Just a Quick Post

It is late and I am tired so this will be quick.

I have been working on the round throw and it is coming along well. I have finished all of the red and started on the white. It is taking longer to get around it now that it has grown. I will finish the white in stockinette then do something pretty with the blue. I am thinking I may do an i-cord bind-off but that remains to be decided. I will post a progress picture tomorrow.

I am taking a belly dancing class tomorro night. Lord knows I have enough belly to dance with. I think it will be fun and a different kind of exercise.

Well, I am going to sleep now. More tomorrow.

Wonderful Evening

Recently on DirecTV a new channel appeared in the line up, Ovation http://www.ovationtv.com/. It is a performing arts channel that offers a variety of programming. I happened to discover this channel while surfing one day when I heard the most wonderful voices of the King Singers. They are an a cappella ensembles of 6 men with incredible voices. While once again on the internet I happened across the Folly Theater site which had the schedule for the Harriman-Jewell series and to my delight the King Singers were appearing this week. I was lucky enough to get standing room only tickets for the event. Yesterday I got a call that there was a cancellation and tickets were available so I was thrilled that I would be sitting down for the performance, although I would have been willing to stand.

What a great performance. It was one of those that you wished would never end. The wonderful thing was to see so many young people interested in the performance. There was a bus load of students from William Jewel College. The performers were gracious enough to come out for autographs and pictures. The excitement of the students waiting to meet each one was very heart warming. Each performer was so generous in speaking with each person until the last one. This after standing and singing for a hour and half. This was thoroughly enjoyable and I look forward to seeing them again when they return next time.

I had taken my sock to knit on and found no time to think about it. But have no fear I will find time today at SSK. Also the red through is progressing nicely. I think this is maybe inspiring me to get back to the Hemlock Ring and finish it up. If I can get that completed and decide what I want to do with the Petal vest I will be close to caught up with my WIPs, I think. Then I will be able to start my new mitered jacket from the Reynolds Cabana I bought last week.

My goal is to not have more that one big project and a sock going at the same time. I just need to focus. I think I can, I think I can...... Now that Spring is coming soon, I hope, I need to concentrate on getting my house in shape. I have much to do this year.

What a Day!

I decided last night that I wanted to go to the casino because I had some food comps that ran out last night. Of course I was not there just to eat. I had my weekly $12 comp coupon to spend/donate. The machine I selected to play hit a bonus right off and for a change I got the major prize which was $235. Everything I play paid a little more. In essence, I played on house money, for a change and had a meal to boot. It was still fairly early when I got home so I got some more knitting in on the red round throw and got to bed at a decent time.

This morning when the radio came on the first thing I heard was that the roads were a sheet of ice and there were accidents all over. This made for an interesting traffic morning getting to work. I left the house at 7:45 and got to the office at 9:00. This is normally a 25 minute trip. Tomorrow is supossed to be more of the same then Saturday is to be in the 50's. I am ready for Spring!

Catching Up

So, even though I have not blogged in a while I have been knitting. This is the latest sock from some Regia that I bought at Stitches Midwest 2007. I bought a bunch so I have plenty to work with. I am thinking I probably still have enough to do a vest of even a short sleeve sweater. Will have to think on that.

I finished the Irish Hiking scarf done on bigger needles. I really liked the original version done according to the pattern but I think I like this one much better because it is looser and the edges do not roll. Since it is looser it really did not need to be blocked so it is ready to go. There is still plenty of time to wear it since the weather in Kansas City goes from 40s-50s on day and 20s-teens the next.

This is my latest project. It is one of the components of the Medallion Caplet from the VOGUEknitting Winter 2007. I the medallion to see how it would knit up. Not that I really want to do the caplet but thought I could use the motif for something. I like knitting it so much that I am going to keep knitting it into a round throw. I started out with the red because that is what I had with me at the time I decided to started it. Now the plan is to make it red, white, and blue and will be donated to my mother's VFW Ladies Auxillary to sell or raffle at one of the may festivals where they have a booth.

Every year my mother mentions that I could make something for them and I never seem to get anything ready for them. I think this will be well received and appreciates.

As you can see these are a couple of happy knitters, Mary and Jennifer, checking out the yarn at the Old Mill Stitchery in Liberty, Mo. We took a short road trip there Saturday to check out their yarn and see what was in the sale bin. Afterward we had lunch in the tea room. Look below to see my acquisitions.

This lovely cotton acrylic blend Reynolds Cabana was in the 1/2 off bin. I also purchased a pattern book that has a lovely mitered square jacket which is supposed to have 15 different colors of 1812 cotton. As you can see, I am going to be working with 5. Many of the 15 colors were only used for a small portion of the squares and I see no reason to go that route. The cost would have been too much so this is going to work just time.

I am very please this my current endeavors. There are many more things I want to do and would like to do them all at the same time but as we all know two hands can only do so much.

Today was a good day. I had President's Day off, even though I did not get paid for it. I should have been good and stayed home to get things done that I have beem procrasting getting done but I just could make myself do it.

I did need to get the oil changed in the car so I took it to the dealership on State Line which put me over on the West side of town. For reasons on clear to me my car continued to head West and I ended up in Lawrence, Ks. (better known as the home of Yarn Barn). It was fate, there was a parking spot in front of Yarn Barn with time left on the parking meter. What more could I ask for? I even had time to walk down the street to Tellers for lunch which was wonderful.

I also had something to take back to Best Buy which went so easily. If you do not have one yet, they have a Free Rewards card that, of course, tracks your purchases. One of the features of this card is that you do not have to have a receipt to return things. The customer service person can pull the item up and process the return. It would be great if other stores did the same.

My last stop was Costco. I had my yearly rebate check from my Costco Amex to redeem. As first I was a but miffed because I thought I had to spend the check at Costco but to my delight I could spend it or cash it, which I did. All-in-all I thoroughly enjoyed the day. The stuff I should have done will get done in time.

Jane of All Trades

Don't ya just love this Kansas City weather? Last night, instead of snow, it sleeted the snowed later in the night making for a bad rush hour this morning. Of course, I needed gas so I headed to the convenience stop down the street. Boy am I lucky I have anti-lock breaks. I applied the breaks before I got to the end of the street but started to slide into oncoming traffic. I stood on those breaks and finally came to a stop just in time. This was not a good way to start my day. Got to the gas pump and wouldn't you know the pump was frozen up so I had to pull around to another one. It was colder than a well diggers witch. From there things when pretty good even though it took 1 1/2 hour to do a 30 minute drive.

Now on to the Jane of All Trades part. I have been fighting with my sump pump lately and it finally croked today so the first thing I had to do was go buy another one. I always bet on a failure when I least want to be bothered with it so it stands to reason that it would be now. I have a neighbors who keeps telling me to let him know when I need stuff like this done but of course he was not home nor were my other neighbors. I jumped in the car and ran to Ace Hardware to get another one and got it installed myself, again.

This is a task that I end up doing about every 3-5 years so I kind of have it down pat. Ah, the joys of homeownership. That was $175 I would rather had spent on yarn or at least the gambiling.

So now I just fixed me some breakfast for dinner. Everything including bacon, eggs, and fried potatoes. Yes, I know that is not a good Weight Watchers dinner but I really don't care tonight.

Ok, I have whined enough. I am going to do some knitting and relax. I think everything is under control now.

A Week In Review

Ok just let me say that I pirated this photo from my friend Chelle's blog http://www.hangingbyathinthread.blogspot.com/ since I did not have my camera yesterday at SSK. This is the fruit of Kay's new endeavor Dome Hill Yarn, that can be seen at http://trivimp.blogspot.com/. Kay and her husband are building a geo dome house on some acerage to the east of Kansas City.

My selection was the brown Chocolate Truffle, third from the right. Currently she is offering sock yarn but will be moving on to worsted soon.

I am excited to knit this up to see how beautifully the colorway displays. I am hoping this will be soon. I am trying to make myself finish some WIPs before starting anything else. It will be hard but maybe it will spur me on to get things wrapped up. So on with the knitting.

It has been a busy week. I finished the Irish hiking scarf I was working on last week. It turned out nicely but unfortunately, I have misplaced my camera again. I do have batteries now but the camera has not shown up. I am cleaning today so it should be uncovered soon. I will definitely post the picture when I find it. Anyway, getting back to the scarf. I used size 10 needles as opposed to the suggest 8's. It is a much looser result, which I like.

As usual, I do have socks going that I have for car knitting. Some times at lunch, I go to my car and knit for a while just to get out of the office. I also take this knitting to the movies when I go. I have been knitting for so long that most usually I do not need to look at what I am doing so it is easy for to knit in the dark. Yes, I can also purl. This seems to intrigue people but is seems perfectly natural to me. I am trying to switch off at times and to continential, but I am not as confident in my skill as yet to be able to not look. I am sure give enought practice that will come too.

I am working on the third level of the petal vest. Since I do not have enough of the Toasty Toes for the complete vest, I an using a solid navy Cascade 220 for contrast. I think it will work out just fine. Once I get through this level I will be ready for the half level the complete the lacy part and up to the shoulders. At this rate it will be ready for next winter.

Boy, SSK attendence is really growing. We meet at Honkerbeans in Lees Summit and fortunately there is plent of room. We have gone from one table to two and now three. Yesterday we had three new in the group. I think quite a few are finding us on Ravelry. It is great to have new people. We are a pretty flexible group. Everyone comes when they can and stays as long as their schedule allows. The more the merrier, I always say.

On to the next week.....

Hurrah for Payday

Yes it is true...Yesterday was once again payday. If you have never not had one for several months you will not be able to relate to the feeling. Unemployment helps a little but it does not hold a candle to Payday. It is such a good feeling to know that there is the potential for another one in two weeks. In fact, it is a very liberating feeling. Not that I am counting but the last time I had that feeling was October 19th of last year. As I have been working as a consultant for most of the last 15 years. I go to great lengths to say as much money as I can for the times when I am not working. I am not sure how others work it but I try to have at least what I need to pay my bills for six months and more if possible.

The new contract is going well. I really like the people I am working with. I think it will be very interesting to be involved in this project, hopefully for a good part of the year. I am looking forward to not looking for a job for a while.

Ok, not to what is happening in the knitting area. I have been working on a Irish hiking scarf using the pattern from on-line but I am using larger needless so it will be looser. I think I really like it better. It is my car knitting so it is taking a little longer to complete but it is about half finished. If my camera had batteries, I would provide a picture but is doesn't so picture in your mind the Irish Hiking scarf in a deep blue about twice the width and length of the picture below.

I really enjoy doing this scarf because it uses so few memory cells since it has an 8 row cable repeat. I actually like doing cables a lot. Not sure why I have not done an Aran sweater as yet but I guess I should put one in my queue.

As ever there is always the ongoing sock. I guess you can never have to many socks. I need to start on some cotton ones for the warmer weather. Before we know it the wool ones will be too warm.

Also, work is continuing on the Petal vest. It may be next year before I get to wear it if I don't get on with finishing it. I guess it just my knitting ADD again. Oh well, on with the knitting!

Sunny Sunday Morning

It is colder than a well digger's witch's whatever this morning. As least is is sunny and the streets are clear.

I am sitting here with a nice big hot mug of raspberry tea watching old movies. So far I have watched Meet Me In St Louis, The Fountain Head, and now I am watching I Remember Mama. Today on TMC there is a Patricia Neal series of movies playing so that is why I watch The Fountain. Will probably watch The Subject Was Roses when it plays. There was Patricia Neal interview early this morning that was very good. She is one of my most favorite actress.

Friday night I met some friends a the Majestic Improve at Zona Rosa to see John Bizzarre. I have not seen him before but had heard him on XM radio 150 Comedy. I really enjoyed the theater and show.

He went to Iraq and Kuwait with a group of comedians to entertain the troops. One of the comedians, Danny Bevins, video taped the trip and a DVD was produced called "Comics On Duty-We Love you, Mrs. Bevins". I purchase a copy and found it very heart warming to see now the comedians were received and what it meant to the troops to have them there. Well work a viewing.

I just finished by tweed socks so they are ready to wear. This week I found my Irish Hiking Scarf and remembered how much I enjoyed making it so I decided to make another only this time on larger needles so that it would be a little looser. I like it a lot better than on the smaller needles. While it is very pretty smaller I feel the gadge is to tight for me.

I am also still working on the other WIPs which I will not list again, since I am sure it would bore you, again.

I got my $9.99 books from Crafter's Choice this week and I am please with my selections. After my recent book purchases I cannot imagine that I should ever need to buy another, yah right! Now I have many more things to queue on Ravelry. Oh well, I guess it was bound to happen.

It Seems Almost Like Spring

We have had some nice weather this past week...up in the 50's-60's with cold at night. It is lovely and is making the trees want to bud. This is not a good thing because you know that it is going to bite us on the butt. Just like last year when the trees bloomed and I had high hopes for my peach tree, then came the freeze and all the blooms were gone and I had no peaches.

This tree came up by itself. Not sure how unless a big bird eat the see them crapped it out landing where the tree came up or another scenario could be that a squirrel burried it thinking it was a nut. Nonetheless, the tree grew next to my deck and I have left it to see what would become of it. Probably should be cut down since it is very close to the deck railing but I haven had the heart to so I have decided to let it go until it becomes impaired and can no longer stay there.

I am starting something new. I signed up sometime ago to distrubute Watkins products. If you are not familiar with Watkins it is a company that has been in business since the lat 1800's and is best know for their pure vanilla and cinnamin. Their produce line includes some of the best herbs and spices as well as cleaning and personal products. Check out my website https://www.watkinsonline.com/ccalton/ .

If you would like to place an order online please reference my Associate No 375714 to allow me to get credit for the order. At this time I am marketing online to see how things go.

I have used these products for years and have been completely satisfied with everything I have used. I particulary love the Soup and Veg Mix. I used it is my soup and just about everything else, when I do cook.

I am giving this a try for some extra pocket change and to have something built over time that I can do when I retire. I want to have something that will make me want to get up and going in the morning when I retire that has some value and that I can do from anywhere. I think we all need to look to the future.

OK, know on to the important stuff....knitting. I have not started anything new this week, in an attempt to get better organized and get some FO's in the can for the new year. I am nearly finished with one pair of socks that are Regia Tweed. I thought I needed something that was a little more subtle to where for work rather than the stripy ones. I am still working on the Petal vest getting ready to start the 3rd row. Also, working on the Best Girl Friend Socks. I need to take a look at them and see where I am off on the chart. It just does not look right.

Still on the list is the Hemlock Ring. I want to get it finished soon. It seems as though I was excited about it at first then when I got the hardest part done, I backe bored with it. I just need to pick it up and the the fan and feather part to get it off the needles. It is my goal this year to finish up all the WIP's so I can feel better about starting new things. I do not want any orphaned project. If I am not going to finish something, I need to frog it and used the yarn for something else.

I am starting to get in the mood for a road trip. Not sure where it will be this year but I am think going South this year. Last year was East, year before was West, time before was North. Would love to go to New Orleans. As many of my friends will recall the ill fated cruise from New Orleans which did not happen due to hurricane Katrina. The cruise has never been rescheduled and New Orleans was never visited. I think it may be time for that visit.

As I sit here blogging I am watching the squirrels cavorting in the trees doing God know what, give the time of year. My maple tree had ten of the little guys running through the limbs. They had been running across the roof which sounded like a herd of something. It looks like they had a good winter becuase they are very fat. I think that is because of all of the acorns on my tree in the front yard. They are about the size of a large gum ball. The tree drops tons of them so I am sure they were well fed. I cannot say what they are doing on my deck right now but let me just say that there will probably be some baby squirrels this year.

HIHO HIHO It's Off to Work I GO

Start a new contract yesterday after being of for a couple of months. It is kind of strange getting up early and going out to work.

I have not worked downtown for some years and a lot has changed. I am working across the street from the new Spring Arena. I have to day it looks better than I thought it would. Have not been inside yet but I understand it is pretty cool.

Just around the corner is the new HR Block building which have a nice cafeteria. I forgot my lunch this morning so I went there for a salad. I must say I am impressed with what is finally going on downtown. The Power and Light district is shaping up.

On my way back from lunch there were news crews and fire trucks the next block up. My initial tought was someone got injured but as it turns out there was a gas line hit by a piece of construction equipment.

So now that it is my second day on the job, I think I am going t like it a lot. The people are really nice and I have my own cube for a change. No one there has to share. This was very exciting to me after having to share shace with 5 other people at the last contract. Sometimes it takes so little to make one happy.

I have not knitted much since Saturday since I was trying to get things done before returning to work. I am working on several things. I did get the gloves finished and the second row of modules for the Petal vest, getting ready for the third row which will be solid navy.

I am also working on a Regia tweed sock. Not to happy with the yarn this time because it is broken within the skein. I have had to join the yarn three times so far and I am almost to the toe decrease. I think I am giong to give up and use the other skein to complete them. It is very frustrating. It is not like I do not have enough things started but these are black and I thought they would be more appropriate for work. I am sure they will be fine.

OMG It Is Cold here

Today the temp only got to 19 degrees. As you can see from the Forecast at a Glance, tomorrow is supposed to be in the 40's while Sunday is supposed to be 60's. It is said that if you do not like the weather in Kansas City, wait just a little and it will change. Perfect example. Hopefully, next week will be great weather for me to start back to work.

Today was my drug test for the new contract. Also included is a background check. Boy, you feel like a criminal just trying to get a job. Times sure have changed, and not for the better in come cases. There was a young man there at the same time getting a court ordered drug test. Evidently he had been doing this for some time. He was on a first name basis with the lab techs. He did not need to be told the procedure. It was kind of sad, he was a nice looking young name.

I received some new books from Crafter's Choice. The Best of Interweate Knits, HandKnit Style II and Knit Kimono. I have had my eye on these books for a while and here was a BOGO sale one. Of course, this weekend there was a $9.99 sale so I ordered the other books I wanted since they were on sale. I saved $70.

I especially like the Knit Kimono. There are a couple of things I want to queue. HandKnit Style has some great things also. I am very please with all three selections. I have added them to my Ravelry library.

The First Day of the New Year is here

This is the beginning of a new time in life for me. Tomorrow I will be 56 years old. Many women do not like to tell their age. I do not have a problem with people knowing how old I am. My hair may be gray and I have lost my girlish figure but I do not loose sleep over such things. I have worked hard for every gray hair and I never have been to think so it is no big deal. I have yet to color my hair because I am not in the least vain. I learned after I became 40 that I had reached the stage where I did not have to take any crap off of people, nor did have have to impress anyone.

So Happy Birthday to Me. With a birthday so close to the holidays I do not pay to much attention to it. It is basically just another day. It only comes into play when I have to put my age on something. I just make the change accordingly and it puts me another year closer to retirement.

My friend Chelle selects a word to focus on for the year and I try to do the same. My word this year is "TOLERANCE", particularly for my own short comings. I tend to have very high expectations for myself that at times transfers to others. Many times I am disappointed in myself and others because we cannot live up to those expectations. This year I am going to give us all a break. I have learned over the years that we are all trying to do the best we can to get through the life we have.

I am working on completing the gloves today. I think I will be needing them. I will probably make a scarf to go with them

This morning we have very strong winds. I thought the windows were going to blow in. There was a fast moving cold front coming through so it is barely 20 degrees now. I just spoke with a friend in St. Louis and they are getting the strong winds now so you can imagine how fast the front is moving. It is supposed to reach Atlanta by morning.

I have finished the second row of the vest. Since I am limited on the varigated yarn I am going to switch to the navy Cascade 220 for the next row. I think it will be a good contrast. I really like they way it is working up. After this row of modules there is a half row then on to the lace and upper part which is ribbed. This should not take to long so maybe it will be complete in a week or so and ready to wear. Stay tuned!

I am thinking when this is complete I will be ready to do something in my queue. I think first on the list is the Clapotis, which I already have the yarn for. I started it this summer but was not able to get into it so I think I am ready now. I would like to get a couple of shawls done this year and use some of the yarn from my stash. It is definately time to rotate some of the yarn since there is always something new I am interested in.

Finally, IT is over

Yes Christmas is over for this year. Now on to a new year and new opportunties.

Yes, I am going back to work week after next. I have secured another contract position. Some where new this time. I think it will be fun to be doing something entirely differents. I will be working downtown new the new Power and Light District so I should be in the thick of things.

Now I truly will have to get my to-do list completed, now excuses. I am finally, yes dare I say it, going to paint the dining room. I am going to clean the house throughly, again, so I will be ready to go to work again.

As for knitting, I have been doing many things lately. I did finish the Christmas things and the last of them will be mailed tomorrow to my sister's family. They will have many Christmas mornings this year. My brother mailed his gifts, which they have already received in Portland, and Mom's is on they way so they should get them eary this week. Mine they should have later in the week. This should be fun for the kids not getting everything all at once.

Anyway, to get back to the knitting. I am working on a pair of gloves custom made to my little hands. I have very short fingers so when I buy retail gloves I either have to get children's gloves, the stretchy kind, or the gloves that are an inch too long in the fingers. Neither are very workable so I decided that a custom pair are in order.

My friend Chelle started the "Girl's Best Friend" socks from ther pattern she downloaded from KnitPicks. She was not sure that she liked they way they were working up so gave the pattern to me to try. She started hers using Cascades Fixation hoping that the stretch would provide a better fit. Not liking Fixation myself I started this pair in Lang JAwoll.

This is what I have so far. The pattern is fairly involved so it does not go very quickly but I am almost to the end of the lace part. From there on it is just stockinette. I think I am going to really like them, even thought they are a slow knit for me.

In my spare time I have been working on just a plan pair of navy socks to wear with slacks for work. I need some that are a little more conservative for professional times.

I know that this does not look like much just yet but it will. I found this wonderful vest pattern that I just feel in love with. It is modular, as you can see, in an unusual way. It is called the "Petal Vest" and is a Knit One Crochet Too pattern. They have it rated as Expert but I am not sure why. It is not really that complicated.

This is what I have so far. I really like working on it and seeing how it builds on itself. I can see alot possibilities for variations. Stay tuned for progress.

Well, I think that brings me up-to-date. Now on to the new year.

To all of my friends....HAPPY NEW YEAR! ! ! !

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.....

I think I am as ready as I am going to be for Christmas. I have not shopped alot this year since I am not working at this time. After all, it is the thought that counts.

As many may know my sister's family was making their maiden voyage, driving from Portland, OR to Lees Summit, MO for the holiday. They had quite an adventure starting with being stuck in traffic for 4 hours in SE Oregon. This was only the beginning. As they progressed on to Wyoming, they got into blizzard conditions which prompted them to turn around and go home. They started this journey Wednesday afternoon and finally made it back to Portland this afternoon.

While I am sad that they will not be here for Christmas, I am extremely thankful that they are safe. This is an adventure I do not think they will want to try again. The summer time will be a much better time to try again when there is good weather an they can sight see along they way.

So this year it will be my mom, brother, and me for the holiday. They are in Springfield and the weather is much better there. Not sure how long I will be able to stay as they weather looks like it is turning again by Wednesday. Will have to watch the weather report. If it looks like it is going to get bad I will most likely come home earlier than later.

I have all of the gift knitting done that I am going to do. Anything else will have to wait until next year.

Now...I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Organization Continues

In keeping with the recent weather in Kansas City, here is my crocheted snowman. He still needs eyes, nose and buttons that will be done tomorrow. He will be going to one of my red hat friends. Every year she has us to her how for our Christmas get together which is really a treat. She cooks wonderful things and always has some kind of fun activity for us to enjoy. We were supposed to be together last Tuesday but due to inclimate weather, the event was reschedule to tomorrow.


Today was my day to finally get my yarn closet organized the way I wanted it. This is attempt #2. I have had the wire cubbies for some time but had not gotten them put together. This gives me a lot more storage room for the yarn I already have. This does not give me license to by more to fill the space. I am going to concentrate this year on using what I have. If I do buy something new it will be for a specific project. I have a bad habit of buying something fom the sale bins thinking I can find something to make from it. How is this work for me, you ask. Answer, not very well. I have a couple skeins of various things but not enough to completely make something. This is not very productive or ecomonical.



I think I am almost ready for Christmas. I have just a couple more things to get the wrap. This is not going to take long since I have not bought a lot this year. I have been, for the most part, conservative with my spending this time. Mainly because I am not working right now and I have about $3000 to pay out in by the end of the year. Next year will be different.

Christmas Memories

This it the time of year that everyone is so busy running here and there shopping, doing holiday cards, attending parties and in general going crazy to be ready for Christmas morning. Whether you are staying home or traveling it is the same every year, it seems that things will never get done in time. Some how it always turns out ok.

When all is said and done, the most important thing is to be with people you care about. Family, friends and neighbors all contribute to making memories. We all have them. Some are good memories and others are not. I choose to embrace the goods ones.

In the days gone by when all of my family was still here, young and vibrant, there were many good memories made. My grandma raised 6 fine children, mainly on her own. My youngest uncle was 13 when grandpa died of stomach cancer leaving grandma to keep the family going. The family did not have a lot but they did have great love for each other.

These fine people produced my generation. There are 14 cousins of this generation who are now the old ones. The oldest is 77 down to the youngest who is 39. Now some of these cousins have children who are having children. Talk about feeling old.

The memories that come to me this time of hear are of the family Christmas dinners. Everyone would have their Christmas morning at home then in the afternoon gather at someones house, usually ours. There was always much food, drink, and merriment. Our house had a large rec room in the basement with room for everyone to spread out. There was a ping pong table with an extension that made it big enough for everyone to sit down to eat all at the same time. This was quite a sight. In my younger days we numbered 20 or more eating at once.

As the cousins grew older and got married the number grew to 30+. You can imagine the noise level. In our family ther is an interesting thing that would happen. There would be multiple conversations going on at the same time with various people bouncing between conversations. When things got going it would seem like the walls would viberate. This I learned many years later was very intimidating to new members of the family. Growing up with this it seemed perfectly normal to us.

When dinner was over and the table was cleared the evenings entertainment was a huge bingo game. We played for a nickle a card. Us kids would clean up. Oh, those were the days that made such good memories.

Now that my generation is grown each one has started their own family traditions so we do not get together for holidays any more. Life goes on and this is the way it is supposed to be. Families will always carryon to create their own memories. The are nice to look back on.

This year my family will be with my mother. This is the first year without my dad so it will be different but it will be a much better Christmas than last year. The kids will have fun waiting for the morning and the anticipated present opening. The amount of presents will be scaled back but I am confident that everyone will get pretty much what they want.

My wish for everyone is to have a wonderful Christmas. Go out and make all the memories you can and share the ones you have. That is what keeps them alive.

Oh the Midwest Weather

This weekend was a weather shocker in KC. Today was not so bad. I got out and had lunch and ran some errands before the predicted ice storm to come.

This is the up-to-date weather map for the Kansas City area. We are in the circle. There is not much hope that this ice storm is going to miss us.

As you can see from the forecast we have 100% chance of freezing rain tonight, tomorrow, and tomorro night. Hopefully, this front will move on out and nothing else will be behind it for Christmas.

I have been knitting some today also. I am to the gusset for the huge socks I am doing and am ready to do some felting. Gracie was really impressed with the body of this snow man. I was making in for an exchange at my Red Hats Christmas meeting but it has been rescheduled until next week due to the weather. This works better for me time wise so I can get him done.

This is the bag I am doing for my Mom. Got some bamboo handles today but am not extremely happy with them. I really wanted leather but JoAnn's did not have them and my time to look for them today was limited. Maybe I will find some later this week that I am satisfied with.

On the job front. I got a call today from a New Jersey headhunter presenting me with an opportunity. The person was obviously Indian which in itself is not a problem. I have may friends who are Indian and they are lovely people. The problem with this person is that he is not familar with the geography of the country. The position is with a large telecom company and would be a great fit, if it were not in Tulsa, OK.

It was very difficult to understand what he was talking about to begin with. He asked if I knew where Tulsa was and how far it was from me. Oh, also if I took the job would it be necessary for me to move there. He had very little detail about the position. His main concern was if he could submit my resume for the position. I had to ask if the positon was a direct hire or contract and what the salary range was. Let me just explain that this is not my first experience with this. The main purpose for these head hunters is to get submissions. My understanding is that they get paid by the submission and not the just the placement. I am not at all comfortable with this type of recruiting.

I had thought that this type of recruiting had fallen out of favor but I guess not. It is another case of sending jobs off shore. The telephone give is a New Jersey number but I think it is patched in from India. I just to not like the idea of being recruited for a job in the US from another country.

O M G

When I logged into Ravelry I found this link to the "Worlds Larges Stash" http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/?p=111. I think this one has got most yarn shops beat. I am so envious both of the stash and the space. This is a truly bless knitter. I think all of us can only dream of such things. This person is either very rich, an incredible bargin shopper, or a major hoarder. Either way all I have to say is WOW!

The winter weather has settled in to Kansas City this weekend. There was ice yesterday on the driveway and street. I did not go to SSK, although I was dress and ready to go. When I went to get in the car I was going to go get the mail and discovered that the driveway was a sheet of ice. I thought better of my trek across the street. The last thing I need to do is fall and hurt myself. The outlook for next week is not that good either. We are supposed to have more ice and cold, all week. I have a feeling that we are in for a bad winter.

I actually have been knitting away today and have completed two things and almost a sock. Since as with everyone these are Christmas presents the pictures will have to wait. Wince there are still a couple of weeks before Christmas I may have time to get a couple more things done, in between job hunting.

On that front, I am going to keep up the effort on through. You just never know what is going to come up. The best job every could come along.

Good Day-- Friday

I had a good day today. I went to Weight Watchers for my first week weigh-in. I did good, loosing 2.8. Not a bad start considering when I weighed in I was 16 lbs. less than the last time I weighed, in October. It is interesting that I am able to do so well with my eating when I am not working. I think there is a message there somewhere.

Good news...I have selected paint for the dining room. Now that I mostly have my house in order I will have not excuse not to paint. I finally had to take the drape with me into Lowe's and get the color selected and purchased. It is time for this to be done before Christmas so I will be ready to go back to work.

I think I am over my Christmas grinchiness ahead of schedule this year. The difficulty is that this is the time of year I miss everyone who is not with us now. Even though they are not here in the flesh, they are in my heart and that is the part of me that hurts. I work through it every year and am fine by the time Christmas is here, but it usually takes longer. I call this progress.

I did get some Christmas shopping done today and enjoyed it. Each year there is usually one of my family that I spend a little more on. Not necessarily on purpose but it just works out that way. It works our pretty even over time. I of course will not say who it is but he/she will be absolutely gobsmacked. I am pretty please with this one.

I have a couple more things to get knitted and others to get bought then I will be ready. I may even decorate the house for a change. I usually put up a tree of sorts. It is actually half of a tree that hangs on the wall that is the side of my guest closet. It works out great because it does not sit on the floor to be in the way. Next to my front door there is an etched window that looks in on this wall so from the outside it looks like a tall tree. The tree stays decorated and is stores on a shelf in the storage room in the basement. I really love it. I will supply a photo when it is up.

There is Always Tomorrow

I had a good day today. I finished the cleaning in my bedroom and have stuff ready for the Federation for the Blind to come next week and pick up a bunch of stuff. It will be good to get that out of the house.

I got a call today for an interesting job out-of-town (won't tell where so as not to jinx it). The thing is that it is a direct hire or in my mother's words, it is a real job. If all it works out it would mean eventually moving (but not right away). At first, the opportunity arose I just said it was not an option but the more I think about it, there is a possibility. Will have to see how that all goes.

Nonetheless, I have some things cooking. I should have heard about one today but did not. There is still hope for it since there was not a definitive rejection. I also have a meeting in the morning to talk with another recruiter. Eventually, probably after the holidays, something will present itself. Until the unemployment check will keep coming.

It amazing how we can manage with less money. Kansas unemployment is $407 per week. Today was an exciting day because I actually got 3 checks to catch me up to the first weeks I was off. This was a great treat. Now I will have money for Christmas.

The main thing that is a concern is the health insurance. Did you know that if you loose your job that you qualify for COBRA coverage. For those of you who have never experience COBRA essentially you pay the full premium. Basically, it is the portion that your employer pays in addition to what you pay on each paycheck. This means that if you pay say $70 per month when you are working, it goes up to let's say $287 per month out of your own pocket. This is what I will be paying for coverage that has a $1500 deductible before it pays anything unless you have a medical emergency. After the $1500 they pay 80%. This is what is known as a high deductible indemnity policy.

In the old days before the managed care fiasco started with the HMOs this is the kind of insurance we all had. You went to the doctor and pay usually $25 for an office visit and you could go to any doctor you wanted. The insurance company did not care. Everyone had an prescription card and paid $2 or so per prescription. There were not commercials advertising pharmaceuticals and we all took what the doctor thought was best for up. The only time you used your insurance was when you had diagnostic test or were hospitalized. Those were the good old days. Employers paid the full premium for the employee and usually the family. Medical costs were much lower and the doctors did not have to inflate their charges to $100+ for an office visit just so the insurance company would pay the $25. Things were much simpler then.

I was working for a pharmaceutical in the 80’s when the HMO was in its infancy, and I remember being in meetings when it was said what a boon it would be to the pharmaceutical and insurance companies. In the beginning, many paid no copay at all of if there was one it was nominal. I think the first on I paid was $2. Then it went to $5 eventually rising to ….you guess it $25. Amazingly, the amount we used to pay the doctor anyway.

They fought long and hard to be able to advertise their products. Well, we all now what the power of suggestion does. How many times have you seen an advertisement for a new drug then go to your doctor and say I want some of whatever it? We are all guilty of this. So now instead of pay a flat $2 or even $10, now we are tier on a formulary. For those who are not familiar with this it a list of drugs that the insurance company will pay for and the new the drug the higher the copay cost is. We are not paying $30, $40 and higher for a brand name prescription. This because we always want the newest thing when some of the older drugs that are less expensive will do just as well or better.

OOPS! I almost forgot this is a knitting blog. I have not been knitting a lot this week since I had so much to do on the house. I have worked a few rows in here and there so I am making progress. I have a couple of Christmas things ready to come off the needles and a couple more to go on. The new stuff may have a swatch with an IOU attached under the Christmas tree. Will have to see how I do the next few weeks. With the house nearly done I can devote more time to knitting and get it done.