Surprise! It' s an abnormal post in the middle of the week........and within a month of the last post. Hmmm....could it mean that blogging will take up a more "normal" pace? Who knows?

This last weekend was productive, and not just on the blog posting front. Two loaves of bread baked, three batches of applesauce done {(love the crock pot!) and probably a few left to do}, two batches of cookies mixed and baked, a pot of soup for the weeks lunches for me, and scores of cleaning. If I hadn't looked in the mirror I'd have thought I was June Cleaver or something! lol One of the other things I did accomplish was the knitting of the 250th row of Mom's shawl. I pretend blocked it by stretching it out to painful lengths and widths and then stabbing pins into the bed to hold it into shape so I could measure it. (Thank god I don't have a water bed anymore!) I made a rough measurement of 40" by 40" and then un-pinned it. After playing around with the measuring tape for a bit to see how that would work around my (admitably larger) shoulders, I caved..... in the direction of reason for a change. See, I'll be honest. I want this project done so I'm apt to say this suckers done before it is. I want to knit with LARGER yarn for a bit. Hell, sock yarn is larger at this point. I'm tired of lace knitting. Just for a bit, I'd like to knit with a nice chunky yarn. Maybe a hat even.
But.
I.
Can't.
I so want this holiday present to be completed and to be completed on time. ( Thanks for the suggestion Bonny, even if it did make me shudder violently when I read it. Yes. It did bring back memories. lol And although I understand those memories now, I'm not ready to replicate them. ;) ) So I'm on a monogamous project kick just for this holiday (which is why I don't usually do holiday knitting, but if you could see my bank balance you would understand why this needs to work, as I've already scaled back this persons present.lol.) and I cannot allow myself to work on any other knitted or crocheted or beaded project until this shawl is ready to wrap. In a box that is, which is assuming it's ready to wrap around a human. But the call to work on something different is very loud at this point. (spinning doesn't count!) As much as I want to work on something else, I just can not. Oh hell, I'm rambling again. O.K. So after quasi measuring the shawl and playing around with the tape measure as if it were a shawl itself, I determined that the shawl needs at least 30 more rows. (I actually settled on 25 more rows until I remembered the pattern was a 10 row repeat.....not so much compatible with 25 rows, therefore the 30.) I'll re-measure after that point and will determine if we go another 20 to a full 300 or if the boarder around will be enough. I've not had any responses to my plea for help with the boarder other than my sisters' asking if I referred to my mother as an elderly lady to her face. (Not helpful with the actual question, but forgiven as she's not a knitter.) And my response is, "ARE YOU KIDDING!???!!! Of course not!!! lol I don't have a clean corner to stick my nose in!" It was stated as such to invoke the pity of fellow knitters. Granted at her age she could be considered elderly by some.....but then.....well, we won't go there. I did locate ONE website today that may be a help in knitting the border, but in truth it only caused it gave me hope of finding a better site. Scary huh?

I'm slowly working on the issue of a shawl pin that really should be part of the gift as it's going to be a bit important in the wearing of a shawl and she doesn't have any yet. (shawls or pins..........forgive me, it's been a trying day.) I've tripped across a couple of online patterns I might be able to pull off, but the Guild is having one of their bi-annual sale meetings this month ( I will not buy Lincoln, I will not buy Lincoln!) and I can't promise that if I find a shawl pin I can buy faster, cheaper or easier than I can make that I won't buy it to finish of the gift. I wish I could afford to order a really nice one from one of my friends online, but it's not in the cards. I'm not too worried about it. I'm still hoping I can complete a beaded egg for her birthday in Feb. I'm thinking that I may need a break from knitting during vacation time at the end of December. Maybe I can get an egg done that week. We'll see. I'm hoping I don't come home with any more fiber from the meeting this month. ;)(I will not buy Lincoln, I will not buy Lincoln!) Last year I brought home a Jacobs fleece (free) and although I've washed it, it's not done in the carding department. I have to keep telling myself that I have enough fiber....I have enough fiber. My friend Julie sells Angora or Mohair un-dyed or dyed and I had the evil thought that I could buy some from her dyed for blending and have less work. "Shut up evil mind! I have some un-dyed in the shed! I could dye my own!" It's hard though, cause she has really pretty fiber......and a picker.....and a HUGE carding machine. You can justify a whole lot when you go vist her. ;)

Oh, the shed that the fiber is stored in, that's another topic all on it's own. lol The next non-rainy day off I get means the shed gets a turn out. About two
(I'm deathly afraid of spiders.) Unfortunately I didn't consider that hundreds of dead spider carcasses are more freaky than ONE live spider. Some of those are HUGE! I get super creeped out going out there now and it's worse in the dark. I would not be surprised to see an Aragog sized freaky out there when I go out there next. Therefore it requires full daylight and back up in the house. Just. In. Case. That also explains why there is so much applesauce in the freezer in the house waiting to go in the freezer in the shed. ;) It's dark when I get home now and who wants to take on possibly huge spiders in the shed, in the dark, just to free up freezer space?!

One of the things I did not get done this last weekend was washing my riding gear. Hopefully I'll find time next weekend. It's time to strip out the guts of the helmet (I wear a full face helmet) and wash them and wash/waterproof my jacket. Sadly I think it's late enough in the year that I won't be riding again until 2009, so it's time to put away the gear. For some of us riders this is a normal part of the cycle (no pun intended) of life. For freaks like Don, it's not time yet, and it's not that long a time. lol Don only stopped riding last year when there was ice on the roads or when it was actually snowing. So last year I think his off season was a total of three weeks and we were on vacation one of those weeks. ;) It's all good as the longer he gets the ride, the less PMS (Parked Motorcycle Syndrome) he gets. Trust me, it's no exaggeration, his PMS is worse than mine. Chocolate and wine will not help his. I do get concerned when the weather geeks are forecasting wind storms though. A car/truck provides more protection from the elements than an XJ. Just sayin. I will admit to missing riding though. There's just something about cruising around on a motorcycle. I'm looking forward to next years riding season.

There are some changes marked for the future. Not just in the personal life, but in the blog life as well. I no longer have the time I had in the past for blogging and to be honest, the thrust of my interests is swinging back to the even keel of craft life for me. That being said, there's less and less of animal life to comment on and more on the craft or season permitting, gardening side. Sadly many of my fur kids are "elderly" (and yes Bonny, I do say it to their faces. ;) ) and do not much more than sleep. Tucker being the exception, but even with him, he's matured. He's not with me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and much of his work life is time I do not see. This is not a bad thing. It's his purpose. He was obtained to be a guard dog. It's his JOB, and believe me, he adores his job. ;) We do have personal time every day and he's quite the spoiled baby in many respects. It just that there are less and less cutie pictures to share as they are harder and harder to get. As I find opportunities, I'll post pics of him and as stories crop up, I'll share. But it's a bit dry in the "cute dog moments" right now. I'm sure when the snow starts to fall, there'll be plenty! All this leads up to the "It's not you, it's me"; moment where I confess that I'm ready to leave the "Dogs on Thursday" Group. I honestly can't remember when I did a Dog's on Thursday Post, and to be fair to the group I need to leave the rolls. I'm not a productive member. I've met many wonderful people and I may join up again in the future, but for now it's time for me to move on. I'll still keep tabs on my friends and lurk here and there to keep up with Tuckers online buddies. I wish you all the best.

OK it's late and I've got to get up early tomorrow. I think tomorrow's going to be a bit of a trying one again, Yippee for me, so I'm off to bed. Where's that anti-stress tea?! lol I think I'll be needing it tomorrow. I wish the best for you all!