Thursday, December 25, 2008

Thu
25
Dec
2008

A Holiday Poem I Have to Share

Knitter's Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
There was unfinished knitting not under the tree,
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'Cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
But I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep---he was no help at all.
And the sweater for him was 6" too small.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash.
Tripped over my yarn and fell down in my stash.
The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how far I still had to go.

When out on the lawn I heard such a noise,
I was sure it would wake up both Dad and the boys.
And although I was tired--my brain a bit thick,
I knew in a moment that it must be St Nick.

Yet what I heard left me very perplex-ed
For nothing I heard was what I expect-ed.
"Move Rowan! Move Patons! Move Koigu and Clover!
Move Shelridge! Move Starmore! Move Spinrite!
Move over!

Lopi, don't circle around, just stand there in line.
Pay attention you sheep and you'll work out just fine!
I know this is hard as it's just your first year
But I'd hate to go back to 8 tiny reindeer."

I peered over the sill. What I saw was amazing:
Eight wooly sheep on my lawn all a-grazing!
And then in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's big boots stomping on the porch floor.

I rose from my knees and got back on my feet.
As I turned around, St Nick I did meet.
He was dressed all in wool from his heat to his toe
And his clothes were hand knit from above to below.

A bright Fair Isle sweater he wore on his back.
And his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His hat was a wonder of bobbles and lace
A beautiful frame for his rosey red face.

The scarf on his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
On the back of his mitts was an intricate cable.
And suddenly on one I spotted a small label:

"S.C." in duplicate on the cuff.
So I asked, "Hey, Nick, did YOU knit all this stuff?"
He proudly replied, "Ho, ho, ho, yes I did.
I learned how to knit when I was just a kid."

He was chubby and plump, a well dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself, for I'd thought up a plan.
I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew, he was tied to a chair.

He spoke not a word, but looked down in his lap
Where I had laid my needles and yarn for a cap.
He began then to knit, first one cap then 2--
For the first time I thought I might really get through.

He put heels in the stockings and toes in some socks,
While I sat back drinking a scotch on the rocks.
Quickly like magic his needles they flew,
Good Grief! He was finished by two!

He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
I heard him explain as he sailed past the moon,
"Next year, start your knitting sometime around JUNE!"

-Author Unknown

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Tue
16
Dec
2008

Need to Start Rethinking My Priorities

You Are 38% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression




Your habits are pretty on par with the average person. Unfortunately, this means your chances aren't good in another Great Depression.

Start saving your money now. Living in debt isn't doing you any favors. Also figure out how to live a little more cheaply. Every little bit you can trim will help.

Could You Survive Another Great Depression?



With the economic recession this country is facing and the layoffs, fewer hours and no usual end-of-year crunch (and the resulting overtime hours) at work, I've been really contemplating how I would cope if I suddenly lost everything. We've managed to squeak by if one or the other of us lost a job, but as we both work at the same company now, if it goes under, we're royally screwed. It's one of the reasons I've been wanting to find employment elsewhere. The problem? My whole industry is in the same boat and nobody is hiring anyone new.

I watched Kit Kittredge: An American Girl last night (totally didn't know it was about a girl in the Great Depression) and then this morning came across the above quiz on Bug's blog, An Indian Summer. The quiz asked things like "Do you own a weapon?" or "Do you grow your own food?" or "Can you get around to shops and work by bike, public transportation, or walking?" Sadly, my answer to a lot of really important questions was no. I can't grow food where I live now. First, I wouldn't trust anything that came out of this measly dirt plot to be edible and the raccoons would destroy what little harvest I could manage. Where would we go if the park owners suddenly closed up shop and ordered us all to leave?

I sit here looking at all the unnecessary crap I own and feel guilty for not saving money. Marcus and I have already cut out a lot of needless bills such as only having basic dish service and no home phone. I was doing good there for a while of weeding out stuff I don't use or need anymore, only to replace it with more. Marcus and I want to move eventually, but I don't want to move all of this junk.

How would I cope if I no longer had Internet access or electricity to operate my computer. I have all of my recipes stored on here with very few of them printed out. I pacify my emotional turmoil with shopping for needless crap or getting Starbucks. There at the peak of job dissatisfaction, I was getting 5 chai lattes a week.

I know I'm rambling, but I guess what I'm getting at is I need to set new priorities and get my life into a manageable state. We really are facing a time of great turmoil and transition. I am worried about the future of the America we all knew and loved and feel that this globalization movement will take away our freedom we enjoyed as Americans. This sudden "bailing out" of everybody and his cousin is going to collapse our dollar. I fear we're in for some rough, unpleasant times.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Mon
15
Dec
2008

Still Around

Dang, I didn't realize it had been over a month since my last post. So much for posting every day in November. *sigh*

Well, between work kicking my ass and getting a cough that was lingering and just making me feel generally icky, I wasn't in much of a blogging mood. Top it off with my laptop screen dying (I usually made posts from the laptop while watching television), posts just weren't going to happen. Oh, well...not like I had anything interesting to say, anyway. (It would have just been sickness and crappy work rants.) Marcus scrounged up an old screen from a broken laptop and I'm back in business. Hopefully some interesting things to blog about will occur.

We went on our annual Christmas tree hunt a little over a week ago. Marcus and I went down to Colorado Springs the night before and stayed in a hotel so he wouldn't have to rush to get ready and go down there. It was definitely a good plan on his part. Getting him up early is a freakin' nightmare. Pictures are in the Christmas Tree Hunt 2008 gallery. I need to get my butt in gear and decorate it. I also need to get my Christmas shopping started. I have no purchased one. single. gift. Lame, even for me.

Marcus got me my Christmas gift early. I'll post about that in the morning after I snap some pics. I just have to say that he is the most awesomest man in the entire world.

We have had record-breaking cold the last couple of days (and maybe even possibly tomorrow if the overnight temp is lower than -8°F). The temp dipped to -19°F last night. I shudder to think what the wind chill was. I know it was still in the single digits all day today while I was out running errands. The planning forecast on 9News says we might reach 40 by Thursday. Wow, a heat wave. There go any plans of putting up outside lights this year. Probably ain't gonna happen.

So, the cough is gone and my laptop is functioning again. Let's see if more frequent posting occurs.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thu
13
Nov
2008

I’m Sick

Ugh, my throat hurts, I was up most of the night and I'm coughing. I think I've got my first official illness of this cold season. Blah! It's going to be a long day at work.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Wed
12
Nov
2008

Henna Hair

Well, I did it. I put henna in my hair tonight. I'll wait and see what it looks like in a couple of days, but so far not really impressed. It may be because I can still see the dye on my scalp. It did cover my gray, though, which is what I was originally going for. It was a lot of trouble since I had to do it alone and was really hard to get it on my hair. The stuff is really thick, heavy and SMELLY. I ended up getting it all down my neck and on my ears and forehead. They're tinged a little orange right now. Hope that fades soon. LOL

For future reference (if I do end up liking how this looks), I bought the stuff from a web site called Henna for Hair.