the "last" sleeve makes it sound like there are 9 of them - ha - ok - the OTHER sleeve may be more grammatically correct- but you know what I meant. I know you do.

Then, I really (unfortunately) need to finish BOTH sleeves (hmm.. I think I have a thing about sleeves these days) of the Gawd AWFUL yarn AG Doll robe. I get the shakes just THINKING about that yarn - maybe, just maybe, I'll have something else come up that I have to knit in a hurry to put that off - yea, that's the ticket..

Brriinnggg, hold on my phone - "Hi Bridget, what you need me to knit the Everlasting Bagstopper for a shop class and sample?" "Why YES, I think I can do that as soon as I finish this sock and other shop sample?"

Well, that just solved that problem, now didn't it.. Today is a good day!

PS - the microwave lady called me on the day of my last post stating that after she spoke with me Wed am - she twisted her ankle in their warehouse and hadn't been "in" since - Hmm.. I guess their business just SHUT DOWN and everyone had to go home because she wasn't there to schedule new customers, get orders ready to go, etc.. I'd hate to see what would happen if she was hit by the "proverbial" bus (not wishing any bad will here folks) - just making a point... Hrumph - Like I believe that stupid ass story.... She's making "so-called" special arrangements for me - to have it installed tomorrow MORNING - "special" - Hurrrmmph - If I ever treated my clients like this (when I had them) - I'd be unemployed - oh, wait, I am... Oh well, it was worth a shot...

Friday, February 8, 2008

Paige-asters? Or not, plus knitting

I have had a few, what could be classified as, paigeaster days or a week.

My microwave died about 2 weeks ago (thank goodness I have my spare from college - that was my Grandmothers - I'm not telling how old it is as that would be dating myself - suffice it to say I graduated college in 1985). Well we went and picked out a new one and it was scheduled to be installed (under the cabinet type) on Jan 31 - BIG snow storm hit, no install. The guy said he would put me on the schedule for this past Tuesday. No call. No show. So, I call their office. Leave a message. Call again - and talk to the "lady". She says - let me pull your paperwork and call you RIGHT back. Ok, 6 hours later, NO CALL. I call leave a message. 24 hours goes by from when I spoke to her. NO CALL. I call again, leave a message. NO CALL. I'm am freaking p'od at this point so tomorrow am, I'm going BACK to sears and telling them if that microwave isn't where it should be (above my stove) by the end of the day, they can shove it where the sun don't shine. That's BS. Still no reponse - time to call Sears and give them a good chewing.

Then, Wednesday, my poor, dear of a doll hubby broke a tooth off - so bad it could not be saved (to be crowned) and had to have it surgically removed yesterday - he's pretty sore. He'll be getting one of those "implant" type things instead of a bridge once it heals up. I was joking with him, that with the missing tooth, he could pass for a redneck horse person - haha. Poor guy though.

A few weeks ago, he took my Tahoe to wash it and broke my heated, power mirror and we decided that a $590 replacement wasn't worth it (it's still on there - its one of those that spring closes shut) and that we could put a "shimmey" in there to keep it from vibrating. Well, I happen to notice right around a week after that my antenna was snapped off as well.. W T HEck... My poor baby is broken and that makes me sad... It's been such a great vehicle for me (7 years old and 125,000 miles) - never letting me down.

Let's see, my new cell phone would not work in my house. Took it back in and the guy behind the counter and I started talking - turns out he is "horse people" and upgraded me to a phone more than a $100 more than the first one for FREE. Hmm.. am liking that.

I have been knitting, but silly me, mailed off the "goods" without taking photos, what is up with me on that? I did that at Christmas too. I finished my Brother's socks - which he should enjoy with his deer thinning out in the woods in the cold and snow task he has at hand for the IL Dept of Wildlife. And something else, that I can mention here. I also have Bree's little Bolero jacket about 75% done (one sleeve left), but I think I'm going to need one more skein of yarn, so I have to contact Mom's yarn store (With Ewe in Mind - great store if you're in the area) in Paducah about getting that. I also am test knitting a pattern for Sarah (a sock of course) on SIZE ZERO's using Jen's lucious hand paint yarn. I've turned the heel and am working on the gusset decrease. This has given me a new understanding to the number of rows on SIZE ZEROS that it takes to make an inch. I swear I was knitting the leg until the cows came home and THEN SOME. I cannot imagine what the foot is going to be like. I think they will be made for Bree's size - not that that will save me much knitting as NOW her feet are only a half shoe size smaller than mine.

I'm also working on future class project samples, etc. for Peggy's Strands of Heaven (my local LYS and our Sunday meeting place). I don't think I'll get to any knittig for ME anytime soon... But, it's knitting and I like the items I'm knitting, so all is good.

There's more, I know there is, I just can't think of it right now...