Too Cold and Other Stuff

I thought I was pretty inured to the cold.  I've lived here my entire life, it's always been like this, I thought I was used to it.  But this below zero weather?  Yeah, I've had enough. It's too dang cold.  Can I have my 20s back please?  

Brub is being sworn in today, and he'll officially be a lawyer.  I have to go to work, so sadly I won't get to watch, but Tato and Mum are going and Tato agreed to take pictures if he could.  It's a big deal, and I'm proud of Brub.  

I've implemented a time budget!  Can you believe it?  Finally!  lol.  Okay, so it's still a little, shall we say, flexible.  I think it needs to be because you know what happens when I make plans.  But I've got all the important things in there, the things I need and want to do.  And largely it consists of: when I get home from work I do X on a certain day.  It's been working for a few days.  So I'm going to keep at it.  Today, being Wednesday, means that when I get home, I write.  

Now the computer is near the window, and that makes things a big chilly, but I will deal.  I have my fingerless mitts, slippers, and a wrap.  So I think I'll be able to work.  As long as my brain doesn't freeze, that is.

Mondays means writing or reading, depending on what needs to get done.  Tuesdays are reserved for reading/reviewing.  Wednesdays I write.  Thursdays I yarn (and will be continuing work on my hat).  Fridays are more of a free day, in which I will do one of the three depending on either what needs to get done or what I feel like doing.  Saturdays there's sister time, but after that (or before) there is reading and/or writing.  And on Sundays is another free sort of day, where I read, write and/or yarn, again depending on what needs to get done and what I feel like.  So far, it's been working pretty well, though this past Saturday and Sunday got switched.  I'm going to try very hard to continue on this way.  

It works well in the regard that I can view it as rewards as well.  If I'm in the mood to yarn, but I need to read or write instead, then I tell myself, get through this, get your stuff done, and then you can yarn on this day.  I'm finding it to be a good motivation.  

So that's the report from my corner.  I'm freezing, but I'm doing okay.

How about you all?  Things going well with you?

Happy New Year

I'm always a fan of the phrase, "Start the way you aim to go."  So we're starting this year off with a post.  And I'm going to try to be better about it than I have in the past few months!

Also with that idiom in mind, I'll be spending the day (once I finish this post) writing and cleaning, with maybe some yarning thrown in at the end.  

I got way too drunk way too fast last night.  It was supposed to be all of us doing that, but somehow I was the only one that ended up toasted.  Ah well.  I ended up in bed about 11, and for a little bit it was touch and go as to whether all the junk food I ate was going to play well with all the wine I drank.  Fortunately, it was all good, I fell asleep, and was dead to the world as the clock rolled over into a new year.  I wasn't upset about it.  New year was going to happen whether I was awake to see it or not.  

But I spent the evening with my family, and it was good.  We played some games and ate a lot of food and just generally had a fantastic time.  

So I rang in the new year completely asleep.  But I woke up this morning feeling good and focused and ready to work.  And that, right there, is a good place to be.

Out Of Bed

I hate getting out of bed in the morning.  Hate. It.  Waking up is no problem, but the physical act of getting out of bed takes a sort of Herculean effort.  And it's no better when I actually am looking forward to something.  I just really, really hate getting out of bed.

It was particularly hard this morning.  Last night I broke down and pulled out the down comforter because it was just cold enough that it was distracting me from falling asleep.  Of course I woke up a few hours later sweating to death, but then I just tossed the comforter aside and fell back asleep.  By then I was toasty warm and comfortable, so it was easy.  But when I woke this morning, I laid there in y happy, warm cocoon and I had to really talk myself into getting out of bed.

Only the threat of being late and the promise of coffee made me move.

I hate being late and I love coffee more than I hate getting out of bed.

And tomorrow I can languish there a bit longer as I have the day off.  So I just need to get through today, and then I'll be home again, and I won't need to worry about getting out of bed until Thursday.  

Being Me

So you may have noticed that I haven't been around in a bit.

I meant to post.  I really did.  But, you know, I didn't.  So there's no excuse for that, not really.  I just...haven't.

Anyway!  To fill you in on what's been going on...

Went to the BFF's new place last Friday, and I made her dinner and we also baked cookies. The oven was a little bit possessed and there was a bit of cookie burnage, but we managed to own that bitch and 96% of the cookies were full of awesome. It's just a cute little place, and it feels like her.  It's nice, and I fucking love her back door (get your mind out of the gutter, people!  lol)  Her kitty, Cersei, attacked the crap out of me.  It was so damn cute I don't even have words.  My hand was all chewed up, but I forgave her.  But it was awesome to have BFF time.  And I really loved giving her prezzies, one of which was her very own bob!

I had two days off this week and it was...not all it was cracked up to be.  Unfortunately.  Monday, I woke up with a migraine, and they suck donkey balls, and I was extra super pissed because it was a day I already had the day off of work.  At any rate, pills, and coffee, and unfortunately a little bit getting sick, took care of that, and the afternoon was mine. 

Tuesday I got bad news (and I was very sad), followed immediately by good news.  And also the Flash Fic Holiday Blog Hop sign up went live!  It's super exciting.  We've had quite a few sign ups so far, and I'm just thrilled about that.  And I really, really can't wait to see all the different stories that people come up with.  I think it's going to be so fun to see what's the same and what's different.  So Tuesday was just a roller coaster of emotion, and that made me tired.  It was mostly good, though.  

I've been yarning a bit.  I wanted to get the mitts done BEFORE I went to the BFF's but, yeah, that didn't happen.  But now I'm nearly done, so she really will have them in time for winter.  Her birthday present on the other hand?  Nowhere near done.  And since her birthday is like, in less than three weeks, well...let's put it this way.  I already told her it might be late.  She loves me so it'll be forgiven.  But I still really fucking love it, and she will too.  

And so, yeah, that's pretty much it.  Work is still work.  I've been writing, and reading, and yarning.  So basically, I've just been being me.  There were some low points, and I was really low, but mostly it was good.  

And  now it's Friday night, and I'm chilling and happy.  And I'm about to make tea.  And enjoy the holy hell out of my weekend.  

Two Things

So you know I gave up on the CAL because it was just bad. (And not getting any better, I checked out the next clue just for shits and giggles and holy god, did anyone actually try these stitches together??  Awful!)  But that means I have this yarn, right?  And i know it's enough for a throw.  But while I was at the craft store this past weekend, I picked up one more skein of each color.  

I've wanted to make myself another blanket for a while now, and I love these colors (there's blue going on, I love blue, I can't resist blue) so I thought it would be nice for me.  And with the weather cooling down, it won't even be too hot to work on it with it on my lap.  And I wanted to think of something good and interesting.  So it's round.  Yep.  Round.  Well, actually, it's kind of like a soft octagon without defined points.  But yeah, round.  I'm enjoying the hell out of it.  I know I won't when it gets really big and it takes forever to go all the way around, but still.  I'll be happy when it's done.  

The other things is that sometime at the end of the month, I'll get the first edits back for my novella which will probably release sometime at the end of January.  I'm equals parts excited and nervous.  It's going to be work, and it'll probably sting a bit right?  Because I love these guys and their story. But it's going to be fun too; working to make the story better, and getting my very own cover.  

So at any rate, I'm anxious and exited in equal measures.  And I hate waiting, so even though there's still twenty days or so to go before I get that first thing, it's a little bit wearing on me.  But I look forward to the end of the month doubly so now.

Hope everyone is doing well in their respective corners of the world!  

Story Time!

This is the story about how I'm a hero and kept my BFF out of jail.

So on Saturday, the BFF moved into her apartment.  She reserved a U-haul so that she could throw all her stuff in, truck it over, unpack, and be done.  She asked me to drive her to the pick to pick up the truck, and of course go in with her.  Now, there's two guys working behind the counter, sweet, little Abe, and rude, mean douchenozzle.  Point of interest, douchenozzle was only rude to Abe--he was overly sweet and over the top polite to the customers.  Anyway, Abe is checking the BFF in and DN interrupts to say that there are no trucks.  BFF sees red.  But Abe jumps in and says that BFF has a reservation.  DN is still being rude to him and says that there aren't any trucks, but then kind of relents and says that there was one due back at 9 and he'll reach out to them and see where they are.  They were, it turns out, on their way back.  So the BFF calms down a little, and I murmur that it's okay, cause it's only a couple of minutes after, and she calms down some more.  And then we're made to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

We saw the truck pull in and we knew Abe went out to check it in, and still we're waiting.  And being ignored.  And kind of indignant on Abe's behalf because of the way DN treats him.  And we're still waiting.

Swear to god, if I hadn't been there, the BFF would have done murder and y'all would be reading it on the news.  Eventually, finally, we're done and we leave and head back to her place.  I meet her there, so I can direct her into the driveway because she wanted to back in.  So she's starts to do that, but there was a van in the way and she was going to hit it.  So I tell her she's got to pull forward more.  Which she does.  But then she somehow manages to get the truck in a weird spot.  So I'm like, it's okay, just back up and start all over again.  It's all good.  But she's frustrated and worked up and that's keeping her from being on my wavelength so she's not quite understanding what I'm wanting her to do.  So she gives me puppy eyes and asks me if I could just do it.

Now, something interesting of note is that not only do I hate driving, but I'm pretty sucky about backing into driveways/parking spaces.  But I knew what I wanted the truck to do, so I hopped in the cab and...first try!  Exactly perfect backing up!  I totally did a happy dance.

So I'm the hero.  I kept her out of jail, and backed her truck up.  Yay me!

Bad News, Good News

So Sis and I have had sister time a lot lately.   Usually that involves a meal out and then hanging out together, yarning and watching TV, or maybe a little shopping.  We've only been doing it for a few months, since early summer, with any sort of regularity, but I've really come to rely on it.  

My sister time is getting usurped this weekend.  And though there's a very good reason, I find myself resentful.  I'm trying not to be, I really am, but I sort of can't help it.

The cousin and her girls are coming in, and the cousin is heading off to visiting with the ailing father of a friend, and leaving the girls with us.  Taking over my house, demanding attention, being...ridiculous.  And they'll be attached to Sis like barnacles.  

Now this last bit is good, because that means I can leave them to their own devices and just do my own thing.  This always makes me happy.  You know I like to be left alone.  But it's bad because I don't get my grounding sister time.  Or if we attempt sister time, then it's two sets of sisters, one of whom is 10 and well...she lives in her own world and while she's adorable, she's also irritating.  Mostly because she demands attention in a way that is more befitting a four year old.  

*heavy sigh*

Okay, I'm aware I'm totally being petulant and not at all acting my age myself.  I'm just disappointed and that makes me revert.  I just need to build a bridge and get over it.

But here's the good news!  I have a couple of days off from work, Monday and Tuesday, which means I have a long weekend and I'm looking forward to that immensely.  Now I'm leery of making any sort of plans.  But there's a couple of things I want to do: treat myself to breakfast from McDonald's.  Read a couple of books I haven't gotten to yet.  Write and yarn.  Drink coffee in my pajamas.  You know, the usual lazing around stuff.  

Everyone have a lovely weekend!

Update from the Attic

--My shoulder hurts.  Because I'm right handed, of course it's my right shoulder.  The funny thing is, I didn't do anything to it.  I really didn't.  Maybe I slept on it weird, but that's the only thing.  I'm stretching it, and sometimes it feels better than others, but I don't think I did any real damage to it or anything.  I'm hoping it heals up and is pain free soon.

--Disappointed in the CAL.  Disappointed in the choices for stitches, and in the forum.  Disappointed I'm still not getting the weekly emails I'm supposed to and I have to go looking for the clues each week.  It's not the experience I wanted it to be.  I'm finishing it, sort of out of spite now, but I can tell you that if this particular group does another CAL/KAL, i am not joining.

--I feel freer and lighter than I have in a while...and even though I got some bad news yesterday, it didn't get me too far down.  For a couple of minutes there, I needed some reassurance.  But a friend lifted me up, gave me the reassurance I needed, and I moved on.  No dizzying black spiral for me!

--My brain is in love with someone, which is why it thought of a rock awesome project for them.  So yes, that's added to the list.  I'm aiming for birthday as that gives me quite a few months.  It's sort of involved.  But yes, new project added to the pile.

--I've recently learned that collaborating with like-minded people is a fun and awesome experience.  It makes me grin and brings me joy.  Of course, with three minds, even though they are similar, there's a bit of confusion.  But half the fun is sorting out what people mean.  

--The bobs are still doing fantastically.  The Mase Cane has put out a new shoot, and I swear everyday it grows a little more.  This makes me so happy, and I love checking on it and all the other bobs, seeing them grow.  I also picked up an orchid this past weekend to add to the bob collection.  And a friend gave me a wee tiny bob (a plant of the African violet family).  Pretty soon, my space will be overrun with bobs.  I'm very much looking forward to it.

--You know that fall is my favorite season, and it's been wonderful weather the last couple of weeks.  Chilly at night and in the morning, warming up to almost 70 during the day.  I could do with a little cooler than 70, though, if I'm honest.  I love sweaters and hoodies.  And though they are predicting more of the same over about the next week, i know that before too long, it'll be cool all the time and I am really very much looking forward to that.

--Work is still stressful, but I'm doing better in the overall, and so that's helping me to deal with that.

Randoms

--Have you heard about the latest Facebook idiocy?  I used to have a FB account.  I used it a lot.  And then I didn't.  In fact, I haven't been there for more than browsing for probably about two years.  I was finding it kind of intrusive anyway.  But in light of the recent developments, I have disabled my FB account.  Authors, performers, and others (LGBT people in particular) using variations on their names, or fake names, to keep themselves safe are being suspended from using the site.  It's ludicrous to me.  And it seems they are doing it because they want to make money, because they want to sell things, and that is just beyond insane to me.  It's supposed to be a place to connect with friends and family.  I've long been over it, though I've considered going back.  Not going to happen now.  I won't be a party to that, or condone their behavior.  I'm done.

--I'm disappointed in the CAL.  After the mess up last week, it was supposed to be corrected and all is well.  Except I didn't get the email again this week, though I was able to get the next clue online.  I was disappointed in the choices for the next pattern, and I was disappointed in the way that the sections are connected.  If it's going to be like that the whole way, then I'm really going to be cranky.  For a few minutes there, I even considered abandoning the whole thing.  But now I'm kind of perversely determined to see it through.  I've emailed the company about the screw up with the emails again, but I hold no hope of it being resolved.  I'll put the pieces together each week, but I have a feeling it'll end up hanging on the wall instead of around my neck.

--The bobs are still doing wonderfully, and they still bring me a great big smile when I see them.  I think I might need some more.

--Works is...the hardest part of my day.  But I am persevering.

--My family is providing me with a great deal of joy lately.  In particular Sis.  We've been having a lot of sister time lately.  And it's been really, really nice.

--Hope everyone is having a good week and that all is well in your world!

Nice and Clean

I'm not a fan of cleaning.  I know that comes as a big surprise.  The people who actually like to clean are rare indeed.  I wonder if there's some sort of genetic marker for that?  Anyway, so no, cleaning is not fun.

But what I do like, no love, is the end result.  

I'm a bit of a pack rat.  It's probably why I have such a huge stash of yarn.  I make piles of stuff.  And it's only when I can get up the ambition that I go through the piles, sort out what I don't need and get rid of it, and put the other stuff away.  Sometimes, the piles get a bit unmanageable.  And then I get all cranky, and it takes me a long time to get through stuff and every time I swear I'm not going to let it get to that point again.  Which never works.

Admittedly, I've been better for the last year or so.  My stuff accumulates, sure.  But It hasn't got quite to the crazy hoarder stage in a long time.  (For the record, I'm not a hoarder.  I have no problem chucking stuff out.  I have no problem getting rid of stuff.  I'm just lazy.  I'll get to it later.)  So my space has been cluttered, but it's never really, truly messy.  And now, the bad times only require an hour or so to pick up, put away, dust, vacuum, mop the floor, and then I'm done.  

With fall descending quickly, I decided to take some time this morning and get uncluttered and clean.  It's nice now and that makes me happy.  And the stuff I use on the floor makes it smell all fresh and clean.  So now I can sit back and enjoy the clean.  And vow to myself I'll actually start putting stuff away, even though I won't.  

But it's really nice right now.    

Sneak Attack Spending

Went a little, tiny, wee bit crazy spending money this past weekend.  

Well, really it started on Wednesday when I ordered tea direct from Bigelow because that was the only way I could get my two favorites, Constant Comment and English Breakfast, in loose leaf.  At the store here, they only have Twinings in loose leaf and while it's all right, I much prefer Bigelow.  (It arrived yesterday, and that pot of tea was one of the best I've ever had)

Then Thursday night, I ordered a spoon.  Yeah, you heard me.  A stainless steel teaspoon for the express purpose of scooping my tea.  It should arrive today.

And then Friday night...well, I finally ordered a swift.  Now, swifts are sort of necessary to wind balls of yarn from hanks.  Unless you have someone willing to hold the hank for you.  Which I don't.  I've been making do, but it's been a pain.  And I couldn't justify spending 50 or 60 dollars on a swift just to make my life a bit easier when I don't really need it that much.  Only I ordered yarn, in yanks, and I have a few other hanks to ball up and...well, I went looking.  Turns out I could get a wooden Amish style swift for less than the plastic umbrella style ones.  I was sold.  I tried to be good, but I caved and bought it.  It also should arrive today.

Then Saturday it was the farmer's market and fresh produce and vegetables.  And then to the home improvement store for the flowers I planted.  And out to lunch with Sis.

And Sunday?  Sunday there were books.

So yeah, I sneak attack spent way too much money because it was a little here and a little there and before I knew it...too much.

Now I have to be a very good girl for weeks!  

I can do it.  

Longest Day Ever

Finally, finally, my trip to the Ren Faire is happening tomorrow.  Sis and I are pretty excited and Toby invited himself along.  Once I was sure that he understood that, I agree he could participate in our day.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but let me make this clear:  Sis and I are wanderers.  We meander.  We stop when we want to stop, look at what we want to look at.  There is no timetable, no desperate need to be anywhere.  And I've been looking forward to it so very much.  That means today is going to be the longest day ever.  

But I make it through today, and then work will be over.  And then I can get out my pretty dress, skirt, and top.  I can make sure there are no wrinkles and everything is nice.  I can make sure I have everything ready, and I know where my little satchel that Sis made me is.  (Which actually, I do, but it's probably needs to be dewrinkled too.)  

Neither Toby nor Sis is dressing up, so it'll be just me in costume.  That doesn't quite fit right anymore.  Sis gave it a thorough once over, but decided that trying to take in the seams or add darts would ruin the line of the dress, so I'm just going to have to stuff some parts.  

But I'm excited and it looks to be a pretty day.   Not too hot, and maybe a bit of chance of rain in the afternoon.  It won't be the first time I've gotten rained on there.  I'm hoping it holds off though, of course.

Recap on Sunday!

Waiting

I hate waiting.  I'm not good at it at all.  And I'm just waiting for Saturday, when I get to dress up and go to the Renaissance Festival with Sis.  I go to work and I come home.  I yarn and read and write.  

But I'm just waiting for Saturday and it sucks.  

In the meantime, the week is dragging by, and I can't believe it's only Wednesday.  It's that funny time thing again.  That thing time does by feeling like it's moving really slowly when you're looking forward to something.  I hate it.  And really, I swear, I suck at waiting.

But it'll get here, and I'll have a great time.  Take pictures and have plot bunnies and eat and revel and it'll be wonderful.  

I'm focusing on some other goals right now to try to take my mind off it.  We'l see if it works.  And I'll share the results.

But right now, I'm mostly just waiting.  

Weird Morning

It started after a rough night's sleep.  Just kept waking up for no reason.

The power went out for a couple of minutes---not sure why--and I only noticed because the sudden cessation of sound woke me up.  It only lasted a minute or two, and then everything whirred to life again.  When I finally got out of bed a little while later, the clocks, of course, were blinking.  Do you remember my clock that somehow got set in 24 hour time?  And I tried everything I could think of to get it to go back to regular time?  I even unplugged it, but no joy.  Except, apparently, after the power blinked out, it went back.  Only now I've gotten used to it, and when I look and it's NOT 24 hour time, I'm all confused.  And since I don't know how I did it in the first place, I can't make it go back.  *heavy sigh*

Then, I couldn't get out of the house.  I mean, of course I eventually did.  But the front door was...stuck.  It seemed like the latch was stuck, but even when I managed to get that popped open, the door still wouldn't open.  I triple and quadruple checked that it wasn't locked, but no matter what, I couldn't get it open.  Eventually, I didn't have time to mess with it anymore and went out the side door, letting my sister know there was an issue.  A little while later I got a text saying that she fixed it.  I glowered.  I guess it was just a bit swollen in the frame, or the frame was swollen around the door, or something, because she tugged, pushed, put on a little pressure, and now it works fine.  

Yes, after the weird morning, I seriously considered just crawling back into bed because the oddness of it has totally thrown me off my game.  Just hiding away until the day was over and then I could start fresh tomorrow.  But I'm up and out, and I'll make do.  

Hope your day is off to a better start than mine!

Work Story

So, at work, we were still running Windows XP on our computers.  Yes, I'm serious.  I'll let you sit with that a minute so that can sink in.

Good to go?  Okay.

So our computers were seriously out of date and ran slower than molasses in January because the processors were big enough to handle our workload.  But we made do, right?  We plugged along and did what we had to do.  And even though I'd sort of shake my head every morning when I started up my computer at work, I'd deal.  

Now because of aforementioned processors,we couldn't just upgrade Windows.  Plus the computers themselves are a good ten years old.  So they bought new computers.  They actually arrived a couple of weeks ago, and our dude has been slowly and surely replacing everyone's computers with the new ones.  There is a lot of hassle because some parts actually have to get downgraded in order for the hospital systems to run (which is ridiculous to me...seems hospital systems, that hold radiology images and ALL THE PATIENT INFORMATION should be upgraded to the highest available browser and security, but what do I know?).  So it's taken him a while to get to everybody.

Everybody but me.

Which doesn't bother me so much, I can deal with waiting and whatever, except that I'm basically the only one in the office that knows what they are doing on a computer.  Yeah, the other girls can use the programs they know and maybe surf the web, but really, essentially they are computer illiterate.  Now, I'm not some great computer genius, I'm actually not that computer savvy, but I basically know what I'm doing and I can troubleshoot with the best of them.  So I don't have a new computer but I'm running around fixing everybody else's.

"Kris!  I can't print!" (Because she didn't have the default set right)

"Kris! Where did my program go!" (At the bottom, they are nested windows now)

"Kris!  I clicked something random and now I don't know what's going on!" (Yeah, don't do that.  Call me before you click stuff, okay?)

Windows is basically Windows, right?  I mean, yeah, 7 looks different than XP but really, it's all the same.  Common sense says that it's right where it should be.  But, really, you'd think we took PC users and sneak attack replaced their computers with Macs.  

I have to laugh because otherwise I'd cry.

I'm supposed to get my new computer next week, but he'd been telling me that for two weeks now.  I'll believe it when I see it.  And really, if it wasn't for all the finagling that needs to get done in order to make it compatible, I'd do it myself.  But I don't know all the bits that need to get installed, nor do I have access to do it, so I have to wait.  

I'm not even looking forward to it anymore.  Except I'll stop having that stupid pop up about how XP is no longer supported by Microsoft.  Yes, thank you, I know that.

But I'll certainly be glad when it's all settled.  

At Least I Tried

Saturday morning when I woke up, I was bitten by the need to clean bug.  But I had a book I needed to read and review, and I had a few other books I wanted to read, and I tried to ignore it.  I tried and failed.

So after coffee, I cleaned and then I moved furniture.  I moved a lot of furniture.  Because sometimes I get in this mood where I just can't stand the configuration as it is, and I need a change.  And after I moved the furniture around....I moved it all back.  Because I hated it.  So it's all back the way it way, and I'm sort of upset that there isn't a better arrangement to be had.  But at least I tried.

Of course, all I really got out of it were sore hamstrings.  

I did change the sheets on the bed and wash the blankets and let me tell you, there's nothing better than getting into bed at night with fresh sheets and sweet smelling blankets.  That was good.

But after the disaster that was the furniture moving, I settled down to read.  I read a lot this weekend.  Some new, some old.  I read until the battery on my Kindle died.  And then I wrote.  And then, when my Kindle was charged again, I read some more.  

All in all, it was a pretty damn good weekend.  

The Ding

I'm backing out of the driveway this morning, and I hear a ding.  I'm all "What was that??" I look at the dashboard.  No lights are on.  I have almost a full tank of gas.  There's nothing flashing, no warnings.  I'm sort of freaking out.  Either I'm having auditory hallucinations, or I missed whatever was wrong with the car and is it going to suddenly die on me??

It's driving fine, feels completely normal, so I keep driving toward work.  But in the back of my mind, I'm worrying about the ding.  Did it mean something?  Or really, did I imagine it?  About a mile and half from my destination, I hear a different sort of chime.  My face floods with embarrassment, even though there's no one to see.

The ding?  Email notification from my phone.  Yep.  I've heard it a thousand times and yet, somehow, in the confines of the car, in the dreary gray raining morning, I had no idea what it was.  

I know I've been MIA from the blogging lately.  I was in one of those slumps where I felt like I had nothing worthwhile to say. So I didn't say anything at all.  I'm going to try to be better about that.  If nothing else, it really helps me.  

Have a joyous weekend!

June in Bloom

June is a good month.  I like June. Something about reaching month six feel good to me.  

Of course, there's a part of me that can't believe that it's June already!

I'm not sure what it is that I like about June.  Probably the weather plays a huge role.  Around here, it's usually pretty damn warm, but not too humid yet--not like it gets in July and August--so being outside is nice and not suffocating.  

But with the warmer weather, I'm always less inclined to work on yarny type things.  Anything big and cumbersome--that rest on my lap--makes me much too hot.  And an uncomfortable yarner is an unhappy yarner.  And an unmotivated yarner.  Little projects are the key in the warmer months.

But it's summertime now, and sunshine makes me happy.  I might even plant some flowers to go with the mood. 

Relaxing

Sometimes there's nothing better than lying on the couch and watching TV.  And doing nothing else but actually watching.

I don't do enough of it.  I actually don't watch that much TV at all.  And when I do turn it on, I usually put in a movie or a show that I've seen dozens of times, because I want something to engage only part of my brain while I yarn.  But on Sunday, and again last night, I just put on one of those shows I've seen a lot--but haven't watched in a good long while--and actually just watched.  Vegged out, laid back, and just watched.

It was really kind of awesome.  And I've been enjoying the crap out of it.  In fact, I think I might do it again tonight.  No words, no yarn, just relaxing.  I think I deserve it a little bit.  

Spring Clean

I did a bit of Spring cleaning last night.  

While I'm not a fan of the actual process of cleaning, and admittedly often let it go too long, once it's all done?  Ah, that's a good feeling.  There's that sense of accomplishment that's just awesome.  And everything just looks better all neat and tidy.  

I'm a bit of a clutter-hound.  Everything just sort of piles up on surfaces.  I set things on the table when I'm done with them, or toss the wrapper or that extra bit of yarn there because I don't want to get up just yet, and then it stays there until eventually I get around to putting it away or tossing it in the trash.  Yeah, I'm one of those people.

But I went through and did a lot of picking up, and tossing, last night.  I dusted.  I vacuumed.  I even ran the wet mop over the floors.  And now everything is neat and tidy, and it looks good and feels good.  And I am happy.

Really shouldn't let it go as long next time.

We had some gorgeous weather earlier this week, and even though it's cold and a bit damp today (it rained all day yesterday and that's still lingering in the air) I have the windows open so the fresh breeze and blow through and freshen everything up.  And there's still a hint of rain on the air, and it smells good.  

All in all, I'm absolutely enjoying my morning.  Sitting in the nice clean house, with the windows open and a fresh breeze, and drinking my coffee.  Now all I need is a good book, and I'll be all set.

Hope everyone is set to enjoy the crap out of their weekends too!  May it be a good one for you!