Looking Into the Weekend

Last night, I was feeling pretty pleased about how it was almost Friday, and that the week really didn't drag too much, but today got even with me by being 18 years long, or so it felt. Just so ready for it to be over!

However, my Friday night and weekend are looking all low-key and laid-back, just the way I want it after the last few weeks, and yes, I was eager to get there. but just like the times when I'm working and think of all the things I could be getting done around the house, but then do very little of it when I could, I expect this weekend to dash by without my getting as much done as I would like. I will try to be sanguine about that.

Mostly I think that will work. If I don't get the car inspected, I have time before the end of the month. If Carlos' claws don't get trimmed, he won't mind waiting. I haven't seen the top of the kitchen table for this long, a little longer isn't the end of the world. Reading and knitting and watching hockey or a movie, these are all restorative things, and that's important too.

Now, for a little lightness. Such as a political ad that's actually funny. Really.



Photos of kittens with their tongues sticking out. My favorite is this one (what's yours?).



And finally, a timely reminder these days:

We'll be okay.

Ready for the Home Opener

The Bruins play their first game of the season at home tonight, and Bergeron is back, and Bobby Orr is dropping the first puck! I'll miss that part due to swimming, unfortunately, but I'm sure they'll show me between periods. Go Bruins!

The Apple Festival Weekend Yarn Haul

Today's weather was unseasonably warm, which is not something I complain about, but I did say wistfully on Facebook, "I just want ONE good, hard freeze to kill off whatever allergen has been tormenting me since August. Die, whatever you are!" The sinus pressure, the little nagging throat-clearing thing, the sudden catastrophic sneezes ... enough already. Still, it's awfully nice to have the windows open and smell the wonderful fall air, and not freeze from it.

(And, yeah, if I never opened the windows and let the allergens in, I might not suffer so much. Never going to happen, though; I love fresh air.)

Moving on! As I mentioned in passing during the Rhinebeck report, I didn't forget that I haven't blogged my yarn from Apple Festival yet. Have I mentioned that it's been a crazy few weeks? I can't tell you how pleased I am at the prospect of not being in the car longer than an hour or so again until, oh, April.

So here is the yarn from the weekend (not all from Apple Festival, technically.)

 This is the yarn I bought on the way up, at the yarn store I spied on my way past in September.

When I was showing it to my friends at stitch and bitch, one of them noted that "Hand wash. Do not agitate" would look great on a t-shirt, and I love the idea.

This one is from a vendor I often buy from at Apple Festival, Scandinavian Weave and Knits. They're at Rhinebeck, too.

 Surprise, it has a little cashmere in there. Soft and squishy in the best way.

As is this, more alpaca from the makers of the yarn I am currently working with.

This colorway was a one-off, so I'll have to come up with something smaller for the amount. Cowl, maybe?

 Mmm, alpaca.

I did buy a few non-yarn things, but I haven't taken good photos of those. I'll add it to the list. One of these days. I'm trying to manage my expectations about this weekend: just because it's the first one I've been home for in a month does not mean that I will accomplish All The Things. But some of them, yes, I should be able to do that.

Knock wood.

A Last Thought From Rhinebeck

One last photo to share, that I took when I saw a book that a friend of mine would need to know about, if she didn't already have it.

Only after I had put it on Facebook, and she was super-excited, did I reflect how happy it makes me to have a friend who loves the idea of crochet taxidermy. But doesn't it make life more interesting, to have interesting friends, and friends with different interests?

The Rhinebeck 2016 Day-Trip Report

So, yesterday was my first time to Rhinebeck as a day trip; always something new. The verdict is that I'm glad to have gone and had a really good time, but I am super sore* and tired today, short-tempered** and not good for getting much done. If I hadn't had to leave the house for cat food, I wouldn't have gone anywhere, and the trip was fraught with bad temper, unfortunately. When I am this tired, every minor thing is so super-irritating, and even though I know the things are minor, that doesn't make my growly feelings less real. Ow.
*It does crack me up when well-meaning people ask if I have taken something for the pain. Uhh, yeah, I have, plenty.
**More than usual, I mean. I know, scary.

But on to the fun part! Rhinebeck!

As far as the trip details (related more for my own future reference than because I think anyone else cares), I was at my friend's house (about 10 minutes from mine) at 7 AM (I know, yuck). We went to a Starbucks to fuel ourselves and used the bathroom, so we left there about 7:30, and arrived at the fair at roughly 10:30; as always, I was too excited to get there to note the exact time, but more or less. A three-hour drive is about the best we can hope for, so no complaints on that.

As for the return, we started to walk to the car at 3:25, so by the time we got to the car, and waited to get out of the parking lot, it was probably around 3:45. We stopped once for a bathroom break and to switch drivers, and we were detoured off the Pike by the GPS near the end, which added a few minutes, but we were back at her place at around 8, I think. I don't know, I was pretty tired. (Still am, in fact!) Long-ass day, truly: that's about, what, eight hours in the car, and five hours mostly spent standing and walking. No wonder I hurt.

From Mason-Dixon Knitting, words to live by regarding How to Rhinebeck:

Have a blast, and remember to shop sensibly, by which we mean buy anything you really can't live without.

That's always my rule of thumb: If I can't put it down, it's meant to come with me. There are plenty of perfectly lovely yarns that I can walk away from, and if I can, I will. This year, I  had a list of a few vendors I wanted to be sure to see, ones with yarns I have particularly loved, and a general idea that I would like to find a medium-sized project bag, since I have many small ones and quite a few larger totes, but nothing that works well in between.

After stopping in the bathroom, we went into building C, the first one we came to, and halfway in I lost my friend to the Miss Babs booth, or more accurately to the line--Miss Babs is hot stuff, and in the end she was on line for about three-quarters of an hour. I went on through the building, went back to check on her progress, then shopped on, looking and enjoying, not buying much. Well, that's where I found these:

Replacement bumper sticker for the one that's peeling off the car, and new buttons. I particularly liked "Finished is way better than perfect."

Once she got through the line to pay, my friend and I went on, finishing up with A-B-C and then heading over to the numbered barns, pausing on the way so I could get a pretzel and Coke (the vendor had both the big pretzels and pretzel sticks this year, and the stick was a perfect size). I got a little something at Starbucks in the morning, and before we arrived I ate a chicken sandwich I brought with me, but to jump to the end of the storyline, that didn't hold me (as solid "food" instead of treats) all day, the way I had hoped it would. Live and (hopefully) learn. Next time, I will have to buy some "food" there, as well as treats.

I wanted to start not at the first barns we came to, but at 27A, which is actually tent-booths in an aisle between barns, as Briar Rose is over there, and so was one of the bag vendors I wanted to see. I didn't end up getting any more Briar Rose (which is fine), but at Jennie the Potter's booth, I found this skein of Indigo Dragonfly yarn that I couldn't put down.

It's so hard to get a good enough photo to show the details of the color!

It's dark, but is it grey? Green? Purple? Brown?

Kind of yes to all, with a tweedy sort of speckle. This may be one that has to be seen in person, and in daylight, to really come across.

Interesting colorway name, isn't it? At the bottom?

Further down the row, at the Knitting Garage booth, I found the bag I liked:

The dark fabric won't show dirt too much, but has specks of colors for interest. The inside is white, so I won't lose anything (unless it's white, I guess), and there are a couple of pockets.

As well as the drawstrings, there are wrist straps, and it holds quite a lot, as you can see by the full Rhinebeck and Apple Festival yarn haul (which latter I will blog separately, this thing is a Russian novel already):

I like it; I think it's going to work as I want it to. Whew!

We went on, through the barns and along the vendors, new-to-me and not. At the Maple Creek Farm booth, I couldn't resits this lovely skein, which I don't think I really captured the colors of here.

Pale green-aqua-blue-purple.

All alpaca...

And even better, the $39 is before the 40% off. I do love a deal!

The other skein I got, at the Carodan Farm booth, is a sort of lilac, or violet color. There were so many pretty ones, I had an awful time deciding which to take.

Other than my visit to the maple booth for maple cotton candy and a few other maple treats to bring home, and one tiny thing for a gift, that's all I bought. "All"! I couldn't be happier with it. I do have more photos, though.

A bunch of the ones from the competitions. Beautiful shawl.

I loved this sweater, and hoped that the tag would give the pattern, but apparently not.

All about the details of the competition, I guess. Do you suppose the knitter made the pattern up? If so, even more wow than before!

More amazing shawls.

I mean, really!

Knitters are amazing.

One of the booths was wood carvings, and it was neat to see that the sellers were also the makers.

I only took out my camera in the booths one other time, for these signs.

We were walking along at one point, and heard a bell ringing, which turned out to mark the start of a small animal parade.

I can't help wondering if the bell was to provide a noise to guide the animals (who were, after all, being individually guided), or just to get the attention of the people that they were coming through.

Now, I haven't mentioned the weather yet, have I? I wore my fleece in the morning, and gloves, it was quite chilly, maybe in the 50s. Oh, and what else did I wear? This lovely cowl that Mary Ellen made for me for my birthday!

Only the photo is crooked, I promise. I clearly wore it sideways.So soft and warm! It's more of a purple-blue than the photo shows; I didn't photo colors that well today, sigh. Some days are like that. The cowl is great, anyway.

Once we were there, and either in barns or out in the sun, it felt much nicer. I would imagine the temp got into the 60s, though the wind didn't go away. But the better to enjoy showing off your hand-knits, say the knitters.

Speaking of which, in the category of Knit-recognition for the striped shawl, four people told me they recognized the yarn, and two of them that they were knitting with it themselves. When I went to check on my friend in the Miss Babs line, the woman behind her recognized it, so we were talking about it, and when she told the women behind her that it was all one yarn, they were terribly impressed. Magic yarn!

Celebrity sightings: two. I saw the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, when my friend and I were separated, just shopping like a normal person, and then later we both saw her. I also saw Stephen West (a notable knit designer) when I was on my own, and honestly only noticed him because I heard someone say to a friend, "Look, that's Stephen West." But when we were in the car, waiting to get off the grounds, we both saw him walking by, and only then did I realize that seeing him at a slight distance, in a crowded booth, did not reveal the full ... nature of his outfit. He is such an interesting person.

A few gratuitous tree shots to wrap it up:

It really was a beautiful day, and I don't just mean the weather. It's worth feeling like this today. But I need to get to bed soon, and work on healing it off.

Hockey and Cat Cartoons (Go Together Like a ...)

Well, now that was a hockey game last night!

It wasn't perfect by any means; they didn't start well, and they were down by two goals after both the first and second periods. But then you look at this:

	goals	assists
Marchand	2	3
Backes	2	1
Pastrnak	2	2

And they won 6-3, so I ain't complaining.

Not that it's great to get ALL your scoring from one line (Brandon Carlo got an assist, but otherwise it was these three, put together with Bergeron out), but if they're hot...and they were!

Also in hockey, you may not be interested in reading this entire piece about why older "role" players are getting cut out of the NHL picture, but if you know about Jaromir Jagr, who plays ridiculously well for his advanced-in-NHL-terms age, you have to laugh at this:

Sure, there are outliers like Jaromir Jagr, but this will all be explained one day when a brave soul yanks on his mullet, opens his skull plating and we gawk at all the robot parts of this obvious android.

~~~~~
Unrelatedly, I'm a fan of the online comic Breaking Cat News, in which the cats of the household have their own news network; I especially love when they try to interview their people, who they refer to as The Woman and The Man ("CN Cat News, Ma'am...Ma'am...Ma'am"). They're on hiatus right now, but I loved this rerun of an old one about thunderstorms. Particularly this panel:

Because when I was a kid, I was frightened of thunder and lightning (not that I love it now), and there was a time when my brother found me and my mother in the linen closet during a storm, reading...

Almost Friday, Almost

Today I finally finished-and-returned the not terribly good report I've been working on for almost a month (helpful hint: if you are a careless typist, and you use the "hide spelling errors in this document" feature in Word, you really, really should run spell-check before you send your report for editing; I know it's my job to catch mistakes, but it's your job not to make so damned many of them)...can you tell it's a relief? I'm about due for a really well-written one, I hope I hope.

Meanwhile, I've been thinking happy-Saturday-Rhinebeck thoughts, as my friend and I make our plans for the day trip. I have a list of vendors I don't want to miss, the weather looks good, the foliage should be nice, and it's basically my last trip until Christmas, which is a good thing. Ahh.

But before that, it's swimming tonight and then the first Bruins game of the season, yay! They will sadly be without Bergeron, but hopefully he will be back soon, and meanwhile I am excited for hockey again. It helps make up for the chill-and-dark season.

Finally, if yesterday's purring kittens weren't enough for you, here are photos of sleeping cats. I know not everyone is a cat person the way I am, but I think a lot of people might find this a peaceful thing to look at. And who doesn't need that, these days?

In Lieu of Grumbling

In the same way that exercise takes time, money, and energy, three things that I never have enough of, I am finding that this period of grieving, or whatever it is, is making me even more tired and short-tempered, two things one would not have thought I could get worse at.

But! Someone shared this on Facebook today, and it genuinely makes me laugh. Baby steps, folks.



Or, if you'd rather listen to kittens purring, crank up your volume for this. Caution: sleepiness warning.



Don't miss the tongues sticking out in some shots!

Look at the Funny Goat

Oh, kids. I was thinking today that if I spend the next month working this hard to get/keep my shit together, and then the election comes and is quickly followed by anarchy and the use of nuclear weapons, I'm going to be pissed.

In other words, I'm tired. This weekend was less stress than the previous one, but it's still a lot of driving and all, and the car excitement on Friday was stressful if ultimately non-catastrophic, and making myself work today wasn't easy. By two I was ready to stop, and by four I needed a nap badly, and this is me when I was in bed before 9 last night. Instead, I finished the work day, then went to the chiropractor, library, gym, and grocery store (with ATM).

I'm not even that much more tired than I was at 4. More sore, though.

Anyway! Let's look at the goat eating part of its cage decoration and smile.

He was having a grand old time!

I'm Home

I'm tired! Even more so than usual, I mean. But it was a good weekend.

Well, mostly. After all, I didn't hit the deer on Friday, that has to count for something, right? And the Check Engine light went away again.

Yeah, Friday's drive was a little too exciting. Today's was uneventful. Just the way I like it.

Actually, not completely uneventful. At one stop, I looked up, and hey, there's a bald eagle! This picture isn't great, obviously, but if you click on it to make it bigger, you might be able to see some detail.

And if not, here's this one, just for the pretty.

Printer Woes, Possibly Resolved

I think I have finally, kinda-sorta-half-assedly, fixed gotten around the can't-print problem. Maybe. I don't want to be overconfident.

I have been trying almost daily for the past week or two to print, since all this year, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it has been consistently not working. The other day, I was poking at the printer and went into the wrong menu, and it told me to connect the cord before I proceeded. I thought, "No, that's not what I ... wait ... cord? If the printer isn't working wirelessly, could I just connect a cord and be done with it?"

The short answer was no, or at least only half. To start. (And not the half I thought, either.)

What I did was order a cord, which came today. I hooked it up, sent a print job, and it informed me that the printer was offline. WTF! I looked at it from the printer side, and it looks like I would be able to scan and send to the computer, which I do want to be able to do, but not as much as I want to print, so argh grr etc.

After some deep breathing, I went into the settings on the computer to look at the list of printers, and lo and behold:

It thinks there are two printers, for some reason I cannot fathom, and the jobs were going to the WS version (which I decided stands for "What? Shit!"). When I sent a print job to the other version, it just ... printed. It's amazing.

I did try printing with the new cord unplugged, and it didn't work, so apparently I didn't even waste my $5.99. And it's a nice bright blue, so it will stand out from the forty-eleven black cords snaking all over the desk.

Therefore, with fingers crossed, knocking on wood, throwing salt over my left shoulder, and so on, I will say that maybe my printing woe days are over. For now. Hopefully.

Though I did try scanning, and it won't. It doesn't give an error message, you just get to the point where it should scan and it thinks about it for a bit, then suggests you put in a document, and repeats. It isn't actually scanning. Sigh. Just can't win some days.

~~~~~
In other news, I had another thought about the possible cause of my awful stomach upset this week, when I put two and two together last night. About a week and a half earlier, I started taking Zyrtec for my allergies; they're always worse for me in the fall than in the spring, but this year the sinus pressure and throat congestion got annoying enough that I decided to try something else (I already take Flonase for allergies).

It isn't supposed to bother the stomach that much, but I stopped taking it anyway, in case it was causing the problems, and whether it was or whether the medicine I got helped, the situation is much improved today. Hopefully by tomorrow I won't even be burping so much. Unfortunately, the sinus pressure is noticeable again, but I'm not interested in trying the Zyrtec again until after my trips. Let's not tempt fate!

And speaking of trips, I leave tomorrow for the weekend, so I won't be back for a few days. I hope to return with pretty pictures and, perhaps, lighthearted or funny stories. Nothing awful, oh please, she said to the fates if they were listening. Please let this be a fun distraction of a weekend.

Hanging In There

Yesterday was not a good a day, and I was in bed around 8 or 8:30. I had intended to listen to the first period of the Bruins game first, which wasn't televised since that's spotty in the preseason, but I could listen to the radio, right? No; I turned it on, and they were playing the Celtics game (that's basketball), and they're in the preseason too, so I don't know why they won the coin toss but it pissed me off. Especially since, as it turns out, the Bruins "won" the first period but lost the game, so the first period would have been the perfect thing to listen to. Oh well. The sleep was much-needed and felt good; why, it was after lunch before I said, "I'm so tired," today! Quite late, really.

Today wasn't as bad as yesterday, anyway, though not good; on top of everything else, I picked up a bug or ate something that disagreed with me, and have had "an upset stomach"* for two days now. I had to run out after work for a few errands, so I picked something up to help with that**. Day after tomorrow I have a long drive, and the next day is the festival, so I really need to be able to step away from the bathroom.
*Diarrhea. Sorry for the TMI.
**And it could kick in Any Time Now, thanks.

This was never going to be an easy time, with my uncle dying and all the feelings that has stirred up, on top of the weather getting colder and darker, and at the same time as the other trips already planned. At least Apple Festival and my birthday and Rhinebeck are happy things, so all I have to manage is the logistics, and my own expectations, not the I-don't-wannas.

Still, I wish I could be less tired. If ten hours solid hours isn't enough to let me cruise through the next day, nothing is. Which is unfortunate. But in the immortal words of Sandra Boynton:

It doesn't really follow what I was saying, but hey, it makes me smile.

Hey

I'm home from the funeral weekend for my uncle.

I'm exhausted. It was a lot of driving, and most of it in unfamiliar areas, on top of lots of emotions. It went as well as it could, but I still feel like I've been hit by a truck.

At least there was no literal hitting of anything, including when I was following the hearse and thinking how absolutely awful rear-ending it would be. I didn't, nor did I hit anything else, nor did anything else hit me.

My mother's on her way back home.

My brother's in NY, cleaning out the apartment.

The one that my grandfather, aunt, and uncle moved into in 1960.

You can imagine. Or maybe you can't, and that's okay.