Random Yarns

A new baby in the house

There hasn't been a stich of knitting going on here in the past week. I've been a little distracted by the new baby in  the house. Meet the newest member of our family:

We adopted  him last week from an organization called Puppy Angels. Tucker is a lab mix. His bio says his parents are lab/boxer and lab/rottweiler mixes. But he has longer hair, and our vet thought maybe there is some golden retreiver in there somwhere too. He was born on a farm in Irvine, Kentucky. He was put into rescue in late September. Vetted, fostered, nuetered. The shipped up from Kentucky to New Hampshire. And home with us. For a little guy with a lot of stuff happening in a very short time, he's remarkably well adjusted.

He's a nice pup, about 4 months old, weighing 22 lbs. He's not aggressive, and is very tolerant of my cat, and my kids. He's more than halfway house broken, crates well, and pretty mellow. I'm very happy with him!

So is Alex

One Down..

About Half-Dozen to go.

I've been trying to empty out the overflowing knitting basket by finishing up some of the WIP's in there. But there's not been much knitting going on at Random House. With trucking kids to various educational opportunities, going to work, trying to keep the house from degenerating into a health hazard, I've not done much.

But I have finished the Edgeblad Doily. For your viewing pleasure, a poorly lit, indoor, with flash shot.

Its been blocked, starched, pressed. Maybe I'll even weave in the ends someday. This is a pretty decent sized doily, measuring 18" in diameter.

I did discover something about myself during the process. I can't crochet worth a damn. The simple crochet cast-off took me hours and hours. My hands cramped,  I have a permanent crease between my eyebrows from scowling, and I managed to alienate my family by snarling at them whenever they had the audacity to interrupt me.

We had our first homeowner disaster. See this,

Its a load of clean dishes. How did they get that way?  With a sink full of hot soapy water. Yeah. That sucked. So I went shopping. Picked up a new one yesterday. And just for giggles, I had them throw in a smooth top radiant range.

So, how are we going to pay for all of this? Why, with good ole Yankee thriftyness, of course. We'll just turn down the heat. Our thermostat:

The top is the thermostat, set at 50 degrees. The bottom is the thermometer. Its now 60 degrees in my downstairs. Yikes. Its going to be a long, cold winter.

And finally, as if I'm not busy enough, we're in the process of adopting a dog from a rescue organization here in New Hampshire, called Puppy Angels.  Go on over, and check out the darlings. We're probably getting a little pup called Keller. He's taken off the website right now, but he looks a lot like his brother, Whitman. I'm so excited! He's pretty young, and I'll probably leave him at the foster home for an extra week, just to make sure he's healthy and hasn't caught anything on his ride up from Kentucky (that's where most of their pups come from).

Loose Ends

I absolutely cannot stand to knit on the Tina shawl any more. A quick dig though my knitting basket shows that I have quite a few WIP's that need some attention in the mean time. So I've dug out Edgeblad Doily for a little while. It took me nearly 20 minutes to figure out where I left off (Note to Self: Remember to mark your stopping point on the pattern). I'm enjoying it!

The only bad part, the mercerized cotton makes my hands hurt some.

I also got my order from Knit Picks. I bought a bunch of the Options Needles. Holy Cow, these things are sharp! I luv 'em! I like my points like deadly weapons.

I also bought another lace shawl pattern (this isn't the greatest picture. It's inspired by a doily),  lace weight yarn, and sock yarn to knit Cable Net.

Yesterday I chaperoned my son's Kindergarten field trip to the Rochester Fire Department station house. We walked there, and about one block from the station house we hear sirens, and the trucks go blazing past! Luckily, they returned quickly (a false alarm) and we continued our tour. They sure are nice guys. The class (with fuzzed faces, since I don't have the parent's permission to post).

Unfortunately for the mom's, the firefighters weren't particularly hunky. Bummer.

The ladybugs are migrating. I find them everywhere. There was one in my shower this morning. She ended up washing down the drain. Sorry buggy.

Its in the bag

I have a weird fixation. Seems that I I have a fondness for insulated coffee mugs (I have 7 different ones), water bottles (6) and now, pretty things to carry my kinitting around in. Of course, having a pretty bag or basket sure helps you knit faster.

My newest knitting conveyance:

A Cape Cod basket, with hand made lining, a draw string closure. I bought the basket at The Christmas Tree Shop in Portland, Me for $2.99
I love the weave!

Then I made the lining. I only wish I had a pretty fabric in the house. The navy blue is blah. But I designed the lining to be pulled around the outside of the basket  while the contents are being used.

I need to work on the contents some more, the Never-To-Be-Finished-Tina Shawl. It will be stunning when done, but I don't think I will ever get to the end of the border! But I've got other things competing for my attention (the tiny little person standing on the porch is  my dearest little Ryan):

Right on Target

Target. Bessed bullseye retail. How pleased, how relieved I am that you have chosen to grace humble Dover, New Hampshire with your newest location. Ah! Discount retail that's not Wal-Mart. Does it get any better?

Today was Target's "Friend and Famiy" night. Opened quietly, without fanfare. We went. We saw only a handfull of other shoppers. It was a beautiful clean place, with smiling employees, a Starbucks (!). We dropped $81.79. I passed over that debit card with a grin splitting my face.

I think this very well may fall under the category of "get a life".

A little knitting

There's been a little bit of knitting going on here. I've been working on the Crooked Cables from Sock Bug. Can I just say how wonderful her patterns? This is the third pair I've made from her.

Sorry for the crappy picture. Night-time indoor photos with a flash aren't so great. Its Koigu. Isn't it amazing that I'll use $11/skein yarn for knitting socks, but I put fingernail polish on the runs in my pantyhose, so I can get one or two more wearings out of them before I throw them away?

Work at Starbucks has been keeping me busy. I've been working quite a few hours, and have been asked to take a Shift Supervisor's position. Its good, because that means more money and more responsibility, which keeps me from being bored.  I'm sure you've heard about the Price Increase. They are giving us all a $.10 wage increase. Whoa. Don't spend that all in one place. But hey, when was the last time a company raised its prices and then gave it to their employees?

We promised Alex a kitten. I don't know what's overcome us. Somehow I didn't think I'd hear the  pitter-patter of four little feline feet again. He's been really wanting one for a while, and I'd like another kitty since the passing of Bear. We miss having two in the house. Sadie's not sure what she thinks of this idea.

Hey Y'all

  Yup. I'm still alive. I missed you all so much. I kept reading, but felt bad that I didn't have  a chance to write here anymore.

So, with the help of my handy-dandy MasterCard, my TypePad account is back in good standing.

I'm even knitting. Some. With getting the new house to a place where it feels like home, and adjusting to the role of a grade-school mother, I'm a busy person. And, unfortunately, a boring person.

So, if you don't get enough tedium in your own life, I invite you to join me in the tedium of my life.

Much Love
Wendy

The ball is rolling

Well, we're under agreement. They countered our offer, saying they didn't want to give anything to closing. We finally agreed on $1,500 back at closing towards costs. 

The sellers didn't do any of the normal property staging for the house, such as landscaping (they have dirt. And that's it.) or repainting, un-decorating, or making cheap fixes that would make a buyer interested. They replaced the windows 3 years ago, and the manufacturer's stickers are still stuck to all of them. They had over-flowing laundry baskets sitting around the house during their open houses.  And they are under a deadline to move. As a result, they've had to reduce their asking price by over $25K in the last month to get it to sell. We have very plans for basic landscaping right now, and would love to put a large covered porch on the front. Someday. When we have a spare $20,000 sitting around. Maybe never.

Some specs:

• 3 Bedrooms
• 2 full baths
• 2016 sq ft
• .36 acres
• Originally a single story built in 1992. The second floor was added in 2003, and the downstairs completely redone with hardwood floors.

 
 

 

Now, on to more important things:

Happy Memorial Day!
Thank you to all the veterans who serve, are serving, or died for our country. You service and sacrifice are what guarantees the rest of us our freedom. Thank you, and  God Bless.

Like Getting Married on Your Third Date

We put a bid in on a house today. I'm nervous as hell, because we didn't look at very many properties in person. Only 6. We have been trolling websites for a year now, and know what we want, where, how much we want to (are able to) spend. This house fits all our categories. Its bigger than we thought we'd get, but part of the pricing is because there's no landscaping, the owners haven't done any painting and sprucing up inside, and their Real Estate agent is actually a full-time hairdresser. The house has been on the market for 45 days, and they have a job transfer pending. Here's hoping they like our full-price offer with a request for 3% towards closing. I'm not overly optimistic about the credit back, since they just lowered their price by $10K this week.

Our agent will be sitting pretty if this goes through. We found the house ourselves, called her for the first time on Wednesday to have her get us in for a second time (we went through an open house a while ago), and made an offer one day later. She never have to take us from house to house. And  the seller is offering a full 3% commission, where as most houses in the area are only offering a 2-2.5% commission. She  better get us a nice house-warming gift if this works out.

Still no knitting, and I'm really missing it. I don't have the concentration necessary for the lace edging on the Tina shawl, and it bothers me. I think I need to find the time to sit and knit a bit. I'm stressed out, and I become a happier person when I'm knitting.

My in-laws are coming for a visit tomorrow. Unfortunately, I decided to pick up an extra shift tomorrow morning, 6am to 1:30. I need the money, since the cars both have to get registered next month, and Jon's car needs some kind of repair, since the check engine light won't go off.

Next Sunday I'm doing the AIDS walk in Boston with 4 of my co-workers. I love doing things like that, but I don't know anyone here to hit up for donations. Luckily, Starbuck's has ponied up the money (and the tee-shirts), and we walk without having to find private sponsors.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Father's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!

There's not been much knitting going on here. I've been working quite  bit lately, and that doesn't leave me much time for persuing my hobbies. I like my job pretty well, but there are days when I wish I was still unemployeed. Its nice being home with my family in the evenings. Working 4 nights a week makes it harder for quality family time. Starbucks is fun, but there's no place like home.

However, I have discovered an amazing new drink, courtsey of a co-worker. The Almond Joy Latte. A Mocha Latte with Coconut and Almond syrup added. Very yummy, and stunning in its calorie content.

A customer this weekend topped this concoction. She ordered the following:
A Vente (20 oz) Breve (that means made with half-and-half) Mocha with 7 pumps of mocha (instead of the normal 5, which I still find too sweet), 7 pumps each of Vanilla and Raspberry syrups (that's 20 calories per pump) and extra whipped cream. We figured that  her concoction topped out at about 1,100 calories. Gulp.

Guess what my boys got me me for Mother's Day?
Its a SanDisk Sansa E250 mp3 player. I have the nearly overwhelming urge to knit a cozy for the thing. I've uploaded a few of my favorite CD's and have been listening to them lately. This is the best for dealing with the insomnia that's been plauging me. I have downloaded Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice audiobook from Librivox.com. Puts me right to sleep. That sounds so insulting! Truthfully, I have been actively listening to the story, and find it puts me into a relaxed state.

My 5 year old is such a fashion plate. Check out this ensemble:

Yes, that's knee socks with sandals.