What do you jones-for this Spring?
This year my list feels bigger than usual. As a person who is visually organized, I always have lists made - ones for knitting, friends to call &/or email, lists for the house, chores to do in the garden, books to read, lists for stuff. (After reading that list, I am struck w/an omission: a list for play/fun things to do too!)
Here are some of the things on my Spring list:
~~ The garden: I want to pass-along lots of perennials & herbs & make more open space in the yard. There are many wonderful plants that I have divided & given away over the years & I want to do more of that in 2007.
~~ Exercise: I posted to Miz C that I would join her (she had joined an on-line sign up) for 100 miles of walking & I am excited about that. This starts on April 1 & goes on for three months. Walking is a great form of self-care & I need to get back to my regular exercise. I have allowed my job to take many hours of my day & while I know that I needed to do that for my 1st year of it, I want & need more time for me. While I have kept off the twenty lbs. I lost, my fitness level has diminished a bit.
~~ Spinning: Shelia asked recently if I was spinning on my cute wheel & I have to admit that I have done very little. The Robin wheel is a beauty & I do want to get back to it.
~~ Knitting: at the present time. I am in a great frame of mind for knitting & am knitting every day, even if it's only a bit. It's good to feel in the groove! The complete-my-UFO mojo is flowing.
~~ On-going clean-up: some of you all are writing about this - Jane, the aforementioned Miz C, Bess. I have done a lot over the past year & a half to move a bunch of stuff out of here & there's more to go. The basement needs more open space & I am hopeful that A & I both attend to that.
I believe that this is going to be a great season for us all.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Happy Equinox Day to you or you could say ...
Happy Eve of Spring to you ^..^
It's an exquisite day here - a sky-blue sky that is clear as can be, no clouds, a slight breeze, abundant rays of strong & warming sunshine.
Could those few inches of ice have happened only last Friday? Those blocks of ice & piles of icey snow are melting. We won't have to worry about being stuck on ice again - at least for a while.
While I love Spring, I dislike our hot, muggy Summers so it can be easy for me to pooh-pooh Spring to a degree. I am trying to change that this year. Since I am not doing full time pet sitting anymore, the summers won't find me in swelteringly hot client homes, out & about quite as much in the car as I needed to be to get to & from clients & watering many clients' gardens. There will be mine & a few particular client ones.
Although I started a small-ish project, I'll tell you about that later. Even though I had vowed to complete my UFOs, I realized that I needed some completion momentum & would be happy to begin new items as long as they are small projects. Most of them will be Dulaan items or gifts anyway so they must be exempt from the "No more stuff until I finish!" oath.
Tho't I could get by w/that juicy rationalization - as Jon Stewart says, "Maybe not."
Happy Eve of Spring to you ^..^
It's an exquisite day here - a sky-blue sky that is clear as can be, no clouds, a slight breeze, abundant rays of strong & warming sunshine.
Could those few inches of ice have happened only last Friday? Those blocks of ice & piles of icey snow are melting. We won't have to worry about being stuck on ice again - at least for a while.
While I love Spring, I dislike our hot, muggy Summers so it can be easy for me to pooh-pooh Spring to a degree. I am trying to change that this year. Since I am not doing full time pet sitting anymore, the summers won't find me in swelteringly hot client homes, out & about quite as much in the car as I needed to be to get to & from clients & watering many clients' gardens. There will be mine & a few particular client ones.
Although I started a small-ish project, I'll tell you about that later. Even though I had vowed to complete my UFOs, I realized that I needed some completion momentum & would be happy to begin new items as long as they are small projects. Most of them will be Dulaan items or gifts anyway so they must be exempt from the "No more stuff until I finish!" oath.
Tho't I could get by w/that juicy rationalization - as Jon Stewart says, "Maybe not."
Saturday, March 17, 2007
We're iced in ^..^
All day long yesterday, we had sleet - itty bitty bits of sleet, every minute of every hour. I was out & about, since it was a day off, from 9 AM to 4:30 PM doing errands - nine of them to be exact. (Remember that I am a Virgo, after all.)
That means today that the hill where I live is ice upon ice. And double D'oh on me, I parked on my street.
Damn.
And this flu-cold bug is hanging on.
Double damn.
Today will find me chillin', spending more time w/the new blog layout (it's great fun to re-do), knitting, hopefully feeling better. May or may not make it to a party this evening.
Certain aspects of the blog-rearrange are giving me problems - some things do not want to be moved. Grrrr.
All day long yesterday, we had sleet - itty bitty bits of sleet, every minute of every hour. I was out & about, since it was a day off, from 9 AM to 4:30 PM doing errands - nine of them to be exact. (Remember that I am a Virgo, after all.)
That means today that the hill where I live is ice upon ice. And double D'oh on me, I parked on my street.
Damn.
And this flu-cold bug is hanging on.
Double damn.
Today will find me chillin', spending more time w/the new blog layout (it's great fun to re-do), knitting, hopefully feeling better. May or may not make it to a party this evening.
Certain aspects of the blog-rearrange are giving me problems - some things do not want to be moved. Grrrr.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
 | My Fortune Cookie told me: Put not a pig in your poke - she really won't appreciate it! Get a cookie from Miss Fortune |
Get another Cookie from Miss Fortune
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Is April 17th that far away?
I think not. And so I saw my accountant, L, yesterday. The final tallying, note taking, asking questions & k-nashing of teeth is over. We met for almost four hours - whew. That included a long phone call to the company that holds my Roth IRA, SEP-IRA and mutual funds money so she could straighten out a boo-boo for me.
This past year was my last big year for my pet sitting business and there were a goodly number of loose ends to knot together (weave in maybe?) so I could call it a day with my self-employment status. It's the 1st year for more years than I can count that I did not feel devastated, depressed, in need of some chocolate or a glass of wine or a nap, broke and regretful about my finances.
What a difference a year makes.
For the 1st time in roughly 14 or so years, I will get a refund - I had forgotten just how damn pleasurable that is. Most of it will go into my savings account and some will be used for the purchase of something I have wanted for ages: a digital camera. Momma mia. Purlewe has volunteered to help me find the right one for me. She is an ab fab photographer as many of you know. Many of you fellow bloggers also take cool photos. Not Plain Jane & Clara, you immediately come to mind. Is there anything you want to add to our discussion about this? .
One recent calming down of life & stoking the fires of creativity occurred a couple of week-ends ago when I saw Purlewe & Sue & Miz L. for a few hours. What a way to spend a Saturday, I sez to you. Purlewe helped me wind some yarn I got from the KR Retreat 2005 Swap Table. Sadly it's a rayon mix & looks to be pretty damn iffy for my hands. My hands love wool & even wool blends. But get them near cotton, rayon, etc. & whoa Nellie, they balk, hurt & ache - all before I even knit those combos.
The good news: wool rocks.
The ucky news: there are wonderful yarns out there that I cannot use.
The good news is preferable to me.
Purlewe helped me figure out some snafus I was had w/ the Two Old Bags Two Handled Bag project which I am grateful to say I am in the final rows of - yeah, baby. I am knitting the handles & that's good news. I'll probably make another - it's a cool way to use those bits of left over wool from other projects. Since I purposefully made this one bigger than it usually is, the next one will be done as the size called for by the pattern.
Today I had a full day to myself, no clients, no work-work - just what I wanted to do & when I wanted to do it. Ah, bliss. What did I do? Many things:
~~ I vacuumed - the dust bunnies were asking for their own names & that just won't do.
~~ Laundry - what a joy to have a washer in the house, no laundromat, no trips w/said laundry. I started some spring cleaning & washed a bunch of curtains in addition to sheets & bedspreads.
~~ I organized lots of paperwork.
~~ I knitted. More of that to come this evening as I watch the DVDs of the TV show "Due South" - highly recommended to you all.
~~ I will be exercising in a few minutes when I finish this.
~~ I read the newspaper.
It's been a great day.
I think not. And so I saw my accountant, L, yesterday. The final tallying, note taking, asking questions & k-nashing of teeth is over. We met for almost four hours - whew. That included a long phone call to the company that holds my Roth IRA, SEP-IRA and mutual funds money so she could straighten out a boo-boo for me.
This past year was my last big year for my pet sitting business and there were a goodly number of loose ends to knot together (weave in maybe?) so I could call it a day with my self-employment status. It's the 1st year for more years than I can count that I did not feel devastated, depressed, in need of some chocolate or a glass of wine or a nap, broke and regretful about my finances.
What a difference a year makes.
For the 1st time in roughly 14 or so years, I will get a refund - I had forgotten just how damn pleasurable that is. Most of it will go into my savings account and some will be used for the purchase of something I have wanted for ages: a digital camera. Momma mia. Purlewe has volunteered to help me find the right one for me. She is an ab fab photographer as many of you know. Many of you fellow bloggers also take cool photos. Not Plain Jane & Clara, you immediately come to mind. Is there anything you want to add to our discussion about this? .
One recent calming down of life & stoking the fires of creativity occurred a couple of week-ends ago when I saw Purlewe & Sue & Miz L. for a few hours. What a way to spend a Saturday, I sez to you. Purlewe helped me wind some yarn I got from the KR Retreat 2005 Swap Table. Sadly it's a rayon mix & looks to be pretty damn iffy for my hands. My hands love wool & even wool blends. But get them near cotton, rayon, etc. & whoa Nellie, they balk, hurt & ache - all before I even knit those combos.
The good news: wool rocks.
The ucky news: there are wonderful yarns out there that I cannot use.
The good news is preferable to me.
Purlewe helped me figure out some snafus I was had w/ the Two Old Bags Two Handled Bag project which I am grateful to say I am in the final rows of - yeah, baby. I am knitting the handles & that's good news. I'll probably make another - it's a cool way to use those bits of left over wool from other projects. Since I purposefully made this one bigger than it usually is, the next one will be done as the size called for by the pattern.
Today I had a full day to myself, no clients, no work-work - just what I wanted to do & when I wanted to do it. Ah, bliss. What did I do? Many things:
~~ I vacuumed - the dust bunnies were asking for their own names & that just won't do.
~~ Laundry - what a joy to have a washer in the house, no laundromat, no trips w/said laundry. I started some spring cleaning & washed a bunch of curtains in addition to sheets & bedspreads.
~~ I organized lots of paperwork.
~~ I knitted. More of that to come this evening as I watch the DVDs of the TV show "Due South" - highly recommended to you all.
~~ I will be exercising in a few minutes when I finish this.
~~ I read the newspaper.
It's been a great day.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Rising Stars Seminar
Last week my employer sent three very cool colleagues and me to a seminar called
"Polish Your Rising Stars" Seminar. (FYI: Blogger is not keying into the web address for this site so I'll write it out - http://web.mac.com/aseidner/iWeb/risingstars/home.html
If you have problems w/the access of it, drop me a comment & I'll give you more info about it. Sorry about this!)
Ohmygawd - you can look up fabulous, terrific, professional, awesome, empowering, life changing - any of these words in the dictionary & you will read about this seminar & the three talented professionals who led it. If you or anyone you know is involved in the healthy foods business or produce or a co-op, tell them about this group & the seminars. I promise you those folks will come away as better employees/workers and will be big fans of the seminars as my colleagues and I were.
We worked for three full days in the seminar - we had presentations by Mark,Carolee and/or Allen along with small group discussions, role playing activities, workbook activities, slide presentations,verbal presentations, group brain storming and list making.
While I worry that I will not be able to do justice to what went on there, let me just say that I feel more passionate, better prepared, more jazzed, less burnt out & more intelligently prepared to do my job. My view is more panoramic that it was. My abilities to deal w/the colleagues in my work area/department have been increased & I have a better handle on what needs to be done. I am indebted to these three folks & to my employer for all I learned & I know I'll reap the benefits for a long, long time.
There were attendees from Montana, Virginia, Maryland, CT, Wisconsin, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania - I'm probably forgetting some others.
The food was extraordinary - we had the options of vegan, vegetarian & meat entrees. Lots of fresh fruit & veggies. The coffee served was from Equal Exchange. There were soups, salads, wraps, guacamole, dips, cookies, spritzer. Although I did not make a total piggy out of myself, I ate more than I usually do.
Can my regular exercise program be too far away? I need to get back to that in such a big way!
My colleagues & I drove every day to Cherry Hill, NJ which is about 45 or so minutes away. I enjoyed spending time w/ these three folks - our pact: what is said in the car stays in the car. That's a good thing.
This conference expanded my work week into for a six day one - yep, I was somewhat tuckered. I am also very excited & in a mode to be encouraged and to dream big - to dream for my job, for myself, for my department, for my job site.
Last week my employer sent three very cool colleagues and me to a seminar called
"Polish Your Rising Stars" Seminar. (FYI: Blogger is not keying into the web address for this site so I'll write it out - http://web.mac.com/aseidner/iWeb/risingstars/home.html
If you have problems w/the access of it, drop me a comment & I'll give you more info about it. Sorry about this!)
Ohmygawd - you can look up fabulous, terrific, professional, awesome, empowering, life changing - any of these words in the dictionary & you will read about this seminar & the three talented professionals who led it. If you or anyone you know is involved in the healthy foods business or produce or a co-op, tell them about this group & the seminars. I promise you those folks will come away as better employees/workers and will be big fans of the seminars as my colleagues and I were.
We worked for three full days in the seminar - we had presentations by Mark,Carolee and/or Allen along with small group discussions, role playing activities, workbook activities, slide presentations,verbal presentations, group brain storming and list making.
While I worry that I will not be able to do justice to what went on there, let me just say that I feel more passionate, better prepared, more jazzed, less burnt out & more intelligently prepared to do my job. My view is more panoramic that it was. My abilities to deal w/the colleagues in my work area/department have been increased & I have a better handle on what needs to be done. I am indebted to these three folks & to my employer for all I learned & I know I'll reap the benefits for a long, long time.
There were attendees from Montana, Virginia, Maryland, CT, Wisconsin, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania - I'm probably forgetting some others.
The food was extraordinary - we had the options of vegan, vegetarian & meat entrees. Lots of fresh fruit & veggies. The coffee served was from Equal Exchange. There were soups, salads, wraps, guacamole, dips, cookies, spritzer. Although I did not make a total piggy out of myself, I ate more than I usually do.
Can my regular exercise program be too far away? I need to get back to that in such a big way!
My colleagues & I drove every day to Cherry Hill, NJ which is about 45 or so minutes away. I enjoyed spending time w/ these three folks - our pact: what is said in the car stays in the car. That's a good thing.
This conference expanded my work week into for a six day one - yep, I was somewhat tuckered. I am also very excited & in a mode to be encouraged and to dream big - to dream for my job, for myself, for my department, for my job site.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Bess, you have inspired ...
me yet again. Mr. Horoscope is right on for me for this week. How does this fit for the other Virgos in the audience?
Mercury is now 'stationary' once more. It is standing still this week. Mercury is your ruler. If it is going nowhere, can we say the same of you? Absolutely not! Mercury is stopping to think, changing its mind and renewing its power. We're all just getting over this weekend's stunning eclipse of the Moon in your sign that millions watched in awe. Now, here comes more cosmic evidence to support the assertion that you're more in control of your own destiny now than you have been in months. Or years.
me yet again. Mr. Horoscope is right on for me for this week. How does this fit for the other Virgos in the audience?
Mercury is now 'stationary' once more. It is standing still this week. Mercury is your ruler. If it is going nowhere, can we say the same of you? Absolutely not! Mercury is stopping to think, changing its mind and renewing its power. We're all just getting over this weekend's stunning eclipse of the Moon in your sign that millions watched in awe. Now, here comes more cosmic evidence to support the assertion that you're more in control of your own destiny now than you have been in months. Or years.
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