Pickles

I love Steven Colbert he is almost a good enough reason to get cable. Recently he showed up with some 'facial damage' and an unwillingness to share the origin of the damage. Colbert has claimed it could have happened by smashing watermelons with his head or by "practicing for a walk-on role in Cirque du Soleil and overestimating the number of French Canadians my forehead would support."

So while my sympathies go out to him, I got to ask 'French Canadians'? Why French ones?

Speaking of face damage I have some of my own, after swapping the comforter that was causing me so much problems out for another I slipped up this week and used Indra's blanket. Now my face is once again a mess and that makes me want to scratch and rub til it feels better (I may convince her to take a picture tomorrow). What I really need is a well loved quilt worn to satin smoothness, cause ALL the modern bed coverings have to much texture for me, or the thread count is to low. :( UPDATED: This picture was take three days after I relized what my problem was imagine it all swollen red and abraded.

Amazingly the baking and knitting groups I have joined appear to be doing good things for my stress levels. Which is good, because normally I would be comatose with stress right now. Instead I am looking forward to this weekend. I keep making the money stretch but pretty soon now it is going to all snap back in my face. It won't be pretty. Nope, not at all.

I need to bake bread this weekend and Indra has pointed out that while I mention my food blog I have been remiss in giving people a handy dandy link on the side. If you will look to your left you will see I fixed that. :) I also have alot of food blogging to do, And knitting, I am already 1 week behind in my KAL, and trust me that is alot of knitting. Lastly I need pictures of me, the food, the knitting, and who knows maybe the random pet.

That doesn't even get into the cleaning I need to do this weekend and the budgeting I am dreading, absolutely dreading. So I think I am going to be a bit busy.

Some days I really wish I could get an even break, I don't need millions of dollars I would just like to start in the black. I don't need everything handed to me, I am willing to work hard for what I get. But I would like the basics, A bed that doesn't sag, shoes that aren't falling apart, a car that isn't racing my bank balance to destruction (I'll give you a hint, the car usually wins). And maybe most importantly I want to be able to go to the right drs and get the right meds with out it being a choice between our health and our bills.

I do need time to knit and pretty needles and lots more yarn. I need, really really need a Kitchen Aid mixer (with flames down the side). I need a walk in Pantry and a Freezer (a BIG! freezer) and I wouldn't mind some refrigerator drawers for produce. I need a Dress Makers Dummy, and a selection of fabrics. And I need a miniature pony, I'm not kidding, it can wear little shoes to protect the floor and sleep in the bath tub, and I will name it Pickles.

Gravey

I have been busy, As usual it is a mixed bag.

I got a new computer, this one actually works and can run WOW. the computer is a 03 Dell, but it was so clean inside you would have thought it was factory fresh, I almost took a picture. It has been 4 years since I have had my own computer, and that is a sad thing for a techie. So having a computer is very good news for me. It needs a memory upgrade rather desperately and the mouse still has balls (oh the horror!). but the processor is good and it feels sooo good to be able to get online at home and not have to share with Indra.

The code to upload images to my forum is still not working and no one on PunBB site has given me any suggestions. I had hoped to be able to sit down this weekend and figure it out, but no such luck. This really frustrates me. It should be so easy. And it is hard to get people to participate when things don't work right.

I have been really enjoying my food blogging, and not only because of the good food (or the very pretty pictures of other's food). I have enjoyed the process of making things. Since Indra has so many food Issues I tend to go for the tried and true, not to mention easy. I have missed real food and now I am rediscovering the joy of cooking.

Due to car problems last month Money is still tight enough to make the extras I want to buy a bad idea (though I will admit to buying some of it anyway.) If I can hold out another month and a half and get one of my knitting patterns sold we should be ok. Right now that feels like a very big gamble.

Since I am cooking more and spending more time in the kitchen my housekeeping has improved. I am keeping up with the dishes for the most part. And in an effort to keep the dog from eating things he shouldn't the floor has been kept pretty picked up. I don't think I have kept up with the house keeping this well for more years then I am willing to admit. I am sort of perversely proud.

We have flies, the flies are driving Indra crazy and then crazier. I am blaming the dog door being broken. but either way I do not know how to make them go away. Shoo Fly! Shoo!, just doesn't seem to be working. I am going to have to take a look at the fly trap we have this weekend.

I Finished my swatch for the Slow Bee Mystery Shawl and received the first clue. I even finished casting on the 181 stitches it requires and winding my yarn into balls instead of cones. If I manage to find some time to knit before Friday I may even be ready when they release the next clue. I am justifying knitting lace instead of working on my patterns by not sorting through all my paper for my notes, because A. it is too hot and B. I don't know where they are, and C. organizing my paper is a big job and I don't have the energy. I have a feeling these excuses aren't going to last for long.

In general despite difficulties my life isn't half bad. I really don't know what I would do with a stress free life, not that I wouldn't like to try. I have My Indra and all the rest is gravy.

How do you Rate as a Spouse?

I found this Marital Test on a blog I frequent, Bag and Trash, home of the Monster Yarn. The history of the test was interesting, unlike alot of these tests it wasn't some bored nerd pulling questions out of thin error it is an actual survey used by psychologists in the 30's for marital counseling.

I took both the husband and wife test and Indra will be happy to know I make a better husband than wife. I also took the test for Indra (aren't I helpful) And I may have been a little harsh either that or I was way to generous on mine. either way here are the results. Have fun :)

72 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

94 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test!

And here is Indra's...

58 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

Dear Diary...

Every so often I swing by The Anti-Craft to see what is new. This time it was Bacon Angels. You got to love the creativity of some people.

I have been busy this week, When I wasn't working I have been trying to figure out why my forum isn't taking the new code to allow me to upload images to posts. so far I haven't cracked it yet. If I don't figure it out this weekend I may have to look into alternatives. Which quite honestly, would suck.

I have also been trying to make up for the cleaning I didn't do Sunday, I think I finally broke even last night which is good it means I can knit tonight and go shopping tomorrow and not end up to far in the hole come Saturday.

Yesterday Cookie Caught a lizard and drug it inside to play with. I always feel bad for their victim but as I told Indra it is just cats being cats and I am not going to punish them for it. On the other hand I am also not going to pick up any remains until after they stop moving. cause ICK!, just Ick! ::shudders::

I figured out why my face was breaking out so bad, the comforter I had on my bead has to much texture and was rubbing my face raw at night. I changed to just a plain sheet and my face is already getting better. I am very relieved because I was afraid it was my glasses causing the problem.

The evil Git gave me a computer, It would be a really good computer except for 2 things, it only had 128 mb of memory and the video card was an generic onboard one from Intell. Which means until I find the right driver I have a screen resolution of 640 X 720 and 4 colors. with luck though I will be online with my own computer by this weekend.

PS: I promised Indra when her father dies I will spank her and make her eat steak. Apparently this will make her feel better. And people think I am strange.

Never Enough Time

See my plant? This is one of my garden successes, Bee's Balm. I never knew its blooms would be so pretty.

My Jasmine is apparently not getting enough sun to bloom though it is growing well. The Rosemary is flourishing and the only thing that keeps it from being a photo op is the funky split down the middle that makes me want to remove half the plant. The Sage and Lavender are recovering beautifully from Deans mowing last yr and I am looking forward to them next yr. The Salvia is thriving and if I ever remember I will get pictures of it.

The new plants are setting in and I should probably give them a once over with a little pruning and TLC. Lowes had Peonies for 13 dollars, I was so tempted, but this is really not the right time of yr to plant it and I do not have the time or money. Next yr I really want to put in Strawberries and Raspberries and expand my herb collection. something to look forward to.

I feel like I accomplished very little this weekend. of course I feel like Sunday was a total loss. Saturday I got up at a reasonable time and took care of all the dishes and did some baking, and well that felt like quite alot for a Saturday morning, we spent all afternoon with our friend Esther. Which means we got home late and bed even later.

Sunday I got up to early to talk to Lori about R2R. I am having trouble getting the upload images to work on the forum, and I can still not find the mod for group invites I want. I went grocery shopping before Indra woke up, got home and made her breakfast and then took a nap, baked and then took a nap, baked some more, Some where in there I did manage to do some laundry and take some pictures before I passed out for the night. I was still exhausted this morning. And now the kitchen is a mess, because while I baked I didn't clean up.

I got the first clue for my Slow Bee KAL. I have already learned alot like how to do decreases easier. I have also learned that, Cones do not travel well, that even with 20 rows 19 stitches across you need to count your stitches every row and have some way to keep track of what row you are on and mark it on the pattern. As soon as I have finished it there will be bad pictures. I promise :)

Oh Yeah!

I promised a while ago to tell everyone one about my fun with Kool-Aid. I did not have as much fun as who ever dyed these lambs (they were for a children's day at a library). I am really considering getting a white pet just so I can dye it like these lambs they are adorable. On to the show, here is what I did.

I was originally dyeing the yarn for my Slow Bee KAL but it turned out that the yarn was to think and their wasn't enough of it. Who knew Lace yarn was so thin! Now I have about 1000 yds of hand dyed angora blend I get to play with.

So I started with a sweater that was a very pale pink and rather ugly and did alot of very careful unraveling. I discovered that unraveling directly to my swift is a real time saver, unfortunately I have two sweaters already unraveled and sitting in big fluffy heaps waiting to be wound up. Oh well someday I will be either that bored or that desperate, until then it isn't getting any more tangled.

I then looked over the Kool-Aid I had on hand to see what I had to work with, it was a rather poor assortment since we don't really drink the stuff. But I rounded up enough for these samples and I was more impressed with the lemon lime then I had thought and the reds were really lovely. Who knew Kool-aid could be so, well Cool?

The colors I decided on were blue lemonade with a touch of the lemon lime. I ended up dying it twice because I didn't think the colors were dark enough (still don't) but it turned out pretty nice). I am not sure if the problem was my math or something in the procedure but I am happy with the results even if they are little more subtle then I had planned.

LOOOT!!!!!

I got Loot! Lots of glorious loot. I am all about the loot. The only bad thing is it isn't free loot, no ransacking involved. :( Still it is CHEAP loot and that is almost as good.

Yesterday was our city wide garage sale, and I managed to hook up with the Queen of all garage salers. She shops like I play WOW. Look another one, and over there two more, I know I can't carry anymore but there is another one, and it is after lunch, but we haven't checked that out yet. This is my LYS owner. She is about a foot shorter then me and was wearing high heels and I still couldn't keep up. And to add insult to injury I was dripping wet and she was as cool as a cucumber. It was great!

I spent 60 bucks, I had only planned on spending 30, but then again I hadn't planned on spending 5 hours shopping either. As you can see I got some great stuff (my Flickr will have it all labeled), the best buys were the chair for 20 (Indra has claimed it and it is off limits to me and the dog), the two lamps for 5 (best part is they use regular light bulbs), the ceramic lined roasted for .50 and the sink Mandolin that was brand new still in packaging for 1.

I also got this and have once again been labeled Dumb Ass by Indra. Apparently my manager handing me a bottle of sunscreen at work on Thursday should have been a hint that I am one of the truly pale people and need protected from the evil day star. I told Indra that as a hint went it was a little to subtle for me.

K is for....

K is for Knit Knacks, Font is Knits and Scraps

Some of the little Knit Knacks I have collected. If you are interested Flickr tells you what everything is.

I've been Tagged!

Lori of
Lip Smacking Goodness, My partner in crime in developing the new Recipes to Rival savory challenge, Tagged me! I have mixed feelings about this first of all these type of things frustrate me and second of all it means someone reads my blogs. Irritation and elation are warring with in me. I think I am going to let elation win and hope this isn't like a chain letter and as soon as I do this one three more show up.

So here goes....
What was I doing ten years ago?

1998, I was graduating college and Falling even more in love with Indra, We were handfasted in December. I also experienced my first real prejudice, One really nice apartment would rent to two girls but not two lesbians.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

1. Pick up freecycled gas grill (surprise Indra)
2. Grocery Shopping (have to figure out the list first)
3. Get rest of letters posts for the Recipes to Rival blog
4. Find chart for dwarf coat (I am remaking it to fix issues)
5. Post my K to my blog and ravelry group

5 Snacks I enjoy:

Chocolate
cheese
Apple
Celery (especially with peanut butter)
Pie (there is always room for Pie!)


Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I have had this planned since I was 6. Pay my bills. Fix my house (took me 30yrs but I finally figured out I don't want a huge house I want a well designed house.) Invest! Help my Family. Help others (healthcare for young and elderly, food programs, education). And I want to take all the people that have been there for me over the yrs out to a really nice restaurant and give them nice presents as a thank you. I also want to go on one shopping spree where I don't look at price tags.

Places I have lived:

Mt Ayer, IA
Nevinville, IA
Creston, IA
Shannon City, IA
Denton, TX
Indra will kill me if I give my current location so I will say Hicksville, TX just north of Dallas

Jobs I have had:

Farm Hand on a Dairy farm, College Cafeteria worker, Stocker in Grocery Store, Waitress (I wasn't very good at it), Mall Survey Taker, Home Health Care (live in caretaker for elderly), Library Aide (Special collections), MSN Phone Support, Corporate Computer Helpdesk, Best Buy Trainer, Kirby Salesman, And Currently Computer Helpdesk for Tax Software.

I tag……
Wendy of Earth Whisper Fiber Arts.
Bron of Bron's Blog II
Rachael of Yarn a Go-Go
Leslie of A Friend to Knit with (she started my interest in the food blogging world.)

Act 2, scene 1

May was a disaster that appears to be moving into act 2.

The car broke again Friday. And so I am having another long weekend. If I am lucky I will be back to work Thursday. It is going to take another 200$ to fix the car. I have taken out all the loans I can. I know of no one who has money they could loan me. And if they did I have no idea how or when I could pay them back.

Also On Friday I was told that the rapidly spreading burning itching swollen rash on my inner thighs (where my short legs had hit me on sat) was definitely an allergic reaction to something, maybe poison ivy, and that the solution was a cream applied twice daily and plastic bags taped over it 'to keep it moist'. Also an ice pack between my legs helped some.

Also while I was at the Dr she took a look down my throat. I apparently suffer from Tonsilliths, like monoliths but in your tonsils, also called tonsil stones. Two things about them, they make your breath reek, and they irritate the hell out of my tonsils.

So to recap feel horrible, poor and stinky. Doesn't look like Act 2 is going to end very well for me.

J is for...

J is for Jello! font is Johnyokonysm.

Warm pudding is a comfort food for me when my throat hurts. The warmth soothes and the the thickness coats my throat and the sugar is a natural antiseptic. Besides that it just plain tastes good. and Jello is of course the preferred brand.