News

New pump, new project and some distressing news. And that was by Tuesday!

My well pump went ka-put Sunday night. No water. I have a great plumber in my PalmPilot and I gave him a call first thing Monday morning. He had a new pump ordered and installed before I got home from work! Sadie barked at him the whole time he was in the house. I found this funny, but Dwayne wasn't amused. He went in the house on my word that she wouldn't bite.

Over the holiday weekend I started a new project. I am not sure what the point is for this project. I guess I just want to save an elephant. A very dirty, very ugly, battered plaster piggy bank elephant about 16" high. It was in Cari's house with all the rest of the stuff left behind. And I guess I felt the need to rescue the poor thing. I cleaned it some, but had to sand the grime off of it in the end. Now what? Right now I am using wood putty to repair the holes, gouges, and thin spots. I am visualizing a lamp right now. Anyone have any ideas?

Tuesday there was a huge meeting involving the consortium that provides 60 percent of my job's funding and they decided they can not afford me next year. The good news is anything can happen in the next 6 months and there are other irons (opportunities) in the fire. Right now I am cautiously optomistic. But the budget is going to get tightened.

I had a yarn buying spree planned for this weekend, so that isn't going to happen. I am going to Kristi's for a long weekend. We are going to go to a college hockey game, bake, watch the dogs be stupid, and play wii. I took Monday off too. It will be nice to have 2 long weekends in a row. :)

I will post some pictures of my elephant rescue soon. They are on my computer at work.

If you go to COOR's website you can see a nice photo of the sunrise this morning that I braved the 18 degree cold for.

Natural Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Its more than the four day weekend that comes with it, not that I am discounting that perk. It is a real holiday. It is not blown out of proportion. It is not blatant commercialism. No pressure to overspend, no obligations to be at a bunch of parties you don’t have time or interest in being at. Just good food, a relaxed atmosphere, and people you are comfortable with. Yep! Thanksgiving at ABC!

That’s hunting camp. A roaring fire and friendly voices greet you as you come in the door. All the food is brought in and put wherever there is room until dinner time. Then we catch up on all the “local” gossip. This isn’t what you’re thinking. It is more along “wilder” lines such as: Has anyone seen the bear lately? Are you filling the birdfeeders again or is the bear still stealing from it. Are the swans around still? Any bucks at the bait pile across the river? Grab the binoculars and see for yourself. Seen the flying squirrels? Turkeys? Read the log, it is all there. Anyone taken a sauna lately? Is the turkey done yet? What time do you think we are going to eat this year? Teri, you should have known better than to wear tight jeans for Thanksgiving! How are the Lion’s doing? There is too much static, you can’t see the score. “Open the window, you get better reception!” Murphy declares. Soon we can watch them lose, another tradition. “Dad, Sadie wouldn’t beg if you didn’t keep giving her cheese!” And salami and bologna. Coincidently, she doesn’t beg from anyone else. I try knitting but there are too many distractions.

Then the button pops on the turkey and there is a flurry of activity and noise. Then we sit down, I’m at the kid’s table, and things get quiet. Well, except for food talk. Good food talk. Every dish has it’s moment in the spotlight and the contributor is acknowledged, questioned, and praised. How are we going to eat 4 pumpkin pies? When we can not eat anymore, there is a overall positive statement of finality. Traditionally, Margaret says it best, “Another good meal at the Beaver Club!”

Then in record time, the leftovers are cheerfully fought over and divided up to take home. We take them out to the car, the mobile fridge, for safekeeping where you won’t forget them. It is definitely cold enough and there is snow on the ground. Watch your step, it is slippery…and remember, there is a bear out there somewhere. The kitchen is cleaned, table cleared, and the dishwasher is started.

Time for cards! Another flurry of activity and good natured bickering as preparations are made for some serious gambling. You guessed it, nickel Tonk! Lowell naps, and Murphy heckles from the peanut gallery as Sue loses a hand with his money. Sadie and Heidi sleep in the middle of the floor or under the table. Happy, content and full of what was offered and whatever fell on the floor.

The fire dies down, the dishwasher is done, and the turkey kicks in. The evening winds down. The yawning takes over. It is time to go home and put on some less restrictive clothing and dream of leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving

I woke up to a white Thanksgiving outside.

I am looking forward to spending the traditional day at hunting camp. I made my pumpkin pie yesterday and it is in the fridge ready to go. We have a 22 lb turkey for 8 people, so I have also packed some take home containers. *grin*

I found out yesterday that I have pretty bad sinus infection. I had felt miserable and run down. It is weird that since I quit smoking, I never know when I have a sinus infection! Based on this experience, I can tell you that you have never been really sick until you are a smoker and have had a sinus infection. I never understood why doctors couldn't do more for me when I had one. Now, I feel better within hours of having the right medicine in me. I woke this morning without a headache for the first time in weeks. Well, if you don't count the 3 inches of snow as a headache...:)

Also, I have to tell you all about the most amazing little product I picked up at the pharmacy yesterday when I went to pick up my antibiotic. I bought Thermocare Heat Wraps. Oh, my word, those things are wonderful! My neck and shoulders have been tense and sore with all the stress of the past couple weeks, and the knitting. I put one on last night between my shoulder blades and today it feels awesome! The heat it produces is just like baby bear's porridge....just right!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A sweater is done...and it FITS!

I have been working since just about the first post to this blog with the yarn I got for free at the Lamb and Wool Fest the end of September. Remember the yarn I wound around the chair legs? Yep! Here's the photo!

Land Memory....

Finally.....

This paragraph caught my attention while I was devouring yet another novel and I had to share it with my blog readers (all 3 of you). It goes along with what my dad was getting at when he wanted me to write about WHY I love life “up north”.

“….the farther south she went, the better she felt. She remembered the Judy was very attached to her hometown in California, and had told her once about something called land memory. Either you have it or the land does, Mary had never been completely sure, but the bottom line was that you felt best on the land that you and your family grew up on, and in time you made it your own. And no matter what happened to you or the land, you still felt best there. Standing on it. Being there.”

Moment of Truth by Lisa Scottoline, Harper Collins Publishers, 2000. pg 79

Post a comment and let me know what you think. Is it in us, or in the land?

4 years ago...

What I forgot to mention on Sunday is that Nov. 11th was my 4 year anniversary. That was the day I had my weight loss surgery. What a ride the past 4 years has been. In a good way.

Another good thing about having a blog is that I can use it to remember what I did the day before!

It is only Tuesday and I am already tired. I am off to Alcona today. I will be heading north!

Seemed like a very short weekend...

Cousin Brett was in town this weekend and stopped in for a short visit on Saturday. He looks great and is doing well working on his own. It was good to visit even for a short time, but he had dirty plans of his own...chiminey cleaning with his dad.

Cari started moving in this weekend. After a pot of coffee and Brett's visit on Saturday I went to her place, rolled up my sleeves and got dirty, real dirty. I can not believe the amount of stuff left in that house; from dusty and sticky to weird and creepy. Sometimes all of them. I found a deer’s ear on a wood stand…odd enough, but it turned out to be a ink pen holder! You placed the pen in the ear! There were funeral pictures under glass of a desk. Creepy! Then there was the sticky wooden bread box, why was it sticky? I did not dwell on it. There were heat lamps in the shed and we found a scale in the house – combine that with all the flood lights around the house and all around the shed… and, well, you know.

There were a few jewels in the midst of overwhelming years of accumulation. A metal outdoor table set, a wooden swing, a Kirby vacuum, some cobalt blue glassware, a kitchen table and chairs, some furniture, but everything is filthy. Cari filled and took 2 truckloads to the dump today and I have my assigned allotment of garbage bags at the curb as I type this.

I really overdid it yesterday and was moving “creakingly” when I got there around 11:30. By then Cari was exhausted and sore. She had been trying to move a cement Jesus and a metal deer in the yard when her energy snapped. We made jokes about how she left the statue of Jesus, face down in the yard, because she couldn’t move him any further. We were not struck down. We went through a few more boxes and put together 3 more garbage bags. But we were low on energy. And I felt physically ill. I headed home around 2, to pop some tylenol and take a hot shower. I tried knitting but kept making mistakes. I felt better once I ate something.

Sadie, however, had the time of her life running all over the woods and neighborhood. She didn’t have much exercise this week because I was tired, busy, and cold. So she was making up for it. I could track her progress by listening to the dogs barking all over the neighborhood. I had to tie her up eventually. We were hearing gunshots, probably target practice for this Wednesday….opening day. That probably should be capitalized.

Nov. 15th is a big day in Michigan, maybe even THEE day in Michigan up north. Schools close – they call it Safety Day. Actually, I think it is safer for the kids waiting for the bus. The downstate schools do not close. Something I did not know until last year when compare notes with someone from a southern school district. Thousands of men are in the woods somewhere on opening day. If you are brave enough, or crazy enough, to hunt on state land, it is best to crawl rather than walk. I have heard stories of near misses and hunters fearing for life and limb, and having second thoughts about hunting on state land for opening day.

Wow, this is long! Sorry, I am tired and probably just rambling. Don’t worry, I am still planning to get to the “land memory” posting. Hopefully this week.

This week:
Knorthern Knitters Monday
I will be in Alcona on Tuesday
And who knows what else!

North again....

I am back at home now and typing this on my turtle. That is how my boss and the techs refer to this 3K tablet. And it is SLOW. I am going to trade it in as soon as possible. I thought it was cool at first, but not very practical for day to day productivity....

Anyway, I typed the rest of this on the laptop I checked out for the seminar today and that was less painful for me. (In case you were concerned about me) :)

I only saw a limited area of the Delta College campus, but it appears to be modern, new, and beautifully landscaped. The campus I was at is a short distance from I-75 - only 3 miles. I wish they offered 4 year degrees. Central is a nightmare for parking, buracracy, and hoop jumping and therefore, I have no wish to attend CMU.

For those of you with a burning curiosity, I have discovered the secret to Web 2.0. It isn’t a software program, a concept, or even a formal organization. It is a buzz word. Probably dreamt up by some marketing people, but why? It is just an easy label to attach to a growing trend to develop and use web based tools. This is my definition. And the definition will change depending on who you ask. Go to Wikipedia.com and even that definition may change depending on who is editing on any given day. (Don’t get me going on Wikipedia, right Traci?)

The ride to Delta College was pleasant despite the weather. Cold and rainy, but I was armed with an iPod full of Podcasts that I had not had a chance to listen too after weeks of collecting them on iTunes. I listened to Stash & Burn there and back. It is a knitting podcast by two teachers in California. Their bright and sunny personalities, ideas, and ability to laugh at themselves made me laugh too. They actually entered all their yarn stash into an excel spreadsheet and calculated how many total yards of yarn they had in their stash! Then they converted it to miles! Kristi, I know you could whip up a spreadsheet for yarn inventory with your eyes closed! The yards to miles formula would be cool.

There were no trucks with loads of beets on the way home, but there was a moderate amount of traffic. It was still early – 3:30/4pm – but I passed 3 cops camped in the median in just the hour and a half I was on the road.

Anyway, it was a very good seminar, I am glad I went. Right now I want to take a hour or so to type and organize my notes while it is still fresh. Normally, I wouldn’t do this now, I would do it the next day at work, but it is Friday, and I am capable of forgetting a lot in a short weekend!

Friday on the road...south?

I am at Delta College Library today. I am here for a seminar about Web 2.0. Hopefully they will tell me exactly what that is. :) So, occasionally, the "up north" girl heads south. Going home should be interesting. The first Friday/weekend before deer season starts usually fills the I-75 corridor with camo and sugar beets. I will let you know.

First snow today

I woke up this morning and there was this white stuff on the ground.

I called into work and told them I would be in when the snow was gone. The receptionist exclaimed "That could be May!" I assured her I would write.

Still no closing....

My parents were supposed to close on Cari’s house last Friday…then today….now it is tomorrow (Tuesday).

(UPDATED 11/6 to add MORE photos)

My mom is already doling out garbage bags…no, you don’t bring them to the house, you have to take so many garbage bags when you leave. This number is based on the maximum number of bags the garbage truck will pick up at your house, minus the number of bags you usually have to put out each week. She knew what my quota and my pick up day was and I was assigned 3 garbage bags this week. She has assigned herself a quota and Cari’s boyfriend also. I don’t have a problem with this, if you could see the extent of the boxes and bags in this house, you would probably start planning the same way! You can only get an idea in the photos I posted. We believe the shed is held up with its contents. The bedrooms are full of boxes. At least the closets are cleaned out.

Anyway, I told my parents to call me at work tomorrow if they close and I would come get my allotment and the piggy bank sitting on the floor in the kitchen…stuff is everywhere!

I am seriously considering putting my spinning lessons on the back burner until after Christmas. With winter heating bills and Christmas looming (fiber pun!) I want to have some extra money in the bank. I am trying to pay off my credit card at the same time. Spending several hundred on lessons and a wheel doesn’t make sense right now.

I had a rough patch yesterday, relationship withdrawal maybe. The urge to make contact became overwhelming, but I called a friend instead and two hours later I felt much better. Mistake averted! Thanks Erin!

It was cold and dreary today, a perfect day for curling up with my pup and my knitting. A little time out for surfing the web and updating my blog and then, back to more knitting. I am making great progress on my free yarn sweater.

Coming soon….
Land Memory, I am still thinking about this, and will include a quote from the fictional book I found it in. I googled it briefly, but want to investigate more. Why do people gravitate, unconsciously or purposely, to places? Up North? Higgins Lake? North Carolina?

Thursday

So much for the week's plans...

We will not be going anywhere this weekend, my instructor had a family emergency.

Truthfully, I am somewhat relieved. I am so tired, it feels like I am always walking against the wind...hmm, well, it has been really windy. I have been trying to increase my protein intake, take my iron regularly and exercise. Stress is a factor as well.

Knit Nite was fun. Mom changed her mind, but I went anyway. There was a good mix of people and experience levels even though it is a small group. My presentation went fine on Tuesday. The podcasting webinar was okay. While I was there I was able to visit with a friend that just had WLS (weight loss surgery). She had lots of concerns but felt better having someone to compare things with and basically just listen.

The carpet lady didn't show up (again, just relieved). But my satellite signal better not go out tonight!

On a positive light, I received my first comment this week for this blog! Thank you, Sheila! :)

No takers on the Meercat Manor question yet....I may have to break down and google it.

It seems that the closing on Cari's new place will be Friday (tomorrow). I wonder how much stuff they are actually going to remove from the house. As you can see from the pictures I added earlier this week, it is PACKED with stuff.

I am going home to hibernate.