The Sweater - Part III

We're in the home stretch now! I've finished the "body" and am now working on the sleeves. I got a little obsessed last weekend and worked on it for a full day, but I really do want to get it done by Thanksgiving (which is a little over 40 days away). I started thinking "dang, what am I going to do when I'm done with this project?" But I know about 3 pregnant/recent mothers that I can do stuff for.....perhaps trying my hand at booties for the first time? And of course there's always my HON stuff.....can never make too many hats, scarves or blanket squares. I'm beginning to think this is not just a passing hobby.....

London Calling

London is amazing. I'm not even sure where to begin....I managed to write 35 pages of thoughts and observations in the five days I was there. The two days leading up to the trip were stressful....flying non-rev has it's perks, but it's downsides as well. And I think my nerves got the best of me on the flight because my upset stomach kept me in Heathrow's bathroom for three hours (my nervous tummy is a constant form of fun). But after some swigs of Alka-Seltzer (thanks Rachel!), I got on my way and had a blast!

Day 1 - Got into London on the Tube ok. Had a little trouble finding the hotel, but once I did, I got my stuff up to my teeny-tiny little room and headed out into the city. Today was a walking day....no tours or visits to specific buildings. I walked to Westminster Abbey and saw Big Ben and Parliament. I walked toward Trafalgar Square and happened to be in the right place at the right time to see Charles and Camilla coming out of one of the government buildings! Trafalgar Square had some festival going on and the place was packed. Picadilly Circus wasn't as cool as I thought....it's probably better at night. Hyde Park is HUGE! The Speaker's Corner was entertaining.....after much searching, I found Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain and then walked to Kensington Palace (strange that it's just in the middle of the park). I'm surprised I made it as long as I did on that first day.....not much sleep on the plane and then the tummy troubles didn't slow me down.

Day 2 - Started the day at St. Paul's. It's breathtaking inside. And the very polite fire alarm cracked me up! I climbed all 400 steps to the top of the dome....the views were spectacular (and the climb left my legs very wobbly). I made my way across the Milleneum Bridge to Tate Modern....a bit of a disappointment. I enjoy art that I recognize and there wasn't much there. I walked along the Thames toward the London Eye. Lordy, there were a lot of joggers out there! Not sure what jobs people have that allow them to run at lunch (do all businesses come with showers for employees?)....but there are no fat Londoners. The Eye was fun, though definitely a one-time thing. St. James's park is lovely....lots of flowers and water fowl. Last stop was Buckingham Palace....just a great place to sit and people-watch (and I had to scope out my "changing of the guard" spot)

Day 3 - Trip to Windsor Castle. Once again with the mild confusion with the bus and stuff, but I got out of there and really enjoyed sight seeing from the bus. It took us an hour and twenty minutes to get to Windsor....and most of that was just getting out of London! But the houses in England are just like you see on tv and movies. The Castle is HUGE! The audio guide came free with the admission and while I don't like holding the thing to my ear, it was very informative. The Queen's Dollhouse was really neat as was the gallery of pictures of Queen Elizabeth's life. After I got back into town, I headed to the Library.....loved how they had everything you would want to see all in one room! I loved seeing all the hand-written stuff....especially the really, really old Bibles.

Day 4 - Changing of the Guard. As usual, I got there outrageously early (hey, better early than late!). It was pretty cool....but definitely a "been there, done that". Headed up to the National Gallery....another disappointment. All the works I really wanted to see were being moved. Oh well....guess I'll have to come back. Next was the tour of Westminster Abbey. Another gorgeous cathedral. The ceilings are so high....and the place is full of dead people! It's starting to hit me now that the next day is my last. I'm not ready to leave, but yet I can tell that being a tourist is beginning to wear on me....

Day 5 - Started at Covent Garden....this needs to be done later in the day....not much happening at 10am. I walk up Fleet Street toward the Tower of London. I'm to the point where I'm seeing sights that I'm only remotely interested in and I am getting tired. I finally have the traditional fish and chips (a fish stick and fries, basically). The Beefeater tour at the Tower is very good (though doesn't cover everything). The Crown Jewels are amazing and seeing a film of the Coronation is cool (Elizabeth was so young!). I had planned on walking across the Tower Bridge, but I needed to get to Westminster Abbey for Evensong, so I ended up taking my first bus ride across it instead. Evensong was more of a service than I thought, though hearing the choir in that immense building really was awesome. I rode the double-decker back to Victoria Station (and got to sit up top and in the front!). I grabbed some last-minute stuff at the shops in the station and then just watched people for awhile. It was hard to tear myself away and head to my hotel....I knew this was it.

This was truly an amazing trip. There were advantages and disadvantages to going solo....not sure one way is better than the other. I wish I could travel overseas again next year....but buying a house comes first. I will find a way to take a long weekend somewhere here in the States though....this traveling thing is just too much fun!!

I'm 'a leavin'....on a jet plane.....

London, here I come!

Saturday is the big day. My first trip over that big pond and I must say I'm a bit nervous about it. I'm mostly anxious about the first day.....will I get on a flight? Can I find an ATM? Will I be able to figure out the Tube? How will I do all by myself in a strange city? I figure if I can get to my hotel and set out, after that I will be just fine.

The whole walking around the city and taking everything in excites me to no end! You might as well stamp "TOURIST" in big, bold letters on my forehead...I really don't intend to hide the fact. I plan on setting a world record on how many pictures one person can take in 5 days (I'm sure some Japanese tourist holds the current record). "Oh look! A London pigeon!" "Oh look! A London tulip!" "Oh look! A London homeless person!" Yes, it really is going to be that bad.

This trip is a true venture outside my comfort zone. All decisions are up to me. No one to bounce ideas off of. And I'll have to talk to strangers...can't send someone to do it for me. And I'll have to work at not getting lonely....it would be nice to be able to turn and say "Isn't this fun?" to someone I'm sharing this with. But I believe that this will be a great learning experience I'm hoping for a confidence boost and that I learn a little something about myself in the process. It takes courage to travel overseas by yourself. I deserve a little pat on the back just for trying!

I will not burn the day away.....

The Sweater - Part II

Just moving right along on the old sweater. I'm almost done with the "body" of it....I'm making it longer than the pattern calls for. I think once I get that done, the rest will go quickly. I work on it when I get bored at work (shhhhh! Don't tell anyone....) and, at this rate, I should have it done by Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I have been neglecting my hat-making responsibilities...with cold weather around the corner, I should perhaps whip a few of those out.

Anyway, here is the progress thus far:

Are you ready for some football??

There are many reasons that fall is my favorite time of year: I like cool weather.....the leaves are so pretty.....sweaters and jeans make me happy.....I get to sleep with my windows open.....and, finally, football begins! There's not much that beats sitting on the couch on Sunday afternoon watching my team play. My team being the Chiefs (or "Cheeps", as I called them when I was three). The boys in red haven't been to a Super Bowl since 7 months before I was born.....so I'm thinking they're due.

Chiefs fans are faithful fans (you have to be with the statistic above). We have no room or tolerance for the bandwagon fan. You're either in or you're out. And most fans are actually from Kansas City. I'm always a little surprised (but delighted) when I find a fan that has never lived there. Most of us were just born this way.....I think they make you sign a contract before they let you go home from the hospital. (It should be noted that my sister is not a fan. She was born outside of Chicago. Enough said.)

So the Chiefs kick off the season hosting Cincinnati this Sunday. I will show my pride by wearing my appropriate red home jersey this Friday ("Red Friday" for those that don't know). And you can find me at Jonathon's at noon on Sunday.....I'll be the one yelling "GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!"

The Sweater

I am a knitting and crocheting nut (which sends my geek factor off the charts). I learned to crochet about 10 years ago from a co-worker. I made an afghan and then nothing else (short attention span). I picked it back up about two years ago and learned to knit in the meantime. I've done several scarves and hats for myself, two really nice ponchos, a fancy wrap and now have decided to venture into my first sweater. So far it's going pretty well. I did mess up the directions after about 10 rows and had to undo the whole thing *sob*.....but now it's looking like it's supposed to. I have no idea how long it's going to take me....I'm hoping to have it finished by Christmas (Merry Christmas to me!). What's amazing is that the airlines let you take crochet hooks and knitting needles on the plane. A bottle of shampoo is deadly, but a sharp size 5 crochet hook capable of taking out an eye is perfectly fine. Not that I'm complaining....it's nice to have the option of reading or crafting. So now I can geek out in airports and on planes as well as in my own home.

But I don't keep all these great handmade items for myself (that would really make me the crazy crochet lady). I am part of a group that knits and crochets hats, scarves and blankets for the needy. My expertise is adult hats....I can whip one out in about an hour. I've had tons of fun mixing colors together......Nashville's homeless won't have boring hats! Others in our group do baby hats for the newborns at General Hospital and we're about to start making blankets for any group we can find who needs them (homeless shelters, nursing homes, etc.). What's exciting is all the new knitters that have come to our meetings to learn. I bet we've taught close to 10 people how to knit. The more geeks we can create, the better we feel!

Anyway, back to the sweater.......here is what it looks like today.



I will post updates as needed.....and then the whole wonderful thing when it's finished!

Does this happen in the real world?

I rented "Must Love Dogs" because what single woman looking for love doesn't love a good "single woman looking for love" movie? Right off the bat, Sarah, the now single woman, is surrounded by people who are trying to set her up with men. This happens a lot in movies and on television.....single people are always bombarded with friends and family trying to help them find the love of their lives. My question is......does this happen to REAL single people? Because it sure as hell doesn't happen to me. I have been trying for YEARS to get anyone and everyone I know to set me up with men. And no one ever does. They all tell me they don't know anyone (or wouldn't subject me to the ones they do know). Is there something I'm doing wrong or is this just another thing that makes for a good screenplay but doesn't reflect the real world? (or do I need to pretend that I don't want to be set up, therefore causing everyone in my life to want to do the opposite??)

SET ME UP.....PLEASE!!! (and if he looks like John Cusack, even better!)

Green thumb? Not so much....

I took my $50 gift card to Home Depot and bought plants. I plan on buying a home next year and it's time for me to learn how to take care of various vegetation so that my yard won't look pitiful. So far I am failing miserably. My first victim was a ground cover plant that looks completely fried. The care instructions say "full sun" but now I'm not so sure. I have repotted it and we'll see if it comes back. Next is an African Violet I brought to work. Ok, these are supposed to be impossible to kill! But I think I overwatered it. The leaves still look good....but the flowers are completely gone. Hopefully I have not sent it to it's maker. The third and final victim (so far) is a yellow mum. Again, the instructions say "full sun" but the flowers are almost all dried up. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong! As an environmentalist, it is quite disconcerting that I can't get my little green friends to stay alive for me. I feel like Charlie Brown and his Christmas tree....."I've killed it! Everything I touch gets ruined!"

Going in the right direction

Time to give myself a little pat on the back....

Like many Americans, I managed to get myself pretty deep in credit card debt. Unfortunately, I didn't have a whole lot to show for it....no fancy furniture or wonderful vacations.....mostly just impulse buys at Wal-Mart. Quite sad, really. At one time, I was over $18,000 in debt. Yikes! If I didn't get my spending under control soon, I was going to find that my credit card payments were higher than my rent.

I have slowly been paying it down....sometimes still charging things, but I haven't gone above the previous month even once. My debt is now down to $5,400. Yippee!! To some people, that's still a lot.....to me sometimes that is still a lot. But it's all on one card (0% apr) and my minimum payments are only $112 a month (I make bigger payments than that most months). I cannot WAIT until that figure goes under $100 a month. And won't it be nice when I can spend that $100 on something else each month? It will be like winning the lottery! I see fancy furniture and wonderful vacations in my future (paid in cash, of course!)

Paranoid much?

Should I be at all worried that the entire Outreach department is in a closed door staff meeting and I wasn't informed? I keep waiting for the day when they figure out how very little I do around here....maybe they finally have and this is their way of saying "you're on your way out, so you don't need to come to meetings anymore"

Of course, the other reaction I have is being slightly miffed that they forgot me. Thanks guys....love you too.....

BAAAAA!

So, I'm creating a blog....cause everyone else is doing it. I haven't even decided what kind of stuff I will talk about.....or whether I will tell anyone I know that I'm doing this. I was inspired by another blogger, a professional, if you will. Heather B. Armstrong has had me addicted to her website for a week now (needless to say I didn't get much work done). I am sure I will not be as candid as she is....only because that's not really who I am (and she gets a lot of hate mail.....which I just really don't feel like dealing with). But I do like how she writes about the day-to-day stuff....so that's what I will probably do.

Right now I'm watching as glorious lightning and thunder producing storms are going all around us. What is it with Nashville and the weather? Storms and snow avoid us like the plague. If only I could move about 30 miles in ANY direction....but, instead, I stay in Nashville proper and watch as our neighbors to the north, south, east and west get all the good stuff. *sigh*