Clearing Away Cobwebs


And wasn't that a hellova storm last nite??? I got out of bed around 3AM & moved a couple of my outside plants that were sitting on bricks about a foot in the air so they wouldn't get blasted across the drive!! I even closed the window - which is amazing since it's open all year round - but the constant smacking of the aluminum blinds drove me crazy!!! Too bad the wind didn't blow all those rain clouds away with it - some sun would be nice out there!! I want to get my fingers in the dirt, put up some more lattice, fill some of my hanging baskets & sit & spin outside on the patio!!!

I know it's tax season - you should see my desk!!! But, it must be spring - I also want to clear the unloved furniture out of my living room & get my stash organized. I need to know what I have in all those bags, boxes, bins & baskets.
I intend to fill the corner where the couch is now with a stack of giant bins. I got a good deal on the really BIG ones. Since I tend to be a Visual person - which is short for 'if I can't SEE it, I don't know I have it', I buy stuff, throw it in the bin, forget I have it & buy another . . . People think I work in chaos - I have my stuff OUT where I can SEE it.

I should have transparent bins but I they're too expensive so I got the BIG green ones for the bulk stuff & bought small see-thru ones for the stuff I need every day, sock yarns or Current Projects. I just want to de-clutter my life somewhat.

The truth is, I want His crappy old couch, that I never wanted in the first place, to go away. I found a home for the microwave cabinet that HE was supposed to take years ago & the rocking chair I bought on a whim, that doesn't even have enough room to rock in my place. Once all this is OUT, I'll fill the bins, stack them in the couch corner - and make room for a nice lounger or recliner in which I can sit or nap or knit. Sounds like a Plan, eh???
I won't even tell you about the 'Walk Off The Pounds' CDs which I can't use because I have no room to move side to side never mind back & forth . . . .

Waaaaaaaaaaa . . . .

As some of you know, I'm a bookkeeper with a home office. I often commute from the bedroom to the office via the kitchen for a cuppa. I have 5 printers in my office - FIVE!!

Yesterday, I had none that would print a two page report! Not one measly printer to print anything. I only own TWO laser printers, TWO 24 pin Ravens - they use fan-fold paper & ribbons AND ONE Cannon Bubble Jet! My new color laser ran out of ink mid document! The 24 pin Raven - the noisy bugger - seized mid document & the Bubble Jet wouldn't stop spewing sheets of paper, then made a terrible noise & died when I hit a couple of buttons after I plugged it in. The old black laser will run but won't print . . . . and I just know I have to crawl under the desk to find the correct cord to unplug one of the dead machines to be able to plug in another machine which will probably end up seized or dead since it's been in the closet for 10 years . . . .

My Techie friends cheered when I told them about the 24 pin printer! They've had a running bet going & apparently it outlived even their wildest guesses - I suppose, after 11 years of printing tax returns & financial statements, it deserves a decent burial. They hooted to find I actually HAD a Bubble Jet & told me I had to do some tinkering in the computer BIOS(mysterious master set up where you tell the computer what to do) to make the old laser printer work. I wrote down the directions but can't find the screen that tells the dumb printer how to print since apparently it didn't come with memory back in 1991 when it was manufactured . . . . All I want is one printer to print 4 whole pages of a report. Is that too much to ask???

I'm sitting here on Monday morning sending out faxed estimates & peering bleerily out the window - I'm bleery because this is MY Saturday. But I still have to work - it's TAX SEASON - usually a time of celebration for such as I. The deep Mysteries of Taxation leave most people terrified to their bones. Not me. I look upon it as a challenge. Me against the Taxman. I intend to squeeze every last nickel of refund out of HIM. So there!!!

I gave my Olympic Smoldering Hearts socks away last week. My knitting friend Karen was anoyed with me for doing so. I know I worked hard on them but it isn't like I NEED another pair of socks! I mean, here's a pic of the line of socks on laundry day - & this didn't even empty the sock basket!! These are only the WINTER socks too . . . I need to start knitting something else for a change, I guess. Maybe I should finish a sweater or two for myself instead of constantly knitting a new pair of socks - LOL!!

Speaking of sweaters, I still have one in the car that I'm working on - the purple Marble Top-Down cardigan. Funny how your mind works. I woke up in the middle of the night last night, thinking about that sweater. Don't laugh, but I was wondering if some pears were in the same bag with it. I bought a couple of pears that needed to sit & ripen. I've lost them. I hope they aren't rotting in the bag under the Marble sweater . . . . and I'm almost afraid to look!

So Spring has sprung - my rhubarb is almost big enough to eat!!! The Hostas are not only up but are unfurling leaves! The Clematis is sending up new shoots - I chopped them back to the ground since they'd become so spindly & gave them a shot of fish fertilizer. And my baby Pink Lady apple tree is busting out all over. I want to get dirt, plant seeds, move pots & put up new lattices around my patio. And I really want to drag out the spinning wheel, a big bag of Shetland fleece or Brown Sheep mill ends & spend the day spinning yarn! I want to see Great Big Fluffy Skeins hanging to dry in the breeze . . .

Teeny Tiny

I've been having so much fun knitting infant socks from all the sock left-overs in my THREE big zip locks! I could make infant socks for the next several years from all these! One of the new gals in our little knitting group had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago. It's her first & they expected a boy. Since they have nothing for a girl - can't see WHY infant wear has to be sexist myself - I took to knitting wild little socks as a surprise. Apparently, most of her sleepers are footless - they all had feet in them when I used to buy them . . . . but that's good for me & my crazy little socks!! I've knit several pairs so far & will carry on since the little one needs socks. The BSJ is finished except for buttons - didn't think about them very much but now I have find something to go with the holes in the sweater front!! I have some lovely Ladybug buttons but they're too big & I know I have a stash of infant buttons in all kinds of colors & shapes but gawd knows where they are . . .

I've turned the heels on both pairs of the Ex socks. I have only the toes to finish off in one pair & a half a foot on the other. Since we've had snow showers off & on this week - yeah, the flowering trees are not particularly happy about that - he's been waiting with bated breath to put them on.
And the snow?? Well, I guess we had our spring for the Olympics - I was out several times over the couple of weeks in shorts & a summer tee during the day. It was too cold at night! One day, while knitting at Starbucks after 2 in the afternoon, I got a sunburn!!! But, we're back to fingerless gloves, wool socks & jackets for sure!!! It's a bit warmer today - we got torrential rain instead of snow showers.

Our knitting buddy Gail left for Hawaii with her family yesterday. Her daughter Lisa is marrying Mattie on the beach with Mom & Dad, brother Mike, his spouse, Jane & daughter Freya in attendance. Then they're all working on their tans for a week. Lucky them.

The was this big bag of baby yarn . . .

I needed a break from lace, charts, socks & everything else that took effort & thought. And I noticed I still had this big bag of baby yarn I was given before Christmas. It was part of the yarn collection of an 80 something lady who's been knitting for charity most of her adult life. She decided it was time to clear out the yarn because her hands just hurt too much to knit now. She knew I was knitting hoodies & infant socks for charity so she decided to give it all to me. Bags & bags of it. I think I got 5 or 6 bags that weighed approximately 30 pounds apiece & a couple of smaller bags of baby & novelty yarns!! I kept the big bag of baby yarn for some reason & decided to make something simple & fun. And there's always a baby around who needs bright little goodies!! Right???

I dug through the bag & found mostly yellows, whites & a couple of balls of green. Oh there's a little bit of left over multicolor & a tiny ball of lime but mostly it's yellow & white. But, there isn't two balls of anything that matches & it's all slightly different weights. The only option is the Baby Surprise Jacket! The BSJ is soooo much fun to knit & as you can see from the picture, it's gonna be a wild one!

And while I was at it, I knit another pair of infant socks.