I had a customer yesterday morning. A paying customer. A cash-paying customer, who bought a little dry keeper for his cellphone that cost less than $20 but it was a sale, the first one after 4 days of absolutely none. It was so shocking I had to lie down with a cool cloth on my forehead for a minute or ten.
When I went out after Mr. Boss arrived I looked up at the sky (I always do) and look what I saw. The full moon peeking at me between trees in the neighbors' yard--and I even managed to take a decent picture of it by resting my elbows on his car's roof.
The only thing I need to accomplish this weekend is raking the leaves and looking out the window I see that it's getting cloudy and rainy looking so I'd better post this and get a move on. I didn't write last night, couldn't dredge up a word, so this is it for today. Sorry.
With great joy (and a bit of giggling) I bound off sleeve #1 of the Khaki Cardi at work yesterday. Once I took its picture and my picture with it on me, I took the stitches of the other sleeve off the holder, picked up the underarm stitches, placed markers and got to work on sleeve #2. When that's done all I'll have to do is the neckline, ties, and blocking. I could be wearing this as a completed garment by December 1. I could.
I survived giving the program at knitting guild last night, and they seemed to like it and learn something. I wasn't nervous about being up there speaking (those that know me know I'm pretty much of a microphone junkie) but I was nervous about either talking down to them or making it too complex and turning people off. From preliminary reports, I did neither of those things. Plus I made them laugh. Whew.
...as I knew I would. Naturally my laptop wouldn't hook up to the church's Internet, but my Kindle Fire would. *shrugs* Turns out I didn't need it anyway, I just talked and they surfed. There were about 20 people, only a few of them familiar with Ravelry so my basic basic basic info was just what they needed. More than one of them said that they'd learned a lot and that my talk was easy to follow. Now hopefully a couple of them will go home and work through my handout's step-by-steps to organize their stashes, libraries, and needles, and find some cool patterns. I took pains to reassure them that they're not putting any personal info on there so there's no danger of any hackers burrowing into their lives or stealing their yarn. I think it went well. Actually, let's face it, I rocked.
When I got to work yesterday I checked the pile of invoices to discover that Mr. Boss had no customers on Wednesday, and then I had only one potential customer during the day, near the end of the day, but he was only looking and didn't buy anything. That makes four days in a row where we didn't need to open the till to put in money. Four days! I think that might be a record. I know there'll be a sale today because a woman called and reserved some tanks for pickup this afternoon for a Saturday dive she's planning. Thank god. I do NOT want the dive shop to close so I have to either retire or get a real job. No sirree, don't want that, no no no.
Durwood and I did something exciting yesterday. I don't even remember what brought it on but he called me for some reason and mentioned going back out West so I checked online for possible dates we could stay in Yellowstone next August and we BOOKED THE ROOM for 5 nights. In the park. In Yellowstone. At Canyon Village where we stayed last time and liked so much. We're going to get out the map and talk about where else we want to go (more time at Little Bighorn for sure) and get that ball rolling. We need to be in Dawson, ND on a Sunday so we can have the buffet at the Yankee Doodle diner again, that's for sure, and Durwood wants to tour that USGS facility outside Sioux Falls, SD that was closed last time we were there (this time I'll call to make sure it's open). Eeeee! Who's excited? My plan to put half my Social Security onto paying down the mortgage and the other half into a vacation fund's going to pay off big time. Yay! I'll be stopping at AAA for the 2014 Wyoming and North and South Dakota tour books tomorrow, or next week for sure. (inside I'm dancing)
November 15--Egypt, Relief Plaque of Cobra on a Neb Basket. It was suffocatingly hot. I don't know how people kept working through the middle of the day. Most people didn't, they were smart enough to find a bit of shade to rest in but tourists aren't that smart. They want to wrest every moment out of their vacation, get every penny's worth even if they fry their brains in the process. The suffocating heat of midday explained why the cafes and shops are open late. I lay on a pile of canvas sacks filled with grain. It was cool enough and I had nearly drifted off when I heard a soft rubbing sound and turned to watch a cobra slither out of the end of the sack.
Ye gods, that'd wake a person up, wouldn't it? I'm going to go read the funnies and Ann Landers (the only really worthwhile parts of the newspaper) while I eat my Cheerios and banana. You have a good day, I'm going to work. Bah. But this is my last Friday to work because Mrs. Boss is coming home today, so next week the schedule goes back to normal. *sigh*
--Barbara
Porter and I did yesterday. Granted it was below freezing and blowing like a banshee but it was sunny and, I have to admit, it was the best walk I've had in a while--and there wasn't another soul out there enjoying it with us. I tried to take a selfie of us but Porter looked away at just the right (or wrong) moment, she loved running around on the greensward behind a big office building, and flushed up some geese off the creek behind it. And my back didn't start to hurt until we were partway back to the car.
The chickens put away the pecking order (except for once when Henny, the top chicken, had to peck a few feathers out of General Tso, the bottom chicken) for the quality peels and seeds I took to them. They were all huddled in the nest box when I got there and didn't even come out when I went in the gate but as soon as the first squash seed hit the ground they were out and pecking. I wish they would let me pet them but they don't like it.
I cooked a whole chicken on the rotisserie on the Weber for supper last night. I soaked a few handfuls of apple wood chips, stuffed it with apple wedges, and Durwood mixed up half A-1, half Kitchen Bouquet that I painted on the skin before slapping it on the grill to rotate slowly for an hour and a half until it was chicken ambrosia. (it just occurred to me that I spent the morning feeding and being entertained by chickens and then cooked one for supper--I'm a festival of contradictions)
November 14--Paul Poiret, Costume. "It's not a dress, it's an anchor." Claire heaved the party dress away from her and it fell to the floor with a clatter. "How am I supposed to walk, much less dance, in it?" She flounced over and sat down at her dressing table. She was pink with anger and wearing only her camisole and pantalets. Ramon came into the room, his eyes on his cufflink. "Are you ready, cherie?" Claire's maid slid out of the door behind him and eased it closed. "No, I'm not wearing that... that thing. It's too heavy and it's ugly." She spun away from his gaze. He strode up behind her and his fingers caught one red gold curl left to tickle her shoulder. "But I paid Monsieur Poiret a fortune to make it. While some of our guest might enjoy seeing you in that fetching ensemble you're wearing right now, the gown is more appropriate." As he spoke he leaned down and trailed kisses down her neck that made her shiver.
Hey, keep your fingers crossed and maybe I'll have a paying customer today. I think I remember how to wait on one. And tonight I get to give my presentation at knitting guild. Should be interesting, might be good. I'll report.
--Barbara
The wind chill's ten degrees today and I'm going to walk the dog along the river in about an hour. Brr. Good thing I've got a hat and gloves and mittens and fingerless mitts and fleece jackets galore. The sunrise was a glorious mix of pink and orange and purple today. It took real dedication to get out there to snap a pic--and I even put pants on first today. I had to go outside to put the 3 old bed pillows at the curb for the garbologists to pick up today anyway so it was no trouble to slip the camera into my pocket and snap a photo.
I've got a big bag of peels and fruits and squash entrails for the chickens today too. They'll really love me today, well, I don't think they really get the concept of "me," they just equate bipeds with food, so when I come through the gate they rush to the corner of the coop nearest the gate and begin to croon, "come here, food lady, over here" then they begin to pace as if the minute it takes me to walk thirty feet across the grass is too long. They scatter when I come through the door but then the wonderfulness of what I scatter overcomes their shyness and they fall on the food with abandon, even forgetting to peck General Tso out of the way if my offerings are alluring enough. It amuses me no end.
I have had zero paying customers at work so far this week. That's two entire days of putting absolutely no money, not even charge slips, into the till. I've had humans in the store--mail carriers, the UPS guy, UWGB students picking up their certification cards, a guy wanting to sell a BC he found in an abandoned storage locker he bought, a cop picking up a box of fancy mask straps--but no paying customers. None. In other news, I've almost finished the cardigan sleeve I restarted last weekend, only 2 more inches to go, so I'm really happy to be getting paid to knit, but a bit disappointed to not be doing my job. Well, I guess being there to answer the phone and be ready just in case someone does want to buy something is my job but still days like this are hard. (don't roll your eyes and wish you had a job like this [well, you should wish you had a job like mine because it's a lot of fun when people come in and tell me about their trips, and BUY stuff], it's boring and makes for long days and makes me tired and feel like I'm taking my salary under false pretenses--at times)
November 13--Egyptian, Long-Necked Bottle from the Embalming Cache of Tutankhamun. The blue caught Celia's eye because it was in such contrast to the tan of the sand it was buried in. She took a picture and then began to brush away the grains a few at a time. The first piece, half blue and half rusty red, was about the same size as her thumbnail. Over the next few hours she found nearly forty more pieces of the same color pottery. Lauren and Katy on either side of her search area weren't finding much more than an occasional sherd or faience bead, they were pea green with envy. Celia tried hard to keep a triumphant gleam from her eyes as she carried her tray over to where Dr. Mason sat under an awning recording the day's finds.
Well, I guess I've put off getting ready to walk the dog long enough, I'd better get a move on or the wind will pick up (it's supposed to howl later) and blow us right off our feet. I don't know if I'll ever get the leaves taken care of. *shrugs* Ah well. Later, dudes and dudettes.
--Barbara
Of the birthday boy, of his very pregnant wife (53 days, she says), or of the cauldron of glorious Italian Wedding soup that Durwood made. I didn't even take a picture of Porter as she played with her "at Grandma's house" toys. I think I had what they call cam-nesia last night. Or maybe I was just so happy to be with three people (and a dog) that I love that taking pictures plum flew outta my head. Whatever it was, I didn't take any.
Nevertheless, DS liked the dark olive green denim shirt we gave him (it perfectly matched the hoodie he was wearing; good color choice, Mom). I put bowls of well-received nibbles on the table for appetizers--cheddar and co-jack cheese cubes, wasabi peas, red grapes, some extruded peapod shaped crisps, and some crackers; DS & DIL1 brought caramel dip with apples to slice. Durwood's soup was hot and full of tiny meatballs, spinach, carrots, and cold-night goodness (I might have dipped out a few bowls-worth for work lunches this week), the mixed-flour rolls DIL1 made fresh yesterday after work were soft and delicious dipped in the broth, and the chocolate cake, though it broke coming out of the pan, was sweet and rich even without frosting, only a sprinkle of powdered sugar (or a blizzard if you're my beloved husband) on top.
Writing the above paragraph about last night made me pause and realize that I lived last night's "evening with our son and daughter-in-law," that I'll have the memories and warm feelings forever, I don't need photos, even though I'd like to show them to you. You'll have to use your imagination; I think that's a dying art anyway so this is good practice.
It is barely 20 degrees this morning and the wind chill is 11. That's ELEVEN degrees. On November 12. There's a thick coating of frost on every roof in sight and Durwood's gone back to bed to snuggle in what he calls his "hot nest" (he has a heated mattress pad he cranks up) instead of going to our broker's kaffe klatch to talk about money matters. He's a real wienie when it comes to cold weather. I'll be braving the icy winds to go off and keep the world safe from SCUBA diving at work today and then go off to yoga afterwards. It's yoga day. I kind of can't wait. Better remember to pack my yoga duds... and drop off that tank at Van's on my way to work. Speaking of work, I should probably get off my keester and get a move on.
November 12--Ernest Vogt, Side Drum. She knew he had worn it over his shoulder every day since he left the farm to go to war. Lucy had cried, told him she needed him, that he was too young to go to die. She tried every ruse and excuse to make him stay home and now all they had sent home was his drum. She had been glad to know that he was a drummer, thinking that he would stay at the back and beat out a cadence to rally the troops. She was wrong. He was at the front where the fight was. He was in the thick of it. Her finger caressed the bullet hole that pierced the painted eagle's eye and went right through into her Charlie's heart. What would she do now? How could a woman alone, a woman with a small son, work a farm?
Alrighty then, I'm off to find some sort of cereal to eat while I read the paper. This might be a day that calls for a bowl of oatmeal with dried cherries in it. Yeah, it probably is. Bundle up today, it's chilly out there.
--Barbara
You wouldn't think that an armpit would be something to be happy about but I am happy about this one. Remember that I frogged the almost finished first sleeve of my Khaki Cardi last week because it was about big enough for a hippo's thigh? I focused all my knitting energy last week on keeping track, making notes, following the pattern this time and, look!, I've got an armpit going on. Look at that row of pretty decreases. I like it even though I think I might be knitting a bit tighter this time than last time. I still may need to make the stripes an inch deeper than the ones on the bottom but I have yarn for that so I don't really care. I'm just glad that now I'm making something that resembles clothing for a human.
In honor of the snow that gathered lightly on my car this morning and the ice on the windshield I'm wearing the "onesie" cowl that I knitted last spring. It's lovely. It's warm. I like it.(If you've forgotten, the "onesies" are the single skeins of yarn that surfaced when I tossed the stash last winter, that I then found patterns for on Ravelry, and have been knitting away at a bit at a time. You should try it; it's kind of a fun pursuit.)
I had a customer yesterday morning. A paying customer. A cash-paying customer, who bought a little dry keeper for his cellphone that cost less than $20 but it was a sale, the first one after 4 days of absolutely none. It was so shocking I had to lie down with a cool cloth on my forehead for a minute or ten.
