In Limbo

I'm feeling a bit in limbo this evening. Do I or don't I go to knit night? What if I do have H1N1? Do I want to pass this on? I'm feeling pretty good today and so I'm thinking I will go. Besides I was probably contagious last week...

I'm also feeling in limbo because I just checked all of the blogs that I follow and no one is keeping up their blog..... I've nothing to read..... that means I have to go on an interesting blog hunt again. Let me tell you that it is no small task to find good blogs to follow... I read dozens sometimes before I find one that is worth going back to read again and again. Some of the blogs I land on haven't been updated in two years or more so they don't even get a little read. I enjoy having a look into people's lives. It is more entertaining to read what they want to write about themselves... it's my form of entertainment.What really is cool is when you find a blog about an ordinary person who has some skill in writing about the things that they enjoy.... I hardly ever get sucked into blogs that are written by professionals.... they are stunningly boring.More often than not if it is a recommended blog it sucks. I checked out one blog list for the top 100 read blogs in the world not one was interesting. What in the world are people interested in... it is usually politics this or financial world that.... if I want to read about that stuff I'll look up a news website. No I like peaking in the windows of ordinary people like myself.... people who are just moms and dads... people who talk about their garden or their jobs, or the new hair cut they got or the new car they want.... those are the fun blogs... they tell you a little about other people the world over and it is a little reassuring to know there are other people out there who are living interesting and equally grueling lives. Common and that's just right for me. So take it from me if you make it into my blog list.... wow!

I'm also feeling in limbo because I'm not sure what I want to do next.... well actually that is a lie... I really want to knit my gloves.... but since I don't have enough DPNs then I want to knit my headband.... and since I don't want have enough wool..... I want to knit my Karaoke project..... but I can't find that.... sooo I don't know what I want to do.

There are plenty of things for me to do.... all I have to do is look at the Christmas list to the right and I can see what I should do but are these things thatI want to do..... well you get the drift.

By the way things are happening in the barnyard. Yesterday Hubby separated out Izzy and put her in with the lambs.... she has been sold to the highest bidder for a lot of bushels of oats.... the lambs will be fattened up for butchering probably in January or February.... Meanwhile Ipwitch, the new ram lamb.... the white one.... is in the paddock with the ewes.... yes... its sex season again!! They are far enough away this year and my desk is facing the other direction so I'm not seeing sex this years but as I had enough o that last year this time I'm quite content to turn my head and live in blissful ignorance.... I just hope that Ipwitch does not shoot blanks! He does appear to have more interest in the grain we feed than the girls... hmmm!

Sorry that last paragraph really doesn't have anything to do with being in limbo does it? Well if we really wanted to stretch we could say that I'm in limbo about Ipwitch being the stud I hope he is.... hmmm.

Perhaps I should get out my $500.00 dollar charka and have a go at that..... yeah maybe that's what I should do.... hmmm.... I wonder are there any blogs about charkas???

A Whole Bunch Of Stuff

Right... just off the spinning wheel and I managed to finish some lovely Karaoke fibre. I bought some of this two years ago in Olds and thought it was lovely. When I had finished spinning it I started knitting a project that I knew I did not have enough fibre for. The idea was to just use what I had and buy more as I needed. I wanted to keep it going. So this year when I went to Olds I discovered that it wasn't going to be so easy since I couldn't find a single person selling the blasted stuff. In came my good friend who is a dealer for Louet. (I really want to name her and give her a little boost to her business but I never name names on my blog....) She had just brought in this new great product and was I interested.... well considering that the new product was Karaoke I was all for it.... For the last few months this fibre has sat in my studio on top of my storage units taunting me and making me really want o spin it.... But I have had other things that I had to do or needed to do.... yesterday I needed a fun spinning day.... so out came my Karaoke. I just finished it and I love the stuff. It has this beautiful creamy colour and spins like silk.... such a divine sheen when it is finished. I spun it in my usual easy Baby Weight (a little lighter than sport weight) 2 ply yarn at about 14 wpi (wraps per inch) and an even 4 tpi (twists per inch). It is very nice even if I do say so myself. I can't wait to knit some more on my project.... I just have to find it first!!! I think it is buried under stuff in the shed.... scary!

I just also finished watching "Band Of Brothers" all I can say is WOW! Pretty awesome and moving TV. I watched with Remembrance Day in my mind.... how could anyone watch this program and not be moved. We had a friend lends us the DVD series and I just couldn't help being totally enthralled. We got rid of TV years ago and only watch now what we want to watch...in the form of movies and DVDs that are TV shows. It has made for a much better life style for us and we feel very strongly on that. Our children are not exposed to adds constantly and so they are less inclined to jump on every band wagon for new and improved products. Christmas is not nearly as commercial and we just find that loosing TV has enriched our relationships as well. We get enough advertising through the computer media. I get more done too. Last year we spent several days in a hotel in Edmonton and spent the four days there remembering how horrible it is to sit in front of the TV with a remote control clicking through channel after channel in the search for something that would be of interest and nothing was good. We ended up watching news and reruns! Well at least while we were in the hotel room... which wasn't too often. But it reinforced our decision to not have TV in our house. Anyway I digress.... I told you this was about a whole bunch of stuff.... If you get the chance to watch this great program I definitely recommend it..... it is not for the faint of heart though as there are some very gruesome depictions of battle situations... including body parts and lots of blood.

I am attempting to sit today to do a little spinning for the level 3 again. I am still working on a better sample for the support spindle. Third try lucky. We'll see.

I have one last item that has been on my mind of late..... for all you bloggers that I follow.... keep blogging.... I miss it when you guys don't write. It is such a disappointment to open your pages and there's nothing new.... (pout!)

Hmmm...again!

Poop!( I don't say words like sh-t online)... I ran out of yarn with only three inches to go.... the great thing is I just have to spin more..... Sh.. I mean Poop!... I have to buy it first.....problem.... maxed out credit card is still maxed out..... rats! Ok plan C.... I just have to wait till payday..... I can do that.... I know I can..... : )










Feeling a little better today but I have a lousy headache..... Chest pains are noticeably better.... woo hoo! Cough is noticeably not as bad....I just have to rest and drink fluids.... I wonder does booze count??? I'm sure Martha Stewart wouldn't agree but I'm thinking a good stiff belt of Rum wouldn't go astray right now. (Hmmm... rum in hot chocolate..... I could get away with that in the middle of the day.... Oh yeah I'm allergic to booze.... D-mn!)

Hi ho, hi ho, I think I'll spin something....

I knew I took up spinning for a reason... oh yeah it was to replace the booze.... ; }

Hmmmm

So finding baby booty patterns for fat yarns seems to be a bust. Plan change......headband ear warmer for fat yarn..... hmm... bust too! I will make my own pattern... ha! So there world of knitting patterns online.... bite me.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go.... again!

Vehicles, Videos, and Knitting

So Hubby and I are thinking about a new vehicle. Our old truck is almost eight years old and has seen better days. I'm stuck home feeling sick with what might be H1N1 Flu and nothing to help me pass time in the way of TV. I want to knit my gloves but am needing a second set of DPNs and so I've been looking up patterns for baby thingies with some pretty fat yarn that I don't have a lot of. Never a dull moment at Nicholsville West Farm.

OK so lets back up.... Hubby and I started looking a vehicles last week and we took out a Ford Focus ZX5.... nice little zippy car but pricey for second hand. They haven't made these babies for a couple of years now and the one we looked at was fully loaded with only 40,000 km on it but the monthly payment would be about the same as a brand new Ford Focus. So x the one we were looking at. Then we took out a Jeep Compass.... nice but not fully loaded and Hubby and I need some serious lessons on driving a standard which I haven't done in twenty years. We will go looking again later in the month. We are in no rush so that is one good thing.

H1N1.... the thing that scares every person half to death.... for days I have been having chest pains and worrying myself half to death that I am on the verge of a heart attack... Along with it I have been having dizzy spells and so I went to see the Doc. I have an ear infection which is being treated but along with it I have been having inhuman fatigue. I can't get through the day with out feeling like my legs are made of jello and the only thing that soothes the chest pain is nice hot lemon and honey.
And on top of it all last night was the full moon..... the werewolf wore it ugly head... I slept all of 1 hour 45 minutes. So today after Hubby and the girls got off to school I turned off the phone and went back to bed. When I finally did get up, I just mugged out in front of the T.V.... Problem..... I have nothing to watch that I haven't already seen half a dozen times. Blah!! So I'm looking up video rental companies on line..... a friend tried out one and gave me the name of it.... I think I will give it a try.... stand by.... I'll let you all know how that goes.

I got 225 metres of fibre plied and washed and dried yesterday for my great jacket commission. Woo hoo!! It looks great. So today I wanted to knit while lying in bed.... this is not easy... you want something light weight and relaxing. Lace gloves that I started last week... ahh perfect..... wait no there's a problem.... I'm up to the finger part and don't have enough DPNs. Order from Knit Picks..... nope... credit card is maxed out..... d-mn! Ok.... plan B. Baby knitting. Booties.... yes that is what I want to make with the lovely pink and blue, and yellow fat yarn that I spun a couple of months ago..... so I am about to embark on a treasure hunt. I need a pattern for baby booties that I can make with nifty fat yarn.... hmmm!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go....

Catching Up

I've been spinning a lot this weekend. I wasn't feeling all that great on Saturday. I'm not quite sure what is going on there. I'm told I have an ear infection and have been taking ear drops, anti-biotics, and prednizone to help with keeping the passages open so that they drain. But this is the second week of that and my ear still hurts and my energy level is low.... really low. I've got all I can do to walk up the steps without wanting to lie down and catch my breath when I get to the top. But the weird thing is that I don't really feel sick. I just don't want to do anything. I guess I will get over this eventually. I had a bunch of blood tests done when I went to see the doctor and the only thing that was bad was that my white blood cell count was up which would indicate the ear infection so no worries there but I'll tell you this if it is just an ear infection it is the most stubborn ear infection I've ever had.

What staying home has done has given me an opportunity to spin. I've been working on my jacket commission a lot in the last few days and I'm thinking that I have almost got enough spun for the warp. Woo hoo. I also finished my second sample on the support spindle and have decided that I like the first sample that I did better. So now I'm working on a third sample. If I'm not gone on this one I will pick the best of three and that will be that. Then I will be cabling yarn for my wrist distaff. At some point you just have to cut your losses and go on to the next question because you could be at one question for the whole year. I have too many questions to do that to get level 3 finished in time for June.

Hubby has been cleaning out the shed in an effort to get the windows that have been leaning against the west end of the house since June in out of the elements before the weather has its way with the wood and ruins them so that they are unusable. We are feeling the pinch and though the house remains in limbo we are thinking of getting some more work done this month. Hubby can't do it. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will have to pay someone to finish the work we didn't get done. And so at the end of the month I will hire a fellow to come in and finish the plumbing in the bathroom and put the paneling on the walls in the rest of the house. I will finish the paneling with clear coat myself and the flooring will wait till after Christmas. The counters in the kitchen will wait too. I can see we will be at this until March break.(sigh)

Christmas is coming too and I am beginning to think about Christmas cards which will have to go out by the end of the month and I am beginning to think about Christmas gifts for loved ones and all that. My list grows daily as I try to get everything done that needs doing. With a little less than two months to go I am beginning to feel the pressure of all that needs to be done.

So there you have it.... a little bit of catch up. I am starting a new list to the right "T minus ____ to Christmas". Look out, New Year's here I come.

All Christian Days From All Hallow's Eve to Christmas...

Well, All Hallow's Eve is over for another year and now today is All Saints Day. It is almost over too. This is the day when all the saint's who have reached heaven are celebrated. Tomorrow is All Soul's Day and is the day for prayer for those who are in purgatory and trying to get to heaven can be helped by the prayers of those who arenot departed from this earth....

It is funny how many days have been taken by the almighty Roman Catholic Church as days for Christian celebration that were originally pagan special occasions. Lets face it so much of what the "church" does is political with very political reasons. Still I suppose it doesn't hurt to pray for those who are stuck in purgatory and I suppose that praying in any form is good in the end.

As a lay preacher for the Anglican church, it falls on me to know the Christian calendar. We are in the season of Pentecost which is considered the "regular" time of the year.... that is the time after the Ascension but before Advent. For the most part there is nothing special about this time of the year. Still we are only four weeks away from Advent. I like Advent. It is a time of waiting and a time for prayerful reflection. It is a time for those of us who take it seriously that the second coming of our Lord and Saviour will return and we need always be prepared.

Christmas is the culmination of Advent and everyone loves Christmas. Christmas is the time when the fat man comes down the chimney, Christmas is the time of the year when people give gifts to the people around them and for those who are very thoughtful... Christmas is the time of the year when we give to the poor. For me Christmas is not a time to get tipsy and knock back a few. It is not a time to party it up. That all changed in a slow and progressive way. The thing that I like best about Christmas, the miracle of Christmas is when the lights turn low in church and the candles are lit and everyone sings Silent Night... at that moment I feel like anything is possible. That is the magic of Christmas. A jaded old fart like me gets one shining moment of magic in the form of 'all things possible'! It is a lovely moment and I wouldn't change it for all the money in the world.

There I stand with my family in the night and all those voices are singing that lovely old carol and it just fills me up with pure joy! That's what I love about Christmas night.

So there you go a little bit of Christian information for you... from All Hallow's Eve to Christmas....