Out like a (soggy) lamb

So this morning, March 31st there is a freezing rain/snow/hail/ice pellet/rain warning on the radio. But it's supposed to be +4 by lunchtime and I'm safe warm and dry in the office, so no drama.

A good weekend - finished Peter's boot socks (just in time, for all the rain forecast this week and his rubber boots DO leak), organized 1 of 5 bookshelves, did some household paperwork and cleaning and laundry. Spring is definitely in the air!

Looking forward to starting Mom's mother's day socks this week, I got the yarn out of the bin Friday and it's sooo pretty, nice warm caramel brown and soft grey with touches of purple. I will have Peter take a picture of the skein before we wind it up for knitting. I have 2 days on course this week so that should give me a good jump on the socks!

Looking WAY ahead...

Looking ahead to the 2010 Knitting Olympics - I was thinking about it driving in to work this morning. I am going to take the whole time off from work (2 weeks of hibernation and knitting in February? check!), and knit Peter his Fisherman Sweater. That gives me LOADS of time to work out the pattern (I'm going to design it myself) and to save up my pennies for the yarn. I've decided I'm going to use Marian's Freshisle Fibers natural Suffolk wool, and while it's not expensive, a sweater's worth will be a (reasonable) investment.

The extra-cool thing about this plan is that Peter's 40th birthday is within a couple of weeks after the Olympics, so I can give him this sweater for his birthday!

I love making big plans. :D

Easter review

I think Spring has arrived at last, and I think spending a good part of the long weekend with various family members helped enormously! Good Friday we had a nice lazy day at home and then spent the evening with Mom, Dad, Karen, and Michelle, eating finger foods and watching the HORRENDOUSLY BAD (but funny as heck) Stargate: SG1 movie which just came out. Bad movie, good times. I finished the Tequila Sunrise socks and presented them to Mom, and immediately started in on sock #2 of Peter's Suffolk Wool Boot Socks.

Saturday we noodled around the house a bit and in the midafternoon headed out to the country to spend the night with Peter's brother and sister-in-law. They have a lovely place in a conservation area, so loads of birds and squirrels and bunnies and deer in the backyard. Very cool and very restful, plus a fabulous Easter dinner of baked ham with all the trimmings. Mm good.

Sunday morning watched "The World's Fastest Indian" - terrific movie, Anthony Hopkins was wonderful in it and a great (true) story. Then home again, with a stop for brunch along the way, and some chores and such before a CSI marathon. Pretty much a perfect long weekend - I even got Jake (my WoW main) to level 68!

So now, back to work yesterday and today, and even though I am stupidly busy, I'm feeling good and in control. There's lots to get done but it's manageable. AND - the air *feels* like Spring. It's still cold, and blowing, and supposed to snow a bit tonight, but I can feel the Spring coming on. Is good.

Will post pictures of the socks and deer ASAP - meanwhile, have a terrific day!

The cure for winter

The cure for winter is as follows:

Mix 9 good friends with one prima donna cat in a comfortable living room. Add finger foods in generous (but not gluttonous) amounts, sprinkle liberally with good stories and laughter. Finish with decadent desserts and hugs all round.

Winter is SO Yumi's bitch. She and Bundy kicked winter's ASS last night. What a lovely lovely party - I was having so much fun I forgot to knit.

Kudos, kiddo!

Still not spring yet...

Ok, work and money stresses aside, I think I've got a serious case of the late-winter blues. I've been home all week and the longer I am here the less I feel like doing. Haven't knit in 2 days. Haven't done laundry since the weekend. Haven't cooked a real meal since Tuesday (and that was slow-cooker cooked, so hardly counts). Been in my PJs all week (yes, I'm bathing). And I just don't FEEL like doing anything. Been playing WoW yesterday and today and today I don't really even feel like doing that (besides I have a pounding headache again today).

I am catching up on rest, yes. But I feel like a lump, torn between the need to rest and recover and the need to actually get stuff done. At the same time I'm almost at the point of not caring if it gets done, which is BAD.

So I give myself the rest of today to wallow in whatever this funk is, and tomorrow morning I'm setting my alarm and Getting Things Done, enroute to getting back to social life and work. But for right now - maybe I'll find an old movie on TV and eat some popcorn. Peter's napping so I have to be quiet anyway.

How many days til Spring?

Argh

Ok, this is going to be short and whiny. I had to frog mom's tequila sunrise sock #2 again - argh. I've got to take the rest of the week off work due to IBS flare-up of doom - argh. I can't have coffee due to the IBS so I've got an extended caffeine-deficiency headache, compounded by snow blindness every time I look out the stinkin' window. Argh ARGH ARRRGH!

That's all, I'm done. I'll be back when I'm in a better mood.

We're still here

Well, the scary weather forecasts were right, and if I look out my back window, I see snow that is up to the tops of the 5' tiki torches around our back deck. I'm trying to not look, because frankly that's just too damn much snow.

So, happy thoughts. Sunday is a new week and that calls for new perspective, so I wll take a moment to review happy things from last week:

1. I got a raise at work, and assurances that they LOVE me and never ever want me to leave. Which is nice, because things are finally getting to a point where I can't really see wanting to leave, not for a good long time anyway.
   
2. Had a lovely knitting lunch on Friday with Nancy and Kathy and Carol. Kathy is moving to Ottawa, her hubby just recently took a job at my company, so this was a "welcome-to-town" informative lunch. Nancy got a new job (yay!) and Carol finished her 2nd-ever project (1st ever FINISHED), and I worked on mom's Tequila Sunrise sock #2. A great lunch.
3. Peter, also on the work front, has been told that he's in line for a promotion of sorts (change of run from local to daily linehaul) as soon as they can get the logistics of it worked out. They LOVE him there too.
4. Leftover news - my niece is going on an archeological dig this summer in England. Hadrian's Wall! I'm beyond jealous and so very very proud of her. She's 20 and knows what she wants to do with her life. Who has that kind of certainty at that age these days?

Other happy things... ok, I admit it, I ran out. It was a rough week and today is the time change so I'm an hour less well-slept than usual. However, I get to spend all day with my hubby and that is always a happy thing!

I need to finish the 2nd Tequila Sunrise sock by the end of this week to stay on schedule - I'm almost back at the heel turning so this should not be too difficult to manage. Then on to boot sock #2!

Happy Sunday everyone.

Beware the "weather bomb"

Ok, Environment Canada and the Weather Network and all the local media outlets are conspiring to scare the bejeezus out of everyone with the upcoming weekend's forecast. Anywhere from 5-50cm of snow, wind, "storm that will make you re-think the word 'storm', " plagues of locusts, fire and brimstone... you get the idea.

Now, I admit that I am tired of winter and not a fan of blizzard-y type weather. HOWEVER - they've been tracking and "warning" about this storm for 2-3 days (since the last one, actually), and none of the numbers add up, or even come close to agreeing. It's like they're trying to cause a panic, but the kicker is THEY DON'T REALLY KNOW! Frustrating, scary, annoying - pick your negative adjective. I'm tired of it. Yes, I will pick up extra food on the way home tonight so that Peter has a full lunchbox for his overnight shift (stopping at a drive-through won't be an option, I suspect). Yes, the pot-luck of birfday goodness is being postponed a week for collective safety. However - I am not going to be panicked. I'm going to knit, and game, and cook, and blog, and watch TV like any other weekend. And I'm NOT watching the Weather Network. Phooey on them.

March - ugh

Freezing rain, snow in the forecast, and all hell breaking loose at work again. *sigh* AND I had to frog the pink sock #2 back to zero 'cuz I messed up the heel. *sigh* On the bright side, Mom wants the pink socks, so they will be a belated birthday present - she still wants the other ones for Mother's day. They suit her much better than me, anyway, and will make her happy.

Other than that, let me see... well, N8an's birthday is this week and Peter's is next week, so those are happy things (and there will be a potluck-type dinner and movie on Saturday night). And Easter is this month, so we get another long weekend soon. And my raise (whatever it will be) takes effect on the First Day of Spring! There, nice positive happy thoughts.

In like a lion, out like a lamb... only 28 days 'til the "out" part. :D