As the World of McD's Turns

Who da thunk McD's would be the perfect setting for a soap opera? It seems to be all about who's hooking up with whom and who's cheating on whom and who's dating whom... Back in my day, if you wanted to hook up with someone you met them at a bar the good ol' fashioned way! I have to admit, this job is turning out to be a guilty pleasure! I really enjoy hearing about the lives of these people. Some are seriously misguided but most seem to just want to have fun. I know I did some stupid things in my younger days so who am I to judge! I try to slip in a few words of wisdom that I've learned after some agonizing lessons of my own. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. They are basically good kids - with one or two rotton apples - just like anywhere. There's teenage angst, twenty-something ennui and not much else! There are several kids who are destined for bigger and better things. They are just using McD's as a stepping stone to gain some experience before they jet off to college and their professional careers. Smart and hardworking, and most of all, they keep there noses clean. Unfortunately there are also those who don't really have much else to fall back on. I've yet to meet someone like myself. I hope I am unique...I wouldn't wish my circumstances on anyone. Hard times happen to everyone and hindsight is always 20/20. I suppose things could be much worse. And, it turns out, I really like going to work there. For crappy money, I get entertained for 5 hrs a night. You can take my hourly wage and see a movie for a couple of hrs and I think I still get the better deal! It's been several years since I've laughed so hard at work. The last time was when I was working with my BF. She always knows how to get me going!

I've taken a siesta on knitting these last few days *GASP*! I can't seem to make up my mind which project I want to start next. Another purse, another purse from a new pattern, another wallet, a new dishcloth, another hat - so many choices. So I decided to catch up on some reading for a change. I'm into Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair. She's really funny and tells a great story. I highly recommend it. Check out her blog. I've also got Maggie Sefton's Knitting Mysteries on deck. So, if I'm not physically knitting, at least I'm reading about it! Hubby says I'm really obsessed. BTW - there's a thread on Ravelry that talks about being addicted to the site or knitting and everyone contributes a funny comment to "You know you're addicted when." Hubby had a great one - you know you're addicted when your husband sees a great sweater on someone at Walmart and wants to ask them if it's handmade and where he can find the pattern so his wife can knit it! Crazy!

Well, the family is mostly over the flu bug. Dad is still coughing and a bit congested. Hubby recovered the quickest - surprisingly with the shortest amount of overall sleep. LD is still fighting a cough and now has a runny nose. I fear I'm in for the long haul with him. As for myself, I still have an annoying dry cough that occasionally turns productive and a nose that needs blowing every hour or so. Nasty nasty little virus.

My MIL bought herself a new digital camera and I had the opportunity to try it out yesterday. What a sweet little thing. It's a FujiFilm 9.0 megapixel camera with a 2.5" view screen. The features are very nice and the help pop ups are just what she needs to get awesome pics! Since she's off to Ireland in a few months she'll need to practice so she can take many, many pics of the gorgeous countryside. Good for her!

On a sad note, hubby and I are letting our beautiful dining set (it's been in storage for over a year) go to his sisters. *Sob* I hate the idea of someone else using MY furniture - BUT - at least it would be out of storage and someone I love would be using it. Still *sob* and $%^&. I really hate not having my house anymore. Poverty SUCKS!

On that happy note, I need to sign off and go snuggle with LD. He seems a little quiet today. Here's a pic of him after getting his new chair! He's telling his Grampa "mine!"


Ciao and Happy Knitting!

Sick Puppies Revisited

So my little quote at the end of my last post? Well, God must be laughing his pants off (if He even wears them) because LD didn't have any lunch other than a few crackers and fevered off and on all afternoon. He napped for 1/2 hr tops. I don't know who needed him to nap more, me or him! Then his fever spiked at 103.5 just before dinner and he cried and screamed for an hour. I called the Dr and he said we were UNDERmedicating him - huh? Turns out he's so big for his age he actually needs 3x the recommended dosage to be effective for his size. So I dosed him up on Motrin and within 20 minutes he was feeling better. Now, if I can only get him to drink his Pedialyte. He's going down for bed so we'll see how he does. He's due for some Tylenol around 9pm so hopefully he'll have a more peaceful night tonight. I just want him to get some good sleep so he can be my happy little guy again!

Argh...I just dosed myself again and can finally breathe so I think I'll crash out while I still can.

Until next time ...

Sick Puppies

Whew...we've all been sick puppies around here this week. I've been fighting the flu bug I caught from somewhere and now LD has it. He hasn't been sick other than a few runny noses so we had our first night of the toddler flu last night. He started the night off with tossing up his supper and refusing all liquids and medicine droppers. I finally managed to get him to drink a little and get a little medicine into him. He was so hot and we were so worried. We put him to bed and ended up waking up with him several times and I ended up snuggling him up in our chair. He developed a horrible phlemgy cough but the good news is the fever broke this morning. I called the Dr this morning to ask what else I should do and what I should watch for and she said I was doing the right thing! (Wow...who da thunk???) Anyway, he drank a little of his milk then had two cups of watered down juice and a piece of toast - yahoo! I'm getting ready to fix him something for lunch and I hope he's ready to eat. He's been a little perkier the last hour or so. In the meantime, I'm doped up on OTC cold meds trying to beat this thing...oh, if only I could breathe from my nose!

I managed to finish the Noro Purse and also started and finished an eyeglass case. I just need to get a wooden button for it and then it's done, too. I decided to join a dishcloth of the week group on Ravelry and have started the "Be My Dishcloth" pattern. It's fun! I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with all the patterns because of my current felting obsession! I've got a good 3" done on it though! The worst part was the first K1, P1 row after casting on. I always cast on too tight and have to fight the yarn on the first row. Here's a peek at the purse and eyeglass case:


My next purse will be using two strands of Cascade 220 in a lovely aqua green color. I'm not sure if I'm going to use the same purse pattern or if I'll try a different one. I also have 4 skeins of Patons SWS in Natural Geranium that I would like to use for a purse. It's a really beautiful colorway. I'm going to try to finish the dishcloth first before I cast on for a purse. That's the plan, anyway! I also have a skein of Lion Brank Wool-Ease Thick & Quick to knit up a roll brim hat for my wonderful hubby. I'd like to have it finished in the next couple of weeks so he can wear it!

So much yarn and so little time!

Well, I must be off...it's lunch time for LD and I'm curious to see what his appetite will be.

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

"if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans"

Sir Frog

Sir Frog has made another appearance...the Noro wallet I was working on? Well it turns out it was a match to one of the two skeins I bought to finish the felted purse. So I had to frog the wallet to get a skein to match to. Argh...when you buy skeins of the same colorway and lot they should all match, right? In this case they didn't. Anyway, I've ended up with 2 extra skeins. I'll have to start the wallet all over again. Of course when I went to get the yarn to finish the bag I discovered that my LYS is closed on Mondays. Then we had a couple of killer storms so by the time I got my yarn my schedule was all blown up. I wanted to have the bag felted by now! Oh, well. I only have 2 more row to knit then I can start on the i-cord handles.

My next two bags will be knit with Cascade 220. I bought 2 skeins of a beautiful aqua green and 2 skeins of dove gray. I'm also looking at a couple of new bag patterns. I haven't decided yet but I'm leaning toward a backpack bag pattern. It has i-cord straps and a large flap. I think it requires 4 skeins of the Cascade 220. I want to make it with stripes, I think.

LD is working on not having a nap today. This totally messes up my day...I have to work tonight and need to shower before I go. No nap for LD means I have to rush to shower and put on my make up when hubby comes home tonight. I don't think I'll have time for supper either.

On an up note, I was able to help out my dad today. He had to go for dental surgery to remove a broken tooth. They had to knock him out so LD and I drove him to and from his appt in Biddeford. This gave LD and I an opportunity to stop at Old Navy and Target for toddler supplies. He's in between 2T and 3T so I needed to get him some new pants and shirts to fill in for the rest of winter.

Time to switch the laundry and check on dad!

Ciao and Happy Knitting!

New Stuff

My most recent projects have been felted wallets. I've done two in the last week and I'm working on number three. I think I'm going to try to make a bunch and sell them at a local fair this summer. If I have a good response then I'll know I'm on to something. I've had several comments on the wallets and the purse. At least I know people like them!


Cute, huh! I've added some embellishments to make them look prettier and more decorative. I also bought a bunch of glass beads to dress them up. I'm going to make a variety of colors but stay with bright tones.

I'm working on another purse and have the yarn for a third one standing by. This one is on hold until I get one more skein of the right colorway. I'm going to stop by my LYS tomorrow morning and get one so I can finish knitting the darned thing! It should come out beautifully. The yarn is Noro Kureyon and it's the first time I've worked with it. It's wonderful stuff! This one may end up as a birthday gift for someone...I'm not sure yet. It will depend on how it felts up.

This is the start of the wallet I'm working on. The yarn was supposed to be the missing skein for the above purse, however, the color and lot numbers were so faded I failed to notice it was part of a different dye lot. Bummer. As you can see, it's fairly expensive stuff so I have to use it up! I think the wallet will be part of the purse gift. Again, we'll see!


On the family front, hubby is finally over his flu bug and feeling much better. LD is as rambunctious as ever. His vocabulary is expanding so much. This past weekend we went down to the Mall in Newington, NH and walked around for a while. We tried Chuck E. Cheeses and were terribly disappointed. What a rip off! They are really expensive and have nothing to interest a kid under three. Their jungle gym was small and plastic-y and they didn't have much for the younger kids. It seems to cater the older kids who are more into video games than anything else. I don't understand...their commercials promote physical activity like sports yet their activity centers don't offer anything physical. We'll stick with Jokers in Westbrook. It's free for kids under 2 and it has a ball pit and a toddler jungle gym, an enclosed area with booths and padded cushions on the floor. If LD wanted to go on the big jungle gym, it would only cost $2.99. Anyway, we wasted $30 at Chuck E. Cheeses and that sucks big time. So we went to the Mall next door and walked it and ended up getting LD a stuffed kitty that he picked out all by himself! He hasn't let it out of his sight since!


Here he is playing his electric piano ...
Ciao and Happy Knitting!