Pawing through the knitting bags ...

Knitting bags are wonderful: I own quite a few Crazy Lanea bags (love them!)& they are holding, at this moment, some valued WIPs. One is a scarf for Girl M, another holds a sock from Spirit Trail superwash for me. I had started on a scarf with a beautiful fingering Claudia Handpaint & my hands were fairly immediately not happy. Somehow what I was knitting w/it & w/the needles I chose turned out to be the wrong combo. That was frogged & I will try it again another time. The 2nd Fuzzy Feet is almost done (after a handful of years - ye gads!)& I am eager to do more knitting with big needles & chunk-a-rama yarns. That seems to be what my hands are wanting this week & knitting without pain is a beautiful thing.

At work I have been spending lots of time at my desk on our computer. That coupled with the fingering weight skein have sent my hands into pain-land.

It's time for income tax preparation & I am making friends with good ol' Turbo Tax 2011. Wish me luck ^ .. ^

Happy 2010 to you!

We wish you joy, creativity, good books to read, fabulous coffee or tea or wine or whatever to drink, extraordinary yarn for your knitting, lotssa time to knit, time for yourself & time for those you love, superb health, work that satisifies you & pays you well &, of course, love & XOXO.

Happy March to you.

Yep, we're into March already. Holy shit, friends. So, how in the hell are ya?

A recap for us:
~~ The house inspection went very well. Some things to do, some things to contemplate. Very good thing to do when you are thinking of selling a house: pay a good inspector to come in & examine your house - better to know up front what you will hear later from a prospective buyer's inspector.
~~ Cleaning up & out: SJ & I have spent time in review of my stuff - i.e. what to keep, what goes, what to pass on, etc. It's a beautiful thing to do.
~~ In touch w/ Dad as often as possible - Mom is not well & it's pretty rugged.
~~ Knitting - ah, knitting.
Am almost done w/ the Two Old Bags Double-Handled Project Bag (on end of last two handles & then I will felt it. It is my 1st felted project! Am working on a 2nd one, the Constant Companion Bag from KNITTER'S STASH, & am done w/ the body of it.). I am working on SJ's 2nd sock (on leg part) & her scarf (a few more inches & it's time to block).
Last week I reviewed all the bags of UFOs or WIPs, whatever you choose to call them, & decided to put more things on the back burner. They went into the basement totes. The totes are sorted by type of yarn or designated projects: projects for SJ, M & M; socks; lacey yarns; mohair; scarves, hats & mittens; possible felted projects; projects for me (as a long time quilter who made nada for myself, this is a biggie that I plan to knit for moi!); & one of skeins that will become scarves or mitts. My treasured pal, Purlewe, is skilled at many things - one of them is this: she made bee-ute-full scarves last year by combining individual skeins from her stash. I have lots of these skeins that would make lovely projects if they could be combined w/ a fellow yarn. And since I need assistance w/them (do you ever work on something for a while & feel that it's become too frustrating & endless?), I will ask Sweet Purlewe for some help. I also have some yarns ready to donate to the KR Retreat & some to donate to friends.
~~ And in the midst of all this, work gets busier, of course, & I have been felled by a flu-ish bug a couple of times.

So, how have you been? Whatcha doin'?

President Obama
Don't you just love the sound of that?

What a beautiful day Tuesday was. Part of the beauty involved watching a helicopter fly away, out of our sight - yes, this whirlybird carried W & Laura away.

While I worked all day, I did tape as much of the day as a VCR tape would hold. There are many blog posts about this great day - The Tangled Web & Bossy Little Dog are two of my faves. (Please see the sidebar for the links.) We hold respect, good wishes & much hope in our hearts & heads as we watch our courageous, smart & ambitious new President & Vice President take their offices, sleeves rolled up & ready to get down to it.

On a personal note, I took a tumble yesterday on a patch of ice on an icy street. Our chiropractor, Dr. Ted, was the 1st one I called as I wanted to see him ASAP. (Drove there straight away & he took great care of me - as he always does. If you live in my area & want a recommendation of a great chiropractor to see, let me know - we love Ted!) Then I called SJ - got to have some empathy from my sweetheart. I was chauffeured to the ER today by SJ for wrist xrays. My left wrist is sprained badly & I have a very swollen hand & fingers. It's wrapped & I will be doing ice packs, elevation of the arm & hand & as much rest as I can. And I hope I will be able to knit soon - I have been in a groove w/ my projects & besides that, damn it, I want to knit!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!!!

Craziness at the holidays? What craziness? Re said nuttiness, at least I am not working 60 hour work weeks this year ^ .. ^ Am closer to 50 to 55 & am OK w/ that. That's a beautiful thing.

To those of you who will be flying & driving over the holidays, let's be careful out there. Re the road emergencies & weather, the weather folks seem to hype what we might get here in Philly & it is so bogus. Yes, we will have a worse winter than last year - how could we not when we had only 6" of snow last winter?!

Re packages, cards & presents, have done only 1 card & that was to the folks. (Will be doing a January trip to see them - keep your good tho'ts working toward that one - a visit to the parental units is not something I look forward to at all!) Am doing almost no present buying or giving. There's just a bit that SJ & I are doing w/ each other & we'll do smallish stuff for M & M. We have bought modest things for SJ's brother, sister & their families. Those boxes have not been mailed yet. Oh well, they will get there, just late ^ .. ^ Perhaps next year things will be on time or, gasp, early.

Re the house, I had decided to take some time away from working to ready it for sale. It's been a wise move as I have worked some long days & been on my feet far longer than I usually am. Oh, a good foot massage would be so fine right about now! I will get back to the house projects soon: putting the spare bedroom back together & rearranging it - it is really just a "study" as I have it - & finishing off cleaning out & straightening up of the basement. Then I will have a house inspector here to do a pre-inspection, meet w/ the Realtor & clean the house as well as it can be cleaned. Then it's up for sale!

For my job, it feels good to be in the last period of extreme work effort for 2008. Sales are modest, for this time of year, in the areas that are usually pretty strong. Folks are not spending lots & luckily I had counted on that. Since the late summer/early fall, I had been conservative w/ what I have purchased & had made my purchasing decisions after a process that included lots of tho't about the store w/ a mind toward a plan to have practical items, fairly priced items & some one of a kind items (jewelry which we have on consignment & only pay for what we sell plus some clothing that we either have on consignment or have from a company that allows us to return what we don't sell). We had an early-mid November sale w/ many items that we picked from our housewares that, over the last few months, had turned into slow sellers. We had pretty candles, a wide array of calenders, cool toys & puzzles, pretty holiday cards, the ever popular Baggallini line, neat cooking & baking items. We'll just see what happens when the holiday season is over. This is my 3rd holiday for this job & I learned a lot about more about the holidays which is a beautiful thing. There's always more to learn in any job, I think. My colleagues in my department have worked hard & done beautiful displays. I am pleased w/ what they have done & am appreciative for their fine work.

To you all who are near & far, I wish you a joyful holiday - may folks treat each other w/ tenderness, generosity & good humor - may your travels be safe - may 2009 be kind & loving for you. Thanks for dropping by, good to have you here.

How do & welcome to the end of August ^ .. ^

Almost every year my father will say to me, on my b'day, "Honey, time goes by faster every year." This summer surely feels like that - was that true for you as well?

Highlights of my summer are ...
~~ time w/ SJ, M & M
~~ work here on the house w/ clearing out "stuff" (more to go) & reorganizing what is still here
~~ job stuff went well in my department & sales are up - a good thing in our current economy
~~ progress on my knitting UFOs altho' it doesn't seem like I will finish as many of them as I had hoped
~~ a week at Journey's End Farm Family Camp w/ SJ, M & M (please go to www.journeysendfarm.org or see the "special to me" link on the sidebar - my computer is not allowing me to insert a link) - ohmygawd, I believe it's the best vacation I ever had!

How has your summer been?

During a conversation earlier today ...
w/ wonderful, sweet Anj, we discussed some of the folks we know who currently are dealing w/ lots of rough & tumble life events. Bet you know some folks too who are going through times that test the sturdiness of their souls. Hearts that are broken, tough job & economic events, recovery from health challenges.
Whew.
We've all had times like these - what a good time it is to check in w/ friends who are needing a call or a note or an email.
Thanks, Anj, for the reminder.

What's new in Marfa-land ...
My summer has rocked in a most profound & fabulous way. My eye doc is pretty damn thrilled w/ how my eyes are: my vision is 20/25 (imagine 20/1000 w/the cataracts & about 20/800ish before them). It's a new day for me, vision wise. Need glasses only for reading. Woo hoo.
Work is good:
~We hired a new "assistant" in my department & she seems good so far (knock wood).
~My sales for the business year vs. the prior year showed a 24% increase in one area, 11% in another & 1% in the 3rd one. While the last area is still in the plus column, 1% is not much. The others are excellent however.
~I had my review this past week & was encouraged, by our one of the Managers & away from earshot of the other Manager who helmed the review, to ask for a big raise. Send me some good tho'ts w/this please.
~Natalie & Jeremy's vet is happy w/their last check up & things seem
to be on track w/them.
~Not much knitting over the past 3+ months. Am missing it however & have stared to get back in the groove w/it. Am working on a pair of toe up socks - on the ribbing of the 1st - & on my Knitting Pure & Simple V-neck sweater. Am on the middle of the 2nd sleeve. After that, I need to finish off the neck & block it. Can't wait.
~Am working on the garden - am culling, making some space, planning to pass-along as many plants as I can.
It's been a terrific summer so far - my best in many years ^ .. ^

Where did the month of June go?
It is amazing to me that June is almost gone. We are just a bit away from the last day of the fiscal year for my job & my employer.
Ta da, that means that our inventory will be very very important & the auditors will be in after the inventory to verify the info from our data.
Work has been pretty full - we have a new person & we have been training her. Fingers are crossed!
And while I have been doing that, I have playing catch up w/ my parts of my job.
Outside of work, I have been spending time w/ folks I adore, some gardening, organizing & culling my old pet sitting files as well as personal files, getting ready to work on more projects in the basement, preparing to do some house projects.
And knitting? There has been such little knitting that I don't think I can lay credit for doing any at all.
I am pleased to say that my right eye cataract surgery was this past Wednesday & it went well. I saw my knitting eye doc the next AM & she told me that everything was healing "perfectly." My left eye was operated on a month ago & she's very pleased w/ how it has healed. I will see her in a month for another exam for my right eye.
How fabulous it is to need glasses for just reading.
It's a whole new world ^ .. ^

The "I" Word
"I" is for Interesting & it's a word I like & use a lot. Right now, it feels like the word to use for some of what is going on for me. There's good news too. I'll mix up the two & you can see how things are interesting & good all at the same time.
It's beneficial to have a job that has health insurance attached to it. If you are a Catherine fan as I am & you read her extraordinary blog, you know about health challenges & insurance.
It's good to take care of one's health & when new challenges arise, it's good to have great care.
It's interesting to be among the 1st of your peeps to need to have a health procedure done.
When I was a sophomore in high school (we're talking 1965-ish), I had my ears pierced. It's probably about the only thing that I ever did that put me in the "front" group of my peers - other than that, I have been a late bloomer. My good pal, Cheri, was always ahead of me & w/ our ear piercing, that was true as well.
Now, in my mid 50s, something has come up that will put me out there ahead of my peer group: I am scheduled for cataract surgery. Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you ^..^
My left eye will be the 1st to be done. A number of years ago, my opthamologist told me that I had the start of cataracts. Oh dear, that was a surprise. When I saw him for the next couple of eye exams, Dr. G would say, "They're growing - one's ahead of the other." I switched eye doc offices & recently saw the optometrist for my initial exam. My records from the other office had not yet arrived in spite of my best efforts. So I told Dr. K, as well as I could, about my eye history, including the cataract situation.
After the exam, reviewing my old prescriptions for my glasses & contacts, he came back in & said "We cannot correct your vision to the point that we could make you happy. You need to have cataract surgery." Apparently there are cataracts that can begin early, like in our 20s - 30s & these are different than the ones that folks in their 70s have.
"Oh dear," I said, following it up w/ "Holy shit." He laughed.
He said that I could talk w/ one of the opthamologists there if I wanted (you betcha!), I said yes & he asked one of them to come into the exam room after he briefed her about my eyes. They spoke just outside the exam room to discuss my situation. A couple of years ago I had met one of the docs from this practice at my beloved LYS, the Tangled Web, - she impressed me as an accomplished, fabulous knitter. I held my breath & then in she walked - it was her - the knitting doc walked into my exam room. She's one of us, I tho't. Dr. W is a knitter.
I exhaled & knew I'd be OK, my eyes will be in the hands of a woman who is knitting one of the most beautiful Fair Isle sweaters you have ever seen. (She brought it in to show me before I worked w/the surgery schedulers. "I sat in the parking lot to finish a few more rows before I came into work this AM, " she shared.)
Yes, I do have some nervous butterflies & OK, so it's a tad light to think that things will go well just 'cause she's a knitter. There is just the feeling that I will be OK.
This is going to be a fabulous summer. I have almost never ever looked forward to a Philly summer - they are among the worst on the planet - I can honestly say at this moment that I am so excited about this summer.
~~ I will be working one full time job, not two.
~~ I am having more fun this year than I did last year.
~~ I am in the mood to have a "skirt" summer - I want to wear more skirts this year & while shopping w/my pal, P, recently bought a $60.00 black silk skirt for $30.00 & guess what, it's a size Small - woo hoo! That's great for me!
~~ I will have better eye sight. My eyes used to be 20/500 to maybe /800. That means that what I could see at 20 feet, a normal sighted person could see at 500 to 800 feet. W/ the cataracts right now my eyes are about 20/1000. And hopefully after the surgery, my vision will be somewhere around 20/40 & I'll need glasses only for reading.
Can you believe that? I have been wearing glasses since I was in 3rd grade. This means I will be able to wake up & see the face of the alarm clock & I can wake up & actually see my toes. Wow.
And the doc is a knitter.
It's going to be a great summer! First surgery will be toward the end of May & the other, at the end of June. I'll be asking for your good tho'ts then, if you're willing.
I am thinking of song titles that will bring some humor to all of this - "I can see clearly now" is one. "Tommy" is another. Let me know if you have any ideas.