Idyllic Chick

On Friday after work, I mowed (part of) my lawn for the first time since I was in high school. Since when I was in high school it was technically my parents' lawn, I guess I mowed my own lawn for the first time ever! Chris and I got a brand new Husqvarna riding lawnmower the other day. 48 inches of mowing diameter, Baby! Swingin'! I can scarcely express what an independent, joyous feeling it was to tool around my very own four acres of lawn on that thing. Not only did I have the pride of ownership of both the land and the gorgeous mower, but I thoroughly scoped my property for the first time in months. I paid more attention to the trees than I ever have. I discovered a new gopher tortoise burrow. I chased a black snake into the swamp. It was delovely, delightful. And it was mine. And will be until I make the conscious decision to give it up to someone else.

Family outing in the car

...that Aaron Spelling died last month? Geez, I feel so out of the loop.

1. I enjoy watching cheerleader competitions on tv. (I thought I'd start out with a real bomb-dropper, there.)
2. I didn't get married until I was 36 years old, and I'm glad that I waited that long.
3. I play the lottery most every week. I always assume that I will win, and have very well laid out plans as to what I will do when the easy cash comes my way.
4. I weigh more now than I ever have in my life.
5. Though I gave birth to a beautiful daughter in 1986 (She was adopted), I have no desire to have children now.
6. I still miss Rob.
7. I've only been pulled over by a cop once in my life. That was this morning on my way to work. 4 points and $186.50, though I'll attend on-line driving school to negate the points.
8. Anthony Burdain rocks my socks. We have the same favorite color (Black), the same favorite band (The Ramones), and the same favorite drink (The one that happens to be in my hand at the time). I just wish I had the same adventurous pallet that he does.
9. Within the past few months I've realized that happiness truly does mean more to me than money. Within reason, of course. =)
10. If I ever leave Gainesville, I'd want to move to Atlanta.

In knitting news, I've been sewing. I spent a goodly portion of the weekend and last evening working on Nandy's belly dancing costume for her recital on Sunday. Not a tough project, except for the pattern being not exactly correct and having little to no written instructions. I need instructions, people. Lots of good instructions. Especially if one expects me to make a costume that looks like everyone else's. Seems that other ladies in the group are having trouble with their sleeves, and I can't say that I'm surprised. Anyhoo, I think it all turned out alright. Look for pictures next week!

I have been swatching for Rogue, and I think I'm going to end up going with my pre-swatching first choice. Makes me feel dim for buying two extra balls of yarn to swatch with. Balls which I thought would be fantastic but turned out to be substandard for this particular project. Chalk it up to experience gained I guess. And Chris will have a couple of extra toques this winter.

I just went to download new podcasts, and I see that Cast-On and LimeNViolet cross reference each other! I *so* want to be their friend! Eeep! Do normal women get this excited about listening to cool chick talks about knitting? Because I think I peed a little.

I plan to sew a *lot* this weekend (I work best under pressure, Nandy, I swear!), and we're going out for dinner on Saturday night. S&B on Sunday, of course. What are your plans for the weekend?

This morning at work (Btw, Schroeder is here with me and is being *very* good!) I received a job-related email from a prospective vendor. She summed up her email with these words:
'Look forward to speak with you again, will send more information and call you in two week to find out if your interested in are product.'

I don't have the best grammar in the world. I don't even have the best grammar among my group of friends. But I can't see how anyone who speaks English fluently (And I know she does because I've spoken to her on the phone.) can fail to see the difference between 'your' and 'you're' or 'are' and 'our'. Or know where to put a period instead of a comma. Is this not basic English? Do people not *read* their own emails, especially in business situations, before they click that send button?

I want to respond to her saying that we don't want to work with a vendor who can't put together a half-decently written sentence! The worst thing about it all? This woman runs a *marketing* business. Great marketing, Lady. Really.

Our little family is doing very well with our new addition. It's amazing to me that the tiny puppy we brought home just four days ago didn't even know how to climb steps yet. He conquered that task in just a few tries, and has since shown a great sense of independence and adventure. He climbs onto anything that he can, and wanders around the yard, sniffing and exploring all over. And he's such a good dog! Monty is dealing with the little guy very well. They play together a lot. Monty is still very adamant about showing his dominancy, but Schroeder already knows that his crate is a safe place to which he can escape when Monty starts being too rough on him.



We tried to socialize Schroeder as much as we could this past weekend, without overwhelming him too much. He rode nicely in the car, just sitting in his seat and watching what he could out the window. He got along very well with Zoe and Meadow, as well as with all the kids at Charlie's birthday party.



Now that he is right at home with our pack, it's time to start some real training. Housebreaking, of course, which we've been working on from day one, but in addition to that we'll start with the basic sit, stay, come. A friend lent me a copy of The Art of Raising a Puppy. I'm anxious to see what the Monks of New Skete have to say about these first steps in obedience.



And I'm very excited because tomorrow I get to take Schroeder to work with me! I love this not-so-new-anymore job!

We brought the new puppy home today, and I thought we did everything right with getting Monty accustomed to the him. We had introduced them last weekend and all seemed well. When we got home today we all took a little walk together on lead, all pack-like so that everyone knows we're a big happy family. We wandered around inside the house, then we all went outside and played together. But judging from this photo, I dunno, I'm just not sure the dogs are going to get along. ;-)

I know I shouldn't feed the troll, but this is just too damn good to ignore.

Today I received the following comment in response to this post and its earlier comment:
fan-DAM-tastical turns me off..not interested in knitting body parts..this was a ladylike pursuit until it became popular again..........those in the business would be wise not to cater to the newbies......because those of us who have been knitting 50 years or more are still here and still will be when this new fad cools down.............

I have several thoughts on this comment, and would like to share my view with you, Constant Reader. Let's take this one line at a time, shall we?

fan-DAM-tastical turns me off..
Then perhaps you should surf on over to a website that turns you on. May I suggest The Suicide Girls? They turn me on. They turn me on a lot! Oh, and 'damn' is an expletive, used to fill a vacancy in a sentence without adding content. 'Dam' is a barrier preventing the flow of water. So in the case of Lorena's comment, 'damn' is definitely the more proper word to use. Besides, using our trashy mouths like this gets me more hits.

not interested in knitting body parts..
Then don't knit them. I doubt if anyone is holding a pair of pointy sticks at your throat and screaming, 'Knit me a Snatchel, Bitch! Knit me a Snatchel RIGHT NOW!'

this was a ladylike pursuit until it became popular again..........
And I probably wouldn't have taken up the hobby if it was ladylike. Ladylike just doesn't become me and it's quite boring. I learned that at Girls' State.

those in the business would be wise not to cater to the newbies......
Those in the business would be wise to cater to people who spend money on yarn and other knitting and crocheting sundries. My brief experience has shown me that most of us newbies are willing to spend much more money on high quality yarn and beautiful needles than members of the previous knitting generation who still seem to think that scratchy acrylic yarn from Wal-Mart is the only way to go.

because those of us who have been knitting 50 years or more are still here and still will be when this new fad cools down.............Let's do the math here. Let's say you learned to knit when you were 10. If you've been knitting for 50 years, and this new fad takes 10 years to cool down, then you'll be 70. Ok, you'll still be here, but not for much longer after that. Hopefully, you'll have learned the proper use of capitalization and punctuation by then so that your living will is legible.

You know, I'm really confounded by this whole thing. You are bitching about people knitting for Christ sakes! KNITTING! Whoever you are (and I'm beginning to think that you're Joe and are just trying to fuck with me) this craft isn't yours alone. You can't arbitrate it. It doesn't belong to only those who have been knitting for 50 years. It belongs to anyone who is willing to pick up a pair of sticks and a piece of string. And the beauty of knitting, the wonder of craft, is that each and every person can make it his or her own. We are all creators, and it is not our place to tell each other what is right or wrong to create.

One of the most fulfilling things to me as a knitter is seeing my fabulous friends pick up the craft and knit along beside me. We share knitting, and beers, and gripes, and food, and joys. I would think that someone who has been knitting for 50 years would rejoice in this resurgence of the artform and the bond that it has created between the young and the old, the conservative and the liberal, the male and the female. If you don't see the delight of this, then you probably shouldn't come to any of the Stitch and Bitch groups that I attend, because you would not have a good time at all. Just stay at home, alone, trolling the 'net for other young, fun women to try to intimidate.

Thanks for the comments, Kids. Keep 'em coming. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to knitting on my licorice thong.

p.s. Have you ever noticed that it's only the negative comments that get posted anonymously? Pussies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5169344.stm

Marlo and Sean came to visit tonight, and we had a wonderful time chatting and eating lasagne and drinking beers... and playing with the puppy! While Marlo and Sean are certainly special guests, they brought along Schroeder, one of a litter of beagle/dachshund/other puppies that they are fostering. C&I wanted to see how the pup would get along with Monty because we think that it might be time to get our dog a puppy. Things went very well. C&I will dwell on things for a couple of days, but it's looking like we'll most likely have a new family member next weekend! Tee!

It's Monday morning. I'm not at work. I'm comfortably lying about in my pajamas drinking champagne. Breakfast of eggs, bacon, and homemade cinnimon rolls will be served shortly. After breakfast and a shower, Susan and I will go shopping at Jo-Anns and the yarn store. My life is so good!