Blasted Time Change

The blasted time change has me all in a tizzy. I really hate how it gets dark so early. I wish we didn't have Daylight Saving Time. Though, my favorite day of the year is when we get to have that extra hour that is unaccountable for. I used to want to have that as a super power. Being able to stop time so I could do all the things I wanted to do.

Lately, I've been interested in Japanese cooking. I love making Miso soup for lunch. Today, I went to an Asian grocery store downtown in search of Natto. They had not heard of it. I guess I'll just have to keep looking. Natto is very interesting to me. And I might even like it because I like stinky food, like blue cheese and Kim Chi.

I've also been reading about Bento making. Though I'm not interested in the elaborate kind at all. Japanese food interests me because it's so healthy.

The scarf I impulsively cast on for is finished. I'm going to give it to Danny. Now I'm concentrating on the dog sweater as Danny indicated she was anxious to receive it. I figure I'll get those done and give Caitlin the green scarf I made earlier this year. I still have to block the dang thing and take pictures.

What I really want to cast on for is this. I've been collecting some nice yarn to use for it. It's too dark to take pictures today.

I've also been thinking of how I'm going to spend my time off in 2008. I have my sabbatical, and plan to go see Caitlin graduate from college. I also get all my regular vacation time and will roll over vacation time. I believe I have 60 days off next year. I think one of the things I will do is clean out a bunch of stuff around the house and get rid of a bunch of crap. Sam was thinking we could even have a Crap Sale. I think I would definitely want a sign that said just that.

Flight of the Conchords- Business Time

Shoes

She was a much older woman. You can always tell by the shoes.
Danny O'Keefe

I'm always in search of a pair of shoes that I can wear with my handmade socks and wear to work. I think I may have found them.My in-laws came for a visit today. Consequently, I cleaned for a bit last night and before they came. I think I might have actually been ready this time. My MIL loves to shop and is very lavish in her gift giving. After bringing us a huge truckload of fire wood, we took of to buy shoes. MIL has diabetic feet and has to be very careful about the shoes she gets. She's already lost one toe to neuropathy. So, after unloading the wood, off we went to a swanky shoe store. I really didn't want to get anything. Lord knows, my MIL has gotten me enough cool pairs of shoes. But, they wouldn't take no for an answer, so here's what I got.

Man, these are great. I think these may be the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn! I'm always blown away when I see the young gals wearing the pointy-toed heels at work. That ship has sailed for me. Probably in the form of platform shoes.

After shoe shopping, we were off to Costco. The pace my in-laws keep is amazing. Here they are in their mid-60's and they wear me out. They bought us a ton of groceries. I've filled the freezer with meat and veggies, got canned items, and toiletries. After they left, we went out for lunch and fell asleep. Tonight, Sam is studying a new operating system, so I high-tailed it to Whole Foods and got some Cioppino for my dinner. I'll be spending the evening knitting, doing laundry and puttering around Ravelry.

Shoes the Full Version

Disaster Strikes!

This is what happens when you leave a puppy alone for five minutes. Not to worry. I was able to salvage it. Note to self: put knitting on the table before you go to bed.

We had less than 20 trick-or-treaters last night. I'm wondering if that's just a thing of the past now. What with all the mental cases out there. We didn't even have the dumb high school kids that comprise the majority of the trick-or-treaters. And only two of the pets complied with costumes.

We went to bed EARLY last night. Even though the puppy got me up early, I went back to bed and slept until 8:30. (I had to work the late shift.) I had originally planned on cleaning before work. That's what happens when you tell yourself, "I'll just get back in bed for 15 minutes."

Joms seems to be doing fine. Whatever it was on his leg is gone and he's back to his normal self. And no more incidents with Daisy. Though we've totally cut any food other than her dry food. And we've done so with Piddles too. Hopefully, some weight will drop off of the Beagle. I'll start up walking them again this weekend.

Tonight, it's meatloaf, sauteed mushrooms, and mashed cauliflower. I know we just had mashed cauliflower; but it's SO good.

Crappers

Joms got out yesterday. He's been running out the door quite a bit lately only to return a few hours later. I never worried all that much about it since he stays pretty close. Except for last year, when he bit someone. The woman filed a police report and the cops came to the house. Well, it appears that he's injured himself somehow. He hissed at me last night and now he's hiding in the laundry room. I saw him skittering in the kitchen this morning and he's limping. So, it looks like I'll be going to the vet tomorrow.

I've been spending time getting my projects logged in to Ravelry. this means rounding them up, taking/editing photos, logging the photos into Flickr, adding notes and comments. It's time consuming, but it's interesting to have them all organized. Plus, I've been checking out what other knitters have made or are making. I'm amazed at the many levels of creativity many of the knitters have. Many have several hobbies such as spinning, photography, writing, or cooking. It's very inspiring. I found a cool pattern an impulsively cast on for this. Pattern can be found here.

Last night I made grilled steak with a blue cheese jalapeno sauce. Whole foods had some lovely artichokes, so we had those with the steaks. I bought some meatloaf mix at the butcher shop yesterday. I normally mix my own. So, we'll have meatloaf and mashed cauliflower with horseradish this week.

Yard work today. maybe someday my back yard will be pretty.

To the Frog Pond it Goes, Bye-bye Pi

I've decided to rip out the Pi Shawl. I made a stupid mistake with the lace. And after going through Ravelry, I've determined that I have nowhere near the yardage I need to make the shawl. And it would just look crappy to add something else to this hand dyed yarn.
It's always funny to me to see the reaction that my non-knitting friends have with ripping knitting out. They simply cannot believe it. But I just don't see the point of keeping on after a big mistake because it will always bug me. Or I won't wear it. Then, what's the point? I definitely like the pattern. I'll have to scour my stash to see if I have the yardage in a different yarn.

I've been reading other knitter's blogs about going to Rinebeck, which is the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. It's held every year the third week in October. Someday. Someday.

Recently, I've noticed that the Beagle has been acting funny after walks. At first she wouldn't be able to make it up on the couch on the first try. Then, getting down she looked stiff. Today, she fell up the step coming in the house from the back yard. Both the front and the back legs gave out. She's not all that old. I'd say 6. She can still put her legs out behind her when stretching out, so it's not her hips. I'm not exactly sure what to do about it. I realize she needs to take some weight off. I already have her on low calorie dog food. But, I guess I'm going to have to eliminate any treats or scraps. I think I will continue taking her on walks for now, just so she can lose some weight and gain strength. Maybe she needs a low dose of aspirin for the joints. I'm not ready to go through the downward spiral thing again. It seems it hasn't been that long since I lost my last dog.