There's other people here!

There's a few things - well more than a few things - that really bother me about the public habits of some people. They seem to forget other people are within listening distance or within, well, smelling distance of them and seem to think the world is theirs and theirs alone. They live in a little bubble that they can see other people but other people can't see or hear or smell them.

Take lunch this week. I go out for lunch every day for a couple reasons. It's my chance to escape work for an hour and read a good book. I go to good fast food places and have a routine. Each week I hit Panera's for soup and sandwich. They have great food. I also love Panchero's - fresh wonderful burritos. LeeAnn Chin's - good Chinese. Noodles for Mac & Cheese. Dino's for falafel sandwich, and a few other places. I don't feel guilty about spending extra for lunch because supper is often some ice tea and crackers or something else equally cheap/small.

So - back to lunch. I went to Panera's and got my meal, found a table and sat down. Halfway through my sandwich a lady with a phone glued to her ear sat next to me just in time to say (quite loudly) "Was the stuff that came out of his nose green and slimy?" GIVE ME A BREAK!!! I do not need to hear about someone's nose discharge during lunch. There are several other topics I'd prefer not to listen to during lunch or in public but really - body discharge? What made this lady think anyone in the restaurant would want to listen to this while eating?

Since I'm complaining about people's public habits - we have a few people at work that way over use perfume/cologne. Men and women. You know they are coming before you see them and know where they have been long after they leave. I have very good smell and it is connected to my brain. Strong odors = headache. My "favorite" perfume habit is the bathroom trick someone at work uses. After she has used the bathroom for "those" needs and created a bit of an odor, she feels the need to spray a ton of perfume in an attempt to cover up "that" smell. Let me tell you - perfume and "that" smell do not make a good combination. The perfume does not cover anything up and only makes the entire bathroom smell 10 times worse.

I better quit complaining now or I would come up with a list so long you'd think I was the crankiest person on the planet. So - what's the one thing people do in public that drives you crazy?

Knitting or cats next post - I promise!

Slow boat from China

I ordered something on the internet on Dec 7th. It's still not here. I went on line to check on the progress of the package and was stunned at the timing of getting it to me. Fed Ex Smartpost doesn't seem to be too smart to me.

It left California Dec 7.
Took 4 days to get to Wisconsin (Dec 12)- half way across the country. Where it hung out for a day - must have been taking a little sight seeing tour of the Milwaukee area.
The trip to the Minneapolis area must have been a tough one - it took 2 days (Dec 13-15) to make a 5 hour trip.
Once in Minneapolis my package was so excited to see our part of the country it decided to take advantage of some down time because the web site shows it is expected to be delivered Dec 18!

So to recap it takes 4 days to go approximately 2250 miles and 6 days to go 350 miles.
Something is wrong here!

Any Horizontal Surface

Sunday I put up the ironing board to block some past projects - a couple were on last post. As usual I didn't quite get around to putting it away. The rule in our house is: if there is a horizontal surface it will be covered with my junk or a cat or both. I couldn't believe that all of Sunday the board remained clear.
Monday same thing. The board remained clear.
Tuesday things started to happen. Every time Chief would walk past the board he'd put both front paws up on the board and check it out. He'd then walk away.
Tuesday night he finally found out it was a horizontal surface.

Mom, why didn't you tell me this was a place to sit? - Chief

Yea, fine. Whatever. - Bert

You know I could get used to this. Long - padded. Good to stretch out on. Good kitty rest. - Chief

Well, here it is Wednesday. This new kitty rest is JUST right! Thanks Mom. - Chief

I hate to tell him I'm taking it down tonight. Poor Chief.

FYI - Bert still hasn't figured out its a place to stretch out. Cute but slow.......

Proof of Life

Well, it may not be proof of life but it is proof of knitting. I finally got around to blocking a few of my finished items but the sun did not cooperate today so the pictures are flash and house lighting instead of nature light.

When I downloaded the pictures I realized I still had some pics from work in the camera so I thought you might like to see one of the old printers my team uses to create black & white booklets, brochures, etc.

The left side where the guy is standing is the paper trays along with 3 more trays just to the right of the "bump". This printer can hold 9 different types of paper. Different size, color, weight, tabs, etc. So if you have a book that has a cover, tabs, color paper inserts, etc. - this guy will print is all at once and spit it out complete.
The bump is the printer.
To the right of the extra paper trays is stapler. It staples and loads the finished copies in the window area.
Next, is a stacker. When you do all those tabs, chapters, colored inserts, etc. and its done - it ends up in the stacker waiting to be taken out.
Finally, the last big unit is the booklet maker. It takes finished copies staples the whole thing together, folds it and then trims off the extra edge you get when you fold it.

So - There you have it. An older but still very functional printer. Next time you get a booklet that was printed with a colored cover and the rest black & white it may have been printed on a machine like this one.

Knitting

A while back I finished a shawl out of Mini Mochi. It's simple and lets the yarn do its own thing. The lace edge is Cascade Hertiage Sock because I felt the lace pattern would have been lost with Mini Mochi.
The full size picture is closer to the actual colors. The pattern is Eliina shawl. More info is on my Ravelry site.

I also finally blocked the Alita afghan. This was made from a lace doily pattern with Woolease yarn. My hope was to make an afghan that was a bit special for my couch when company goes because I like to keep the house cool. It needs to be kept away from the couch until then so it remains fairly cat hair free.

And - yes - I block with the iron. Lots of steam, a bit of heat and a light hand. So far I have yet to kill the yarn and things come out looking great.

The Neno Award

I was tagged this weekend for the Neno Award by Toni.

The Neno’s Award Rules and Regulations:

1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.

2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.

3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.

4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.

5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.

6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.

7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

Toni and I have similar things going on as far as cats who like to sew with you and sleep with you and be with you every second of the day. Then of course there's the knitting. After some comments we ended up sharing bits of our local area - I sent her Wild Rice from Minnesota and she sent me some wonderful Huckleberry products from Idaho. Our friendship pretty much explains why I enjoy blogging - I've met some pretty amazing people on the net. Some I've met in person others I may never meet other than through the blogs but we share friendships of sorts that I term as net-friends.

My one problem with blogging is I can't answer people directly through blogger because it hides email as unknown. Many people have commented on my blog that I'd love to reach out to and be more friendly but blogger just won't let me. But for now - I'll enjoy the friendship I get anyway I can get them!

I'm not going to tag anyone for this but I'd love to here from those that read the blog and suffer through the endless Chief and Bert pictures. Maybe one of these days I'll even get the afghan and 2 shawls blocked so I can post pictures! Then of course there's the patterns I've been writing up, I really should finish them. Some day........

Serious Kntting Time Ahead

I've been limping around for the past year or so waiting until my heel got crummy enough to do something about it. 6-7 years ago I had 3 spurs removed from my left heel and the past couple years my right heel has been heading the same way. Today the doctor confirmed it. Time for surgery. Not only do I have major heel spurs going on I also have what is the equivalent of a bunion on my small toe side and a hammer toe starting on my second toe. The decision is to do everything at once so there's one recovery time. So just after the first of the year I'll be getting 3-4 weeks of sitting around with nothing to do but knit and then about 3 weeks after that with an air cast. Able to go to work but after work - come home and sit around and knit. It's gonna be tough but I'll try to survive all the extra knitting time this winter!

Oh - I made the doctor promise I'd be good to go by April so I can enjoy Yarnover and all my net friends that will be coming here. I must be good by then!

Best Sleeping Positions

Every once in a while you look at your world and decide some changes need to be made. You have an old car that costs more to fix than its worth. You have piles of things on the table so it can't be used. You're in a loveless marriage and need to get out. My world is not so dramatic.

My big thing I need to change is my wardrobe. I think its time to make a new night gown. This one is over 15 years old and looks everyday of it. Mom is probably rolling over in her grave seeing me wearing something this raggy!

I may not have made a new nightgown lately but I have made progress on some knitting. I found a Lace Edge Hat pattern I liked and made it out of Malabrigo. It's yummy and wonderful. After I made the hat I decided to come up with some gauntlets that would match. First one is done and of course I didn't take any notes on my increases and such so I've been going a little slower making the second one. Turns out I have enough Malabrigo to make a small scarf also. Once I get the scarf finished I'll write these up and share them with you all. I'll also hunt up the hat pattern source so you can make a complete set.

While I've been knitting the Boys have been doing what they do best - sleep.

Bert likes to sleep on top of the TV cabinet. Here's his favorite pose. I know its because the the heat that comes from the cable box in the cabinet but its still pretty funny.

Even when he hears something he manages to check it out without losing "The Pose".

Once he's sure everything is safe and there's no real live person coming into our cave he relaxes and settles down to some serious sleeping again.

Don't ya just love the hind foot action!

Meanwhile, Chief sleeps where Chief sleeps best - on the recliner between my legs.

The black thing on the bottom of the picture is my laptop. I can handle Chief on the right arm of the chair, Bert on the left arm, the lap top of (of course) my lap and knitting in front of the computer. What else do you need!

Life is good around here if you ignore my nightgown!