You say it's the new year? We have been coughing our way through it: I have bronchitis & Sweet J, a sinus infection & wicked cough. It's gotta get better. Like many of you, I love turning the calendar page & thinking of the possibilities that lie ahead in addition to the year we had. In no certain order, for 2013: ++ love more, fret less. ++ listen with elephant ears to hear more. ++ tap the creative juices in all avenues of my life: sew a baby quilt for a dear pal's new daughter, knit & knit more FOs, make another sweater for me (finish the one I am doing & begin one from some beloved Briar Rose yarn). ++ have calm knitting to do plus knitting to excite my little gray cells. ++ make my knitting ADD work for me in a more positive way. ++ gather my friends around me more ++ aim to see the sun set as many days as I can - I do love sunsets. ++ attend a regular knitting group. ++ love my beloved Sweet J & her kids in as many ways & as often as I can. It feels good to say good-bye to 2012 & the losses we suffered: so much gun violence, hit & run fatalities, the fire to a much adored pal's home-to-be, the so-called cliffs we almost went over. The beauty was there too - Clara's Great White Bale, our friends' new daughter, Boy M doing some really good stuff in college classes, Girl M rowing for the crew team & being awesome & strong, Dad getting though a bout of pneumonia & being on the mend, Girl Cat Natalie pulling through some health problems that could have gone the other direction, some long time pals welcoming the 1st grandbaby, President Obama & VP Biden's 2nd term (my home state of Ohio putting them over the top - I do love Ohio at times like this!). Wishing you joyful noises, peace, prosperity & good health.

What a month July was!

While it seemed like it flew by, it also felt so FULL of events, experiences & things to review, ponder, process, decide upon/about & then act on, that it seemed like a long month.

And here it is, August 2.

We got a new-to-us car & used to the rest of the world: a 2002 Honda Civic, almost 62,000 miles. Our ace mechanic gave it his OK.

The house was bid upon by 3 folks, we accepted one bid & the house was inspected & reported about to us. Her idea of what she should be paid did not jive w/ anyone else, we declined & countered. She said no. We went back to square one. A nice amount of folks have come by - let's say that good luck charm again & cross those fingers & thumbs.

We have a bid on a house & are negotiating.

Natalie & Jeremy had their health/vet check-ups. Both are well! I had a physical - ditto for me!

Whoa & yiyiyi, it's going to be some August!

Dad is doing well. We speak twice a day & whenever possible, SJ talks w/him. He thinks SJ is perfect - you gotta love this guy for his good taste ^ .. ^

Knitting whenever possible. I am spurred on by the need to chill, to be ready for the NY Sheep & Wool Festival & to be ready as well for the Knitter's Review Retreat. Ahhh, October & November are two fav months as I am able to see my sweet pals. To be around them is how part of my heaven here on earth looks.

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 ^ .. ^

You Are: 60% Dog, 40% Cat

You are a nice blend of cat and dog. You're playful but not too needy. And you're friendly but careful. And while you have your moody moments, you're too happy to stay upset for long.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Pet Food Recalls
This site offers news about some of the latest pet food recalls - a former pet sitting colleague just sent it to me.
Just in case the link is not working (it was not working for me last week), here it is in a written form:
http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/

Overall ...
I have to say that things are OK here. The job keeps me busy, keeps me thinking, keeps me in the position of learning more new things & stretching my brain, can keep me in the cranky chair w/some of our shoppers (I work on vacating that cranky chair as quickly as I can although some times it is tough tough tough), keeps my bank account in a better place than my pet sitting career did. Still have a Sunday through Thursday work week although I do have an occasional Friday or Saturday shift. At the end of February I will attend a 3 day workshop for work in southern New Jersey.
Outside of the full time work, I do still see a few pet sitting clients - kept just a handful of households. It's nice extra money, I love the kitties & the folks, they treated me well & that matters in the big scheme of life for me.
Current ways to spend the days off & time away from sittings:
~~ knitting. You knew that, right? I have such a gigantic amount of yarn for future projects. Have a ton of projects I am working on & so many more I want to do. We have a weekly management team meeting & I keep a knitting bag at work that contains my current Dulaan project that I work on at every meeting.
~~ reading. Have been on a bit of a binge of lining up the next books I want to read - aren't there just so many great books to read? It's too easy for me to pick only mystery novels to read. Recently I finished PROMISE ME by Harlan Coben (a mystery book). Currently I am reading EPITAPH FOR A PEACH, FOUR SEASONS ON MY FAMILY FARM by David Mas Masumoto & also am reading (on the 2nd story) THE LIVES OF ROCKS, STORIES by Rick Bass. He is a fantastic short story writer, he also writes lyric nonfiction books. Still a library book borrower & volunteer at the Library, spending a couple or three hours there a week, spread out over Monday & Wednesday evenings after work & on Friday & Saturdays during the day.
~~ organizing/cleaning out/rearranging the house & basement. This is a relatively smallish row house - it can only hold so much. Don't know if I am deluding myself that I don't have a ton of stuff (you know - I can compare myself to others & rationalize that I really don't have that much stuff.) Did some major rearranging of the living room in after T'giving w/the help of a close pal, SB, who is an ab fab decorator.
~~ helping some friends clean out their houses & apartments. I chauffeur, whisking away those boxes & bags, finding homes for the unwanted & un-needed things. For example, a retirement home has been the recipient of a goodly number of houseplants from my pal C as she down sizes her plant collection. An almost new box of syringes went to a wildlife rehab facility from her - they had been purchased to help her late husband w/some of his meds as he was ill w/ ALS.
~~ trying to get enough sleep. Do we all battle this? There's always a bigger to-do list than there are hours in the day & I find that I can always stay up late, doing chores, working on the computer, watching bad TV - fill-in the blanks w/whatever. Have been trying to sleep well & rest.
Natalie & Jeremy are, knock wood, well. She is being seen on a regular basis for treatment for a low potassium level by our fabulous vet, Dr. Small, & is on daily meds.
Here's my pitch for your creative knitting suggestions. At the 2006 Retreat from the swap table/lounge I got a hank of Fleece Artist Hand Dyed Blue Face Leicester DK, 450/250 grams. It's dyed in an array of dark magentas & pinks. I would like to do something for me - a cool scarf, some w/lace maybe, an interesting pattern, a shawl of some sort. Ideas? And what size needle for this great stuff? I am less of a tight knitter than I was a few years ago - thank goodness, it's better for me, my hands & my knitting. Would love to have your tho'ts please.