Not the Greatest Day

It hasn't been the greatest day, maybe from the letdown, or the "eh" weather, or the Bruins losing, again. I can't think of anything I want to do with the rest of the day that will cheer me up; even ice cream isn't helping. I went out to Target last night for a few things, like coffee creamer (I found one I like almost as much as the one I can't get anymore, and it's at Target:

and while I was there, I picked up some B&J therapy:

because it's been a tough week, you know?). Then I got Chinese food, and it all helped me last night, but today, not so much, unfortunately.
Here's how my day has been: so far I have received nine text messages on my phone today, all spam (You were chosen to test the Iphone 6...). Can anyone explain to me why, if person A calls person B, person A pays for it, but if person A texts person B, they both pay for it?

Anyway. I took this video of Carlos with my phone earlier, in case anyone else needs to hear a cat purring today.

You're welcome.

And now for something completely different

What a day; what a week. I can feel the weight on my shoulders tonight, the strain of carrying this knowledge, this realization of what the world is like today. So can we talk about knitting instead?

I've worked on three different projects today, and here's why that's funny:

It's all knitting, yes, but as you can imagine, the size of the needle does make a difference!

The needles in the center are US 6 (4mm), and what I used to make the blanket square, which I finished today. I haven't washed it yet, but here's what it looks like:

The pattern is named Love Cloth, and the yarn is Knitting Fever Cashmerino, a medium grey, from a skein I got from a knitting friend, who brought a bag of yard-sale yarn to stitch and bitch in January. I'm very happy with how it turned out: simple pattern, quick knit, and suits the occasion nicely.

The needles on the left are US 19 (15mm), and what I used to start the wedding blanket (pattern: Oliver; yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash Bulky). Crappy picture of one end:

Like that, but much wider. I'll get a better picture sometime.

The needles on the right, of course, are the current sock in progress, and are US 1 1/2 (2mm). When I got the sock out at the chiropractor's tonight (I knit for the ten minutes I'm iced after the adjustment), I warned the woman that she might hear me giggling, and showed her why. The contrast was so funny: I was afraid I was going to snap the needles, after getting used to holding on to the big ones because they're so heavy.

So that's the state of the knitting. I think I'm going to throw a DVD in, since the Bruins game was postponed and so was the Phil concert (they only reopened the T around 6 PM, so no one could get anywhere; a lot was cancelled tonight).

Keep saying it: tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better.

Safe, At Home

If you haven't heard an update regarding my first point last night, here's the summary: greater Boston has been in upheaval since last night, with a firefight involving the two marathon bombing suspects that left one of them, and an MIT police officer, dead, and the other on the run, as well as an injured transit cop, a carjacking, and who knows what else. The T is completely shut down, and residents of Boston and a number of towns are being asked to stay inside while the police forces try to capture the second suspect.

I neither live nor work in or very near any of the reportedly affected areas, but my boss e-mailed us this morning to work from home, saying that the office building was on lockdown anyway and it would just be safer. I feel better not being out right now, though I doubt I would have been in the slightest danger. I wouldn't have been much good for concentrating on work, though, so no big loss there.

I'm alternating between checking the latest developments, and taking kiss-the-cat, listen-to-the-birds breaks.

 I'm knitting a square.

I'm fine. I hope you are, too.

Not as depressing a list as you might think

A variety of post-bombing things of note:

• The FBI has released photos of two "persons of interest" tonight, so if you were in Boston on Monday, be sure to take a look. (I'm not linking because it will be everywhere: if you found this, you'll have found that. Wanted to mention it anyway.)
• The Bruins may have lost their game last night (in the skills competition shootout), but it was a very moving night. Puck Daddy has the videos and links together here, including the crowd singing most of the anthem a capella. Kudos in particular to whoever thought to use the Phillip Phillips song Home for the video montage: it was PERFECT. I've heard it on the radio a million times before now without thinking about the lyrics. 

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

• Via Kristin Cashore's blog, the Boston Philharmonic will broadcast their concert on Friday night live, and rebroadcast it on Sunday. Check it out if, like me, you could use a little Ode to Joy this week. (Remember the orchestral flash mob version of it?)(There's also a Muppet version, you know.)
• If you're a knitter and you're feeling the urge to Do Something, there's an actual specific request for squares for a blanket here, via Rachel Herron's blog. I'm in! I can start one tonight.

On a non-tragic hockey note (unless you're a Rangers fan, anyway), who would have thought earlier this year that the Islanders would have a better chance of getting into the playoffs than the Rangers? No one, that's who; don't lie. But according to Puck Daddy, right now NYR's chance is 81.6%, and NYI's is 84.5%. How about that?

Now, please excuse me. I'm going to get some dinner in me, and turn on the hockey game (it's not a Bruins game tonight, but that's okay), and get my knit on. I'll report back. That is all.

Slowly Returning Normality

In case you don't feel like reading all my words this time, let me put this at the top: Steven Colbert being both inspiring and amusing about the attacks:

The Colbert Report
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Right? And Jon Stewart did nice too:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Now! On with the blather!

The Bruins game has been rescheduled, and I guess I still get to go, so moderate Yay for that. Before they announced it last night, I was wondering what they would do about it, because the end of the season was supposed to be next Saturday, and both teams play a bunch of games before that. The Bruins play every other day, and Ottawa almost as much: the only days they're both free are next Wednesday and Friday, and either day would mean the Bruins playing three nights in a row*, which you just don't do in hockey. The Globe mentioned yesterday that they might even not play it, if the points wouldn't make a difference, though everything is so close that they probably would make a difference, so... why bring it up?
*Originally, that Thursday was open for the Bruins, but that's where they put the blizzard-rescheduled game, so, you know, here we are in this thrice-weird season.

In the end, they chose what I consider the best option, bumping the season's end out a day, and thus the game will be a week from Sunday. So! It looks like I'm going to the last game of the season! I hope that turns out to be a good thing. If you get NESN, watch for me, front row near the penalty box, in the Bergeron shirt. (You'll all be taping it, right?)

*****
Naturally, the head honcho had to come to the office this week. Let's all dress up for it! He might notice you walking by the conference room where he will be holed up all day long. The head of the office will be in there with him, and a few other people will be in and out, presenting; I get why they will be not dressing to our usual "business casual" standard. The rest of us? May not even make eye contact once. But let's dress up! Just because!

Mind you, we did get pizza for lunch out of it (naturally pizza, since I wore white, though miraculously and for once, I did not spill). In fact, the boss came to me to place the order, which is interesting given that she walked past practically everyone else to get to my desk. This could mean she has great faith in my food skills -- or thinks I'm responsible enough to be handed his credit card -- or that I can be trusted to clean up afterward -- or just that I'm low man on the totem pole. Possibly all of the above.

*****
Again, looking back at Before, I had wanted to blog on Sunday about my busy and mostly fun Saturday, but my head was just bad enough Sunday to interfere. I was able to do a lot on Sunday: grocery shopping, a little cooking, laundry, all things that needed doing, more than blogging "needed" to be done; I just didn't have any extra energy. But hey, I can write about it now!

Saturday started with taking Carlos to the vet, to be assessed for the dreaded teeth-cleaning he so desperately needs. Amusingly, I had just seen this picture online on Friday:

Carlos didn't go quite this far (and good thing, according to the vet tech, who pointed out the sensor-driven soap dispenser in their sink), but he was not happy, as you can imagine: he's usually a pretty laid-back and quiet guy, only sometimes does he even say "meow", but in the car he was more like "MEOW! MEOW! MEOW! I AM UNHAPPY! AND YOU DO NOT SEEM TO REALIZE IT! MEOW, DAMMIT!"

Poor baby. I can't fathom driving with him for hours, though; I felt awful on a drive of about five minutes. Whew. Poor me, too. (I wish that holding his paw would help, but nothing seemed to please him at all.)

The people at the vet were all very nice, and very complimentary of his handsomeness, which I appreciated even if it left him unmoved. He was much too busy investigating the smells, and wondering at the noises, and giving the occasional miserable "MEOW!" to be very receptive to admiration. He was very good, just not his usual relaxed self.

My vet had wanted to get some x-rays of his chest and spine, and after discussing it with this vet we went ahead with it; happily, it was all pretty good news. His lungs showed no tumors or other problems, so his faint wheezing is probably early asthma, which I will keep an ear out for. Pretty much "no news is good news" there. Then the spine showed none of the suspected issues, though his hips look arthritic, the poor dear (as my mother says, it must run in the family, since she and I also have that problem); in the future, we may give him supplements, though not until he's "over" the tooth stuff, to avoid causing any eating issues when his habits are already upset.

I made the appointment for his teeth (a week from today, if you want to know now when to cross your fingers), and took the poor guy home again. "MEOW! MEOW!" He was so happy to get back, and immediately reverted to his perfectly fine self. I suspect he slept most of the day, though that's nothing new, really, is it? In any case, I went out, so I wasn't there to see it, nor to disturb him with my cat-rousing habit of kissing him for being so cute.

In fact, I went on a rare trip into Boston, to catch the last day (sniff) at Windsor Button Shop, the classic Boston store that is sadly closing its doors (rent being impossible, apparently). They still had a surprising amount of yarn left; I heard an employee telling someone (as he brought more up from storage) that they hadn't realized how overstocked they were. There was so much, in fact, that I went around and around many times, looking at things. Other than just wanting to see what they had (all at 50% off), I wanted to see if I could find enough of a bulky weight yarn to make a blanket for my friend who's getting married--I found a bulky pattern (it's called Oliver) since that should go pretty fast, and I'd like to finish before the wedding, which is in June! I quite like the look of this pattern, with its intertwining cables making me think of how they are weaving their families together, and as soon as the needle arrives (it's on its way from Webs, since I couldn't find it locally) I will get started and see how it goes. Because, miraculously, I did find yarn that would work:

Lambs Pride Super Wash Bulky. Ten balls, in the same dye lot, of this pretty dusky pink, even machine washable! I hate to give something as big as a blanket that had to be hand-washed, you know? Anyway, updates to come on that.

That wasn't all I got, of course, there was also a little of this and a little of that. Another skein of Ella Rae Lace Merino, since I just finished working with that and liked it:

A skein of Happy Feet, in nice springy colors (I used it years ago, and then the pair shrank, but I think I was still machine drying at that point, so I'm going to try again and see if air drying keeps them happy)

And a little just-because. Artyarns Supermerino:

And Berocco Pure Merino Nuance.

I know you will be shocked to hear me say that they are both so soft.

After yarning myself silly, I walked around Boston for a bit; sadly Cosi was not open for lunch, but I ate elsewhere, wandered into the Brattle Book Shop and a few others most enjoyably, then swung through the Pro Shop to admire Bruins paraphernalia, though I did not buy this, for myself or my friend.

Oy.

Finally it was time to quit the city, in order to get home and rest a little before the evening. Walking back to my car, it amused me to realize that I parked half a mile from the T stop and walked over, to save $5 on parking, in order to go in to town and spend far (far, far) more than that on yarn. What can I say, that's how I roll.

Dinner (at Papa Razzi) was very nice; it's always good to see friends, and get a good long chat in. There were five of us, which works well for a single conversation where everyone gets to talk, rather than in larger groups where it breaks into smaller ones and you end up never talking to some people. I also very much enjoyed my meal, which was one of their specials: beef tenderloins that were delicious, and a really nice risotto with corn and (subbed in for mushrooms) peas. Delicious! I got to tell them my recent healthcare story and get a sanity check that no, the company really didn't handle it well, and hear about what was going on with them, and it was all good. Even the Bruins were on my side, in a twisted sort of way: they lost, which is harder to mind when I don't have to watch! I mean, I'm sorry that they lost, but I would also have been sorry if they'd played an awesome game and I missed seeing it. (I know, Pollyanna. Speaking of things that run in the family.)

The head wasn't so bad on Saturday: a little in the morning, more so at lunchtime, but then it faded out for the evening, most fortuitously. On Sunday it wasn't completely incapacitating, but it was annoying. I've had fewer headaches since I started seeing the chiropractor, and that's so good, but of course I can't expect them to be completely gone (hope, yes; expect, no). (As I mentioned, it wasn't great Monday; Tuesday it was more tender than painful; today has been barely anything.) However, I am thrilled to report that my mother's treatment seems to be working at last--everyone knock wood with crossed fingers, would you? Because after a few years of near-daily headaches, the woman deserves a real break.

*****
Spring feels late this year. Maybe it isn't, maybe this is right on schedule, but the way the trees and flowers are slowly, slowly creeping into bloom seems off to me. It's coming, it's coming, but wow, that wait can kill you. Maybe that's just me, since I was ready for this months ago, but come on, a tree on the verge of popping its buds open should not take a week! Today was 65 and sunny: that should move things along.

I did take this picture recently when, driving home from work, I suddenly saw flowers growing in an unexpected spot. Look! Blurry flowers!

I can't wait until they aren't so blurry, if you know what I mean.

Now, I have to go, for the Bruins are playing tonight. Since Monday's game was postponed, and Tuesday's Celtics game was too, this is Kind of a Big Deal for Boston.

Before and After

I don't quite feel up to saying all that I want to say, if that makes any sense--what I mean is, I may not make a lot of sense here. Yesterday was supposed to be such a big day, for me, in a good way, and I'm kind of numb in the face of how quickly and completely that changed. Yesterday was a long day, but full of excitement until 3. Today was just a long day. News flash: depression is not as much fun as excitement.

Patriot's Day is a pretty big thing around here and you don't have to be a runner, or particularly interested in history, for it to feel special. Driving through Concord Saturday night to meet friends for dinner, I passed alongside part of the Minute Man National Park, and in two different spots along the trail, I could see redcoats walking along, re-enactors enjoying the nice evening. They would have gotten up before dawn Monday, to stage the battle of Lexington and Concord, the "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes," "shot heard round the world" battle that we all learned about in school. The weather was great for the runners, unlike last year when it was so hot. It's a holiday for a lot of people, a party atmosphere. And then.

[I had to read the Globe this morning, even knowing how upsetting it would be. And it was, of course. One woman's two adult sons each lost a leg. They were both laid off recently--as roofers. (To add literal insult to injury, they are in two different hospitals. That's no one's fault, I guess, but as though the family wasn't going through enough.)]

Another day that splits the world into Before and After.

Before, my biggest wish on Monday was for my headache to go away. I'd had it, on and off, since Friday, and was trying not to panic at the idea of it spoiling my big excursion. Surely it would go away! Or the adrenaline would carry me through.

Before, I was so excited. My friend sent me a text photo of the tickets in the morning. So exciting! Really in row 1! Whoa, $300 each?

Before, I was hoping that Bergeron would play, and pleased to hear that Marchand skated with the team in the morning.

Before, I was tracking my​ two friends running the marathon on the ​BAA website, ​thinking how very cool ​it was ​to be able to do​ that, and wondering why they list the splits by 5K, 10K, etc, and then give min/mile and miles/h?​ Are we metric or are we not?

After, I keep thinking of my friend, half a mile from the finish, confused when the runners were stopped. Of her family, waiting for her near the finish. They're all fine, everyone I know is fine, I'm so lucky, we're so lucky, but I keep thinking of how close it was, how the lightning nearly hit.
I saw her Saturday night--it could have been the last time.
I rocked her boys as babies--they could be gone.
A boy who died was eight years old. One of the pictures of him that surfaced today shows him in a Bruins jersey, at a game.

I don't know. Clearly I have no answers. Here's what I've got: from a page of videos of various NHL games last night having moments of silence for Boston, there's the anthem in Chicago before the Blackhawks game.

What you have there is an older man in uniform (WWII maybe?), a younger man in uniform, and an ordinary man in an ordinary suit. Ordinary, that is, until he starts singing. Wow! Can he ever sing that anthem. (Chicago, you people are spoiled.) You should really listen.

Meanwhile, the scalloped potatoes are ready to come out of the oven, and I'm going to watch Robin Williams*, because if that doesn't cheer you at all, check your pulse.
*This is what taught me that I could laugh again, after 9/11.

Tomorrow will be better. Just keep saying it, eventually it's true.

I'm Fine

If you haven't heard, a couple of bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon today. At least two people are dead, many others injured, some horrifically (there's at least one photo that I should have heeded the warning on, which I am trying to forget).

I know a couple of people who were running, but they and their families are okay.

The Bruins game is postponed, of course.

I am heartsick, and planning to take this awful headache to bed early. What a world we live in.

Looking for Jagr-Face

I'm putting this up in hopes that it will lead to a big third period for the new Bruin, because we need it! Let's see Jagr-face, please! Moves like Jagr! Go Bruins!

(Slightly good news: Patrice Bergeron is reported to be working out again, and is at tonight's game, in the press box but still that's a good sign. Not at all good news: Marchand has a concussion from last night's game. That means out a week at least. And in it-doesn't-look-good news, Swedish prospect Carl Soderberg is being stopped from joining the Bruins by the Swedish national team, which wants him to play for them instead. Crap.)

The Pleasures of Anticipation

I am still over the moon about yesterday's news, naturally: just getting to go to a Bruins game is a great treat, but front row, wow. Six days is a long time to wait; I know, I know, technically it's five days now, but this morning I counted six days to get through, which feels like a lot when I'm this excited. I wore my Bruins earrings today, and will again tomorrow. And Bruins shirts Friday, Saturday, Sunday. On Monday I either wear one under a sweater, or bring one to put on after work. I have so many Bruins shirts to choose from ... so of course I went out and bought another one. But I had to!

See? Ooh, I can't wait. I think I'll wear it Friday, then wash it for Monday...

On the other (more patient) hand, news came today that Patrice Bergeron is feeling better, enough that he's working out, which is excellent news, and who knows but that he might not come back sooner than one dared hope? Perhaps by next Monday? Probably not, almost certainly not, but the hope will help me have a little patience. Give him the time.

It was funny: while I was on the phone with my friend last night, hearing how the tickets came along, I looked out the window and in a bush across the street, saw a flash of red. The thought, "There's a cardinal," wasn't even all the way across my mind when there was a flash of blue, too: a blue jay joined the cardinal, to point out the very amazing nature of the evening. Or at least, that's how I see it. Rose-colored glasses.

It's been a good week, obviously, and I don't know which is the chicken and which the egg, but after weeks of serious struggling in the morning--since the time change, which was four weeks ago!--this week has suddenly somehow been easier. I'm still not a morning person, no, but I've spent the last month feeling fortunate that I don't have to punch a time clock at work, because I would have been late just about every day. This week? No problem. Funny.

I actually have some other exciting news to tell, another big contributor to my good week, which would have led the story yesterday except for the surprise I got: I'm taking a few vacation days around Memorial Day weekend and going to visit my mother. Yay! Vacation and Mum and warm and Florida ... ahhhhh. So that's medium-term anticipation, which I'll be able to focus on after the short-term excitement is past.

And I know, I said warm, and the weather around here is slowly improving. Trees are poking out buds, flowers are peeking out, sometimes I don't need a coat, or at least don't have to to bundle up in it ... there is encouragement in the air. It's just so slow, so one-step-forward, four-steps-back. This morning's weather forecast mentioned the possibility of SLEET on Friday! No matter how nice it gets here in the next six weeks, Florida will be warmer. I'm ready.

Now, I have a third period to watch (go Bruins!), but here's something that a friend led me to the other day. I barely even recognize the name Michael Buble, couldn't name a song he sings, but this story (from a few years ago) of him bringing a young man up on stage to sing with him, and being blown away by the kid's voice, is something else. It's a good way to end a post about feeling good, overall.

"Sam can sing! ... Holy shitballs, mom!"

Good News, and Not What I Had Planned to Write About

It was a beautiful day today, after thunder and lightning woke me this morning, no joke: the weather I've been waiting (and waiting) for finally came, 70 and mostly sunny, and maybe a little too breezy but hey, on Thursday when it's raining and high in the 40s, I wouldn't mind having today's weather again, so I enjoyed it today, even walking over to Starbucks this afternoon when I was nodding off over my work (cystic fibrosis is pretty gross to read about, I must say). After work, I ran a few errands, then came home and brought bags in, fed cats, checked e-mail. Tra la, tra la, anything interesting on Facebook? Oh, just this message from a (good, hockey-loving) friend:

Good morning! My vendor just called. Have any interest in sitting front row at the blue line on Monday, April 15th? Have any better plans for tax day!?!

Oh, well, I guess I could....

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

Yeah, I'm a little excited. That's the Bruins game, Monday night, front row?!?! Awesome!

You may remember this friend, if you've been reading here a while: this year, we went to the Bruins scrimmage in January, and in 2011, we went to the Cup parade. We worked together many years ago, and our mutual love for the Bruins (and Depeche Mode) helps keep us together. So to speak.

I
Am
So
Excited
!!!

Holy guacamole. How am I ever going to get to sleep tonight?

Must Go To Bed

But in order to give you something to do (for I am, of course, responsible for your entertainment in this tiny corner of the web-world), may I recommend that you go here, and see this amazing interactive thing (how's that for descriptive?) that perfectly answers the question, How Far is it to Mars?

Weekend: Shopping, Knitting, Accomplishing Generally

Yesterday was a day of fun that was long and, although definitely fun, also tiring. Today has been the accomplishy day, also kind of fun, or at least satisfying, but also tiring. I'm kind of a wreck! My legs are sore from all the stairs I've done today on top of all I did yesterday, and my hands are sore (it's a periodic problem with my arthritis), and I plan to write here and they settle on the couch to watch a movie, because folks, I am done for today. Whew!

I've gotten a lot done. Laundry, plenty of it, and some much overdue desk cleanup (including finding a bill that was put in the to-file pile before it was actually paid, whoops! can't remember the last time I did something that silly), paid the bills and balanced the checkbook and filing and organizing--not everything, but it's a lot better than it was, and I sent a couple of emails to resolve some open questions I've been meaning to get around to. I must have found this guy somehow.

I even ordered my free credit reports, something you can do every year and I've been meaning to do for ... oh ... a couple of years. Whatever, they're good, all green lights, no surprises. (Thankfully.) I also vacuumed, washed a few dishes, and started the dishwasher. I've earned the putting the feet up tonight.

Yesterday didn't end well, since the Bruins failed to live up to expectations, but otherwise it was such a good day. I headed up to the north shore, had lunch at Woodman's, then went to Coveted to get yarn for a project. Unfortunately it is a blog-secret project, so I'm not going to show you that yet, but (of course) I got some other yarn while I was there, which I can show you.

This one was on sale (reason one to get it), it's a beautiful deep blue (two), and it is so, so, SO soft (that's three). I'm thinking cowl, but who knows, I may just carry it around with me for now.

It's from Ella Rae, and called Latte, who knows why. Are lattes typically soft and fluffy?

Then I got a skein of sock yarn (naturally) from Mad Colors, in this charmingly named colorway:

Yes, "It's Just a Flesh Wound" is deep red to almost black, not something that is currently in my sock drawer! The camera does some interesting things, doesn't it? From this picture, you would think it's almost completely black:

But here it is from each end:

Fun and different.

So that was Coveted, and from there I went on to Danvers for my regular Savers--Used Book Superstore--Ocean State Job Lot run. It's so handy, having the three close together, and I haven't been in a while. I got a few things, nothing exciting, at OSJL, and at the bookstore I didn't find any fun vintage books but I picked up Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book to own, and a book on tape for the car, and two movies, Harry Potter 7 part 1, and the one I'm going to watch tonight, Foul Play (!).

In Savers, though, I really hit the jackpot, and I don't mean the little bit of yarn, or the polo shirt, or the pair of capris (though they're Talbots, and so well made). It started when I was looking through the yarn, though; there was quite a lot this time, and the bags were sliding and falling, so I looked around to see if there was something nearby I could use as a transfer point. I glanced right, and about three feet away were a pair of short bookcases. Aha, I thought, those would hold some yarn ... wait ... hold some yarn? Does anyone remember when I was talking recently about how I need to work on my yarn storage?

So. Two bookcases, real wood, sturdy, nothing fancy, but at $12.99 each, well, come home with me, guys!

Here they are, being checked by the inspector, prior to cleaning.

Once they were clean, I brought out all the sock yarn, and sorted it by color. I have rather a lot.

This is what happens when you want to buy yarn and don't have a project in mind. "I can always buy sock yarn!" Yes, judging by the evidence, I can and I do. And so much blue, blue/green, blue/purple...

It doesn't stay spread out, though, and it maybe a little less frightening quantity in two shelves instead of six.

Maybe.

Anyway, I stacked the two cases in the office, and I keep smiling at them there.

I've been putting more things there today, including the yarn for the mitered square blanket I'm working on. Pretty!

The yarn I got at Savers, by the way? My first cones. This one is cotton, and was $1.99.

Which I know because it has a label inside.

Sometime when my hands are feeling strong, I can see what all the fuss is about hand-knit washcloths.

The other is mystery yarn, and some other time I'll find the spot in one of the Yarn Harlot's books when she gives advice on identifying such yarn. In the meantime, it's laceweight, and it was $2.99 (ooh, the big spender).

And that's about it. I did stop in at the Salvation Army store on my way home, and found a few things there, nothing that exciting to share. Then I came home, and while averting my eyes from the Bruins, finished knitting a sock. So then there were two.

In conclusion, though this has nothing to do with anything and wasn't even taken this weekend, please admire the kitty toes. From sock toes to kitty toes, that's the only connection.

That is all.

Thank you.

Extra-Glad for Friday Night

I needed this guy today. I should have printed this out and carried it to work with me.

It wasn't an awful day, not really. But there was a bit of a Thing at work this week, revolving around our health insurance, and while in the end* it looks like the changes won't be too disruptive, the incredibly bad way it was, has been, and continues to be handled** has me deeply unsettled. No one likes to think that their job is balanced on a foundation of sand.
*Not that we're at the end, oh no, but the end that we're at so far. Who knows what happens next.
**It's like an unfunny version of "Our chief weapon is ... our two weapons are ... our three weapons are ... amongst our weaponry..."

You know how you sometimes read about employees of a company going to work one day to find the doors locked, and the company unexpectedly shut down? I could totally see that happening here. Either because someone forgot to pay a bill, or because the company ran out of money altogether: either way, that wouldn't really surprise me.

It's not a good feeling. I seem to have inherited a dislike of incompetence from my father.

So, what does it mean? Nothing immediate: it certainly isn't an "I quit!"-worthy event, no matter how it's raising my blood pressure in the short term. Nor am I going to immediately launch a full-tilt job search (what an exhausting thought). But I'm going to get my resume polished, so I'm ready when I need to be. I'm going to do a little research: I'd love to work for a company that makes one of those "Best Companies to Work For" lists, a place that values employees and treats them reasonably and just generally Knows What It's Doing, and some of those companies must need editors in one way or another. Maybe I even know people who work for some of these companies! I'm also going to start letting friends know that, should they happen to hear of some opportunity that "sounds like me", not to say, "Oh, but no, she has a job." That kind of thing.

In other news, I wonder why I felt so unmotivated at work today? Must have been thinking about Jagr, right? Yeah. Well, the Bruins won Jagr's debut last night, 1-0, the lone goal being scored by guess who. Granted, it went in off his skate, but if he hadn't been heading for the front of the net, his skate wouldn't have been right where it needed to be. As he said, it was a goal he would have hated at 25, but at 41, he'll take it. I love that he was hard on himself and praised his teammates after the game: being a team player is a very Bruin trait. I also love that Tyler Seguin, who wasn't born when Jagr entered the NHL, called him a "boy"!

The Bruins are in Montreal tomorrow night, fighting for the top of the division. One way or another, it's going to be a very interesting game.

Open-Book, Untimed Test

All right, class, here is your homework assignment. Please look at the picture below, and answer the following questions.

1. Was your initial reaction:
a) Ewwwww!
b) Awwwww!
c) Both
d) Something else (please describe as accurately as possible)

2. Upon further consideration, did your reaction change?

3. At any point, did you find yourself thinking, "Hey, I sleep with a body pillow, too"?

And ... go:

Another WOW* Week

*What, Only Wednesday?

OK, so it's Wednesday. Douglas Adams called Thursday the problem day of the week, "belonging as it does nowhere at all" if I remember correctly, but for me, Wednesdays seem to be the problem child. I've put so much effort into the week, and it's not over yet? Really? Again?

And where are we in this specific week? Much of the news on my radar is hockey-related:

• The Bruins pulled off a much-needed win in a mostly boring game Sunday night.
• Yesterday, trade deadline eve, they traded for Jaromir Jagr, holy cow.
• The Bruins pulled off another, better played, far more entertaining win last night (two in a row, woooo!), though most UNFORTUNATELY they lost my Bergeron to a concussion during the game. Hopefully it won't be too bad. They're calling it "moderate" today, and I'm with the guy on the radio who said, "I was hoping for mild."
• For a while, today's biggest trade news was a minor-leaguer-for-minor-leaguer swap (not all that meaningful, unless you're Max Sauve or Rob Flick), and I don't just mean the biggest news for the Bruins: so little was happening that they were referring to the trade deadline as the "dead tradeline" instead. At the buzzer, though, bigger deals did happen, and the Bruins picked up Wade Redden, another of the "possibly past his prime but maybe it will help" trades. Why not, really? They got him for a conditional 7th-round pick. Not often those become franchise blockbusters, eh?

Otherwise?

• Well, I had a bit of a headache last night, though not too bad.
•  The chiropractor's nurse/receptionist is considering the possibility of taking Miri to be company for her cat (oh please, oh please)(this is so far from definite, it can't even see definite in the distance on a clear day, but I had to share).
•  Carlos is his usual lovely self.

And I think I'll go hang with him! Or maybe do some dishes first. (Not if he gets a vote.)

Unexpected (But Not Unwelcome) Hockey News

Well, my goodness, Jaromir Jagr is a Boston Bruin! That was not something I saw coming, but I think I like it. He's old for an NHL player--you know, 41, ancient (says the 44-year-old), some of the Bruins weren't born when he started in the NHL--but he's been playing well (his points total is good for fourth on the Bruins), and judging by the way the Bruins are playing tonight, just the news may be the kick in the pants they've been needing. He's not even in town yet, and already the Bruins put three in the net in the first period (one was waved off, but still).

Just to emphasize the age thing, though, here's a picture of Jagr from 1998, when he'd been in the league for eight years, posing with a teammate's nephews. On the left? Milan Lucic, who's been a Bruin for six years now.

I followed the trade rumors today on Puck Daddy's feed; they put together the Twitter feeds from a bunch of hockey people, so one could keep an eye on what was happening. The trade deadline isn't until tomorrow, but a lot happened today. My heart skipped a beat when I saw "Bergeron" pop up, but thankfully it was the other one, Marc-Andre no relation to Patrice got traded. I can't fathom that the Bruins would trade Patrice for ANYONE in the league, about still, scary.

I'm off to watch the rest of tonight's game, but let me give some props to the person who picks the music that they play at the Garden during play stoppages, for playing "Moves Like Jagger" during the first. Maybe it's the obvious joke (see?) but it made me laugh!

Would That It Were True

It's such a shame when my desires don't match my (externally imposed) schedule.

Do you have days like that?

Happy Jelly Bean Day!

Some celebrate Easter, and if you do, Happy Easter to you. For me, not being a religious person, this is one of those cultural holidays where, if I'm lucky (and today I am!), I'll get to see good friends and eat delicious things. (I will still say Happy Easter to them, of course, just the meaning is different, though if you want, I can belt out a strong, out of tune "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" with that fun ten-syllable "Alleluia".)

And as well as a delicious dinner, I celebrate thusly:

My Easter includes jelly beans, of course.* I ate far too many of the intriguing little Jelly Bellys yesterday. You never know what flavor is coming next: have another! (The bunny is not new: he's been around since November. But right now, he seasonally appropriate, so he snuck in the photo session.)
*No peeps for me so far, but I bet I can score some marked down tomorrow.

In addition to eating them, I also packaged some up, to give as little tokens to the people I have Easter dinner with.

In all honesty, I will not deny that I wasn't sorry that the jug at Costco was larger than I needed for this little project. Also, yes, that's a Jelly Belly tin I'm carrying them in. Not new: I got it when I lived in Charlotte, which makes it 11 or more years ago.

It was too cute not to keep, and I've used it for various things over the years. (The top's around somewhere too.) It's not an oval, either, though it's hard to see in these photos: it's jelly-bean shaped. Of late, it's been in the knitting area, holding knitting pins. No, not that kind of pins; this kind of pins.

Today, like yesterday, is a sunny, decent-if-chilly day, and to Carlos' relief, that allows for a partially open window. Carlos is a founding member of the Windows Should Be Always Open, All the Way, All the Time Club. He is highly disappointed in me when I close the window, or when sometimes I only open it a little way, not as much as a guy would like. However, he's good at making do.

Are you mocking me? I think you're mocking me.

Never!

Friday Night, All Right

While this is true:

I have found that a peaceful, accomplish-y evening, with the prospect of getting back into that bed, redeems much.

More tomorrow, perhaps. Sometime when 11+ pounds of orange tabby are not draped, purring, over my right arm.

Wednesday, aka Still Not Friday

The cat-and-hockey game plan Monday night ended up working out all right: lots of scritches for Carlos, and after initially spotting the Leafs to a 2-goal lead, the Bruins came back to win in the shoot-out. There was a moment when Carlos was sitting at a distance, trying to move me with the power of his mind to get up and give him the good stuff, and the Bruins were down 2-0, when I wasn't sure how well I had made my plans for the evening, but then I lured Carlos over with scritchy fingers* for an extended forget-about-food,-señor-itchy-head session, and my boy Patrice Bergeron scored a beauty of a goal, and things went better from that point on. Phew. I hope they can play a good one tonight; a 60-minute effort would be most welcome, no matter the outcome. Montreal played last night and then had to travel, so they should be tired**, and if the Bruins press, good things could happen. Could.
*He tries to pretend he can hold out against the lure, but he can't.
**More tired. Every team is tired this season***. The Bruins have Thursday and Friday off this week, and it's over a month since they had two days between games.
***In the lockout-shortened season, the league crammed as many games into a short period of time as they could. Usually, a four-game week is unusual, and is balanced by the occasional two-game week. Not this year.

Last night I had a headache; it didn't get awful, but it was bad enough to rouse that fearful feeling I hate, that it will get that bad. It's hard to explain, if you haven't been there, and I hope for your sake that you haven't. My head felt fragile and tender all day today. I was between reports at work, and it's hard to maintain any sort of keeping-busy focus with a head like that: not bad enough to go home, but distracting. Plus, if you spend down time at work poring over your to-do list, you can't help thinking about how you could be working on your to-do list instead.

I ate lunch out yesterday with a few work friends, and while it was good, I fell victim to the classic problem of high expectations. We were going out because it's restaurant week, and unfortunately it turned out that the menu I'd looked at online was the dinner menu, not the lunch menu. So instead of getting a little filet mignon and creme brulee, two of my favorite foods ever, I had a little sirloin and a slice of flourless chocolate cake. And they were good, really, just not great, and not what I was expecting. Key to happiness, folks: low expectations.

Soliciting Opinions on Actions in a Work Environment
Those of you who work or have worked in an open office setting, I would love to get your opinions on this one. The subject relates to personal, ephemeral items on a desk.

On my desk at work, I have a box of tissues and a bottle of hand lotion. I have lip balm and gum/mints and various OTC meds (tums, advil, excedrin).

If I'm at my desk and someone asks if they can have a tissue, or if a general question is asked about whether anyone has some aspirin, I share cheerfully (and if I'm not at my desk and someone takes a tissue, I have no problem with that). After all, I would hope that if I were the one in need, someone else would help me out. On the other hand, if you come by a lot, I'll start to wonder why you don't bring in your own whatever-it-is.

So that's the general background. Now the specifics: when I was out sick, my work friend C told me that D, my new manager and least favorite person in the office, was stopping by my desk to take some lotion. Which is a little odd, you know? I mean, she never asked for any or helped herself while I was sitting there, why would she suddenly start doing that when I was out? There's nothing stealthy about it, it's a very open office, so apparently she didn't mind other people seeing her do it ... odd.

This morning when I came in, there was an e-mail from C, sent after I left yesterday, telling me that D had just come over to my desk to take some mints. What the? Again, she's never asked me for them while I was there ... what the?

It sort of creeps me out. Partly because I don't like her, but also because of the behind-my-back factor, which just seems so odd. And she is an odd person, I've used that word to describe her from the start, but really? Is this normal office behavior?

Of course, I'm asking this question about a person who the other day was clipping her nails at her desk (ew), so I'll only be surprised if you disagree. But honestly, what do YOU think?

After thinking about it this morning, I ended up moving most of the items to a desk drawer. The tissues and lotion are still out, and the lip balm (which I have to believe no one else would use ... gag), but she'll have to search for the rest. And hopefully it won't come to that! Because I think we can all agree that you don't go into someone else's desk drawers without permission, or a really good reason ("Where are the papers for the Fleegleman report? I know she just had them..."). Right?