Warning: Random Post Ahead

Hello, I know it has been a while, but there hasn't been a whole lot going on. Last Saturday we celebrated DH's 34th birthday with his mom and nephew(she is his guardian) by eating at Cracker Barrel, good food. We had fun.

Earlier we had bought me and her new cell phones. I had been using an old brick that was a few years old. DH is a computer tech and is fairly savvy about any electronic gadgets so mil wanted his help too. We both ended up getting a motorazr, so we can use it as an mp3 player as well. Pretty neat phone, I spent all of an evening downloading pictures and adding them to everyone's contact info. Haven't quite worked out how to convert songs into ringtones, but working on it.

Speaking of DH, I'll probably start calling him by his online handle, Techpriest, because he fixes it and prays it works. He has been going by that now for longer than I've know him. Actually, I've been going by Faren online for longer than I've known him too. While reading Robert Jordan's Eye of the World I came across the mention of a farmer who had my last name (maiden), his first name was Faren, loved the sound of it and decided it use it.

The place seems quieter without Tika around, even though she hadn't been able to get into trouble in quite a while. Raffles is doing good, still sleeping all the time, just wakes up to eat and poop seems like. It will be really quiet when he is gone.

Marianne had asked a couple of days ago whether it had rained much here lately. I told her no. It seems as soon as I said that it started raining. Yesterday it poured down. Hard enough to flood the apartment. Again. This has apparently been the wettest spring in thirteen years here. All the rivers are still very high from the last series of rains. Everyone's basements have flooded, I just happen to live in one. Hutchinson has flooded even worse, two of my friends have had two and four feet of water in their basement. Both lost their water heater and one lost the blower to the central heating unit, which means no air conditioning. So I suppose I could have had it much worse, but it is hard to remember that when all the rooms in the apt. have water in them and you have to keep going from one to the other to keep up with it. Yesterday I was ready to move, but we really can't. The rent is cheap, we are in a good neighborhood, the neighbors in the other apartments are nice, and we can keep Raffles here. It is a pain to find somewhere that will let you keep pets. And we are hoping next spring isn't quite so bad.

It is also very cool down here, I've seen it be 10 degrees cooler than it is outside. But sometimes I swear everything is just slightly damp it is so humid. That has been getting on my nerves too, but Techpriest borrowed a dehumidifier today and it has already made such a huge difference! I'm amazed. So yeah, I feel better about the place than I did yesterday, what a difference a day makes. There really are many pluses to this place.

Sunday I cleaned off the sewing cabinet, one set of crafting shelves, the computer room closet, and a set of shelves in the kitchen. These spots just collect junk that don't belong there. So I got them under control for a while.

Techpriest bought me a couple of Red Dwarf books, so I've been reading them. They are good, but I think I like the TV show better. If anyone is interested, let my know and I'll let you have them for what he paid for them.

Not much knitting going on. I finished using the leftover yarn from Nathan's sweater for squares for Greensburg, and I just haven't moved on to anything else. I found some different instructions for short row heels, but just haven't sat down and got it done. I'm going to have to really pay attention, and all I've really wanted was mindless knitting while watching tv. I plan on doing it tomorrow, but we shall see.

Gratuitous Nathan Picture of the Day!

I love this picture of Nathan with his Daddy(my big brother)

Tika

Tika just passed away. I thought she was going to go sometime in the night, but she was still here when DH got up at 5 to check on her. She was still hanging on before he left for work at 8:30. After I finally talk him into putting her to sleep, she is gone when I check on her before calling the vet.

I feel guilty because I wasn't holding her, but I was getting ready to take her to the vet. Yesterday she wasn't eating or drinking at all, she would move her head away from it. When we got back from the circus, she had somehow managed to crawl on top of the blankets(without disturbing them at all, I found it very strange) and was so cold and unresponsive. If we had been gone a little longer she might have died then. She finally warmed by after using the rice pack over and over. We did hold her all last evening. She was so unresponsive DH thought she was in a coma, she might have been. He figured if she wasn't in pain not to put her to sleep, but I just hated to see her that way.

We certainly will miss her. To see more pictures and read more stories about her go here.

Can't sleep, the clowns will get me!

Well, I finished Nathan's baby sweater this weekend. It would look better on a model, but I made it big so it would fit him this winter, so it wouldn't fit anyway, even if he was around.
Project: Nathan's Baby Sweater
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Jelli Beanz
Pattern: Plymouth Yarns Hooded Baby Sweater
Needles: size 9 KnitPicks Options
I made this through a class offered by Yarns in Salina, very helpful, I learned a lot, I also forgot a lot. There are still plenty of mistakes in it, but I'm not going to tell! That way Miranda might not notice them. She is a crocheter though, so she might figure some of them out. It is still cute though, and wearable, so that is all that matters, right? The buttons are adorable too! They have a black outline of a car on them. There certainly were a lot of ends to weave in, it will be awhile before I make something that is more than one color!




I finished this not to long ago, love the celtic knotwork. Isn't the piping pretty? It would hold a checkbook or two. The only problem is the cards keep falling out, any ideas? Either how to fix this one or for future wallets?

I was able to finish the sweater because I was fed up with Miranda's sock, actually the heel. I've only ripped it out twice, compared to the toe's 3 times, but I just couldn't take anymore! I thought I had it figured out when I noticed one side has holes...just one side. If it had been both sides I might have left it, they aren't very big holes, they are almost decorative. They are on the side where I knit the wraps with the stitch. I was looking at the Sockapalozza site and noticed that a lot of the short row heels have them. So any idea on what I should do and how I should do it? I intend to look it up on the web, I just haven't felt up to it. Ignoring the sock has allowed me to finish the sweater and another square for Greensburg so that is something.

Today was laundry day again, no horrible parents today, though there was some circus clowns...actually I don't know if they were clowns, but they were from the circus. Across from the laundromat they were sitting up the big tent, I think the whole town came out for that because the elephants were helping. Anyway, the laundromat was full, apparently the circus does it's laundry on Tuesdays too. I had to wait for dryers, but not to big a deal. Then we went to the afternoon show. I was surprised McPherson could get such a big circus. They were really good, acrobats, high wire acts, horses, and the elephants of course, it was a long show too. In the petting zoo they had some llamas and alpacas too, and even a hippo, though you couldn't pet him.
We had a good time.

Gratuitous baby picture

Sorry this post has so many run on sentences and who knows what else, but I wanted to post, and my brain just is not working very well right now. I think it might be time to go to sleep!

Weasels

Here is the promised post about the ferrets. A month or so after we moved to Nickerson (so after Feb. '01) we bought the two ferrets from a women in Enid, OK. She had just had a baby and having the ferrets run off with diapers(clean, I think) and other supplies was driving her crazy. She said they were two years old.

We renamed them Tika(me) for a frying pan wielding barmaid in the Dragonlance Chronicles, and Raffles(DH) for a gentleman thief. I'll have to ask him the author, I have seen the BBC series though.


Tika(female) is the first picture, Raffles(male) the second. Ferrets are a lot like kittens, they play constantly when they are awake and sleep like the dead when they aren't. And they don't grow out of it. Not until they are so old they can't move like they used to.

Sleeping like the dead.

Playing hard.
They are 8 years old now, ferrets usually live about 6 to 7 years. These guys are old. I don't have a current picture of Raffles(and I don't feel like taking one), but he looks the same as Tika.

Yeah, ewww, huh? You get used to it. But then again, we had a hairless rat too, looked just about the same. They are both hairless, losing control of their back legs, have arthritis in their jaws(they squeak) and Tika is also blind. And just in case any of you do know anything about ferrets, yes, we did have the adrenal surgery done on Tika. Her hair came back for about a year, then gone again. They have gotten even worse here lately. Raffles occasionally has trouble breathing and Tika's body temperature is low. She always has gotten cold easily, but now you pick her up and she feels cold to the touch. So, we started putting rice packs in bed with her. Never too hot, and we put a towel between it and her. She only comes out of the box to go to the bathroom anymore. I've started bringing food and water to her in bed, is she spoiled or what? I think she will be the first to go. But they have been good pets, and they have had a full life.

Here are some pictures of them in Miranda's afghan she made us for Christmas and the ferrets took over. I really don't think we could have enjoyed it any more than they have.



Yes, that is Tika's nose you see, that is her usual spot, she buries herself as much as she can.

Sorry!

Sorry it has been a few days, I got distracted. Wed. was Knit Night at the Salina yarn store and I just didn't get around to posting in the afternoon. Everyone thought that Miranda's sock was turning out good. I'll probably end up having her try it on, but just in case I'm not posting a picture. I'm ready to start the short row heel, so time to see how it works!

These are the blocks I've made for Greensburg. The two pink-purplish ones on the left are made out of yarn I received in a swap and I can't believe how much straw was in it! It did look handspun. The purple yarn is Cascade 220, and the little bit of blue in the purple block is beautiful handspun yarn from another swap, it was my first taste of handspun. The block on the upper right I made ages ago for practice out of Red Heart, so between the two I don't think it is up to snuff. Occasionally, I do use Red Heart, like the Dr. Who Scarf, but I just don't like this block.




The pattern for these two blocks(and many others) can be found here. I really like the way they turned out, specially after blocking.

Thursday I went to Hutchinson all afternoon and saw my nephew Nathan(tadpole), and since Miranda said it was ok, here is a picture of him. My dad is holding him either the day he was born or the next day. Oh, he was born on his Daddy's birthday! Isn't that neat? I always think of this picture as Grandpa's Hands.
Then last night we watched Ghost Rider, pretty good movie.
Talk to you all later!

Busy Day!

I've had a very busy day for me! I couldn't get started till after lunch, but since then I've been going. Well, I did get up early for me and went to Curves. Tuesday is laundry day, which means the laundromat. Now, usually it isn't all that bad.We live close enough, and this is a small enough town that I do go home between machines. Today, I thanked every god and goddess out there. And some that don't exist, just to cover all my bases!

I like children, really I do! It is their parents I can't stand. These kids were in the way constantly. In the aisles, sitting in front of the doors, sitting on the washing machine my clothes were in. Sure, once I needed in there his mother yelled at him, but not a word before then! They started fighting too. And why does both parents and the grandmother all need to come to the laundromat? I didn't realize it was such a gathering place. Why can't someone stay home with the kids so they don't drive everyone crazy? In contrast, there was a little girl sitting beside her mother calmly and quietly coloring away. At least there are a few good ones out there.

Then hubby came home early so we could take the ferrets to the vets. I'll try to post about them some other time. We wanted to see why they were still alive. Actually, they are very old and not doing too well, but we wanted to make sure there wasn't anything we could do for them.
Nope, nothing, just try to keep them comfortable.

Then, we did eat out, yay, I didn't have to cook! Back to the house for a quick break. Time for a pack of peas for me. Then back out for grocery shopping...big grocery shopping. At least I had made a list. And there wasn't any horrible parents there. So, came home and put everything away, realized I hadn't put the laundry away, said screw it, and watched Red Dwarf and knitted for awhile.

Forgot about it again(out of sight, out of mind), remembered it again(ah, crap), finally got them put up. Then I could actually come blog! Now I'm off to catch up with my bloglines.

Oh, if your email isn't in your profile I'm just going to answer your comment with another comment. So if you don't see a thank you in your inbox that is why! Hope that is ok.

Gryffindor socks

Project: Chelle's Gryffindor Socks
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns Gryffindor Stripe
100% Superwash Merino Wool
actually bought from Destash
Pattern: Cuff down heel flap with gusset
2 X 2 ribbed cuff
foot plain stockinette
kitchener toe
Needles: Knitpicks size 0 dpns



Ok, Laura wants to see my projects and specially socks! I've been working on these forever! Well, probably since the end of January. I think I am knitting faster though. The second sock went a lot quicker than the first one. Isn't that supposed to be the other way around? I hardly ever do anything normal, you will find that out! These are my 4th pair of socks, made for a friend of mine, we'll call her Chelle. Her, Karla, my mom, sister in law and I all love Harry Potter, so when Chelle said she only wanted anklets, I immediately hoped I could get two pairs out of the skein. Chelle got first dibbs because she was the first one I told about the yarn when I first saw it. I got so excited about it, I had to tell someone. Since she lived two blocks away from me in Nickerson, I think she got the brunt of hearing about my knitting obsession.

I did have to dip into the second ball, so it has to be for someone with smaller feet than chelle. Which gets it down to me and Mom....do you see where this is going? I've already made socks for mom(which I don't have a picture of), yes, the first pair of socks I made were for me, but I want a second pair before anyone else gets a second pair! Even mom! Yeah, well, I really just love these socks and want a pair for myself and will justify it however I have too. I did make chelle a pair first though, that was unselfish, right?

I tried to make them identical twins, imagine my surprise when I dipped into the second ball and only got one stripe of yellow instead of two! Chelle has already seen them since I was not very confident that they would fit, so I had her try one on. Since mom has the same basic size of foot as me, this is the first pair of socks that I couldn't tell if they were the right size or not.

I am currently working on a pair of socks for my SIL. Learned how to crochet a chain for a provisional cast on and how to do a short row toe. I ripped the toe out 3 times before I was happy, the first one was gauge related. Doing a basic cable pattern, fairly easy but interesting too. I think I like the short row toe, we'll see about the short row heel. I hear they are quicker than the heel flap and gusset?

I was going to post pictures of the 6 squares I've made for Rebuilding Greensburg, but I think I want to block them first. I also forgot about the wallet I finished sewing, so look for that to show up too. Look through my flickr pictures to get an idea of what I make. I know I have more than that though, I'll have to hunt around some more.

Greensburg Tornado

Since I have insomnia(again) I figured I would post about Greensburg. A town of about 1500, it was wiped off the map by a tornado on May 4. And I do mean wiped off the map, see some photos here. Ten people were killed by the tornado in Greensburg, with another two outside of town. These people didn't just lose their homes, but their whole town, their whole way of life.
The Kiowa County Signal (Greensburg newspaper) has a list of ways to help if you can.

But I'm really here to promote Rebuilding Greensburg: block by block. It is being put together by Laura of Sugar Bunny Boulevard. Here is the main post about it. She has the ambitious goal (well she did already up the goal) of collecting 2240 afghan blocks and seaming them into afghans for 40 Greensburg families. I had to knit for this, it is their whole town, it seems like it is right next door, and it really could have happened to my town just as easily. So, I already have 5 squares done. Why don't you pick up your needles and knit a square or two? It really won't take long at all. They actually get kinda addictive! If you don't want to knit a plain garter stitch bias square here is a website that has some neat free patterns.
Thanks muchly!

Hello out there!

Hi everyone, I thought I would just sit down and start writing instead of waiting for something brilliant to come to me. So, what do you want to know about me? Though I really think anyone reading this will know me pretty well.

My life changed dramatically in Aug of 2004 when I realized I had had a headache for a week. It continued and got much worse. I have been living with a headache of vary degrees every minute of every day since then. All the time. It seems to go through phases, whatever we are trying at the time helps for awhile, then it gets worse again. We have tried many, many different things, with many different doctors. Right now, on a scale of one to ten(ten being the worst), it averages about a 5.

I ended up quiting my job of 7yrs, in '05 after struggling for months with the headache being about a 7. I have had a few part time jobs since then, very part time. I never know when the headache is going to get bad.
My husband and I had to give up our house in Nickerson and move to an apartment in McPherson. It has been very nice to live in the same town as he works in, but it has been an adjustment to move away from everyone(ok, 30 to 45 min away, not really too bad). Our lifestyle has been reduced a lot, living on one paycheck. I am trying to get disability, but it is a long, slow road.

I started knitting because it was one thing I could do while watching TV. I used to cross stitch while watching tv, but I would have to look down a lot and then the bag of peas would fall off my head.

What?

Oh, you want to know why I have a bag of peas on my head? Ice helps the headache, and frozen peas make the best ice packs. Plus, with practice you can learn to balance them on your head pretty good. But not while you are cross stitching! So, knitting. Now I have a new obsession. This blog will have a lot of knitting content. I need to tell someone all about it, DH doesn't get very excited about knitted socks....he thinks we could just go to Walmart and get some!

Well, I think that is enough to be getting on with, so talk to you later.