And Tuesday Rolls In

Hi All,


A milder morning today - about 28 (instead of 12).  By the time I had gotten out of the shower and started the coffee, a gentle snow was falling.  Not enough to get off work and not much since then...will have to see how the day progresses.


So, the car is back.  Gosh brakes are expensive - that was about $1K of the bill!  Then there were assorted other minor things plus inspection...all of it adding up to just under $1.6K.  But as Colin said - still cheaper than a new car.  The car has served us well.  126K miles on it and nothing major (brakes do wear out as do tires).  Here's to many more miles.


When we got home from picking it up I settled back into some knitting and the last bottle of Mad Elf beer (only comes out at Christmas).  This picture makes the sock look enormous!

The foot is now finished up to where I will re-join the Sabertooth Caterpillar yarn and decrease at the toes.  I'm holding off doing that until Colin comes over so I can double-check measurements. 


The pea soup yesterday was excellent except I did not like the kielbasa I used.  I'm thinking that left-over grilled Italian sausage would work well next time.  The kielbasa was just a bit too mild for me.


There have been a ton of changes at work - payroll and benefits transitioning to our parent company in NC, accounting changes, etc.  I just found out that we are no longer receiving pay stubs by mail - we have to print them out.  But, it turns out that I am not set up to be able to do that (it's being worked on...).  It's going to take some time for all these changes to sort out.  In the interim. I need to practice what my friend Tyg does - he just chills out all the time.

Now it's back to work!

Monday Stuff

Hello All,

Managed to get through my 10 a.m. conference call and now the balance of the day is mine (since it is a work holiday),

Naturally I didn't accomplish near what I thought I might over the weekend.  Not much knitting (though I am about half-way done the foot on Colin's sock), almost no reading (don't understand this one at all).  I did do laundry and we did grocery shop and the Christmas tree is out of the house and decorations are put away, and I did cook some.

Saturday I made Spicy Cuban Beef which we had over rice and steamed broccoli alongside.

Yesterday I cooked one of those pre-seasoned pork loins.  Ours was peppercorn and pretty tasty.  I made smothered cabbage to go with it - had never made this before and LOVE it.

Today a pot of split pea soup is on the stove.  There is left over cornbread that I made last week, so that will be dinner.

My car is in the shop today for inspection.  Got the phone call shortly after 8 a.m. this morning that it will be $1.6K to fix.  YIKES!  Something is up with the suspension, I need rear breaks and then a bunch of other things (I kind of tuned out the guy when he was talking).  The good news is that no tires are needed and they can do everything today, so I'll get the car back this afternoon.  I just had not planned on/counted on a bill this high. 

I hope to start "Sing, Unburied, Sing" this afternoon.  I'm giving up on "The Roanoke Girls" about 1/3 into it.  I'm just not enjoying it and there are far too many books out there that I do want to read.

That's the news from here.  It is cold again (very) and snow is in the forecast for tomorrow and maybe Wednesday.  This Winter.....it just keeps going.....

It's Soggy out There!

Hello Friends,


It is a soggy Friday!  Rain, rain and more rain.  And warmth - it was 63 this a.m.  That will, of course, change and we will be about 30 degrees cooler tomorrow.  Such is the roller coaster winter.


Meanwhile, Fletch did grill the steaks last night and they were EXCELLENT!  They were also HUGE and both Fletch and I only ate 1/3 - 1/2 of our steaks.  Colin (of course) polished his off with no problem.  To go with the steaks I fixed a pan of roasted potatoes, onions, Brussels sprouts and some broccoli - all seasoned with some EVOO and a healthy (heavy) sprinkling of Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel seasoning.  I will do that again - so tasty!  And, it was mild enough last night (60) that we had a fire in the pit.  So strange, but wonderful, to have an outside fire on January 11th!  It was also pretty windy so everything I had on smells like wood smoke (not a bad scent, but still...more items tossed in the laundry basket).


Plans for the weekend include laundry (never got to most of it last weekend), cleaning (let's take the tree down...please!), cooking (some soup and bread will be on the menu), shopping (meeting up with friends on the 20th to celebrate two birthdays...presents needed), reading (want to finish The Roanoke Girls so that I can start Sing, Unburied, Sing - can't wait for this one), and a healthy dose of knitting (just a couple more rows on Colin's sock and I will re-join the Sabertooth Caterpillar yarn and begin working on the heel flap and turn).


I have no kitty photos for this Friday, so instead what I find to be a weird sign.  My office is on the 2nd floor of our building and I always take the steps.  This is on the landing between floors:

There is a similar sign between the 2nd and 3rd floors (except, you know, 2 1/2).  My question:


Why?


Well, it's Friday and I was just told there is food in the kitchen:  pizza and Hooters Wings.


Happy Weekend everyone - enjoy!

Three on Thursday

Hi Everyone,


The downside (of the work week) is here!  And, I have a random collection of 3 things for you:

• It was mild enough today that I could wear my fingerless mitts driving to work.  LOVE!!

Obviously not driving, but rather at work (with a Sisters' photo in the background from a number of years ago...and my orange peeking out on the right).

• It is going to be mild all day and Fletch is grilling steaks tonight.  YAY!!

• Monday is a holiday for me...so a 3 day weekend coming up.  BUT, I do have to get on a conference call at 10.  That's ok because 1) I'll be home and 2) taking part in the call on a holiday will win me big time points and 3) the call will probably only be a half hour.  No biggie and I won't be going anywhere since my car will be in for inspection then.

OK...I've already accomplished a ton this a.m., but the work is still piled up (snow days and holidays really create a back-log).


Hope you are all having a great day/week!

Unraveled Wednesday 1-10-18

Good Morning!


There was some melting yesterday (it got up to 45), but not all...and it was 22 this a.m.  However, they (the weather folks) are still saying it will hit 60 by Friday, so I'm guessing the snow & ice will be gone.  I'm hoping to get a walk in on Saturday.  Then it looks like back to the chilly weather next week.  On the bright side, the days are longer - sunset is almost at 5 p.m. now and as of today, the sun is rising a bit earlier in the morning.


Before I get into knitting and reading, I have a Tyg story.  Last night, around 9 p.m., I was sitting in the kitchen working on Colin's sock and talking on the phone.  Suddenly Tyg ran to the door and started making noises like I have NEVER heard come out of a cat.  There were low growls (which I have heard), but then a high pitched almost yipping (the only way I can think to describe it).   There was a cat on our patio and it was almost like Tyg was trying to talk to it.  BUT, his fur was all puffed up (his tail suddenly looked like that of a Maine Coon cat!).  This vocalization continued for a good 15 minutes.  When the other cat wandered off the patio, Tyg jumped up on the counter to look out the window on the driveway side.  The sounds were hysterical - both Fletch and I were laughing so hard.  It was also loud enough that my friend on the phone with me was laughing.  Tyg desperately wanted to go out, but we didn't let him for about an hour or so (by which time the other cat was long gone...I think...).  He was in and out after that several times, but ended up staying out all night.  When I came downstairs this morning to start the coffee, he came in and ate and then promptly wanted to go out again!


So, on to the knitting.  Colin's socks are becoming a quick and fun knit.  I've had a bit more time to knit this week (thanks to the weather) and here's where the first sock is:

I'm really loving the cables and I hope to have the leg completed tonight and move on to the heel flap and turn (which will be the cuff color).


On the reading front, I am about a third of the way through The Roanoke girls which is ok - an easy read.  I've had some good ones come through on Overdrive recently (Sing, Unburied, Sing; The Essex Serpent; Little Fires Everywhere) so I'm anxious to finish this up and start something new.  I am also reading A Stash of One's Own - Clara Parkes which I am enjoying.  it is the perfect read as I crawl into bed.  Some of the essays in it are pretty humorous.


A few people commented that the cardamom black pepper coffee I had on Saturday sounded good.  It is Delicious!  I'm pretty sure the coffee shop uses a cardamom syrup of some kind as the beverage is pretty sweet.  I had been thinking of adding cardamom (ground) to the grounds when I brew coffee and then Mary suggested the same thing to me.  I did that this morning and love it.  I make strong coffee (and sometimes coffee & chicory) and I froth milk and then warm it in the microwave so that I end up with a cappuccino-type drink.  The cardamom flavor was perfect!!


But now, I need to take care of some of the work piled up on my desk.  By Noon, we will be on the downside of the work week!

Winter is Still Here!

Good Evening Everyone,

Well, winter is still here.  I got up and went to work, but any icy forecast was in our future and my office closed early.  I left shortly after Noon...got home...had a snack, took a nap, got up and had a shower and then knit.  That's a win of a day for moi.  Meanwhile, we have had sleet and some rain.  I don't think anything is falling at the moment, but earlier when Fletch went out to take the trash to the curb and fill the bird feeders, he said the driveway was coated in ice.  I'm happy to be home.  And, could I be lucky enough to have a 2 hour delay in the a.m.?  We shall see.  It is supposed to warm up and actually be in the 40's tomorrow and 60 by Friday.  Crazy Weather continues.

Meanwhile, on the knitting front:

This is the first of Colin's socks.  He chose the colors.  The cuff is Blue Moon Colossal Sock (600 yards!!) and the color is Sabertooth Caterpillar.  It is 100% Merino,  Next up we have Mineville Wool Super Sock in the color Constellation, 80% Merino and 20% nylon.  Both bought on line.  Colin picked out the colors and asked that I make them reversed.  So the first sock will have the Sabertooth Caterpillar for the cuff, heel and toe and Constellation for the main body and foot.  The second sock will have Constellation for the cuff, heel and toe and Sabertooth Caterpillar for the body and foot.

I couldn't find a pattern that I wanted to make for him, so I am winging it on my own.  I decided to put cables on the leg of the sock.  You can sort of see them in the picture...I think they will show up better on the other sock.  It keeps the knitting interesting and I love cables, so a win!

I did manage to get the bills paid yesterday and Fletch is busy watching something on TV that I'm not really interested in...so the night is mine.  I see more knitting in my future!

Have a great evening!

Snow Cat

Good Chilly Morning to You All,

Brrrr....it was 1 degree this morning.  Of course, they had forecast -1, so I suppose +1 is better, but it is hard to tell for sure.  For once, Tyg didn't go out right away...he waited until it warmed up to 2 or 3 degrees, and then he stayed out for quite awhile.  I looked out the kitchen window at one point and saw him in the yard.  Here he is underneath the birdfeeder handing on our clothesline...hoping for a taste of cardinal or sparrow (he was unsuccessful):

And here he is walking down the path that Fletch had shoveled to get out to the feeder to fill it:

He tends to hunker down by the back door on the patio.  In the morning the sun shines in that spot, so he can gather some warmth while waiting for a near-flying bird.  He is back in now and curled up somewhere.

Yesterday morning I did venture out and met up with Dee for coffee and knitting.  My beverage of choice was cardamon black pepper coffee - so good!!  After awhile we ventured across the street to a favorite restaurant - Stove & Tap for lunch.  It was still pretty windy - enough to sting your face - but, it felt so good to get out and the sun was shining brightly.  Thanks Dee for meeting up.  Hope to do it again soon.

I got a good start on Colin's socks and managed to do some rows in between yacking yesterday, and a few more when I got home.  Then I discovered a HOLE.  This has happened every single time I have started socks for Colin.  So, I had to tink back about 5 rows.  Grrrrr.  But it's done and now I'm back on track.  The cuff is complete and I've done 5 rows of plain knitting.  Today I hope to come up with a pattern to make a couple of cables on his socks.  Wish me luck!!

But, before I can do that I need to pay bills (which I successfully avoided last Thursday), set up my spreadsheets for 2018 tracking expenses and we do have to venture out to the grocery store.  We used the last of our eggs for breakfast and aside from lettuce and radishes, we are out of fresh veggies.  Oh well, at least it is another sunny day.

The forecast is for a warm-up starting tomorrow...but the forecast also includes a mix of snow and ice for tomorrow night.  If that happens, I will be missing yoga again.  However, the warming trend is to continue and at this point we are planning on Fletch grilling Thursday when Colin comes over for dinner.

Hope you all are enjoying a delightfully cozy and lazy weekend with plenty of knitting.