Leaves Of Change

I was just walking back from the library and I noticed that some of the trees are starting to change color. Fall is an incredible time. My hand are always cold - which means my rings never fit properly. The smell in the air is different from all summer. More of an earthy type air.

Fall is football, squash, curry, costumes, orange, browns and golds. Fall is the death of green and the hibernation of folliage.

While working on cleaning up the side of the house and building a wood shed (I'm freaking tired as all get out from all the work this past weekend) I found these two critters. Anyone know what the brown one is? I think the spider is a very large Orb Weaver.

Reasoning With The Devil

Last night the question of the "purpose" of a blog came up. Is it to bitch? To journal for the world. I've totally asked this question before. Ranting? Day dreaming? I say all of the above. And whom ever finds the will or time to read it - should enjoy.

What is going on here. In this neck of the woods? Well our budget is crap and last Thursday (for those of you NOT in New Mexico) our director came out and said that they are making plans for a RIF (reduction in force). Up to 2500 people. The idea of getting rid of people or laying off doesn't scare me too much. The idea of what my house will be worth when 2500 are let go does. I'll have a house that isn't worth 1/8th what I paid for it. How long will I be forced to live in this town until I can sell it?

Last night we were looking at jobs elsewhere. It makes me very nervous to take a job somewhere else and have a mortgage here. Although there was a job for someone on oil drilling platoforms. Moving around the world, out on those deep-sea-rigs .... sounds dreamy to me!

Lately there has been a large influx of praying mantises at the house. I've taken a bunch of photos - but have yet to upload them.

Also, I've watched a bit of the food network and want to know ... why is it that the British lady has the most amazing vocabulary out of all the other cooks? I like to just listen to her show for her verbal conquest of the English language. Any ideas on how to buff up ones arsenal?

Gardening

I was out getting veggies from the garden and from the fruit trees when I found this. Amazing. I love to see how things will grow one way or another. Nothing can really stop them! The peaches are flawless and smell amazing. I like to rub the soft fuzzy outside skin on my face.

Travels

Mike got home very late last Wednesday night. I was at the airport for ours (which normally doesn't bother me ... except for what the sign said). As you can see there was no real information and I wasn't sure if they were going to be landing at any minute or not. He was on the Atlanta flight. I've never actually seen a message like this. Turns out, this is what ABQ puts on the signs when there is lightning and planes can't land. Really informative!




Friday morning (very early 4AM). We went to San Antonio to hang out with my brother and his family. We saw their new property, went to the river walk, and went to Sea World. It was a fast and fun trip! His wife is incredibly sweet as are his girls. It was also pretty interesting to watch my brother as a dad. Not often I get to see him be the responsible one.

Pearly Whites

I went to the dentist yesterday. Yes ... I do love getting my teeth cleaned. Hmmmm ... clean teeth. Anyway ... I had both the cleaning lady and the dentist tell me I have beautiful perfect teeth. I've never really thought of my teeth as "perfect or beautiful". Do people get them saying this as well? I just want to know if they are blowing smoke up my behind.

So tarter builds up on my teeth very quickly (which is why I go in all the time to get them cleaned). The new cleaning lady told me something very interesting. One of the main ingredients in toothpaste is a type of wax. The wax is great for taste (which is why they add it - and took out soap). Historical Note: [Until after 1945, toothpastes contained soap. After that time, soap was replaced by other ingredients to make the paste into a smooth paste or emulsion - such as sodium lauryl sulphate, a common ingredient in present-day toothpaste.]But, after about a week of wax building up on your teeth ... they become a bit sticky and stuff sticks to them, such as tarter. She recommended going to just regular soap. "Try brushing with mint soap for a couple of weeks and see the amount of tarter build up you have." So ... I'm trying it. The first brushing was terrible. I thought I was going to toss my cookies. But, it has been better since. I'm interested to see if it works. I'll keep all those interested people posted.

UPDATE: I am using Dr. Bronner's Mint Soap . Which is actually what she recommended. She is said the bar soap with just a couple of rubs of your toothbrush ... or a TINY bit of the liquid. Last night I put TOO much liquid on and I thought that my inners were going to come up. This morning ... a tiny bit and I was much better!

Los Alamos Tri

Saturday was the 33rd annual triathlon here in Los Alamos. Erin, Dana, Ellie and I did it. It was quiet an experience. We had not tried doing each of the events one after the other. So, the day of was a bit ... I'd have to say fun. My legs felt like jello and the run was by far the hardest for me.

We did it in ~2 hours. It was something like 50 minutes for the bike (20k), 15 minutes for the swim (400 meters), and 35 minutes for the run (5k). The rest of the time was trying to get clothing on or off or just breathing very heavy. Running in wet clothing is not only uncomfortable ... but unflattering as well(not the picture is AFTER the race ... we totally should have done a pre photo). Next time we are going to need some other clothing.

Thanks for a great time ladies! Shall we do the Vegas 1/2 marathon next?


A few more notes. First a HUGE thanks to Avivah for coming out and supporting us. The Knit and Bitch sign just rocked. And running or biking with people yelling your name ... makes me feel like a super star!

I also read in the paper that for our age groups these were the placements:Dana took 15th, Erin 16th, Me 17th and Ellie 26th. Sucks for Ellie that she was in a different age bracket than us. She would have been like 13th in our age group.

YIKES!

I saw this article the other day. I just can't belive that someone could live with a pencil stuck in their head! I'll say it again. YIKES!

Busy Weekend

This weekend crazy busy. Wednesday I wasn't feeling very well. Thursday I took a sick day to rest up. Of course I had to go to knitting Thursday night (and I was feeling a bit better by then). Friday morning we left to drive to Las Cruces (to spend the night with Mike's family). We left at 5AM to drive out to Tucson to get Mike's cycle (which cost an arm and a leg to fix). We drove back the same day (something like an 8 hour drive). Today was all about getting stuff together and working on the bathroom. We got a load of tiling done and did a bunch of work in the back yard.

Also, saw two good movies; Black Snake Moan & Melinda and Melinda. Both of them were better than I would have ever thought.

The other photo is from the weekend before when Colleen and Dave brought the boys down for a visit. I took them for a speedy ride on the scooter. This is a picture of Ian and me.

Punk

When I was much younger... I'd say I was really into punk. Not until recently have I really started listening to it again. Old school punk is not like what punk is now (or even in the 90's). Old punk was more pop with an edge. You felt bad for just listening to it. It was a pretty good feeling actually. My new found love is Wreakless Eric (Whole Wide World). If you haven't heard it ... Please give it a try.

The song actually makes me want to jump on a plane to anywhere ... And do anything.

Summer Hair

I have had it up to HERE with my hair these days. I want something not the same old same old .... so I went to Dana's hair cutting place. Told the lady what I wanted. Asked for pink highlights ..... and this is what I got. I rather like it. Thanks Dana! I now feel ready for summer. Wait ... is it half over?

You can't see that the back is very short ... I wish i had longer arms!

Weekend Dye Job

I have this lovely top that I made the mistake of wearing while dumping mulch on the garden. It has had these stains that just wont come out. Thinking I just couldn't part with the top I used a box of Rit dye and it is now a gorgious blue top.




Cooking Club was this weekend. It was Mini Food. My the foods you can make mini. I made a loaf of small bread in the shape of hearts, stars and flowers. Then put some meat product (didn't taste and NOT interested) and veggies. The veggie ones were delicious!

11 Things

I just read the 11 things woman should know about men. I'm not sure I agree with any of them.

1. Getting angry at us for not reading your mind is like getting angry at yourself for not being able to fly. It's not just futile, it's physically impossible.
2. Yes, we do think Jessica Alba is hot. Sometimes we're even dumb enough to admit it.
3. Don't ask us to understand your shoe fetish. Asking us to respect it is even sort of pushing it.
4. You do look good without makeup, just not as good as you look with it.
5. Ever notice how we don't fight with our male friends? That's why we get so frustrated when we fight with you.
6. You care what you're wearing infinitely more than we do. In fact, if you're naked when you open the front door, you won't hear an argument from us.
7. You don't like to get hit on in public, you don't want to date online and you don't want to be set up on blind dates. Tell us if sending messenger pigeons is an appropriate way of courting. Because if it is, we're all over it.
8. There should a statute of limitations on stupid things that we said that can come back to haunt us. I propose 24 hours.
9. Cooking dinner for a man is like buying flowers for a woman, except it takes a lot more time, effort and thought for you to do it. Thanks. We appreciate it.
10. We actually like your girly pet-names for us, but please, not in front of the guys!
11. Just because we like looking at the women in Maxim doesn't mean we want to actually converse with the women in Maxim. Not for long, anyway.
12. Your nice guy friends are the most reliable source for telling you if your new boyfriend's a jerk. And he probably is. (By the way, you might want to consider marrying that nice guy who's giving you advice about the jerk.)

Potter & Weekend

In an attempt to finish a book right near the arrival of the new Harry Potter ... I started The Time Machine (which was too tough to get through) and finished Fangs For The Memories. I was hoping to draw the novel out longer. But, it seems that my ability to read Supernatural Romance (which is what this fell under) is pretty fast. I was going to start yet another trashy novel ... but decided to take it up - just a bit. I'm reading a chick-lit novel (which of course if fluff to most people) but at least there wont be any graphic sex scene or neck bitting.

On other news, I saw Harry Potter yesterday. They took a book that was second rate (and by far my least favorite of the series) and made it into a really good movie. I'm totally impressed.

Bowling Et. Al.

Here is a summary from Arizona. The golf course at the resort. AMAZING. The large moth I saw on my last day while getting a coffee. The cowboy/western town where they had "real" cowboys and these cut outs ... which I love. Bowling ... where I scored my lifetime high score (94) and Kate and I worked on our model pose. I think she has it down a bit better than I. Of course there is also the greatest Mouser photo of all time!

I'm happy to be home though. Friday at work was a bit crazy. Seems there were lots of questions/problems that needed dealing with. The cats were also SUPER happy to have us home (after knocking everything off the dresser and desk ... breaking a flower pot).


Now the count down to when I get to see Harry Potter in the theater and the final book.

Arizona Mini Golf

During this trip we went to a great mini golf place - actually called Magic Carpet .... but the sign was a bit broken (as was much of the course). But, talk about fun! Cockroaches the size of silver dollars and adventure around each bend. Not to cause problems -- but I won, even if Phil says it was a tie. The golfers were: Mouser, Mike, Kate, Phil ... and myself.

Photos of bowling coming tomorrow.

Oldies

When I hear the oldies station on the radio ... it reminds me of my father. It reminds me of my childhood .... and I can't help but smile!

Short Books

I was reading The Time Machine, a sci-fi classic which I have never read before. I couldn't do it. I was 3/4 of the way into the tiny book and I couldn't finish. I put it down. I understand that it was probably out of this world when it was written ... but now ... terrible! Tough to even read. I thought I'd look for another short book ... but decided on yet another vampire book to tide the time over until the next Harry Potter book shows up.

Not to everyone who is interested ... I'm really hoping Harry dies. I really can't see any other descent end to the story. He can't beat the Dark Lord again.

Sparklers Anyone?

An evening of grilling and sparklers. It was a lovely 4th of July. Courtney and her roommate came over. I've never seen anyone put more meat down than her roommate. I'd say she'd give Mouser a run for his money - which is saying a lot. Karin, Susan and Carol hang out through the fire works. While Andrew hung out for the bocce and then left.

As for my bocce .... I had my arse handed to me. I have no idea if I had way too many appletinis or what ... but I couldn't win a round if there was no lights and I was standing next to the white ball (which happened).

4th of July

Oh the 4th. Fireworks (okay for me that is sparklers), a bit of rain (even though it is New Mexico), cooking way too much food (including my best pie), and prepping drinks (on a hot day there is nothing better).


I picked strawberries and rhubarb for my pie. Of course I didn't have enough berries and had to buy some ... but the fresh flavor should be lovely!


The cut outs in the top are of a flower and gnomes. Summer just isn't summer without gnomes!

Oh Bend

Bend has been vomiting for the past week or so. Maybe a bit longer. He ate something funny and we've changed the cats to a hairball dry food. I took him in to the vet yesterday and they said that he was blocked with poo. The poor guy has been vomiting because there is no other way for stuff to come out. He went from 11.5 pounds down to 10.2. And was SUPER dehydrated. They gave him a cat enema and sent him home. He has now been pooing a lot and is really not feeling too good. Avivah was saying that her kitty was happy to have it done. Bend ... is not. He is super sad. He slept wrapped in my arms all night and would wake up crying. I feel so bad for the little guy. I think I'm going to spend the weekend keeping a very close eye on him.

Endangered Species Act

There are a lot of things that the government has tried to "save the planet". Or even just to do their part in the saving. A lot of the stuff I think is total and complete crap that someone came up with just to say they are green. When really they know nothing of being green. This morning, while listening to NPR I heard that the bald eagle is coming off the endangered species list. This is wonderful news. It shows that if you protect things and stop acting like asses ... it is possible for once nearly extinct animals to survive. What a great thing to have announced before the 4th of July!

Organizing Ones Life

I currently have a number of projects that are partially done. And I don't sleep well at night sometimes because of it. As when I was a child and had to organize my stuffed animals to make sure that they each got a fair share of sleeping with me (yes ... I had a list of names and nights to sleep with each animal), I feel that my life needs a bit more organization. For some this would be over the top anal. For me ... it just feels right.

Yesterday I sorted yarn and some closet stuff. I've noticed I have a lot of crap ... which needs to be cleaned. This week I fully intend to organize and clean like a little machine.

On another note, I've started reading The Time Machine. It is a sci-fi classic I guess ... but the real reason I picked it off the shelve was the size. It is a very short novel and I want to be ready when my new Harry Potter book shows up. During the last Harry Potter everyone was talking about it and giving crap away ... and I was still finishing up my current novel. Not this time! I'll be ready.

Beam Me Up

I just found a great job ad. I wonder if you stay for this study if they will put you in the list for the trip to Mars? I wonder if by the time they go to Mars if the people in this study would be too old?

Weather Man

Watched The Weather Man last night. It is a dark comedy that sort of leaves you wonder WTF. The best part of the film is about camel toes though. A young girl is called camel toe by her peers and her father (Nicholas Cage) is trying to see if she knows what they are saying. When asked what she thinks the name camel toe means the little girl says ... as closely as I can remember, "They call me camel toe because camel toes are tough and strong and can withstand the heat of the desert. I'm tough and strong." Classic I tell you! The movie is worth watching for this!

Birthday Weekend

We had a very large push this weekend to finish as much of the bathroom as possible. Mike will be on travel for a large portion of the summer - and getting the bathroom in working order has been driving us both nuts.

Here are some photos. First there is my birthday cake. Oh it was very nice!

Then there are bathroom photos. We finished the shower bottom, tiled the rest of the floor, grout. Then of course you can see the bathroom in more of a working order. Toilet is now working and the sinks are now working. THANK GOODNESS!

The last photo if of Moab and her thoughts on the new bathroom. She has been crawling around non-stop!

32 & Kicking

Today is my glorious birthday. It has been great thus far and I can't wait to go home and scan in some of the cards people have given me. I'm thinking about working 1/2 a day and then sitting by the pond in town and knitting. Then hooking up with the girls for a bit of Knit and Bitch tonight. For dinner .... mac and cheese (of course). With a bit of cake I think. Not sure yet.

More on the exciting life of POTKU to come!

Weekend News

A four day weekend is always welcome. Although I did go into work on Friday ... it was for a short period of time. We got a bit done on the bathroom - not enough to really talk about. I finished a knitting project, planted my garden, dug up a stump, cleaned the den, fertilized and trimmed the indoor plants, and relaxed. All in all ... a very nice weekend.

We also watched Pan's Labyrinth. Not to give anything away - but I thought it ended happily, Mike on the other hand thought it was very very sad. I guess it all stands on how you approach fairy tales .... and I for one ... LOVE THEM!

Jemez 1/2 Marathon

Kate, Dana and I finished the Jemez 1/2 marathon on Saturday. Turns out that first, the course was longer than 13 miles. And ... we made a wrong turn and added a good 35 minutes on to the run. It was a lovely run though. We started at 7 am and it was cool out. We never got too hot, the aid stations were great, and the other runners were lovely as well. I think we will probably do it again next year - but we may actually pay more attention to the directions :).

I Love It

This was sent to me.
Here's a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little 5-year-old girl and some construction workers that makes you believe that we CAN make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house next door to a vacant lot. One day a construction crew turned up to start building a house on the empty lot. The young family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in all the activity going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers. Eventually the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more or less adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they had coffee and lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs to do here and there to make her feel important.

At the end of the first week they even presented her with a pay envelope containing a couple of dollars. The little girl took this home to her mother who said all the appropriate words of admiration and suggested that they take the two dollar "pay" she had received to the bank the next day to start a savings account.

When they got to the bank, the teller was equally impressed and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own pay check at such a young age. The little girl proudly replied, "I worked last week with the crew building the house next door to us.

"My goodness gracious," said the teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"

The little girl replied, "I will if those assholes at Home Depot ever deliver the fucking sheet rock..."

Definition of Geek?

Today while walking back to the office with a hot cup of coffee I saw what I would swear to be the definition of a geek. Please do correct me if I'm wrong.

A 40 year old man walking slowly with his backpack on. This backpack isn't just a regular backpack, but a backpack that is a three dimension stuffed Yoda. I'm not sure if this was a fashion statement or his method for getting chick, but either way I believe it equals geek.

Sprinkler

We returned from our trip to find the sprinkler on the garden going. It is suppose to water for 15 minutes every morning .... We got home at 4pm. When I asked Karin - turns out it was watering nonstop while we were gone. I can't wait to get our next utility bill .... but at least the radishes seem to like it!

Bamma Trip

Photos from our Alabama trip. The art work was amazing. Friday night there was a storm like nothing I've been in ..... And of course ... a photo of Mike going fast.

We had a great time. The drive wasn't very bad and the cats LOVED the motor home. What can I say ... they are little traveling machines!

Bathroom Update

It has been a while. Figure I'll post photos for people to see. I can't wait to get back from this trip so that we can finish it up!

You Suck - Moore Rocks

I just finished You Suck ... by my favorite author, Christopher Moore. On page 190 one of the best quotes from any of his books.

" With the exception of the odd serial killer, and car salesmen who think of them as the perfect unit for measuring trunk space, nobody likes a dead whore. ("Yeah, you can get five-maybe six dead hookers in this baby.")"

Moore is my favorite!

Miles & Miles

I've been running every day during the week and taking one day off (this past week it was Saturday). So - on Sunday I did 7.5 miles of trails (PAINFUL!). And then did 3.5 before yoga on Monday. Tuesday was another 3.5 during the day and 3 at night for the Pace Race ... how I hope to my large smurf guardian that the people from the newspaper taking photos did NOT get my photo in there. I was going to run today ... but just couldn't do it. Legs of jelly. So ... I'm taking today off. I'll run the rest of the week - and this weekend I'll probably do 8 to 9 miles ... most likely straight up the ski hill.

I think about miles. I dream about miles. I think ... this 1/2 marathon wont be as bad as I previously thought!

Spring Is In The Air - And Wind

It has been very very very windy here lately. Windy and stormy and yet ... the bulbs are still trying to come up. I can't wait until it gets a bit warmer and spring has moved into summer.

Download Generation

I noticed the other day that I believe I have musical ADD. Being part of the download generation - or would that be the current generation I find myself less of a musical connoisseur than I used to be. Case in point. It used to be that you would hear a good song. It would stick in your head until you couldn't stand it. You would buy the album. Listen to it once, focusing on the song you loved. And then listen to it over and over. With each listen you would find something else you liked. A new song a new riff. And then you would spend time reading the lyrics, reading about the artist, learning about the person that made this wonderful music for you. I still have vinyl albums because of this. They open wide. I can see all the art work.

Now-a-days though ... I hear a song I like. I download it. I may listen to the other songs by that artist that were high downloads, I might even listen to a couple not recommended. But, I hardly ever buy a full album. I can now hear a song and know I own it, know I love it, know that I've downloaded it - but I couldn't tell you who sang it or wrote it.

I feel like part of my musical heart and soul has been lost with this new mp3 download era.

Snacktastic

Found this link with great photos.

Running Running Running

I've decided to run the Jemez Mountain 1/2 marathon coming up in May. Of course I'm not a fan of running on trails and have not trained for a 1/2 in a while. Given that it is like 5 weeks away I need to increase my miles quickly. I went out and did 3.5 in the wind last night ... and am now hoping that by May there is not a breeze to be seen.

The plan is 5 miles this weekend, 7 miles (4/22), 8 miles (4/29), 10.5 miles (5/6), and 11 or 12 on (5/13). Crazy ... maybe ... but what the heck.

Spring Fever!

The bulbs are up, it has been warm ... and now it is back to being cold again. I don't mind it cold - but I wish that the weather would be more conducive to working outside. The lawn was mowed this weekend and some of my garden seeds are coming up (spinach, radishes, peas, cabbage, broccoli). This morning it was overcast again and I love the rain and drizzle .... now if it were just a tad bit warmer for the plants and fruit trees ...... I'd be happy.

Better World

One of the things that my father really pushed on my brother and I was to leave the world a better place after we are gone. He reasoning was nothing major. Nothing huge. Small things. Small things that add up over time. An example would be buying a house and fixing it up. So, that when you are done - it is nicer for the next person. Giving money to a homeless shelter. Volunteering. That type of thing.

Over time, with life and hobbies and everything, it is easy to forget or not make a concerted effort on these things. Now don't get me wrong. I haven't given up taking my canvas bags grocery shopping or buying stuff in fewer packages .... but my focus has been a bit off for a while.

I've started this spring by doing a couple of things. First off, I've been giving more. Giving more things and money. Giving is something that feels good ... but I guess is a bit less direct than I like. So, I started looked at little things in my everyday life. I get PILES (probably 10/day during non-holiday season). Loads and loads. Most of them I never even look at. Some come for both Mike and I. I've started taking one day a week - calling the companies that I'll never order from or I get duplicates from - and canceling the catalogs. I'm more an online shopper than a catalog shopper anyway. And the piles of catalogs mostly get recycled and never read. I'm still scoping out other methods - so if you have any good ideas ... pass them along!

Tallest Man

Yesterday it was a really large toad ... today a really tall man. Is there something in the water? Things seem to be getting bigger and bigger.

Let's flash back ~150 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. They got larger and larger .... and look at what happened to them. Are we on this same path?

Great Jumping Toads

I read this article this morning about a massive toad found in Australia. This thing is massive.

First off I love frogs ... and of course I think toads fall into that catagory. But, I wonder what you feed a toad that large? Would it eat one of the cats?

Novel Idea

Well, after many many months of negotiation and formatting issues, Secrets In Seattle: Sex, Lies & Shoes has finally come out in paperback. I'm hoping that for future books the whole process will be easier. But, who knows.

Currently we are talking with distributors, which of course is not terribly fun either. I'd say anyone who needs a good laugh or a pick me up should order their copy of this smart, fun, and of course exciting chick-lit. For anyone local .... we have copies!

Pi(e) Day

This Wednesday day is Pi Day. 3.14 (and of course if you continue) 3.14 @1:59 (3.14159). I wonder exactly how far out I could take this? I've decide that this pi day I'm only going to eat pie. Breakfast pie, pizza, quiche & of course pot pie. At 1:59 PM on 3/14 ... I'll be having a cup of coffee and some delicious pie. Please join in the celebration!!!

Spring .... Maybe!

The temperature was rising, the sun was out, my bulbs are popping up, and I would have SWORN that spring was here. My window garden started to sprout and the grill was looking mighty nice! But ... given that we got a dusting of snow two nights ago ... I think spring is a bit off. I can't wait though.

Utah - Arches & Canyon Lands

Mike and I spent the long weekend hiking and camping in Utah. We started off on Friday in Arches. Did a number of lovely hikes and ended the weekend in Canyon Lands. First off, Arches is amazing ... but there are too many people for me. Canyon Lands and other parts of Moab have far less people are are just as lovely. On day 1 10 feet from the car I made a bad step and twisted my ankle. I would swear that Moab has it in for my ankles, but this would just be ridiculous. For a full listing of photos go to Smugmug.

Groving In The Snow

Yep. Yet another snow storm. Right now we are on a delay from work and I'm making a big bowl of Irish oatmeal. It takes ~35-40 minutes to cook ... which means I only get it on weekends ... or snow delays.

I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately. Like a bit of a cold. I'm still not 100% ... but I do think that sleeping most of Monday has helped me out a lot.

I have officially finished 3 patterns for the Nuclear Knits site. Becca is reviewing them right now. Checking out the patterns and math. I can't wait to get the site up. I have designs that should get started soon. I'm sort of happy to be back to knitting other people's patterns for a while. Designing requires a lot of mental power ... not to mention the will power to finish something even if you aren't sure it will work out (which of course makes me think that maybe it is a waste of time).

When Spring Attacks

Spring is in the air. The temperature has been increasing quickly. It went from freezing to 50 degrees ... which of course means the large mound of manure and compost on the side of the house is smelling WONDERFUL right about now.

I also placed an order for lady bugs and praying mantis. I figured they would ship them in spring. To my ... not so happy surprise ... they showed up this weekend. I read the instructions and it says that I can leave them in the fridge for up to 2 months. I guess these babies are going on ice.