Friday, April 29, 2011

Jellybean Progress

Just the arms and legs to do. But for now, to bed

I am exhausted.

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And So Winds Down Another Work Week

Not a moment too soon, either. I'm horribly stressed by what's going on at the office, and think that there might be someone trying to sabotage my work. It wouldn't be the first time, you see.

I'm home, and my hubby is stressed too. We're both a bundle of nerves. We both have a million things we want to do, and no ambition to do them. To my credit, I did take a little walk down the road, and got in a bit of exercise. I thought it might help with the stress. It really didn't do much but make me more tired than I already was.

Big doings tomorrow. We have to go to the dump early, then hubby has to sand his plant stands. Then we have to load them onto the truck and trailer. Then we have to do this freaking two-hour drive to the customer to deliver them. Think 6 miles to the gallon at $4 a gallon times 240 miles. Something tells me that my husband should be charging for shipping this trip.

Then, he's got a gawd-awful amount of homework from school to catch up on. Me, all I really have to do is crochet on the bear and work on the samples for JoAnn's for the May/June layout. I believe I have 4 things to knit and crochet by the first of the month.

One word comes to mind..."HA!"

Furthermore, I think we are getting our basement back--this means that we actually might stay somewhat cool this year by sleeping in the basement, instead of upstairs where it's really hot. All of our HOT doings (laundry, cooking, dishwashing, etc) we can do upstairs, and sleep in the cooler basement. I think it's a wonderful idea. The animals will be more comfortable, too, and there's a little cat door in the basement that goes into the laundry room, so that the cats can get food, water and potty to their hearts content, without having to bar the door from our dog. Just saying--we are giving it all due consideration!

The reason we're getting our basement back is because my step son is telling us that he's moving in with his girlfriend. I think it's a mistake, but you can't tell this kid anything. He's going to do what he's going to do, and he's likely to get burned doing it. This will give me evenings to start going through all the stuff in my stash room--I told my husband that when I start on that, he's got to start on the room in the garage for me, and it's going to have to be a BIG ROOM--bigger than what I currently have, which is 10 x 10--and it's stuffed to the rafters! So much so that I can't find what I need to find because I can't get "around" the room! Most things are in plastic bins, and I can't see through them to know what's inside. This needs some serious help. Another day. I can't think about that now.

I started out wanting to name my newest bear, Painter Paul. Then I decided Candy. I've changed my mind again. I think this one's gonna stick.

Jellybean.

 Pics tomorrow of my progress tonight.

Flooding Is Bringing in the Wildlife

The Looking Glass River hit flood stage and expanded over it's banks yesterday right into the Maple River Flood Plain. In the process, the wildlife was coming up out of the lowlands and into people's yards in Wacousta. The pictures are pretty fuzzy, since it was a drive by shooting--one came out really nicely, though, and gives you an idea of how many there were. I didn't count, but at first guess, I would say that at the first picture, there were up to 20 in the yard. (Click to "embiggen")
It was a pretty cool way to end the day. I doubt that the homeowner even knew that they were there. I didn't see anybody gawking out the window through the curtains, after all, and I hope that they didn't think I was snapping pictures of their home, as if I were casing the joint.





At one point, this doe was right up to the road, looking at me with her ears held out to the sides, curiosity getting the best of her. She got a little wiff of me, and went back to nibbling some of the sweet grass. It was such a poignant moment between us that I forgot to take a photo at that very moment.



Deer are really nice to watch from a distance, but they can be very dangerous when they are protecting their young. Some of these guys looked like early fawns, but were probably more likely very thin yearlings. Still, there were cool to watch for a few minutes. I left them alone and headed for home.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

I Don't Understand.,,,

Last night, the weather service put out a tornado warning just to the southwest of our house. They showed the storm cell moving between two towns on the television, which put the storm in a direct line to hit our house.

I, on the other hand, watched the storm develop from my deck. It was at least 10-20 miles EAST of the picture on the television. The thunderhead cloud developed quickly "over there", and to the southwest, where the storm was said to be, was blue skies, nothing but blue skies.

I wondered if the storm chasers were drunk yesterday evening. We got the slightest bit of rainfall--enough to dampen half of the driveway, and then it was gone, blowing to the northeast. I was sure that I saw a funnel cloud, but it never touched down.

I think we need some new storm chasers that aren't drinking their lunches and dinners at the local pub.

In other news, Candy is coming along. I have most of her head finished. I worked on her quite a bit last night, but I can tell that I'm getting pretty tired of making this pattern--no matter how cute they are. I'm just not the type of person who makes the same thing over and over. I make it once, and you know, it just better work out, or it goes in the frog pile.

My cat is acting weird. She's sitting in my lap and staring at me. I think the food dish might be empty.

A woman (who also is slave to a cat), well, her work is never done.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Beginning

Thinking Painter Paul isn't the right name. How does Candy strike you?

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Monday, April 25, 2011

MariAnn Bear

MariAnn has finally arrived into the world.

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Bearly There...

I am nearly done with MariAnn Bear. I have the yarn for a 4th. They are just too cute. The 4th bear will be Paul--Painter Paul, in fact. He will be a multi-colored bear. Oh, dear. Perhaps that's racist.

He will be a multi-nationality bear, created out of this:


Now doesn't that just get the creative juices flowing? I think he could carry a bouquet of flowers for all that color, and I can bearly wait to begin.

MariAnn needs her bottom closed up and arms and legs sewn on, and she's going to my Grand-daughter's home next month--so I'll have her here for a little bit yet. She's got a little bit of character to her--you'll see when I'm finished and get a pic to you.

It's time to go and make the donuts. Later, I plan to go to the movies to watch "Water for Elephants". Hubby wasn't interested in taking me over the weekend, and I'll be darned if I'm going to allow him to make me miss it.

See you later with more details.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Heads You Lose...


Book Review:

Well, I was listening to NPR the other day, and this (used to be) couple-man and woman, tag-teamed to create this murder mystery. The notion sounded so interesting that I immediately downloaded the book to my Nook.

The story begins with Lacey and Paul, brother and sister, finding a headless body on their property. Since Paul is a marijuana grower, they decide that they can't just call the cops, so together, they devise a plan to dump the body elsewhere where it can be safely found by some passerby--

But when the body shows up AGAIN a few days riper, the mystery begins.

Like I said, the book was "tag-teamed" by these two authors, she a mystery novel writer, he a poet. She began the book's first chapter, and he would flesh out the history and background. In between chapters were short letters (since it would appear that the two authors lived on different coasts) from one to the other on how each would like the storyline to go. At times, you couldn't wait to get done with the chapter, just to see what the authors had to say--and you would think these two had been married at one time--OH! How they would bicker! The story was VERY good, and the bickering was pretty funny, and gave the book a personal touch that you don't get in Steven King novels. It was rather like a window into each of the author's mindsets--a short review of their past, historical, failed relationship, along with a little "jabbing" here and there from the points where each one was still trying to "get over" the parts that must have hurt the most. Of the two, I think that "she" was the stronger, but I also think that she lost the most. Likewise, "he" was more the romantic, while she remained quite pragmatic. You'll have to read the book to make your own decisions on who broke up with whom, as well as to find out the answer to "Who Done It".

A good read. I couldn't put it down.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Unappreciated, Underloved, Under the Weather...

Some days it just doesn't pay to get up in the morning.

I am the type of person who doesn't like to go into other people's offices to hunt for things. It feels too much like an invasion of privacy. Likewise, when I go to a friend's house, I don't rifle through the bathroom drawers and closets. Even though I've heard it's something everyone does at one time or another, I've always been an odd duck about that sort of thing. I've always been very respectful of other people's THINGS, and I expect the same treatment--even if I rarely get it.

The reason that I don't go through other people's things is so that I'm never accused of being "the one" who stole something. I've been accused of stealing at the office, and let me tell you--it was NOT a pretty site. I agreed to all the claptrap involved, even though I was quite innocent, but the feeling is that you cannot be trusted. Since I myself try hard to be trusting (and that's no mean feat, let me tell you), I prefer to live my life free of the worry that people don't trust me, and so I try to trust. That trust has been broken so many times, that I can't begin to tick them off. It's been a very disturbing life.

I've always lived in the country, where things are pretty much safe at night, and I can sleep--even alone--in the house (as long as I have a dog). When I lived in the city for a short while, I was constantly on edge--suppressing the fears and concerns of the area I lived in, because there were times I thought I heard gunshots...gunshots where people are firing at people. In the country, if you hear a gunshot, it's more likely someone shooting at an animal--pheasant, rabbit, turkey, deer--rather than people. In the city, houses are crowded right up close and personal. If someone shoots and misses their intended target, it's possible they might hit YOU, and that's a fearsome thing. In the country, there's more space (getting scantier by the minute), and if someone misses their "intended target" they are more likely to miss ANY target, including the side of your house.

At the office, things are falling apart, faster than I can even say. The supervisor doesn't listen and he doesn't hear me. As a person, he's a good guy. His supervisor is completely overworked and should have taken the retirement that she was eligible for when it was offered. Both of them know that I'm cracking under the pressure, and can't do a thing about it. In the meanwhile, I'm going crazy just thinking about it, so I'm going to stop for now writing about it. Just know that I am seeing a doctor, and if push comes to shove, this old gal will be off like a prom dress.

Tonight is Woolgatherer's. I have to leave the house early to get some brownies at Walmart to take, then to work to get my head and feet chopped off, then to Woolgatherer's. I'm not exactly looking forward to the prospect, considering recent events, but I promised that I would bring a treat, and I won't go back on that. Somehow it doesn't seems right. Now, I could drop off the treat and head back home after, but that would raise suspicions, plus the fact that I paid money to be in this group. So I think that I'll probably stay.

The only good thing about the world right now is that my husband (with the cold feet--and I MEAN cold, brr, freezing, frosty feet) has been pretty understanding about the whole rest of the world beating up on me. But imagine sleeping with an ice cube?

Well, time to make the donuts.

Monday, April 18, 2011

MariAnn

I've finished nose, ears and both arms, and begun a leg. I'm working this one out quickly, because I want to get the pattern down on paper so that I can turn it in to JoAnn's for a Trend class. I want to offer the class in the fall--which means that I'll need to keep working at JoAnn's until the bear class is over.

I've got my  list of notions and materials ready. Now I'm just doing the crocheting and writing the instructions down. There's more information than for the Pacifier Bear, on which my design is based, but I'm making the bear from a totally different material, using different instructions and adding in some things that Pacifier Bear didn't think of, and I believe that my changes are for the better. MariAnn's legs will be a bit shorter than Lester's or Monica's. I think that Lester and Monica's legs are just a mite too long. I'm also adding some better instructions on making the bear up.

I'm also adding a valentine, instead of the pacifier and the bib. I didn't care much for the pacifier to begin with, and Lester didn't have one. Monica had the heart and no pacifier, and the heart can be played with all by itself since it's not "part" of the bear or sewn on. I'm also considering some sort of flower--maybe on a headband--to go around MariAnn's head. I haven't got that down firm yet, but there will be something--I just haven't completely thought it out yet.

Work was difficult today. It took 3 hours to do the mail. I was lucky. The afternoon mail was next to nothing. The morning mail was horrible. I was lucky that I was able to get the lion's share of my other duties out of the way before the mail arrived. After lunch, I finished up the mail, and then finished up some more duties, then started on another, before the 4pm bell rang, and I sang out

"Yabba Dabba Doo!" Donned hat, sweater, coat, scarf, gloves, grabbed my purse and MariAnn Bear and walked back to my car. When I got home, hubby had made supper. Woohoo! So I ate.

The trees are flowering, and so I am sneezing EVERYWHERE.

Off to work on MariAnn Bear. Pictures, perhaps tomorrow.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Working on a Doily

Pictured here:


Quite Pretty? Well, I do like it, but I prefer the blue tonal one. Here... 

 

But since JoAnn's didn't have 4 different colors of blue, I had to pass this one up. Still, it's a real maybe in my future. The biggest trouble is that I can only really do one row at a time--the thread is SO SMALL, I can barely see it, and it takes a lot of work to do one row.

However...

Next month is my granddaughter's birthday, and I have to make Monica's sister, MariAnn. I can't give Monica to my granddaughter, because she's my "advertising" bear. I made her with a crooked nose to give her some personality that would attract potential buyers for my class at JoAnn's.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

At a Loss..

Once I finish a project, I am almost always at a loss what to work on next! Surely I have hundreds of projects I could do--but I always fret and look for something new--some new technique, something smart-looking, something that challenges and hones my brain.

Because let's face it, this one isn't getting any younger, and anything that can tease my brain back into my head, must be a good thing--right?

Considering the last couple of days, I would think that losing my mind would be a great thing. "Not so," Confucius say.  Feeling like you're losing your mind creates even more stress, worry and concern on top of what you might already feel. It's an addition that someone who wishes she could sleep at night without a sleeping pill doesn't really need. And even though I slept pretty good last night without one, I waited to go to bed until after 11pm--which I almost NEVER do, dreamed stupid dreams all night, woke up dreaming of large batches of mice that I thought were bunnies, and wondering WHY I was dreaming about so many mice--

Freud might say that I am dreaming about multitudes of mice because of my desire to have relations with my father. Say what? Get out of here. I think it's more of a comment on my need for safety--let's face it, wild bunnies lay their fur on top of the ground over a little depression in the grass, have their babies and then hop away, leaving the poor darlings at the mercy of the next lawnmower. So when I looked out on our lawn and saw DOZENS of mounds of bunny fur--well, I had to go out and check. I found hundreds of mice-not bunnies, because bunnies only max at perhaps 8-10 babies. There were batches of many many many. My experience changed them into mice of all colors and sizes. I started going through them, and collected up the ones that were of a reasonable age and size that I knew they could do without their mom by now, and removed them from the nest.

After that, it was set to task to find them a new home, and lacking a safe one, I just let them go--and they all ran into the house. I suppose if I hadn't woke up at that time, a tornado would have come and taken the house to OZ--where the mice would have to go through hoops and whirlygigs to obtain their desires from the Wizard. Okay, wait a minute. Did I just fall asleep again?

So when I woke up, imagine my dismay, when I realize that the fret that I went to sleep with (what project next), I still have this morning...the mouse thing is the number of projects I already have to do--the all colors and sizes, the yarn--the checking for age appropriate, is the selection process--the getting them to safety is completing the project. So I'm right back to where I started.

Whoever said "Life is hard, but it's better than the alternative", obviously didn't take into consideration the fact that losing one's mind tosses a monkey wrench into the whole works. I think that my monkey wrench might be knitting and crochet. At least right now.

------

I have a knitting class today at JoAnn's. I have Monica trussed up in a bag to keep her fur from gathering cat hair. She's going in with me. I'm going to scrounge about and find the parts to my Arizona rug to take with me to JoAnn's to work on, teach my class, run home, grab my husband and drive to his daughter's house because TODAY is my grandson's birthday, and she has invited us to come over for ice cream and cake. Woohoo! Ice cream and cake! Then we will come home and perhaps enjoy an evening--then again, perhaps he will get annoyed with himself over his issues with his computer and throw the television remote at me again. Who knows what might happen by then--it almost sounds like a whole 'nuther day--because it's Saturday, and it's 6am.

So everyone have a great day, and don't get too busy. When you get to my age the days rush right by. It's sad because tomorrow you might not be able to remember them. That's all.

Friday, April 15, 2011

She's Alive!

Monica Loves Me Bear, now complete and ready to debut at JoAnn's Fabrics, Frandor Mall-on Saturday morning at 9am.

See you there!

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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Feeling Extremely Depressed...

In dire need of chocolate--asap! The phone calls that I'd been getting at the office, well, I got called on the rug for notifying the police, instead of the supervisor. That wasn't enough to upset me, but also was basically told that my supervisor is changing hands again, and he's upset because he had to let go of a couple of his employees to take me on, which made me feel like a big pootie. And then, when I started crying (oh yeah, I really do hate it when that happens--because I can't stop it--and if I feel like someone is crapping all over my day, my work, the how I carry on my life from beginning to end as being a failure, well, I just LOSE IT.

Not just that--oh no--it could never be just THAT, right? Because when it rains, it pours, right? I'm having to evaluate my friendships--at least those who I considered friends. I won't bore you with details.

Added in, my hubby is getting angry with me--he literally threw the television channel changer at me because I wanted to watch Big Bang Theory, which, come to find out, wasn't on television last night--my head was a day ahead--thinking it was Thursday night...but because he was such a JERK, I removed from the room and went to my bedroom and tried to watch MY television, which won't pull anything in when his computer is connected to the internet due to too many RF signals in the house.

So not only was my show not on, I couldn't watch television in the bedroom anyhow. And since I was so angry at my husband's burst of IDIOT, I couldn't sleep, so I got up and YOU GUESSED IT. Watched television until I fell asleep in my chair.

When I woke up, I stumbled into the bedroom and crawled between the covers. He snored along, never even knowing that I was MISSING from the bed.

What the heck is going on here? Why is everyone abandoning me all of a sudden? I even called my doctor--she's gone until Monday. It's like I'm all by myself in this grey day.

Add to that..
MORE? Oh, yeah, I suppose.
I took the medication that makes me crazy nutzoid this morning. And true to form, by the time I was called into the meeting where my feet were literally chopped off from my legs--I was so emotional and moody that ANY sort of criticism would have been met with a flurry of tears.

Doesn't matter that I didn't do it to cause trouble. I was afraid that my identity was being compromised. Diddle them if they can't understand that. Of course, you can insert your own expletive for Diddle if you care to. Same goes for fair weather friends. Diddle off. Supervision at the office? See my finger? You didn't give a rats pootie about me when someone stole my pop bottles--not once, but TWICE. You didn't give a hoot when that witch kept harassing me with her banana peelings left in my chair at lunch time. You didn't even care when she opened my bottle of bubbly for my wedding and took a long swig--the bubbly that was meant for my (really small) reception for my (really small) wedding--for me and my hubby and my friends from 10 years ago. No. Didn't care then. Oh, but when someone stole $300 out of the other gal's purse, you fingerprinted ME--others too, and the culprit was never apprehended--but of ALL the people in the office that could be real suspects, you finger ME? Do I lie and steal and take advantage? Do I go into other people's offices when they aren't there and open their drawers and get into their purses? Puhlease. I don't even go into my mother's kitchen cabinets without I ask permission first. There are just some places that I just don't go. You could leave money on the table--even on my desk--and I will run around and try to find out who it belongs to--because I KNOW it ain't mine!

So I'm tired. I'm upset. I'm ready to cash in the chips and say "to blip with it. It just isn't worth it anymore." Then turn an abrupt about face and go into the other direction. I'm overworked. I'm overstressed, and I just can't take anymore--and nobody (at work) is listening. It's as if I don't even count anymore.

So why am I writing it down here? Probably because it's been a long life, and a long time of feeling like I've got nobody that I can call a true friend--and I'm tired of being the one who gets the big whammy. Maybe to see if somebody out there gives enough of a damn. I feel like a freaking teenager again. Crying to the counselor because I feel like there's not a person in the entire world that likes me.

What the blip is so freaking WRONG WITH ME? What about me seems to turn your stomach? Is it my teeth? Well, not much I can do about that anymore. I asked my dentist, and he tells me it's not wise to try and move your teeth "at your age" because by this time they are fairly settled into your jaw. Moving them might make the bone structure underneath come loose...then I have loose teeth moving about in my mouth. So braces were not a good idea. Plus I have a really small mouth--dentally speaking--any work done on my teeth would be undone eventually because my tongue is too big for my mouth. I have what's called "Tongue Thrust". So it would be a major expense and surgery. I'm not about to go through ALL OF THAT crap, just so you'll be my friend. Would you do it for me? I seriously doubt it!

Is it because I know a lot about a lot of different things? Well, I READ. I scan things on the internet, in the newspaper, on email, in books. Heck, as a kid, I used to read the dictionary. People thought I was weird because I used "big words". Not only that, I could spell them too. Funny how my parents NEVER SEEMED TO NOTICE THAT I WAS SO FLIPPING SMART. Well, nobody likes a know it all, but you know something? I don't know everything. YOU just haven't found it yet. But I can bet that if I know more than you know--you're gonna hate me for it. Well, to that I can honestly say, I'm not changing one iota for you. If you can't deal with your jealousy, don't bother asking me to deal with it.

I took care of the body odor a long time ago--when I turned 14 in fact--and we moved into a house with an actual SHOWER. So you can't blame me for body odor either. I've never gone more than a day without a shower since the day we moved, and I can't say that it's changed my personality one bit. You try washing 14" of long hair in the tub every night when you're first coming into puberty. Not every household had a shower back in those days. We weren't poor, but we surely couldn't afford a plumber.

And when I asked people back then (imagine my strength of character) "Why don't you like me", THESE were the answers they gave me (to be fair, they were all teenagers, too). I look back on that day sometimes. The group of them grew up a little over the following week, and in the end, I finally started making friends. Then my parents moved, and I had to do it all over again. I spent most of the first year comparing myself to girls who had it all together, smiled knowing smiles (probably because they were already sexually active--I remained a virgin until I turned 20--and not for lack of boyfriends, either). These girls were the ones in the cheerleading squad--ones that I KNEW I could never equal. Pretty and popular, with boys and girls alike.

I became really good friends with animals, books, music, knitting and crochet. I got involved with drama club and looked forward to the day when I could run away to college. I wanted to have friends, but you know, I still lack the social skills to CHATTER my butt off about nothing. Because most of the time, I have very little to say to people who are only out to stab me in the back eventually. Does that sound paranoid? I ask you--is it paranoia if they really are out to get you? I realize that I'm not the first to say that, but there you go--

I have one friend--who I like very much. Sadly, he took on a job that has tied up his every waking moment. Not that I would like to tie up his every waking moment, but I do like spending little bits of time here and there. He generally works from 8am to 8pm EVERYDAY. And the hours that I'm available, he's in one of THREE scheduled meetings. His calendar is a list of choices....okay...spin the coke bottle...which meeting do I want to go to, and which one is more important RIGHT NOW. He needs to be cloned at least five or six times. To this person, I can talk about all sorts of idiot things--right down to how Tepco has been lying right along (and now they're giving the report that the damage done at Fukishima is in line with Chernobyl's accident, just that the Radiation is FAR less...RIGHT, I believe that like I believe the sky is a bright fluorescent pink).



To the people of Japan, I say "If you can, GET OUT." And the people in Japan are getting angry now. They're blaming the government, who really has very little to do with it. It was Tepco and their bottom line. All Tepco can do is say "I'm sorry." Fat lot of good that's going to do! For all we know, they could have been funneling plutonium straight into the ocean just to save a few bucks to line their own pockets, and I'm willing to bet that Tepco's lobbyists have their hands in that same pocket. They are already talking about leaks, and the tunnels...the whole thing is just so frightening to me. Then I read on a blog about the dolphins and whales, and how scientists are studying the dna in dolphin snot. Yeah, you heard it right. It wasn't long before my brains started wading in more troubling waters--dolphin snot and plutonium...Can fish get cancer? Can you EAT a fish with cancer? Is Tepco responsible for literally destroying the life in the ocean? Don't give me "Oh, it loses half it's life in 8 days.." That's not what they taught us in SCHOOL. Remember School? I do--and not altogether fondly (see paragraphs above) where people are concerned, but the things I was taught back then, well, let's just say that I didn't take anything I learned there for granted, even if I forgot half of it the day I stepped out those doors with my diploma.

It's enough to make a grown girl cry. So cry I do, at every juncture. Because I am past the point of prayer. I'm told that God listens. Well, I sure as heck hope so.

No one else does.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Lester Report..

I'm sitting on the dresser next to my new mommy, keeping watch while she sleeps, and thought I would dash off a note to let you all know how I'm doing. I'm happy in my new home, and my new mommy is really small--but very loud when she's hungry! Her name is Megan. She has brown hair and blue eyes. She's only 23 inches tall, but she's bigger than I am--well, longer anyway.

I'm a very responsible bear, and I take my job seriously. I know I can't talk yet, but I can type a little, and soon enough and someday my new mommy will talk with me, and I can hardly wait. We are sure to have lots of fun together--I might even learn how to fly! Her mommy said so! So it must be so! I think I'm going to need a cape for that...but maybe her mommy will fix me up with a towel instead of my bib? That sounds like a good plan to me. What do you think, Megan. Oh, sorry...didn't realize that you were still asleep. Silly bear.

Oops. Her mommy is coming down the hall! Must turn off the computer so she doesn't see that I've been talking with the outside world!!! More later! Bye!

Lester.

Just a Bit O Lovin'

Monica is almost done. Just preparing to sew arms and legs to her torso, and she'll be ready for the runway!

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Phishing Scam Alert

I've been getting calls at my office phone number from different people trying to track down this other person, who shall remain nameless. It's a different number on the caller id every time, but it's always someone asking for this other person, who I not only do not know, but have never heard of!

I finally started asking questions of the caller...

"May I have your name, please?"
"What company are you calling from?"
and
"What is the purpose of your call?"

And I write down the number on the caller id.
I take notes (copious notes), and since it's not the first time this has happened, I am getting craftier. You see, it's a check cashing place....Cash Advance and the like...this time, the guy told me that he was calling because the person they are hunting down applied for a school loan online.

Aha. Right away, suspicions creep inside.

The next time I got a call for the same exact person, I again asked who was calling, what company it was, as before--but added a question, since it was USA Credit--and I asked for the person's social security number.

That took the caller back a BIG STEP. She replied she didn't have that information. Now how many credit companies do you know, that call places of business looking for someone who doesn't exist there (and have been told numerous times the same) and hoping for a credit reference, AND NOT HAVE THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER????

I quickly handed off the call to my supervisor this time (as directed, since before the earlier call today, he knew nothing of the matter), and he asked for similar information, and then told the caller to take the number off their list, which you would have thought that they would have done at least once the last 5 times they called me and got the response "I'm sorry but I don't know anyone by that name. You clearly have a wrong number." If not that, then at least a comment in their computer so that the computer didn't continue to call!

And so we shall see how many hangup phone calls I get on tomorrow's voice mail. I have seen information on the web that says this is a phishing scam, that it's nearly always the same number, and when a call is placed back to the originating number, it rings busy, or it clicks funny, or there's a fax attached.

Therefore, if you get a call, from ANYONE--and they don't ask for you--oh yes, you DO need to be careful as it might be a wrong number--much wrong-er than you'd like! Have the caller identify the phone number they dialed. Then just say, I'm sorry but you misdialed, as there is no one here by that name. Also, if you have an answering machine, it's best not to leave your phone number or your name on it. If you can afford it, get an unlisted number--they are safer--at least as far as hunting you down on the web is concerned. And if you can, use an alias--so that if someone "phishy" calls and asks for you by your alias, you almost know FOR CERTAIN that it's "phishy".

I wish I'd brought the phone number home with me, as I would have posted the link that identifies the caller as a phishing scammer--with all the people who have identified the number on "Who's calling me?" Caller id being such a lovely thing.

These days you can't be too careful. As the economy worsens, there will be more thieves looking for any way to part you from your money to support their drug habit. Try not to be that creature of habit that makes you feel so comfortable. Thieves are breaking into homes in broad daylight these days and are even so bold as to break in WHEN YOU ARE HOME--even smaller communities are getting raided. The police are telling people around where I live to make sure that car keys are not left on the table, or hanging by the door. In fact, take them to bed with you, and if you hear someone break in during the night, you can touch off the car alarm--it might save your butt--just that extra second or two that a thief wonders "What the **** is THAT?"

Be careful friends. Be VERY VERY careful.

Big bear Heart

And this will belong to Monica- have to stuff and finish off. Then I work the leg ruffle, attach arms, legs, and heart and she's done.

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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Progress on Monica

Here she is-well most of her anyway.

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Lester's Twin Sister...

I can't believe it, but I'm nearly done with Monica's body. The eyes, nose and ears are sewn on. The stuffing of the head has occurred. All I have to do is stuff the body and close up. Then I set her aside for a while as I make arms and legs.

I also purchased the right tool for the job of sewing together toys--a bent needle big enough for the yarn to pass through the eye, but still small enough to manage the actual sewing in smaller places. Things are so much easier when the right tool for the job is available.

No picture yet. It's not even morning yet. I'd be crocheting, were it not for this killer sinus headache. As soon as I can eat something, I'll take some sinus medication. It's such an angry headache, too. I feel like crawling back into bed, but hubby is snoring so much that I can't sleep. Then Mandy wanted out for her morning constitution. No sleep when she's got to go out. She barks about every ten minutes or so if you don't get right up and let her out. So here I am at 6am on a Sunday, when I should be sleeping in. Flippin' headache!

The good part of the sinus headache means that the trees are flowering, which means spring is nearly here, and I am so not ready. This is the time of year when hubby and I are usually at our busiest--cleaning up the yard from stuff left out last fall--such as leaves and other sundry things. The side of our lawn is a mess from all the acorns that dropped after the first snow last year, and we have some branches that came falling down that need to be cleared before we can mow. All this while we're preparing things in the barn to work on the wicker plant stands--the manufacture of these plant stands gives off a certain caustic smell. Hubby plays his music so loud that you can't think straight. I keep him company until my poor ears can't stand it anymore.

We got some movies yesterday to watch. They all have to go back today, which means that I have a trip back to the video store in my near future, and we'll be watching movies most of the day. Perhaps hubby plans to get the plant stands out of the way early this morning. Perhaps I'll wake him up now? No, let sleeping bears lie.

As for me, I think I will go read a little email. Then get something going for breakfast, then the sinus headache. These things take time. And you know how you don't want to do anything but sleep when you have a headache? Well, there you go.

So I'll close for now, and maybe a picture of Monica a bit later between movies.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Checkers Finished!

It's finished! I can't get a good picture on my head, so I took it on my knee.

Enjoy!

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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Checkers Progress

Many rows to go before I sleep, but it looks really nice.

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Monday, April 4, 2011

Next Item...

Having finished the socks, I'm going to return my efforts to the double knit hat, Checkers.

After work, my plan is to stop by my supervisor's house to say hello, then over to JoAnn's for a little bottle of Fray Check to use on Monica--some of her loops want to disappear to her insides--due to the yarn being acrylic--there are no "hooks" (as in a wool yarn) to hold it in place.

In the meanwhile, I am working my morning routine, and the dog is asking to be let back in to eat breakfast.

Now that that's done, I can resume my thoughts. I woke up wondering about my friend and supervisor from JoAnn's this morning. I'm not sure why. I'm not really excited about going into the office this morning, because I think I could use another few hours of sleep. Funny how the day job just cuts right into the body's need for rest, huh?

But I need to leave already, without having put down a single funny thing. Maybe I'll check Cnn. There's always something funny going on over there.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Project Finished!

Ok, they are done, and on the blockers. I can wear them tomorrow! Yay!

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A Little Bit of Everything...

Only in Michigan, can you rise, with the sun, cloud over in ten minutes, start to rain, change to snow, then sleet for a bit, then turn into a thunderstorm.

Yep.

Only in Michigan.


So it's been pretty noisy the last couple of hours, but I'm almost done with the toes on my socks. I might have to rip them out, because I think I may have stopped too soon--you see, I used a little negative ease, and thought I could stop my knitting at the point where my toes meet my feet--but that's turning out to be a shorter distance on the sock due to the negative ease. An inch of knitting stretching out to about 1/2 inch, means that when I put my foot in the sock, the toes won't be quite long enough. So I should have knit another 2" before starting the toes.

The jury's still out on the matter, but it's looking like I'll have to re-do the toes. Not a problem, since the toes usually go pretty quickly. It's the 2" more straight knitting that has me hoodwinked. Time will tell. I'll do a couple more decreases, then try on the sock. I'll know instantly if that's the case.

In the meanwhile, I'll make chicken for dinner and listen to the thunder.

My Redneck-Letter Day

Socks, especially hand knit socks,  do not dry well in the garage when its cold, so I hooked up a clothesline in my breakfast nook.

Is there a fashion label called "Redneck Chic?

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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Sox On the Hoof

Or paw, as it were...

Smokey models with my pair of socks vanilla pattern-RedHeart Heart n Sole Valentine colorway.

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Friday, April 1, 2011

It's Cold in Dem 'der HIlls!

My computer weather center says that it's only 27 degrees outside.

Brr.

I thought it was supposed to be SPRING by now? My body is screaming for warmer weather. It's just been weird this spring. First we had this lovely week, when it was sunny and warm, and this week, we're all cloudy and cold cold...brrrr.

Makes a body want to jump back under the covers to get warm again!

Sadly for me, I have 2 classes tonight--a crochet and a knitting class. Neither are particularly difficult, but I need to prepare, so this blog will be quite short.

It's April Food's day. A good day to draw for Tarot, to see what's going to happen--

King of Cups
9 Cups (reversed)
6 swords

Well, this tells me that my husband, who has not been very pleased with the way I've set up my retirement account, is going to travel to the Investment firm and have my funds rearranged.

Well, that's sort of dumb--I knew that last night!

Still waiting for the mechanic to call me about the loaner car--so I can bring my car in to be repaired. No word yet, and it's been an extra 3 days. I wonder if they got their air compressor fixed?

It's 6:17. Gotta go!