Strange weather

here in So. Calif...

Friday morning... it snowed... in Colton where I work... it snowed... it wasn't cold enough where I work for the snow to stick, but there were fattyfat flakes, big fluffy fattyfat flakes... and from what I hear the snow leval was down to 1000 feet... by noon the snow had melted on the hill that is close to my work... (the picture was taken at work, of the hill...) and saturday dawned crisp, cold ... COLD... COLDER THAN COLD... and the winds were kicking up again... sigh... but then I could be in Denver...

A new year...

The ending of 2006...

I went to see a friend of mine in Long Beach CA, to see if
a) he would invite me in or...
b) he would shut the door in my face...

He had been extremely depressed for many months, and didn't let any one into his life at all... and I finally said... either he lets me into the house, or he shuts the door... but he has to make the decision... and went to the house... (we had a wonderful 3 hours)

I also went to another friends for the weekend, spent Saturday evening, Sunday day and evening, and Monday with him... we went and had Sushi early Sunday evening, then went to a party with his room-mate, and friends... and welcomed in the new year... not watching the ball drop on t.v.

beginning of 2007...

We went to see Eragon... Interesting movie... I need to read the book tho... I have a feeling that allot was left out! And we went to see Night at the Museum... excellent (in my Opinion) movie!

And I started yet another pair of socks, these are toe-up, knitted with some California Red yarn that that 'J' had given me... It is a courser wool, reminds me almost of Dorset, or Karakul definitely not the merino that I have been working with from royalehare.com, but it is nice... and finished sock one of some socks started with Windsor Denim Chocolate I'll post pix 'later'

A bit of silliness...

Your results:
You are Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)

Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 95% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 70% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 60% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 60% River (Stowaway) 55% Wash (Ship Pilot) 55% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 50% Inara Serra (Companion) 35% Alliance 25% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 10% A Reaver (Cannibal) 0%

Honest and a defender of the innocent. You sometimes make mistakes in judgment but you are generally good and would protect your crew from harm.

Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test

Time keeps on slippin...

Sooooooooooo Life has been ... life... hectic, and slow at the same time... to catch up a bit...

I was 'finally' paid for the glove that I had done finished, in September... and it is doubtful that I will take on commission work again, unless I get 1/2 up front, to cover costs... etc...

Work has been both busy and slow, yesterday was painfully slow, I did 12 tickets... which yes paid for me being here, but at the same point...

I was in a knitting slump, so much so, that several friends said... hey where's the knitting... stopped by a Local Yarn shop (LYS), and found some great sock yarn and saw the socks that it needed to be, and started a pair, then a friend of mine sent me some updates for the page that I have been working on for her, and she had some beautiful yarns... and she sent me some new yarn... and... I found a counterpane pattern that I have been looking for for several years... and it can be found here... (soon)

I went to the Dickens Festival in San Francisco this past weekend, and was able to see friends there, that I don't get to see more than a few times a year... and had a wonderful time... showed a friend of mine how to purl when knitting continental style, plus brought some baby booties to another friend for her daughter, who just had a daughter... the friend was teasing us, about being obsessive knitters... but she also appreciates the work...


word of wisdom...

If you have to win by bullying, you haven't won, you are just a bully

Obsessions...

I have been making fingerless gloves, and mitts for a couple of years now... and have found some cool patterns...

http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~kfairchi/fingerless%20gloves.html

and...

a pattern generator!

http://www.thedietdiary.com/knittingfiend/mitten/HKGloves.html

Other bright Notes

On a brighter note...

The commission gloves are done!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the person loved the work... I am taking 2 different skeins of yarn up to him this weekend to have him choose for the 2nd pair of gloves, which should be done by the 1st weekend of October... (actually NEED to be done by then as I won't see him again until spring time...)

And................ I am hopefully getting a new to me spinning wheel this weekend...




word of wisdom...

If you have to win by being a bully, you haven't won, you are just a bully!

Fraud...

Asking a weighmaster for a false certificate is unlawful. Conviction can result in a $1,000.00 fine and / or 6 months in jail.

Weighmasters who issue false weighmaster certificates are subject to the same penalty, plus loss of their license

Weighmasters are asked to report such request to Weights and Measures

Stare of California
Department of Food and Agriculture
8500 Fruitridge Rd
Sacramento, CA 95826
916-366-5119


I had a driver come in who works for a used auto dealership... he brought in paperwork, and asked me to do 2 different weights... "its a caddy, they all weight the same... " I told him that I could only do 1, and he handed me a cert for what he said was a 2003 caddy... I took him at his word that it was the correct paperwork... but something just kept tickling the back of my brain so I went out and looked at the vin number... yeppers the vin was entirely different than either of the 2 certificates that he had brought in... when I called him on it.. the quote was.. whats the big deal... my quote back to him was the question of... are you going to support me? ... guess what the answer was. . .

newest project...

I picked up the latest interweave knits magazine (fall 2006) this past Sunday... it is always so very dangerous for me to get knitting magazines... I see fantastic stuff, and want to run out and buy yarns and needles and... nevermind that I have 7 clear storage boxes filled with various types of yarns, and multiple baskets filled... and multiple bags ... yea filled, but...

Any way my newest project is "Bianca's Jacket" and I am doing it Lionbrand woolease Chestnut... as soon as I have one of the front panels done, I'll post a pix...

Commission!

Back in April I made a pair of fingerless gloves for myself, as I was having problems with my hands, with cold... (I broke my right hand 1 1/2 years ago... and when it gets cold... I definatley know about it... ) and a friend of mine saw them and wanted a pair, so I made her a pair... he boyfriend finally noticed them this last weekend and to quote... "He put them on. He said "wow, these are awesome"..." so... I have been commissiond to do 2 pair of gloves for him...

I lost a friend this week...

From: Themaccolin

(Original Message8/8/06)

This afternoon, at a little after 3pm. Our friend and kinsman Ian Abramovitch passed away with as much dignity and ease as a human being is allowed. He was surrounded by his family, friends and co-workers as he slipped away, taking ship into the West.

Brightest Blessings to you Ian... I will miss you greatly

Inspection time...

So... today we (the scale) had an inspection... and I got to meet the head cheese for San Bernardino County Weights and Measures...

We got a conditional "A"

another month bites the dust!

So... Here in So Calif it has been painfully hot... until this weekend... Sunday I awoke being (gasp) cold... to the sound of drippy drippy drippy... and at 4 a.m. I didn't have to get up until 6:30, so I pulled a sheet over me, and a blanket over my feet and went back to sleep until 6:15 when I re-awoke to the sound of drippy drippy drippy... I poked my head out the door and said... hmmmmm the sky is falling, the sky is falling, and my cats looked at me and said so what, we are hungry... feed us... Earlier this month the keyboard on the computer that I use at work died... the down arrow key for what ever reason had decided to stop functioning... fortunately there was anothe board here, so I used it for a time, but it wasn't an ergonomic board... several years ago, I was gifted with an ergonomic board by a friend that I was working with, and boy howdy did I get spoiled by it! Sunday I was able to find one at a computer swap meet for not much $$ and so my hands are having to adjust to the ergnomic board ... again!

I've been making lots of baby sockies... several friends have had or are going to have babies... and super fast and easy baby pressie... sockies!

Work... work is for the most part still great. Last Monday we had a power outage, which tripped the printer for the scale, and I had to reset the date on it... Tuesday I thought checked the date, and had to reset it - again - then we had another black out... then Wednesday, I went looking for any kind of instruction manual on the scale printer, only to find nothing... Hurray for google... I did a search, and found a site that walked me thru resetting the printer... of course I printed up the directions, and stowing them in the employee training manual, so that the next person after me doesn't have as steep a learning curve... There are days... as is expected, and then there are ... DAYS... again as is expected! Today I had a guy come in with a hummer wanting to know what each of the wheels were supporting weight wise... so I did what is called a '4 corners' weight... and ... got tipped a dollar, and told that I was doing an excellent job...

updating...

Well...

I started my 2nd month 'alone' at the truck scale on today

And..........

I can truely say that I am enjoying the job for the most part... I have had some folks that are truely 'blond'... and some that are fantastic and I also have had the inbetweens... 98% of the guys understand that you don't bounce the container on the scale... I still have the very occasional... and had one person glow when I thanked him for not bouncing... (this all began last month when I had a guy not drop his landing gear - the legs that are at the front of a container - all the way onto the scale... plus when he pulled out from under the container he hadn't released his air bag all the way... my building literally shook... and one of the others in the building came in to see what had happened... ) since then most every one has been excellent! I am also finding that I am enjoying the interaction with most of the folks, yes there are the occasional that I want to throttle... but they are few and far between... and I have had only one person who I have told that if they don't like the prices that the company charges, they are welcome to go anyplace else... We charge $8.00 for a certified weight, $7.00 for an axle weight, and if we have to do a re-weigh on an axle weight, then it is an additional $3.00. The quote that I was given when I told him the prices was 'You are killing us lady'... at that point I politely told them that they were welcome to go any where else to have it weighed, and re-weighed... and got the look of disbelief...

but... thats o.k. because for every one of 'him' I have 10 (at least) of guys who's attitude is 'I would rather pay the $3.00 for a re-weigh or 2, and be safe, rather than complain about it, and get hit with a huge fine... '

I have participated in a 2nd sock exchange... I was working on some self striping yarn, doing the embossed leaf pattern that is in Interweave knits... and a friend of mine was oohing and ahing over it... and she was working on some RED alpaca socks that were velvety soft... and both of us were going hmmmmmm why am I working on this, and who is it for... viola... mini exchange!

And as I have told my daughter, that I have realized how introverted I had become from the former job ... I miss working on the microfilm, the fact that I was looking at history every day... yea... way cool... micromanagement... not cool... and I know that I was definately escaping with faire... and using it as an escape from work... (which is good and bad) but I am definately enjoying this job!

Knitting!

This is what I've been working on!

http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/brea/brea.html

news...

So..

The good news is...

I have a full time job!!!

I am working as a deputy weighmaster at a truck scale... the job literally fell into my lap... a friend of a friend has moved to Mississippi, and the company had decided to go ahead and hire someone to replace her... I baffled, and dazzled, (even myself) the owner, and was hired... its m - f, 8 - 5 ... supposed to close for an hour for lunch... yea right... but... its a job, and on the down time I can knit, spin, and have internet access!!! huzzah!!

Socks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my socks!!!

I was intrigued by a post several months ago in one of the groups that I belong to about knitting socks for a trade... I knitted some socks for a a lady named Sarah back in NY... using a pattern I had never ever ever used before, and was knitting with some trepidition... as she is an incredible knitter... my thoughts were... I'm knitting for her?! It will never pass muster... (yea I know the self esteem thing again!) The socks that I knitted for her, I call rightside-upside down socks, as I had thought that the color-way matched... and surprise... rightside-upside down!!!

Meanwhile back at the Ohio Ranch a lovely lady named Barbara was knitting for me... and ohmygoodness the package she sent me... Chocolate... burts bees cuticle creame... and some beautiful pumpkin pie colored socks, the pattern is from interweave knits winter 2005... (of which I have a copy, and have started on a pair for another friend of mine... )

This picture is of the socks that were knitted for me... (picture 'borrowed' from Barbara!)

When I got the package from Barbara, I was as excited as a kidlet on a special day... as it meant that someone had taken time for me... and I called another friend to tell her that Sarah had gotten her socks and all was well, and that I had gotten my socks... and that it was so very neat that I had socks that were knitted for me but not by me... to which she said... 'thats why I love the socks that I won in the raffle... you knitted them... not necessarily for me... but they weren't knitted by me...

I love my socks that I knit, and I know how long it takes to make them, and they have a 'value' because of the effort, but in our throw away world, and the attitued that when something tears, breaks, or loses its usefullness we throw it away, and go buy more... for cheaper because we have out sourced... we lose sight of the fact that even that we are not disposable!

(stepping down from my soap box now... )

HUGS

Today I am wearing hugs... I have on a sweatshirt that a friend of mine sent me probably 15 years ago, Navy Blue, with cardinals on it... it is comfy, and it is like having a hug from her every time I wear it! I like wearing hugs... they remind me of the people who give me so much in my life!!!

On another front... I have a JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was hired at a truck scale a week ago to weigh loaded / unloaded rigs, and to do dmv certifications!!! There are times (a lot of times) when my self esteem is slim to none... this week tho has reminded me that I do have worth, and that I am a valued member of the human race... and that I need to value myself more often!

Fingerless Gloves

So... when life is giving me lemonade, I try to find things to do with my hands rather than just moping about... hence the new gloves...

These are done on size 2 needles, 48 st, 16 per needle, working on 3 needles...

Yesterday was my birthday, I am now 54...

a week not to be repeated!

So

This past week has been the week from hell... Quite literally.

Tuesday went to another town, on the promise that there may be work.. fill out paperwork, answer questions... type a paragraph, do 10 min of data entry... only to be told the unspoken, don't call us, we won't call you... all the while I am listening to totally unprofessional children with foul mouths whining about having to work, while I am desperately needing a job... that will pay anything at all... sigh

Wednesday went to another temp agency, again more paper work, answer more questions, told come back at 5:00 a.m. ... I get up at 3:45, start walking the 4 miles to get to the agency by 5... only to be told that ... we don't have anything until the 14th of April...

And those who know me know that I am a total obsessive about being on time... Friday I was supposed to test for a job... and the test I thought was at 11:15... WRONG... sigh... I went to where the test was, was in town at 10... went to the office at 10:45, and was told that it was too late, the test was at 10:30...

In reading this I am also realizing that this disastrous week was a series of 3's, and maybe the gods and goddesses are now smiling... (and Mercury is now direct... hurray for better communication...)

Today I was out at faire and saw some folk I had interviewed with last week, and was asked if I wanted to sign paperwork today, so I said sure... filled out yet more paperwork... signed yet another w4 for taxes to be taken out of a check... and was asked how much I wanted to work... I said as much as I can... and was told to come a week from Thursday and I can start doing prep work, and can work Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday...

A job is a Job... is a JOB... and right now almost anything is better than what I have which is nothing!

Instant gratification

I like knitting... I like knitting socks... Socks are fast, they are moderately easy, a cuff, a heel, the heel/gusset, the foot, and the toe... the fun part is deciding what type of design you want to do on the cuff, and if you want to do a toe up, or cuff down... I'm not a fan of toe up, but have done them... The really really neat part about socks, is that once they are done, you get to wear them... like I said... Instant Gratification!!