Blue moon blues

Christmas was very different this year. I came down with a wicked head cold 2 days before Christmas. Stuffed head, running nose, slight fever the whole package. Because of this I bowed out of the family gathering. I really did not want to give my cold as a Yuletide gift. At least now I can breathe out of both sides of my nose & can now focus enough to both knit and read.
One of the nicest gifts of the season was from a very dear old friend. It was a marvalous rocker and foot rest. What was really niffty was that my Dad had just given me a new floor lamp. The only downside is that a certain cat has now claimed it as her own.

It sort of fits in that the year & the decade is ending in a blue moon. I will be very glad to see the end of 2009.
I am also very happy to get rid of this decade. All in all the turning of the new century was not a success. It brought life changes that were on the whole most unwelcomed. I am continually doubting several choices I made over the last 10 years. I do not seem to be better off in any aspect of my life that truely matters. Day to day survival is my only goal most of the time.
No the last decade will not be missed.

A smile for the day - "The Last Knit"

Snowfall & sneaks

Well a few surprises yesterday.

The first was a snowfall in Houston. It turned out an very nice early Christmas surprise. I managed to actually snapped a bit of proof. Snow on the banana tree. It is a bit hard to see but it happened.

My second surprise was not a nice one . Some one without much holiday spirit walked off with my Christmas catus. The plant, the pot and the water dish were all taken. I ask the apartment management promised that they would keep an eye open but there is little hope of it turning up. All that is left is a few broken of stems and old pictures.

After 8 plus years I will really miss that plant.

I finish off the multi colored Donatella wrap. What's really nice is that I have a lavender shirt that just matches the part of the yarn.
Now I just have to finish off some more scarves for the garden fund.

Here And There

100_0974
Originally uploaded by libraryminion

Actually it is just plain catching up.

Main event over the last 2 months was heading off to Ft. Lauderdale to attend a week long training workshop. It was all about the new circulation/cataloging system the library is changing to by the end of November. It has taken over 2 years of delays to get this far. The training was held at our sister school. It was both an exciting & frighting experience. It will take all of re-grouping to make this switch work.

At least the location was great. On my last day I had breakfast by the beach. This was the view as I ate a wonderful shrimp omelet.

I topped off the morning by tip toeing through the surf & sand.
It was difficult to get back to the daily routine after that taste of vacation. I am not sure when I can take the trip, but I am thinking that sun should be in the mix.

As to knitting, I have at least 2 pairs of socks in progress. I did finish the multi colored vest and one garter stitch scarf. I really have to set up scarf production if I am to earn any money for the garden next month.

Working days start again

Well the long weekend kept me busy. Took Dad to the airport & relived Mr. Toad's wild ride.

Did laundry as well as cleaned up a few surfaces in the apartment. Yet it is still a mess.

Downloaded pictures from my camera, & wrote up some projects on Ravelry.

Here are the projects currently on the needles. Neither really impress the cat.

Same song as ever

Well I took my own sweet time again in keeping up with this blog.

But I am here now.

I would like to share a few pics of the items I made for the school's Alumni Auction.

In all there were 3 hats, a scarf, one bib, an Alpaca vest, & a ribbon wrap.

The auction went well and all my items received bids!Currently on the needles is another version the vest. This time in a multi-color yarn I found a few years back at a Big Lots store. I am also starting a pair of yellow socks for the KAL Sock Anonymous group in Ravelry.

Time to start again

Hi There,

Well I really let this blog slip away for a while. Time to hop back on & try to make a go of it.Lots of things to catch up on and it may take several entries to accomplish this task.

Biggest new items:

Trip to WDW with sister & sister-in-law at the end of March start of April.

We had a blast. More on that to come.

Work has been a challenge, but change is in the air I get a new boss after Memorial Day. I am keeping my fingers cross that life will be smoothing out in that enviroment soon.

Knitting has been hit & miss. Mainly missing time or energy to pick up the pointy sticks and start pushing yarn around. Next month is Knit in Public Day & what luck I won't be working. That should act as motavation.

I am now throughly hooked on Simply Audio, the NetFlicks of the listening world. Currently I have Dead Witch Walking & a Daniel Pinkwater book.

Most current news is the increase in "family." My sister just added a new puppy to her home.

A very active Chow mix called Rocky.

He is a bouncing ball of energy, and a real challenge for Lucy, the older cannie in the house.

Well that's it for now, more will follow soon.

Another year

I can now claim a half century + one, years on this spinning planet.

To celebrate I'm going off to the Astros game tomorrow with my Dad.

It's the Stitch & Pitch event at Minute Maid park.

Loud women with pointy sticks. Should be fun.

Feline Demands

Feline Demands
Originally uploaded by libraryminion

What has kept me from my blog?
This is a clue.

Life - don't talk to me about life . . .

There are days, no weeks, that just make you want just give up on it all.

Work has been less than spectacular.
I seem to be running into walls with everything I do.

There is still no web access to the library's catalog(one month & counting).
I also discover more missing data daily.
At the start of this month, one of my co-workers has decided the high road.
This came out of the blue, since they had lately told me how much they liked working at the college.
As a added bonus this action is being done in a slash & burn fashion.
Forget about a professional one month notice, nope just barely a two week warning and out before the quarter is done.
It gets even better - to top it off I have to produce a job evaluation before the departure.
Of course, the lack of one would not affect the soon-be-leaving one, but would get yours truly in the hot seat if not done.
This situation also opens a whole world of headaches as a replacement must be hired.
Every day I walk into work I keep getting the feeling that "something wicked this way comes."

Second biggest worry is the wonderful world of finances.
I have to sit down and work out exactly how much money I need to keep body & soul together. If I know that I maybe able to consider other options.
But to be honest I am just to depress to even think about changing things.

At the home front there are even more unsettling developments.
Since the changing of management companies it seems that a number of my neighbors are leaving the apartment complex.
My dishwasher is acting strange.
And the cat is acting more weird than ever.

Knitting has not been much of a solace either.
I have been in a scarf rut.
It has helped raise money for the school's herb garden, but it almost feels like I'm just coasting along.
I was trying to locate some inspiration on the web, but even that was a no go.
It seemed like everytime I found something, it was connected to a Ravelry link.
Boom! I'm blocked.
It seems that I just don't qualify to be added to this elite group.
I have tried at least 3 times to sign up, but I can't even confirm that I'm on the waiting list.
Guess you have to be a steady blogger or a knitting celebrity to be accepted.

Well this little knitter will just have to make do, keep her head down & accept her place in this world.

Wishing others a better time - purlpaw

Off to a flying start . . NOT!

This week is not off to a good start. I arrived at the library today at 9 and was informed that our circulation system is down. That also means no printer. There are a growing number of upset students. We also are being blasted by waves of cold air from the vents. I am told this is because they are trying to regulate temperatures on the 6th floor. HA! Tell that to the students and staff who have to stop typing because their hands are too cold. I should not have come in today. It seems everyone is hard pressed and very touchy about it. I think the Norse myths had it right h*ll is a cold place.

Is the week over yet?

This is how I should have spent this week - sleeping!

Lots of character building experiences at work and in general.

On the home front the Cat of cats had to be secured twice due to pest control & apartment repair issues.

The weather has been awful. I am bummed out about my lack of financial health.

The price of gas is making me consider walking to work.

But than weather issues & my lack of fitness makes that plan laughable.

To top off the joy, I am now frogging my mermaid gloves due to a knitting meltdown.

The one bright spot is an upcoming knitting retreat in Rockport and the dark chocolate I have stashed away a kitchen cupboard.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and restful weekend.

P.S. I am trying to focus on pleasant thoughts today. To share the happy thoughts here is where you can finally see my Nashville vacation photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/purlpaw/MyNashvilleVacation

Come one come all !

Tuesday was the day for various student clubs to push for membership. I was given a table to promote the quarterly Book Club. The selection this quarter is "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip Dick. The thought being that with the popularity of the Blade Runner movie, a few students might want to give the book a chance. After 2 hours I felt like Charlie Brown on Halloween. Other clubs has signed up lots of student, but I only got 3 names and one did not count because it was a staff member. At least it wasn't a total bomb. I brought along my knitting and got a few inches done on a new sock. (Can you spot the yarn behind the candy dish?) I also took advantage of having my needles in my hands and hawked the club to passing students by telling them to check out the dangerous books and pointy sticks.

Two sided January

January is becoming very busy and rather annoying.

The new quarter started this Monday and all of our students are back in force.
I am trying to get the last 2 textbooks added to the reserve collection. One of which I discovered won't even be published till next month. My poor sweet reference librarians are being swamped with orientation tours. And big surprise some were asked for at the last minute. Currently my most pressing projects are yearly job evaluations. One is due this month and two more next month. This is not my favorite activity as it always results in sleepless nights and lots of anxiety.

I all fitting in some knitting. I only have to work on a thumb hole to finish a pair of hand warmers, and I am attacking scarf production once more. I hope to have enough scarves finished to have a pre-Valentine's Day sale to rise money for the school's herb garden.

My other distraction was going to see the Houston Charity Cat Show last Sunday. Sweet and cuddly bundles of fuzz were everywhere. The show is no longer the massive production that it was a few decades when I was active, but it's great fun. It is still one of the few cat shows that is dedicated solely to charity. Best of all I was able to snag a new feather toy for the Cat of cats. It is the one with a detachable clump of feather that you can whirl around by a string. The dear girl needs the activity. Compared to the others of her breed I saw at the show, my gal is a chunky monkey.

Happy Holidays

I am a very lazy blogger.

I have a few lame excuses ready.

1. I had eye surgery. It went very well & I can now see out of both eyes.


2. I went on vacation. Had a wonderful time in Nashville. Saw the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman 3 times! Visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, Cheekwood Gardens, Dickel Distillery, Opryland Resort, Ai Nashville, the Hermitage, and only got really lost twice.


3. Family visiting from Wisconsin. Okay, its only one person , my brother. But he is family.


4. Finally, I forgot.
   

I do want to post some holiday cheer. I have had a Christmas cactus for about 8 years. It is a huge plant. Nearly every year the blooms have changed color from the previous year. It has been red, bight pink, striped, and white. This year I made a point of snapping a few picture as the blossoms developed. So here are the results;

Ready:

Steady:

Bloom:

Best wishes to one and all.
P.S. Happy Boxing Day to my knitting friend in Wales.

Happy Happy Me!

Thanksgiving was very nice.
I went to my sister's and ate entirely too much turkey.
Unfortunately my Dad was down with a cold, so did not join us.
But my dear sister took him out a load of leftovers the next day.

The Sunday after the big feed I went up to the Texas Renaissance Festival.
It was cold, wet, and windy, but I had a nice time with a good friend.
The day ended with a warming meal at Macaroni Grill - Yummers.

Yesterday two great things.
The first I survived my annual job evaluation & will be getting a pay increase.
The second I got confirmation for my vacation to Nashville in December.
I have never been there before.
I plan on taking in all the holiday events & shows I can.

High Stepping

This is the amazing sight I found this week.
The intersection is of two major roads.
It just makes you wonder how & why.

Open wide!

For a big surprise. A very sweet(heehee) student and one of our chef instructors gave this wonderful & yummy little cake last night.

I work in a very special place.

Happy Halloween

Something for the day. Our school held a pumpkin painting contest. After the contest the pumpkins were taken to our local Ronald McDonald House, to help decorate for the children & families.

I'm on the far right holding Jack.

On the subject of yarns

I have actually gotten some knitting done. Mainly I have been working on the mermaid gloves.

Not too far along, but I'm beginning to get the pattern.

In fact I even have a very dedicated friend to encourager me.

I have also pulled together my yarn for my November sweater project. I will be using Berroco's Calico, The colorway has green, yellow & blue.

The real challenge is still trying to remember where I safely put the pattern. If I can't locate it soon I will wander through my knitting books & magazines. I hunt down patterns the old fashion way since I am not in the Ravelry club. One last picture today. I'm ending with her ownself - the Cat of cats.