27 posts tagged “crochet”

Snow redux
We will give thanks to entrepreneurial people who shovel driveways for a small fee.  That saved me so much hassle.

Work
Argh!!!!!  'Nuff said.

House 

• Not much progress is being made inside.  I did get a few more things on the walls and I made the shower curtain.
• Dad is coming up this weekend and hopefully we'll make some progress on getting the ceiling fans up (which requires 2'x4's in the attic to mount against in the 3 bedrooms plus running ground wire to all of the ceiling light fixtures *sigh*).
• The forsythia is about 1/4 the size it was though I really only chopped off half of the branches to the ground.  I didn't realize so many of the branches were top heavy.  Good thing we didn't get an ice storm over the winter.
• The first mowing of the year happened last weekend.  I also dug up the two rose bushes, a sickly azalea and what I found out later to be a lilac.  There was also some unexpected tree trimming which went from removing a couple suckers to "that entire limb needs to go".  My little garden hand saw was a great purchase.
• For four Saturdays in February and March, I took a really interesting landscape design class at the botanical garden.  So now I have a plan (which I may or may not stick with) for the yard.  The main thrust of the entire thing was get rid of almost everything and start over.
• I was going to wait to work on the yard but on Monday I decided the huge boxwoods in the front had to go.  Now.  So Wednesday after work I took the saw to them.  The root system of three of the boxwoods are huge so it's going to take some work to get them out. 
  
• I also chopped up the Ligustrum by the driveway as it was also huge and looking a bit sickly. 
  
• After the azaleas finish blooming, I'll probably dig them up too. 
  
• I figure I'll plant annuals in the two beds in mid-May and then in the fall and next spring, plant new bushes and azaleas.
• My other goals this spring are to dig up the grass around crape myrtle in the front yard and put down mulch.  That will eliminate the need to mow around it (though that's less of a problem now that that limb is gone :o). 
  
• I'm still planning to follow my landscape design and do a plant bed with hostas and perennials around the redbud and maple by the driveway.  
  

Other

• My trip to NYC is coming up rapidly.  I'm so looking forward to seeing the play Coraline and hanging out with hollycrome.
• The cat fell off the couch last night.  I felt bad for her and she's fine but it was funny.  
  

Work:  As irritating as usual and it looks like the agency isn't taking over the application.  Grrrrr.

House:  Slowly making a bit of progress.  I took down the bathtub doors and painted the ceiling and walls.  It looks 100x better.  The shower curtain I brought was so not the color they said (damn Bed Bath & Beyond) so I need to sew a couple of curtain panels together.  The high point of the month was the all encompassing spreadsheet of what I want to do.  I'm also taking a 4 day landscape design class at the botanical garden.  I'm halfway done with it and it's interesting.  We'll see if it helps any when I actually get around to doing something with the outside.

Crafts:  I started a pair of purple socks that I had hoped to finish by the end of February but life got in the way. Also the purple sweater I'm crocheting has been neglected due to life. 

But I have a snow day today (6+" of snow! and it's still coming down!).  I probably should make an attempt to dig out once the snow stops but otherwise I haven't quite decided if I'm going to be productive or to blow everything off.  Decisions decisions.  In the meantime, pictures!

Work

• More of the same plus frustrating, irritating and annoyingly chaotic.
• But the agency that owns the application my group supports will be taking over the support.  This will free my group to do other things.  I've started working on some of those things but I will be so glad when the transition is complete and I no longer have to worry about election stuff.
• Speaking of elections, we watched the Inauguration in the conference room on the projector with sound coming from an old tv.  Less than ideal but it worked.
  

• The ballet was interesting.  Oddly I think I preferred the Columbus Metro Ballet company version I saw a few years ago.  To me it just makes more sense that the Sugar Plum Fairy & Prince dance a lot instead of Clara & The Nutcracker.
• One of my best friends ended up coming up New Years Eve to hang out.  It was nice.  I made her go to many furniture stores with me on New Years Day.
• Between two days off (for Lee-Jackson Day and MLK Jr Day) and a sick day this month, I haven't worked a full five day week since mid-December.  Next week is going to be rough. :o)
  

• Since I had two days off , I made progress on the little painting stuff.  Still have some things to do (like the kitchen ceiling, the attic door and some trim in the utility room).
• I also got some things that had been lingering done like hanging the blinds in the utility room, removing the adhesive on my failed window film attempt, and putting up the middle bracket in the dining room (which required shorter screws).
  
• I've decided I need to do *something* with the bathroom.  So in the near future it's going to lose the tub enclosure (I hates it muchly), gain a shower curtain, and be painted the same color as the rest of the house.  I'm hoping all of that will also make it less white and icy.
• I need to spend some time figuring out what else I need and want to do.  Replacing all of the interior doors is high on the list; I'm just not sure I can do them without help.
  

• I finished the sweater and very much love it despite the two rows I complete screwed up.
• As I needed something to counteract all that lace knitting, I'm now knitting a simple white shrug to wear with a brown & white sundress I got on clearance last fall.
• I also finally crocheted the hat my coworker wanted.  She's wore it every day since I gave it to her which makes me happy.
  

Work

• It's been very quiet since the election.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  
• I took Monday off.  Too bad I have errands and house stuff to do that day.  Sitting around and doing nothing sounds like heaven right now.

• 

  Christmas Tree 2008 - Unlighted
  My Christmas tree is up.  I had forgotten my colors were navy and silver as it's been a good number of years since I've put it up.  It goes very well with everything in the living room.
• I spent the good part of yesterday and today raking leaves.  Fourteen 33 gallon bags later and the fenced part of the backyard is done.  I still need to do the front yard and redo the side bit that's outside the fence.  It wouldn't have been so bad but I don't think they raked at all last year so it took some work to get the really old leaves up.  So trees are a mixed blessing in my book.
• My other big project this weekend is painting the second bedroom/office.  I did the first coat this morning and will do the second after dinner.
• During my raking spree, I think I've settled on having the fence replaced next year and having the bathroom redone in 2010.  Puppy thoughts trump bubble baths (not to mention the fence will most likely be less spendy than the bathroom).

• It feels like I'm not making progress on anything.  I have a blanket I need to finish crocheting by Christmas and I need to crochet a fan bookmark by the second weekend in December for a friend.  Not to mention I'd really like to have my February Lady Sweater done by Jan 1 and I want another pair of socks.  So much I want to do and so little time.

I was doing so good with the monthly thing and it kind of went kablooie (and I was unaware that was spelled that way until Wiktionary told me so).

- We've had 2 elections since last time.  We found out yesterday we'll have another special and then the big one in November.  We are electioned out and will have mush for brains by Nov. 5.

- I'm heading to Anaheim, CA next Thursday for my most likely last ALA Annual.  And I return Tuesday July 2.  I've found sessions to attend, I'll see some good friends and attend the Scholarship Bash at Disneyland and I'm hoping to do some sightseeing.

- I will relinquish my secretariat after the board meeting (June 30 at 10 am to be exact).  While it's been an interesting experience, I will be relieved to give it up.

- I'm making some tentative plans for house buying this late summer/early fall.  It feels like the right time and right place.  I'm looking forward to being settled but not to everything necessary to get to that point.

- I've made plans to attend the Coraline off-Broadway musical next May with slytherinlibrarian and hollychrome.  I'm looking forward to it.

- As I mentioned, my little brother graduated from high school last week.  I feel so old . . .

- I went up to Delaware with my mom & aunt to visit family for Memorial Day.  That was a nice trip even if I did drive most the way myself.

- My office moved to another building at the beginning of May.  This was a very good thing as the bathrooms in the other building were moral killing.  We had a open house and invited various people to visit.  Someone got us a home warming gift -- Billy Bass.  It's entirely too amusing.

- I attended the Bugs Bunny on Broadway show.  It was very cool.  The guy who put it together said they were planning to do an entire new show for the 20th anniversary in 2010.  I'm hoping it won't take almost another 20 years to get here.

- And I attended pumaviking's wedding in March.  It was lovely and I had fun seeing the people who attended.  Especially since it involved a trip to Webs. :o)

- Crafting-wise, I've finished up 2 pairs of socks, 2 crocheted sweaters, and a knitted mobius basket.  And somehow I have 7 different projects started now.  Not sure how that happened :o)

* I actually started one of these a couple weeks ago.  However I hadn't saved it yet, my computer crashed and then I was too pissed to write it back up.

* Today's the primaries.  So I came in later (10a) and will be living late (8p or so).  So far so good.  Let's hope it stays that way.

* I had a nice Christmas with my family and a nice relaxing New Years Eve at home with the cat.  I wondered around a outdoor mall on New Years Day and had lunch at a decent Thai place.

* Despite my grumbling, I had fun at ALA Midwinter in Philly.  The train ride up and back was nice as it meant I wasn't driving in the rain, I saw an advance screening of The Spiderwick Chronicles which I really liked and just found out was based on the first 5 books of the series, I brought too much yarn at 2 yarn stores (Rosie's Yarn Cellar which was tiny but so awesome and Loop which had lots of nice stuff -- so much for my "no more sock yarn" declaration :o), and ate way too much with friends I wish I could hang out with more often.

* I finally crocheted my Unseamly sweater last weekend.  Made a bunch of mods but it turned out really well.  I wore it today as it makes me happy and I figured I needed some happiness just in case.

* Next up: a shrug to wear to a friend's wedding next month, a lacy crochet scarf/shawl with some laceweight yarn I brought in Philly, and socks.

* I found out yesterday that a guy I knew from my first consulting project died in a car accident last week.  He was one of those incredibly nice people. :o(

* I made the mistake of glancing in the classifieds Sunday and saw ads for Bichon puppies.  So I'm back to wanting a puppy . . . and a house . . . and to win the lotto without playing it . . . ;o)

* Too much self-reflection this weekend. 

* My manager amuses me so.

* I've got a couple things in progress in the background.  I'm hoping one of them works out but if not, I need to figure out what I'm doing . . .

My favorite The Order of the Science Scouts of Exemplary Repute and Above Average Physique merit badges:

The "MacGyver" badge ('cause MacGyver was cool . . .)

The "arts and crafts" badge (I may have to do something science-y to "get" this one -- I wonder if crocheting the Lorenz manifold would count . . .)

The "I may look like a scientist but I'm actually also a ninja" badge (ninjas!)

The "I work with way too much radioactivity, and yet still no discernable superpowers yet" badge (I think yet is the main word here . . .)

The "science has forced me to seek medical attention" badge

The "I may look like a scientist, but I'm actually also a pirate" badge (pirates!)

The "I actually grew up AND became a marine biologist" badge and The "I actually grew up AND became a paleontologist who studies dinosaurs" badge (gotta respect people who achieve their life goals . . .)

(via kottke.org)