Friday Update

Because so many of you were kind enough to ask, here’s the word from the doctor this morning:

She said pre-cancerous means that the spot they got is all set – no need for more work on it. But, I have three more smaller ones that look like the larger one, so they will come off at the end of the month. A got a good look at them, and so she will look for more on me like them. Hopefully, there aren’t any.

Other updates – stopped at the PO this morning and got my mystery box from Rachel at All Night Knitter… HOLY COW!!! Rachel, this box is amazing! You totally went crazy, and I will love using it ALL. And silly as this may seem – the scissors are perfect, because I can take them in my carry-on bag when I go to Phoenix next week! I was trying to figure out how I would bring the knitting with no scissors. I was going to buy some when I got there. As for all the rest, I will really enjoy using it and thinking about how generous you were to send it all to me. I confess though – never done a ruffle scarf – it says the instructions are inside the wrapper – will it tell me all I need to know?

And just in case you didn’t know it already – all boxes that come into our house are subject to cat scans. Zumba loves to sleep in them. Tigger loves what Zumba loves. She might be older, but she is a typical little sister.

We had a nice time at the Stonington Farmer’s Market – got some heavenly peaches, fabulous chocolates, lots of bread and baked goods. Got to check in with Pat, the Island Community Center director, and thank her for letting me do taxes there again this coming winter. She is such a cheerful, peppy person, I love working with her.

Sadly, no crabmeat at the fish truck, and the shrimp dip lady wasn’t there. But we still managed to spend a lot and get some goodies. Turned out we had so many goodies, we didn’t stop for lunch, but came home, called and reserved a small SUV for the weekend – no trucks available, but we got one for next weekend – and made a stop at Lowe’s for a couple of big new trash barrels for the cellar workshop. I also found some glass tiles for the tray I am working on. It was tough though – why is everything so BEIGE in the big stores? I understand that beige is popular, but it is not the ONLY color for tiles. Someone should tell Lowe’s and Home Depot. Grocery store on the way home from that trip, and I think we are home for the evening!

A is making me supper tonight – not sure why but I am not arguing. Homemade turkey and cheese paninis. On farmers market oatmeal bread. Yum….

Friday List

A and I are both starting a week’s vacation today, so she is joining me on this list.  It’s great to have her along!

 This morning we will head to Ellsworth early:

Stop at the Post Office on the way to pick up the giveaway package that is waiting there for me, from All night Knitter – can’t wait!

Then it is too the doctor to have my stitches out and learn the ramifications of “pre-cancerous” and what it means for all the similar but small bits on my back.

Following that, we go to breakfast somewhere – of the take out variety, on our way to Stonington. I haven’t been to Stonington yet this summer, and I love their farmers market.  I think today is the last one of the season, so I put it on the must do list. It was harder to convince A that this is what she wanted to do, I had to promise a really good lunch.  Luckily, there are many choices down there this time of year.

After lunch, we wander back up off the island, up the peninsula and into the real world.

Stop by the vet’s to get some wormer for Tigger, who sadly has shown some signs of worms.  The downside of being a good mouser.

I’ll also need to either go back to the PO or stop at the one in Ellsworth, to mail off the package to my give-away winner.  The goodies are all made, wrapped and boxed.  Just have to get to the PO when the desk is open.  Gets tough in rural America with all the cuts, but that is another story.

Somewhere in here we also have to call Down East Toyota rentals and see if they have a truck for us to rent for the weekend, and if they do, we then have to run to the town office in Bucksport to get a temporary dump permit, and then to Bangor to get the truck.

 I’ll have my knitting with me, never fear!

So it will be a day of mixed messages – chores and vacation activities.

Another award? This is my lucky week!

Denise from the Wonder of Yarrow house nominated me for a Liebster Award. She likes my Friday lists and photos – well, thank you very much, Denise!

Now, if I could figure out how to display the award on my blog, she would know that I have been nominated before, so I am going to cheat. I’ll answer her questions, but I am not going to nominate more blogs – the chain will stop with me, sadly – but that is because I follow a whole lot of blogs and I love them all. I AM going to give a special shout out to Hannah at Not Your Average Crochet (http://notyouraveragecrochet.com/) who has way too many followers for a Liebster Award, but is doing such a great job with the blanket CAL that I want to recognize her for that.

However, because I appreciate Denise’s nomination so much, I will answer her questions. But first, let me say – these are hard!!! How did you ever come up with them?

Here we go:

What is your favorite word?
I love words. I once worked with a guy who made them up, and he didn’t know it. We used to crack up at the things he said, and he was good natured enough to laugh along. The best one? “Demolate.” Definition (that we made up based on context) is “to demolish a building by detonating an incendiary device.” Makes sense, doesn’t it?

What is the one word that describes you the most? Today? Cranky. Usually? Friendly.

What do you consider your strongest belief? What we do matters.

What is your secret indulgence? Denise – I have a blog. Nothing is secret. 🙂 I am very good about indulging myself, but the one I love that I don’t get very often is ROOM SERVICE! Man, I love that…. they bring what you want to eat, you get to eat it in your PJs and then the dishes are whisked away.

What brings you peace? Lots of things. My wife. My cats. My home. Knitting. Fridays!

What senses do you cherish the most? Interesting question. I have often thought about this one. Would I rather be deaf or blind? Blind means no driving, no reading, much harder to do some of my favorite crafts. But deaf means no conversations, becoming disconnected from much of the world around me. No music. I could live without taste, without smell (sometimes that could be a blessing!) But I think touch wins it all. I can’t imagine not being able to touch or feel.

If you could be a superhero what would your power be? Make money. Think of the programs I could fund with an unending supply of money! I could fund health research, I could fund my beloved Community Action, I could build houses. I could feed people. It would be amazing.

Why do you blog about your topic? Oh-ho, did A put you up to this? I started the blog because I wanted to talk to people about what I was up to (big surprise there, huh?) I really originally thought it would be a way to talk to my nieces and nephew and friends about what I was doing, making, rather than write letters, etc. (laziness!) But none of the kids follow me! Well, maybe younger C does now, I am not sure. And only one friend. How strange is that? But in the meantime, I have found a whole lot of people who do care what I am up to, and what I am making, thinking, reading. So it has worked in ways I would never have imagined. And A just doesn’t get it. She wonders if she is not providing “something” that I need. She is, but she really could care less about a good yarn or knitting pattern. As I could care less about a good router bit. But I still love her. Oh, you are getting to that, aren’t you?

What’s one thing that you desire to have everyday? Healthy Retirement

What defines love to you? Denise, I have no idea. I really love A and my family. I love to watch how they think, what they do, I get absorbed in it. But to me, really, love is about being there, being committed, following through, being reliable. It’s not about Valentine’s Day, it’s about every day.

Am I lucky, or what?

Lately it seems that lots of blogs I follow are offering give-aways. Like surveys, I can’t resist’em.

But I don’t usually win them any more than I win the lottery.

So imagine my surprise when this week I heard that I won not one, but TWO of them?

Rachel at All Night Knitterhttp://allnightknitter.wordpress.com/ ran a give-away to celebrate her hundredth post and great Etsy shops. And Claire from Mollie & Claire http://mollieandclaire.wordpress.com/ ran a give-away from her yarn stash – I think, just because she could.

I am just thrilled to be the winner in both of these, and I can’t wait to see my prizes!

Now, to run out and buy a lottery ticket….

PS and yes, I know, I have not mailed Diane (http://dianelaces.wordpress.com/) her prize-winning package from my own give-away, but I can say that the gifts it will contain are now about 95% percent complete. I think I will be able to get it in the mail in the next day or so. Hang in there, Diane!

Sunny Sunday

Ya know, this whole stay out of the sun thing is going to bring me down. It is a beautiful day for floating in the pool reading my book, and I can’t do it. I could cover my elf from head to toe and get in and scoop out the leaves, which is nice and relaxing, but I can’t really go swimming yet,until I get the stitches out, and I sure can’t float around in the sun anymore. At least until I hear that the big thing on my back is harmless. And I haven’t heard that yet, so I am a little cranky.

I called (twice) on Friday, and the office finally got back to me to say the results weren’t in. that sounds kind of fishy to me, and so I will follow up Monday morning. She said it would take a week, L, our ex-lab tech, said they would have results in a couple of days. So I am frustrated and growing more nervous.

Which means I should sit and do crafts. 🙂 I have been doing that today. I worked on making a couple of cards, and I hung up the collage I made when C was here, and I started my next craft project, which is a tray. It might get a tiled bottom, or it might just be a painting project, not sure yet. Depends if I can find the tile i want. In Martha Stewart Living quite a while ago, I saw a tray she made where she popped out some tiles and replaced them with sea glass. As I have BUCKET loads of the stuff, I have always wanted to do it. I was left alone at AC Moore on Friday (he he he ) and they had some small wooden trays, so I thought now is a good time to try it.

They had a whole lot of other stuff, too, so I got some Halloween ribbon (can you believe it is almost Halloween? It must, be the stores are full of goblins and candies. What happened to September?) and a cute rubber stamp of a row of houses, and a bunch of other things I “needed” which I am sure you will be seeing signs of eventually.

What I did not find, and maybe all of you savvy crafters can help me with is the yarn I can visualise but not find. It has to be washable, and it should feel nice, but other than that, I don’t care what it is made of. It should be Dk or worsted weight. Here’s the hard part. I want three colorways that look nice together – a burgundy, a navy, and a hunter green. Then, I want at least one variegated yarn that also goes with these colors. Ideally, I want three variegated yarns, one with greens, one with blues, one with burgundies. Then, I want a neutral that goes with all – either a gray or a cream, I think. Apparently, this is hard to find in Bangor, ME. I can find the solids, but the variegateds I find don’t match, and I haven’t yet found the two-colored variegated I want. All of this is to make A a CAL blanket. I don’t want to do it with less than 7 colors, and she is fussy and wants those particular colors. I might have to cave and not let her have all three, if I can’t find a variegated that will work with them all. I suspect I could find it all in dear old Lamb’s Pride, but keeping it clean and cat free is going to mean lots of washing, which would felt the Lamb’s Pride very quickly. So I will keep searching. If any of you have tips, please let me know!

So. I did manage the whole Friday list on Friday – and we had a really nice time visiting A’s Aunt N. she’s a hoot, and we heard some new stories about people in A’s family. Met two fo her great grandsons, who live in her basement apartment. They are cute little boys, and very fun. We are so glad that they live there, and so Aunt N is not alone, as she is getting a bit befuddled.

I have almost finished the bundle of things for Diane, the winner of my 100 followers giveaway. Some of it is taking longer than I thought,a ndshe probably thinks it was all a hoax, but it isn’t! Really! 🙂

I suppose I had better get upstairs and finish things up so I can mail them soon, huh? Take advantage of A going into the office for a few hours.

But first – I finished my book group book, the Burgess Boys. I really enjoyed it, even though some of it was hard to read, it definitely is making me think about what it would be like to be a refuge in a country where I did not speak the language nor understand the customs. She really captured what some parts of life in Maine are like, although I don’t live near Lewiston/Auburn where the large Somali refugee population is, so I don’t know if that is right, but it felt genuine. I’ll be interested to hear wha the other book group ladies think of it.

Now, I am going to do a bit of crocheting or something, then head upstairs.

Here are a few photos of things going on around here lately. Sorry they are blurry/crooked – blame the screen and old hands.

But you can see why I rarely need to prune anything in the yard!

The collage installed.

Cute little creatures, as long as they stay out of the garden!

Friday list

I’m a little late posting, as I have already done a small bit of the list – sorry!

I have already:
wandered the backyard picking today’s vegetables. Small crop, but then I am the only one who eats them, so it is good. It must be a relatively cool summer, as I am STILL getting peas in August! Yikes. Cherry tomatoes are coming along a few at a time, and the bigger tomatoes aren’t much bigger, and are showing no signs of ripening. Oh well. The rose hips are ripening – I will have to figure out what to do with them very soon. Or just let them fall and make more roses. 🙂

At last there is something on the mystery vine – soon I will know if that is a pumpkin or a green squash… lots of blossoms, but not fruit until now. No signs of fruit on the vine I know is a pumpkin, either. Not sure what all the pollinators in the yard are really up to. Peas, I guess.

L’s morning glories are just beautiful, and she is rarely here early enough to enjoy them. Mine are still climbing, but not blooming yet. She has a knack!

Still to do:

– get car serviced in Bangor – knit on giveaway surprise and read my book group book, The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout. Have to finish it by Wednesday… I think I can, I am enjoying it, so the reading goes faster.
– head over to the craft stores after that to pick up some yarn, also search for the yarn I can visualize but as yet not find for A’s afghan.
– grocery store
– post office
– laundry
– scoop pool if it isn’t raining when I am done with all other chores. It is supposed to be a good day, so that is a plus. I think my back has healed enough that I can stand in the pool, but I can’t swim unless A is home to dry it off and replace the bandage. So I have to say – what do single people do about things like this if they don’t have an A to dress wounds they can’t reach?
– call the doctor to see if the results are in yet on the lab work about the spot. They weren’t when I called on Wednesday. She said a week, but L, who worked in labs for many years, said she should have results in a couple of days. Hmmmmm.

Tomorrow I will get lots of knitting/crocheting done, as we (me, A and 2 of her sisters, S and L) are headed off to Wayne Maine to visit her aunt. Long ride in the car, then a lot of time sitting and chatting. I’ll keep my fingers busy!

Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!

MADE IT!

The week has finally ended!!!!

While it seemed to take a long time getting going, it finally started moving around yesterday afternoon. 🙂

I found out that I will likely get $5,000 for my tax program this year – yea!
I got a high-five on the development draft plan I am working on – yea!
I got a heartfelt thank you for the down and dirty annual report draft I put together.
So it turned out to be a good week.
I also got given the budget sheets for next year to complete before I go on vacation, and I know that there is a big contract easing its way toward me that will have a short turn around time, but I now know that I CAN HANDLE IT! This is my second year doing all of this budget stuff, and it feel less overwhelming to me this year.

It helps that one week from tonight I will be on yet another vacation! Another stay at home one, day trips around our lovely area with my beautiful wife, but still, time not at work. Then, following the vacation, a trip to Phoenix for a conference. I am a little nervous about that – average temperature in September – NINETY EIGHT DEGREES (F)!!!!!! I hope they will enjoy an abnormally cool September while I am there.

Yes, I have already begun looking for lists of LYS in Phoenix. Anyone know of any? I’ll have one afternoon and possibly an evening for shopping.

But first – a weekend to enjoy. It looks to be a good one.

It’s Monday and the week is dragging

I know, I hardly ever talk about work, mostly because it’s boring. But I have had so much time off this summer that I have had to work faster and smarter than ever, and so it is dreary dull. I don’t have the job where I get to visit small businesses (shop) any more, so I am just sitting in the office a whole lot.

Anyway… Monday morning. I didn’t really think it was Monday when the alarm went off, but I finally convinced myself it must be true. So I crawled out of bed, and began my week.

I managed to block up the toilet, then I managed to dump my raw egg on the stove trying to get it into the pan of water. After I cleaned the bathroom and the stove, I did get myself showered and dressed and out the door. And I remembered to drop off my neighbor’s birthday card and gift. Sadly, I got no knitting time in while watching the local weather forecast. After all, something had to give. Amazingly, I was on time for work!

Once there, I plowed through my to-do list (not as great a list as a Friday list, I have to say) and I feel like I made progress on some things that have been lurking about half done. But still. I looked up, and it was only 3:30. But that’s OK, I thought, because it’s Tuesday, and the week is almost half over.

HA! A while later it occurred to me that if it was Monday this morning, then it probably still is Monday. It was a sad moment.

This week is going to be very long, I think.

Cal week 12 – I’m Done!

a mere twelve weeks ago, this was my CAL blanket:

And today, here it is! (Sorry about the sunbeam in the middle, didn’t realize it was there until just now.)

I didn’t actually do the week 12 rows, just added a couple of HDC rows before starting my border. It obviously needs blocking, one border is a little wavy, a good block would fix that if I were so inclined.but as far as I am concerned, I think it is done! How I did the border – I didn’t have enough yarn on most of the colors to do a whole round, so I did a row of single crochet in the gray all around, spacing the stitches as best I could, then I started with the colors, and just used what I had – if I ran out in mid-row, I just changed colors. I did that and used up all the navy, the periwinkle, the variegated, and the turquoise. I then did a complete round of the teal that started it all.

I love this blanket, it is so warm and cozy – really it is big enough for a twin bed, certainly, it covers the whole couch, so a couple of people can sit and watch tv under it. I (almost) can’t wait for winter. 🙂

A is looking like she really wants one. Although I joke about making her one that is the same colors as the cats, it seems she has other ideas, and would like one that incorporates burgundy, green and navy, her favorite colors. So, I will see what I can find – I want more than 3-4 colors to work with, it was hard, even with 7, to mix it up enough to look random. It will also be washable, since I know cats will sit on her lap this winter. So I guess I have to go yarn shopping!

I think my cats are just the cutest cats…

Yeah, I know that’s just a proud mama talking…

Allie (top) and Zumba (inside, bottom) love to play in this – we call it their condo. When they were kittens they would regularly rough house so much it would come apart. Now they are a little too big to play in it the same way, but they still manage to have fun. It helps that it is in the sun most of the day – great for napping when you are finished torturing your sister!

There are a few things my brother did not tell us about Tigger when we got her. One of those things is that she has a shoe/foot fetish! A cannot put her shoes on nor take them off without a whole lot of running, tumbling, nipping, general sniffing. And not by A! It makes getting ready for work a challenge sometimes. It seems to be only A’s shoes, my sandals are not nearly so fun, I guess.