Unfinished Funk

I was surfing the other day when I hopped over to see what Kim was up to and she had a post about being in an in between project funk. I could totally relate. Here I have all of these long-term projects on the needles that seem to be taking for-freaking-ever. That compiled with the endless cloudy days has left me in a funk. Those who know me well, know that if I don't have anything nice to say, I don't say anything at all. So, that's why there's been a long silence.

I do have some good news. I got my passport on Friday. Here they said it would be a couple of months but it turned out to be just a couple of weeks. I also got the time off I requested around my sabbatical approved. So, it's written in stone: I have from May 17 to July 7 off with pay. The countdown begins: 8 weeks to go.

Caitlin sent an email letting me know that she blew out her fuzzy feet slippers. She's got them held together with duct tape. And Danny is so fearful that hers will blow that she is rationing wearing them. So, I quickly made some felted moccasins for her. The last time I made them slippers, I mailed Danny's first and then followed up with Caitlin's. I learned that those two are competitive, so everything has to be equal. So, I'm in the midst of making a pair for Danny to mail off. Silly lesbians.

I also found that Martha Stewart published a felt slipper pattern a while back. So, I've used her pattern to make slippers from recycled felted sweaters from the thrift store rather than trying to make my own pattern. They are fast and fun to make. I set up my sewing machine in my office. It was nice to hear the whir of the machine. Years ago, I used to sew my kids clothes and a bunch of mine. I forgot how much I like to hear the sound of the sewing machine run.

I also signed up for two wet felting classes in April with Cottage Fiber. That should be a total blast.

I had an appointment this week and grabbed the long languishing landscape socks to knit while waiting in the office. After knitting a bit using this fabulous sock yarn, I realized that I hate knitting with the Noro Kureyon sock yarn. It has no give. It twists up on itself making knot after knot. It flies off your fingers as you knit. Frustrating. However, I spent an arm and a leg on this yarn, so I'll be damned if I don't finish these socks.

The diswarsher is installed and Sam and I are back full force in the kitchen. We were supposed to have some friends over for dinner last night. But, they canceled because the wife and the daughter were both sick. I had gone to a LYS and bought some "beginner" style knitting needles. I had big plans to teach the little girl how to knit. Maybe next time. We had planned on making smoked meatloaf, mashed cauliflower, sauteed mushrooms and peas with fresh thyme and garlic. We had all the food, so we made the meal for ourselves anyway. Since I spent the majority of Friday cleaning the house, it's all done. Those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers with Febreze are fabulous.

I think I'll spend today working on the Lady Eleanor Wrap. It's a welcome change to be knitting on larger needles after jacking around with the damn Noro socks.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Sears called yesterday to postpone the part yet again. I went bananas and demanded to speak with a supervisor. I was promised a manager call back. I had been promised that before with no call back, so I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. A few hours later I did receive a call back and they decided to replace the dishwasher and gave us $500 to spend on a new one.
So, we zipped over to Sears and ordered a Bosch. It will be delivered to the store on Monday. A friend of ours will pick it up and install it on Tuesday. Yippee.
The last couple of days I've gotten my crochet on. I dug up the vertical stripe blanket and worked on that in the evenings. I visited Kim's blog and saw she had won a blog contest from Faith. I checked out Faith's profile on Ravelry and she has made the most beautiful crochet blanket, which I added to my queue. I figured I'd better finish the crochet blanket I've started before attempting another blanket. I'm not sure what I'll do with this blanket when I'm done. I've wanted to make each of my kids a blanket as a keepsake. I'm just not sure they would want an acrylic crochet blanket. Dustin and Tate have seen the blanket and gave it a thumbs up. It could be that I'm just a yarn snob.
We've been keeping things simple here for our dinners as of late. I just don't want to generate a crap load of dishes and pots and pans. Last night, we picked up a pizza at Whole Foods to bake at home. We had to dress it up with more ingredients, of course. Before that it was burgers on the grill. Nothing fancy.

Sears Seriously Sucks

Sears called Monday and the part is still on back order. Where are they getting this part? Mars? That was the sixth time they called to tell us it was on back order. Terrible, awful, harrible customer service. Never buy from them.
The weather has been warmer and the dogs have been playing outside. Things are picking up at work. I'm scheduled to work overtime on Saturday. Hopefully, it won't be busy so I can get some knitting done.
I fell off the wagon and cast on for another pair of socks. These are made out of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn. I'll have to snap a picture later on. I'm making them very long. So much for concentrating on finishing up those WIPs. Oh well.
I've been reading up on circular sock machines. I'm intrigued.

Whirlwind Weekend

It's just been a really busy weekend.
I took a half day off on Friday and had lunch with an old friend at Guadalajara Cafe. Then, it was off to the post office to apply for my passport. My dad called late in the afternoon and wanted to have coffee, so I met him at Starbuck's to listen to him complain about his health and the stock market.
I made beef stroganoff ala Nigella for dinner Friday night and cleaned like a banshee because Sam's folks were coming for a visit on Saturday.
I treated myself to breakfast at Room 39 Saturday morning and stopped by The Studio on the way home and bought 2 skeins of malabrigo. Then, it was off to Costco with the in-laws, where they bought us a 42" HD TV and groceries. Later, we had to go to Time Warner to switch out the cable box for HD TV, so we went to Korma Sutra for lunch. I sure have had a fun time going out to eat all weekend long!
I woke up at 3 (daylight saving time) this morning and could not get back to sleep. I think I'll flick on a light and get some knitting done.
Tuesday marks the one month anniversary of being without a working dishwarsher.

I guess I'll try again.

I left immediately after work to the post office to have them process my passport. I'd forgotten how gross standing in line at the post office is. I mail my stuff from the UPS store or the post office's kiosk. I kept thinking about how postal workers go mental while I stood in line for about 25 minutes when there were only 4 people in front of me. So, when I finally got to the counter, they told me that the only process passports until 3 p.m. Sombeetch. I guess I'll try again tomorrow.
Tonight, we are making our take on a BLT salad for dinner. Romaine, cherry tomatoes, bacon, homemade croutons, avocado, and thinly sliced red onion with a buttermilk dressing I make. I've gotten to the point where I won't purchase salad dressing anymore. It's just so much better made up fresh, and the possibilities are endless. Our latest splurge was DaVero Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It's superb on salad greens with lemon juice, sea salt and fresh black pepper. Simple and elegant.
I plan on spending the majority of my night sock knitting.
I am required to drive into the office for a stultifying meeting tomorrow. UGH.

This

I got a bunch of things done today.
Passport pictures taken. Ratch's gift mailed. And I got a new phone. My phone was so old that it didn't cost me a penny. Then, I stopped off at the bath shop and got this. And this. All to take a bath with this. Glorious.
We made this for dinner tonight.
Dinner was delightful last night. My mom was so happy. I had burnt ends. I think it's been over a decade that I've had them. And Tate brought me a magazine and even bought me this knitting book.
No knitting today. Crappers.

Super Saturday

Yesterday was just gorgeous. It's hard to believe that snow/rain/thunder is expected tonight.

I spent the majority of yesterday cleaning and running errands. I went to Lowe's and got the paint for the family room. I also found the laminate flooring I like. It's not as cheap as the stuff at Costco, but I like it. It doesn't make sense to get something you don't like just because it's cheap.

It looks like slate flooring. And the wall color looks like a chocolate milkshake. I'll paint the trim first (white) and then the walls. Now I just have to figure out how to keep the pets out of the way while I paint.

We went to the Asian market downtown to get the stuff for Thai Style Chicken Soup, which we made for dinner last night. I still can't get over how cheap that place is. And they have wonderful herbs for a fraction of the cost at most grocery stores. I hope they have garlic scapes when the warm weather arrives. Maybe I'll get some with my CSA produce this spring. I'm dying to try them. I volunteered to be a recipe tester for Cook's Illustrated magazine a while back. I thought that would be something fun that Sam and I could do together. We will be making Stuffed Portobellos with Pork and Fennel today.

I got my February shipment of Spunky Eclectic sock yarn in the mail yesterday. I'm so glad that I signed up for the sock club. It's so nice to get a little package in the mail each month.

I really wanted to cast on for something new last night. But I'm going to stick with my Focus on Finishing, so I can get the WIPs done before my sabbatical begins. I've been working on Lady Eleanor. I've got 12 of the 17 tiers done.

Tonight, we go to dinner at Jack Stack Barbecue to celebrate my Mom's birthday. It will be nice to have the entire clan together.