Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Tragety Of Living in the digital age
I just got my internet back. It was gone for a week. Thank goodness I don't have time to surf because I am still unpacking. The Tucson Gem show is coming up quick so I won't have time to blog much but I will try live blogging from the gem show. I wanted to do that from SOAR but I was overwhelmed. We will have to wait and see,
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Week one
So here is it the end of week one. I like the new job but am still terrified of it. Once I get in the groove I'll be fine. We drove up to Sheridan for shopping for essentials again. Todays count was 6 bald Eagles 4 golden eagles, about a dozen hawks about a dozen deer a huge herd of antelopes and a bobcat. I love Wyoming.
We went looking for the rumored home brew supply. It was supposed to be in the neighborhood we were going to be in anyway. It was gone. The good news is the fiber shop is accross the street from the grocery store. They are very nice there. The fiber, while not diverse is very yummy. I restrained myself and only purchased just short of a pound of alpaca and some beautifully dyed tussah silk. I also purchased some needles (some eboney US1 dpn, US 8 Brittany, and some US 1 circular speed needles) and some yarn ( fuzzy jeweltone mohair to attempt that scarf AGAIN!!!)and Hubbins added a few other items to the bill like a sheep ornament, an eyeglass case, and some point protectors. I could hang out there.
I can't wait to get my stuff. Our live has been on that moving truck for going on two weeks. We have officially paid them (stopping to check the bank account to see if the charge cleared- not yet maybe by Tuesday)We could really use comfortable furnature.
Tomorrow is organizaton day. We are going to hang up clothes and maybe do some laundry and decide where we want things to go. Also on our list is to split the cable in the basement and run a 2nd line to an existing hole to move the MTA (the box that runs our digital telephone) to where is can connect into the whole house phone system. That would be lovely having a phone in more than one location.
It's late and time to get to bed. The weather is supposed to be fine until Thursday when we are expecting more snow. Oh joy.
We went looking for the rumored home brew supply. It was supposed to be in the neighborhood we were going to be in anyway. It was gone. The good news is the fiber shop is accross the street from the grocery store. They are very nice there. The fiber, while not diverse is very yummy. I restrained myself and only purchased just short of a pound of alpaca and some beautifully dyed tussah silk. I also purchased some needles (some eboney US1 dpn, US 8 Brittany, and some US 1 circular speed needles) and some yarn ( fuzzy jeweltone mohair to attempt that scarf AGAIN!!!)and Hubbins added a few other items to the bill like a sheep ornament, an eyeglass case, and some point protectors. I could hang out there.
I can't wait to get my stuff. Our live has been on that moving truck for going on two weeks. We have officially paid them (stopping to check the bank account to see if the charge cleared- not yet maybe by Tuesday)We could really use comfortable furnature.
Tomorrow is organizaton day. We are going to hang up clothes and maybe do some laundry and decide where we want things to go. Also on our list is to split the cable in the basement and run a 2nd line to an existing hole to move the MTA (the box that runs our digital telephone) to where is can connect into the whole house phone system. That would be lovely having a phone in more than one location.
It's late and time to get to bed. The weather is supposed to be fine until Thursday when we are expecting more snow. Oh joy.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Check off another new experience
Today was the first day of the new job. I'm kind of in free fall there. I'm pretty much the go to person for everything. I don't know what "everything" is yet but it seems to be just that, everything. I'm their Girl Friday, the hub of their communications network. I have a lot of stuff to learn. I don't even know what I don't know that I need to know. Time to make a "how to " manual as I go.
On the fiber front, I have decided to frogg the second half of my project. It has three problems. The first is a dropped stitch about a half an inch into the second half of the project. That was surmountable. A few inches later I skipped a needle which left several inches of hanging yarn on the inside of the project then there was the two needles dropping out while we were on the road. It's time to frogg it.
I started jonesing for spinning today. I have my travel wheel here and about 4oz of fiber (2oz Llama and 2 oz Alpaca) That should take me about an hour to spin up. I was going to play with it today but I took a nap this evening. They said on the news this evening sleep is good for you. It supposed to help prevent colds and help keep weight off.
It snowed today. I was expecting it. Everyone else seemed to be surprised. Don't they watch the weather channel?? I expect more snow on Wednesday/Thursday. I've put people on notice about it. Hopefully they will be less surprised.
Hubbins procrastinated in putting the snow thrower together. I paid the price this morning. It's still not running so we will be trudging through the snow out to the car tomorrow morning. I need to put together a snow maintenance manual for him. Although I should talk, you don't see me out there with a shovel!
I know it's early but I'm headed to bed. Things happen an hour earlier in Mountain time.... even sleep!
On the fiber front, I have decided to frogg the second half of my project. It has three problems. The first is a dropped stitch about a half an inch into the second half of the project. That was surmountable. A few inches later I skipped a needle which left several inches of hanging yarn on the inside of the project then there was the two needles dropping out while we were on the road. It's time to frogg it.
I started jonesing for spinning today. I have my travel wheel here and about 4oz of fiber (2oz Llama and 2 oz Alpaca) That should take me about an hour to spin up. I was going to play with it today but I took a nap this evening. They said on the news this evening sleep is good for you. It supposed to help prevent colds and help keep weight off.
It snowed today. I was expecting it. Everyone else seemed to be surprised. Don't they watch the weather channel?? I expect more snow on Wednesday/Thursday. I've put people on notice about it. Hopefully they will be less surprised.
Hubbins procrastinated in putting the snow thrower together. I paid the price this morning. It's still not running so we will be trudging through the snow out to the car tomorrow morning. I need to put together a snow maintenance manual for him. Although I should talk, you don't see me out there with a shovel!
I know it's early but I'm headed to bed. Things happen an hour earlier in Mountain time.... even sleep!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Well...we're here
Just arrived in the new town, numb. Numb from driving three hard days on the road. Numb from the reality of "this isn't a vacation road trip" it's a one way trip to a new life. There are a few other things that are numbing me but I don't get into the bad things here. It's very blustery outside, but not that cold. There is still some ice on the walkways but no biggie. I have some road stories to tell.
First... even before we left. The moving truck didn't have enough room for all of our stuff. So we tried to pack as much of it as we could but didn't even come close. The idea of getting a UHAUL trailer came up and for the first few attempts was shot down. I finally gave in and then they came up with an idea. build a 2ND story onto the pick up bed. We were a rocking chair with Granny short of a Tennessee style move. My car was packed to the gills to. So our 9am exit strategy turned into a 5pm slink out of town.
The first leg of the journey was uneventful - 6 hours to Las Vegas. This was going to be a piece of cake. When we got to our timeshare we had no Internet and we were both too tired to call and complain so we suffered in silence. The next morning we headed out to breakfast and to gas up the vehicles and to find some needle stitch holders because my knitting had fallen off of two of 4 needles. That was not very pleasant. We found some places listed in the phone book and one sounded interesting and it was just down the street sort of from where we were staying. It turned out to be a really cute knit/spin/weave shop that had some great yarn and some fiber and books. So I got my point protectors, 2 oz of Alpaca fiber, three really cool balls of sock yarn, the book "A History of Hand Knitting", the two last issues of Interweave Knits and the 2009-2010 listing of fiber shops nationwide, now in a new compact format. Then we headed down the road for the 2ND leg of our journey.
The next leg took us from Las Vegas through the Nevada desert to the town of Midway Utah, where we have another timeshare to stay at. Hubbins missed the sign warning of the avalanche danger. I got to drive through it with full knowledge of impending doom which didn't make me feel very comfortable as I don't like driving in the dark, I don't like driving in icy conditions and I don't like avalanches. Well I could enjoy watching one as long as I wasn't in it and no one else got hurt. But here I was driving in the dark on icy roads through avalanche country. Once we got to where we were staying all I wanted to do was fondle my new fiber page through my new magazines and relax. That didn't last long... it was time for bed. Had I known there was a whirlpool tub in the master bath I would have done that. I didn't find that out until morning. As I was making my last rounds before I left. Note to self: Next time check the whole place out before settling in.
The last leg of our journey took us through the rest of Utah and into Wyoming. There was this one section of highway in Utah where we went through this pass that I can only describe as I have never in my 45 years felt so tiny and insignificant. It was awe inspiring. The rest of the trip was OK, parts were long and tedious. I am glad to be here but I miss my house and all of what I left behind. This has happened so fast my mind can't comprehend it all yet. At least I have Hubbins with me this time. Last time I did something like this I did it on my own. I was OK then and I will be OK this time too. But we'll have to discuss the new house...we at least have six months to figure that out.
Countdown: three days till I start my new job. Not sure when my stuff will arrive on the moving truck. Cable gets installed tomorrow. New life is officially underway.
First... even before we left. The moving truck didn't have enough room for all of our stuff. So we tried to pack as much of it as we could but didn't even come close. The idea of getting a UHAUL trailer came up and for the first few attempts was shot down. I finally gave in and then they came up with an idea. build a 2ND story onto the pick up bed. We were a rocking chair with Granny short of a Tennessee style move. My car was packed to the gills to. So our 9am exit strategy turned into a 5pm slink out of town.
The first leg of the journey was uneventful - 6 hours to Las Vegas. This was going to be a piece of cake. When we got to our timeshare we had no Internet and we were both too tired to call and complain so we suffered in silence. The next morning we headed out to breakfast and to gas up the vehicles and to find some needle stitch holders because my knitting had fallen off of two of 4 needles. That was not very pleasant. We found some places listed in the phone book and one sounded interesting and it was just down the street sort of from where we were staying. It turned out to be a really cute knit/spin/weave shop that had some great yarn and some fiber and books. So I got my point protectors, 2 oz of Alpaca fiber, three really cool balls of sock yarn, the book "A History of Hand Knitting", the two last issues of Interweave Knits and the 2009-2010 listing of fiber shops nationwide, now in a new compact format. Then we headed down the road for the 2ND leg of our journey.
The next leg took us from Las Vegas through the Nevada desert to the town of Midway Utah, where we have another timeshare to stay at. Hubbins missed the sign warning of the avalanche danger. I got to drive through it with full knowledge of impending doom which didn't make me feel very comfortable as I don't like driving in the dark, I don't like driving in icy conditions and I don't like avalanches. Well I could enjoy watching one as long as I wasn't in it and no one else got hurt. But here I was driving in the dark on icy roads through avalanche country. Once we got to where we were staying all I wanted to do was fondle my new fiber page through my new magazines and relax. That didn't last long... it was time for bed. Had I known there was a whirlpool tub in the master bath I would have done that. I didn't find that out until morning. As I was making my last rounds before I left. Note to self: Next time check the whole place out before settling in.
The last leg of our journey took us through the rest of Utah and into Wyoming. There was this one section of highway in Utah where we went through this pass that I can only describe as I have never in my 45 years felt so tiny and insignificant. It was awe inspiring. The rest of the trip was OK, parts were long and tedious. I am glad to be here but I miss my house and all of what I left behind. This has happened so fast my mind can't comprehend it all yet. At least I have Hubbins with me this time. Last time I did something like this I did it on my own. I was OK then and I will be OK this time too. But we'll have to discuss the new house...we at least have six months to figure that out.
Countdown: three days till I start my new job. Not sure when my stuff will arrive on the moving truck. Cable gets installed tomorrow. New life is officially underway.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Busy busy busy!!
Well the house is almost packed up I am still only a little more than halfway through of one knitting project and started a second today. I found my abandoned ball of silky wool conveniently next to my lace pattern. I got all the way through one round of instructions. I don't have a comfortable place to knit today because my father showed up to pick up the home theatre seating we were donating to him. No place to sit so once we got home from setting it up for him we disassembled the home theatre. So now it's basic cable on the tiny TV in the bedroom. I shouldn't complain, there are wars and starving people and global warming!!
There are 8 days until I start the new job. I'm a little nervous about missing the magic paperwork window. It's one of those has to be filled out and filed with the pee test within three days. We told them to send it to the office but we won't be in town until at least Thursday. I almost hope it comes Monday especially since we leave Tuesday.
Hubbins gave me another Yuletide gifty today. It was a beginners book of enameling. Yeah baby it's cool! I drooled on it for a while and started making mental lists of tools and ingredients needed. I have had some really interesting projects planned for enameling. I purchased a tiny piece of enamel jewelry when I was probably 11 or 12 years old and was fascinated by it. It was a forest scene and the artist's name was Maki I think. I think enamel and PMC are very interesting medium to design in plus you can do enamel on PMC. Yes the kiln is going in the car and is already packed. We were out running errands last week or so and happened to drive by a chefs supply store. I picked up three sizes of lidded stainless steel pans (like fast food restaurants use for ingredients like pickles and tomatoes. They are for firing PMC bronze which needs to be done emerged in charcoal to come out correctly. I've had great plans for PMC bronze, even before it was invented.
Well I had better cut it short tonight,if it were a week night Ferguson would be on the TV. I want to knit a bit before I crash out.
There are 8 days until I start the new job. I'm a little nervous about missing the magic paperwork window. It's one of those has to be filled out and filed with the pee test within three days. We told them to send it to the office but we won't be in town until at least Thursday. I almost hope it comes Monday especially since we leave Tuesday.
Hubbins gave me another Yuletide gifty today. It was a beginners book of enameling. Yeah baby it's cool! I drooled on it for a while and started making mental lists of tools and ingredients needed. I have had some really interesting projects planned for enameling. I purchased a tiny piece of enamel jewelry when I was probably 11 or 12 years old and was fascinated by it. It was a forest scene and the artist's name was Maki I think. I think enamel and PMC are very interesting medium to design in plus you can do enamel on PMC. Yes the kiln is going in the car and is already packed. We were out running errands last week or so and happened to drive by a chefs supply store. I picked up three sizes of lidded stainless steel pans (like fast food restaurants use for ingredients like pickles and tomatoes. They are for firing PMC bronze which needs to be done emerged in charcoal to come out correctly. I've had great plans for PMC bronze, even before it was invented.
Well I had better cut it short tonight,if it were a week night Ferguson would be on the TV. I want to knit a bit before I crash out.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
I'm off to a great start
Most people start the new year making resolutions. Things like lose 10 pounds or stop smoking or give more to charity. I don't do that anymore. I tend to break them. In fact I think last year my resolution was to blog once a day. While I did better than last year, my 365 days of crafting didn't happen. I even abandoned that blog when I started this one. Nope but even without setting a resolution I did what a lot of people aspire to do. I lost weight. On a lark I weighed myself before I went to bed and on the way up i drank a liter of water. I was more than a bit puffy from too much sodium and like magic I was still a bit puffy but when I weighed in when I got up I was seven pounds lighter. So if I could do that every day (lose 7 pounds or even lose just one pound) I would be at my target weight (if I lost a pound a day ) sometime in mid July.
The house is almost packed. We figured out what to do with the trophy heads. We carefully packed them two in a box with lots of stuffing. We are going to top them off with some packing peanuts tomorrow. We have to finish the tool shed and all outside stuff tomorrow before the rain hits on Saturday. We might be totally done by tomorrow night which would give up a few days of nothing to do. Hubbins didn't even argue when I suggested a dry run with packing the personal vehicles. We would hate to send the truck off with everything and hope to get everything else in the car and truck only to find something didn't fit. That would suck. We will be prepared. We even decided which route to take and hopefully which hotels to stay at.
I didn't get much knitting done today. For most of the day I was missing my fifth needle. I found it then got distracted. I think I'll set a goal of getting to the next change on my pattern that should only be in about a dozen rows. If we finish packing the house early I can finish my project.
Speaking of crafts, I saw an infomercial today for this really cool craft tool. It's the Cricut Expression. It's a friggin' vinyl cutter! You can make rubber stamps! It cuts chipboard!! You can make stencils for painting and even glass etching! It's really cool! I told Hubbins that I wanted it for my birthday. We shall see. It could be a banner year in the gift department. If I reach my next weight goal I get the Nintendo Wii Fit, and on my birthday the Cricut Expressions.
Yesterday I alluded to my next great craft project. It's starts with a sad story that you probably have already heard. In 2003 Southern California had the worst wild fire in the state's history. In it we lost everything. Now for the cool part. I had a reproduction phrenology head in my collection of stuff. On the bad side it was destroyed. On the cool side most of the face is intact and big portions of the cranium are intact. Ceramic objects with cool designs or writing make cool jewelry when cut to size and embellished. I have a whole bunch of pieces that are going to make really neat art pieces or jewelry. It's kind of a weird thing that we kept three large trash cans filled with glass, ceramic and metal. We at one time had gone through the remains of the house and saved so much stuff. It was going to be an art project like a mosaic but like everything else with the house was a future project.Since we are moving everything in our life those parts (mostly) are not coming with us. 99% of those mementos are going away. Going through it was painful and in some cases it was a "what was I thinking when I saved that?" moment.
4 days before the big move.
10 days until I start my new job.
Ferguson is on the TV- again.
it's time for bed.
The house is almost packed. We figured out what to do with the trophy heads. We carefully packed them two in a box with lots of stuffing. We are going to top them off with some packing peanuts tomorrow. We have to finish the tool shed and all outside stuff tomorrow before the rain hits on Saturday. We might be totally done by tomorrow night which would give up a few days of nothing to do. Hubbins didn't even argue when I suggested a dry run with packing the personal vehicles. We would hate to send the truck off with everything and hope to get everything else in the car and truck only to find something didn't fit. That would suck. We will be prepared. We even decided which route to take and hopefully which hotels to stay at.
I didn't get much knitting done today. For most of the day I was missing my fifth needle. I found it then got distracted. I think I'll set a goal of getting to the next change on my pattern that should only be in about a dozen rows. If we finish packing the house early I can finish my project.
Speaking of crafts, I saw an infomercial today for this really cool craft tool. It's the Cricut Expression. It's a friggin' vinyl cutter! You can make rubber stamps! It cuts chipboard!! You can make stencils for painting and even glass etching! It's really cool! I told Hubbins that I wanted it for my birthday. We shall see. It could be a banner year in the gift department. If I reach my next weight goal I get the Nintendo Wii Fit, and on my birthday the Cricut Expressions.
Yesterday I alluded to my next great craft project. It's starts with a sad story that you probably have already heard. In 2003 Southern California had the worst wild fire in the state's history. In it we lost everything. Now for the cool part. I had a reproduction phrenology head in my collection of stuff. On the bad side it was destroyed. On the cool side most of the face is intact and big portions of the cranium are intact. Ceramic objects with cool designs or writing make cool jewelry when cut to size and embellished. I have a whole bunch of pieces that are going to make really neat art pieces or jewelry. It's kind of a weird thing that we kept three large trash cans filled with glass, ceramic and metal. We at one time had gone through the remains of the house and saved so much stuff. It was going to be an art project like a mosaic but like everything else with the house was a future project.Since we are moving everything in our life those parts (mostly) are not coming with us. 99% of those mementos are going away. Going through it was painful and in some cases it was a "what was I thinking when I saved that?" moment.
4 days before the big move.
10 days until I start my new job.
Ferguson is on the TV- again.
it's time for bed.
Happy New Year
Here it is 12:05 and the new year has just rung in. Why am I on the confounded computer blogging? Hubbins went to bed about an hour ago. I can't do any packing I am officially more than half way done with my knitting project (it's coming along nicely thanks for asking) and I didn't go to bed last night. I am seriously thinking about going to sleep. In my bed. Horizontally configured. I have a big day tomorrow.
I did a box count and got the measurements of the furniture and called up that third moving company. They gave us a good bid and promised a smooth move and we think the third time is the charm. We are scheduled to be loaded on Monday. That gives us Thursday, Friday and Saturday to finish up and organize our lives. The deciding factor was the 30 days free storage if needed. That gives us the luxury of maybe having them load up, we can give it a once over to clean and then take off the next day headed north. We are seriously considering buying extra insurance for protection. I have read too many horror stories on the Internet about moving companies.
My new company had to reissue the offer letter and I will probably have to take the drug test again (I can pass one of those any day of the week) and I would start the following Monday. Have I mentioned lately that 2009 is all about the new? Let's take inventory again. New Year, new home in a new town in a new state with a new job for a new company and I will be wearing new clothes if everything I bought in the past month still fits. Stress+Holidays+lack of sleep+careless living=extra pounds on the middle. My old clothes still are too big and once I get settled it will come off again plus more.
Part of my personal bailout plan is to invest in some exercise equipment. Something versatile and unisex, like a BowFlex. I can pay for most of it with AMEX points, or maybe the whole thing when I pay off Amex. I will be motivated by adding a pounds lost to my blog. Maybe something like pounds of fleece washed spun or dyed and number of pounds shed. I am sort of toying with getting a 2nd piece of equipment like the Bowflex stair climber. I could be doing my 20 minutes three times a week on one machine while Hubbins does his on the other and then we can switch. It would be nice to have more energy and less bulk and maybe by Spring a spring in my step. And stamina to walk all over the place to all those fun historic place we are surrounded by. Since I probably won't be going to Disneyland when I reach that next X99lbs mark I will have to think of something fun to do. I know! I can get a Nintendo Wii fit! Tomorrows goal is to drink a whole bunch of water and flush out all the salt that has me puffed up tonight. I'll weigh in and start "fresh".
Tomorrow I will tell you all about my future art/ jewelry project. Remind me also to tell you about the fun Power of Attraction stuff that has been happening. If I hadn't mentioned it before I am one of those. No, not Oprah fanatics, but followers of the Power of Attraction philosophy. I have some fun storied of things that have happened. More of that later. Right now while the Craig Ferguson theme plays in the background I am switching off the Tele and going to sleep. My motto for this year is "Back in line in 2009" which includes financial stability, sleeping during normal sleeping hours, the bathroom scale going in the decreasing direction, more craft work and making money at it. And learning how to interact with people in person again.
OK step 1 TV off (check)
step 2 drink some water (to get the sodium flush started) (check)
step 3 going to bed and getting 8 hours sleep ..... Ferguson's show is a re-run anyway.
I did a box count and got the measurements of the furniture and called up that third moving company. They gave us a good bid and promised a smooth move and we think the third time is the charm. We are scheduled to be loaded on Monday. That gives us Thursday, Friday and Saturday to finish up and organize our lives. The deciding factor was the 30 days free storage if needed. That gives us the luxury of maybe having them load up, we can give it a once over to clean and then take off the next day headed north. We are seriously considering buying extra insurance for protection. I have read too many horror stories on the Internet about moving companies.
My new company had to reissue the offer letter and I will probably have to take the drug test again (I can pass one of those any day of the week) and I would start the following Monday. Have I mentioned lately that 2009 is all about the new? Let's take inventory again. New Year, new home in a new town in a new state with a new job for a new company and I will be wearing new clothes if everything I bought in the past month still fits. Stress+Holidays+lack of sleep+careless living=extra pounds on the middle. My old clothes still are too big and once I get settled it will come off again plus more.
Part of my personal bailout plan is to invest in some exercise equipment. Something versatile and unisex, like a BowFlex. I can pay for most of it with AMEX points, or maybe the whole thing when I pay off Amex. I will be motivated by adding a pounds lost to my blog. Maybe something like pounds of fleece washed spun or dyed and number of pounds shed. I am sort of toying with getting a 2nd piece of equipment like the Bowflex stair climber. I could be doing my 20 minutes three times a week on one machine while Hubbins does his on the other and then we can switch. It would be nice to have more energy and less bulk and maybe by Spring a spring in my step. And stamina to walk all over the place to all those fun historic place we are surrounded by. Since I probably won't be going to Disneyland when I reach that next X99lbs mark I will have to think of something fun to do. I know! I can get a Nintendo Wii fit! Tomorrows goal is to drink a whole bunch of water and flush out all the salt that has me puffed up tonight. I'll weigh in and start "fresh".
Tomorrow I will tell you all about my future art/ jewelry project. Remind me also to tell you about the fun Power of Attraction stuff that has been happening. If I hadn't mentioned it before I am one of those. No, not Oprah fanatics, but followers of the Power of Attraction philosophy. I have some fun storied of things that have happened. More of that later. Right now while the Craig Ferguson theme plays in the background I am switching off the Tele and going to sleep. My motto for this year is "Back in line in 2009" which includes financial stability, sleeping during normal sleeping hours, the bathroom scale going in the decreasing direction, more craft work and making money at it. And learning how to interact with people in person again.
OK step 1 TV off (check)
step 2 drink some water (to get the sodium flush started) (check)
step 3 going to bed and getting 8 hours sleep ..... Ferguson's show is a re-run anyway.
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