Beered Out...

Not to steal any thunder, I'll only put up a couple of pictures from the weekend. **EDITED TO ADD: Joe's pictures are here.** While I did the Good Thing and was DD for 3 beer-loving men, plus paid bills, did laundry, etc while they were at a BEER FESTIVAL, the boys had a great time. And just to prove that I finished the beer socks on time...

What neither of us noticed is that he had 2 different shoes on. By then end of the day, instead of "that guy with the cool beer socks," he was known as "Two-Shoes." Sigh. Valiant effort on my part, though. I have to amend my earlier critique of the socks - I didn't redo the ribbing in a larger needle, and although they were TIGHT, they did fit over his foot. I don't know if this will relax with wear, but since they're major novelty socks (and not everyday), I'm not concerned. They're done. I'm on to better things. Like finally blocking Clappy.

So I pick up the guys from the bar where the bus drops them off, and I was blessed with the company of three bobbly-headed-babbling-grunting-man-boys. It was fun, though. When we got home, Joe went (stumbled) straight to bed. So I got to peruse the digital camera...

Let me say for the record...those aren't mine. Umm...far from it. Joe had some 'splainin' to do this morning...

Spring!

Over the weekend, the rain finally dried up, and it was actually sunny out! Hooray! Besides finishing Joe's Beer Socks, I did some work in the yard and dusted off my bike to begin training for my MS Ride. Considering I haven't ridden my bike more than a handful of times in the past few years, I thought 6 miles was a good start (with hills, no less!). Man, did my butt hurt. But I got on the treadmill the next day and worked some kinks out, and tonight I hit the road for another little 4 mile ride. For the first few weeks I've just got to get used to the darn thing again, and we'll be hitting the rail trails on the weekends for longer, flatter rides. Wahoo!

In the meantime, the first to bloom in the yard...our beloved magnolia.

Not sure what kind it is, but it smells heavenly. It's a tall yet scraggly tree that's seen better days. The lady who owned our home before it was "flipped" had legendary, beautiful gardens. Then Mr. Bonehead came through and just did what he needed to do, covering lots of the gardens with fill, compacting the soil, etc. So our first few years involved all kinds of "Wow - a tulip just popped up in the middle of the front yard" - "Oooh, look - peonies!" So no doubt this magnolia has had a rough life, but hopefully with some TLC it'll hang on.

The only trouble is that we're notorious for getting some pretty hefty spring storms, so usually the magnolia blooms last for about a day or two. Then they blow throughout the yard, causing Joe much aggravation.

But at least for today, they're pretty and smell nice. Unlike myself after a bike ride.

Shhh! Don't tell Joe!

...but I think his Beer Socks are done!


Please pardon my ashy white legs...

This was a wonderful pattern/kit from the Tsock Tsarina. Loved the pattern except for two things:
1) If you can find a better toe-up heel, then use it. I was sorely disappointed at my first short-row-heel attempts.
2) I would almost recommend the ribbing/foam in a slightly larger needle size. I got gauge the whole sock through, but the ribbing is pretty tight, since it's a twisted stitch pattern.

That's about it - knit on, and enjoy!

Tiny Moments...

Every morning, and every evening, the sun comes through certain windows and hits our chandelier, casting speckles of light all over the dining room. I've lived here 6 years now, and it still thrills me...

May your weekend be filled with tiny specks of wonderful.

Peace!

All By Myself...

...I kicked ass and took names this morning. Mission: Light The Water Heater Pilot - Accomplished! It may not seem monumental to some, but I'm damn proud of myself. Plus, I get the added benefit of TAKING A HOT SHOWER later this morning. Woohoo!!!

I turned on the furnace to see if it would cooperate with my awesome luck thus far, and the burners kicked on, but it just seemed to get hotter and smell burny and not really blow any air. Not knowing if this is supposed to happen or if this is the last thing people notice before their furnace blows up in their face, I turned it back off, cut the gas, and I'll just ignore it for a while. The next week or so should be in the 40s-to-60s, so there's no real loss there.

I should also note that during the winter, with our under-sized furnace and our poor duct work, our house never gets above 62. With no heat the last few days, it hasn't gotten below 55. Not that big of a difference. I can live with that. And I'm moving back to my cushy bed tonight - no more roughing it for this gal.

I have today and tomorrow off - before you folks think I've got vacation out the wazoo, well, this year I finally got an extra week, making 4 weeks total. The other folks on my team get 6 weeks (they've been there a while). Since certain people can't be off at the same time, we get together in early January and plot out the majority of the year's vacation. Yes, we really do. It sucks. And since I can't take days off at the beginning of any month (accounting close) or anytime late August through early October (budget season) or any of the six weeks our scheduler is out (I cover for him) or any of the weeks my boss is out (I'm her backup), my strategy for taking four weeks gets complicated, and I just pick random 3- or 4-day weekends here and there with some time around the holidays. And so here I am, on days when I thought I would be "spring cleaning" - yeah, like that'll ever happen - getting my jeans and shoes mucky and winning a battle with a stubborn pilot light.

It's 10am on a Thursday - is that too early for a glass of wine?

Whenever Joe's Out of Town...

That's my Murphy's Law. Crap happens when Joe's out of town.

It started in our first house in Atlanta, when the air conditioner compressor thingamajig decided to spurt water everywhere in the basemenet. That was the first frantic "whythefrickaren'tyouherewhereyoubelong" call was made.

You see, my dearest husband travels. A lot. And if it's going to snow 12+ inches? He'll be out of town. Funny how it works that way. Here's the last 48-or-so-hours in a quasi-nutshell:

- Sunday. Lots of rain. Boy, that foundation work we had done really does the trick. Bone dry basement.
- Sunday night. Still raining. Little bit of water in the basement. Not from the usual suspect (bad drainage - hence the foundation and drainage work of 2005), but from the dirt floor. Water table rising. Just a little water, though.
- Monday morning. Check basement. Looks a bit higher, but still well within our "flood range" that we'd experienced pre-2005.
- Monday afternoon. Joe left for Cleveland.
- Monday night. Large bags of crap, insulation, and pieces of wood (but no dead animals, Amy) floating in the Weismann Underground Lake. Heater making funky noise (since, heh, it's flooded). Turn off emergency switches and call Joe. Joe talks Beth down from mental ledge. Joe describes where sump pump is. Sump pump has no hoses. No nothing. How the heck to I put it together? Damn you for leaving this goddamn ladder on the stairwell. Putting on these way too big wading boots to go down into 6-7 inches of muckitymuck and scream about Joe not being around whenever crap like this happens. Forget it. I give up. Everything's under water. Nothing to do now. Going upstairs.
- Later Monday night. Joe calls and says friend/coworker Roy is coming by. Whatever. Roy doesn't make up for Joe not being here. Grrrrrr. Now have to actually put a bra back on.
- Roy comes by, poor thing - with a bad cold, carrying some hoses from his pool. He engineers some kind of system with duct tape and gets the sump pump purring. Water streaming out the window. Roy hangs out a bit, the water goes down about an inch, then Roy goes home after I hug him 3 or 4 times.
- I turn off sump pump when it starts sucking too much air - water gone down by about 4-5 inches now. Yay! Call Joe, who's worried sick about crazy wife.
- Sleep upstairs with kitties in rooms that have heat not attached to furnace. Thank goodness for this Hudson Valley version of the Winchester Mystery House.
- Had toasty night of restless sleep and quick-as-a-wink shower that ended up not being too cold.
- Tuesday afternoon. Came home, saw basement had drained some more - actually dry spots now. Called Joe to talk me through relighting water heater pilot. Tried many, many times with knees in muck, phone on ledge, flashlight propped up, and fingers crossed that there would be no kablooey. No kablooey. No pilot lighting, either. Will try tomorrow after cleaning crud from pilot light doohickey. If not successful, then calling the service folks.

Joe's out of town for another ten days. I will not jinx myself, but I don't want to think of what else can happen.

ON TO HAPPY THOUGHTS...

A big THANK YOU to the Pomerance Family, my big brother, and Miss Lorena for your generous donations to the MS ride! I'm actually over my goal now. This is *such* a motivator to not disappoint my sponsors!

And, before I bid you good night, I leave you with another happy thought...

BEER SOCKS!!!

Just about 10 more days before TAP-NY, and all I have left is the top ribbing. Woohoo! Don't pay attention to the crappy heals, though. Not crazy about that method. At all.

I have electricity, heating sources, TV, booze, cats, and knitting. It's all good...

Thanks for your support!

I Don't Wanna Talk About It...

I really, really don't.

I'm going to have some pizza, chill out with the cats in front of the stove, then sleep in the guest room (because the furnace is flooded and the guest room has electric heat), then take a cold shower in the morning (yup - flooded the water heater too) and just rejoice that little inconveniences are nothing in the big scheme of things.

Thank You to Friends Near and Far...

Man. Sometimes I think I must be doing something right. Not one, but TWO wonderful gifts today...

Coke & Barb - our wonderful friends from upstate (parties seen here and here - they're usually bustling around in the background making sure everyone else is taken care of) - not only do they take care of us for wonderful weekends with their friends and family, but they're my first MS Ride sponsors. Woohoo! Wow, it's bad enough that we drink your beer, eat your food, and use your tools for something than their intended purposes (well, actually, that was Todd). But THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for helping me reach my MS fundraising goal.

I was still glowing from the good feeling my friends had given me, when lo-and-behold...

This beautiful Lisa Souza sock yarn was waiting for me at home! A birthday present from dearest Lorena - the woman who first exposed me to the drug that is knitting. She is wonderful in so many ways. Thank you, sweetie - can't wait to see you in the fall!

Blessed, fortunate, and grateful - yes I am. Thank you!

And Now For Something Completely...

Check out the sidebar for my buddy E's homepage. Also look for my MS bike ride link. I had all these grand plans of buttons and such, but it basically came down to the fact that I'm lazy. Really freakin' lazy.

My goal is to train for 30 miles come July. Of course, if it keeps *SNOWING* like it did today, that'll be a big dent in my training time. Regardless, we're in it for the long haul. Thanks for your support!!!

A Damn Near Perfect Day

It's called Good Friday for a reason, folks - it's Good to have a Friday off.

I convinced Joe to take a day off with me, and oh, what a day...

Started off stopping by the Village Hall to get re-sworn-in for my new term on the Planning Board. When I was appointed, I was filling in for someone who left. Now I've been appointed for a full term. Kinda scary realizing I'll be 40 when that term is up.

Rolled down the street to the new Iron Cafe - this great guy Brian renovated a condemned house and turned it into a beautiful cafe with awesome coffee. And hands-down, this guy makes the BEST bacon-egg-n-cheese-on-a-roll sandwiches. Yum.

Across the river into Fishkill for a trip to N&S Supply, a huge local bath/kitchen design store. Had a good talk with some folks, picked up some brochures, and realized we need to talk with our plumbers before we make any major decisions.

Went north a bit on Route 9 to the mecca of beer snobs - Half Time. You have to love a beer store with full-sized shopping carts and a dozen taps for tasting and/or bringing home a growler or two. Loaded up the car with a goodly supply, then headed back over the river...to see...

GRINDHOUSE!!!!!!!!

Totally rocked. Kicked ass. Three hours of non-stop awe. You must see this in the theater.

After that wonderful guilty-pleasure flick, we walked around the corner to Johnny Rockets, a great burger joint when you're going for the all-out heart-attack meal. Which, of course, we were.

Walked a little further into the mall and picked up some things at Target - including the new albums that Pink and RR&TFB have out now.

Drove back home to find out - BONUS! - the books I'd ordered from Amazon came today - Sensational Knitted Socks and...wait for it...Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook. Because while I am clearly NOT a neat-freak, for some reason I want to be one. Kind of.

We get home, we open a few beers, and Pulp Fiction is on TV.

What a good, Good Friday.

Must Have...

At the risk of being "that crazy lady who knits critters..."

Yup. Here's the next one. Thanks to Mrs. Noodle for pointing it out to me. I should note that she has also pointed out lobsters, and Baby Noodle has some squiddy toys courtesy of Aunt Beth.

Scchwwwweeeet...