Christmas socks ~ One nearly done

I frogged the heel cup and re-worked it, have no idea why but did a double decrease PER SIDE originally.  That would have been one tight heel!  It sat there for days while I dreaded unraveling so this morning… I sucked it up, took it out and re-did it.  As with most things, it was a bit less painful than anticipated and didn’t take all that long.  Now I’m deciding whether to carry the colorwork down the foot or do a solid green until the toe which will be red.  The only shoes that I can really wear them with are tennis shoes or another pair of flats so thinking it won’t really matter if the pattern continues. After all, even though I’m working on writing up the pattern, the majority of it is still in my head.

Thanksgiving at Mom’s went well; I only stayed a couple of hours as I don’t want to get anyone else sick.  The rest of the day was spent sleeping and reading.  Quiet day all in all.  A bit lonely, actually.

Yesterday was spent working.  Two clients’ open enrollment ended yesterday and there were the typical last minute phone calls.  I still don’t have access to one of the clients so had to keep making cases for someone else to input them.  I dislike making work for others, particularly when it’s something I’m more than capable of handling  but that’s how it is right now.

My co-worker Heather had her baby the week before last and Juan and Alicia had theirs.  I worked with Alicia at CVS/Caremark and now work with her hubby Juan at ADP.  I really enjoy my team; I just wish we had a clue if any of us (read ME) are going to get hired as regular employees.  I desperately need benefits and not having a ‘real’ job is nerve wracking sometimes.  No pay for sick time and no holiday pay is really messing with the old budget!  Oh well, it’s sure better than nothing and I’d like to avoid unemployment as long as possible now.

I sent 4B an email requesting payment on the money he took out of my account, cash advances that I had to repay for him, etc. I seriously doubt that I’ll ever see any of that $1500 or so.  But, at least I asked.  Reasonably nicely even!  Losing everything in the storage unit still kind of hurts sometimes.  Marci asked for the vanity set that I’d inherited from my grandmother.  I’d planned on giving it to her when she turned 18 last year but it’s gone so…. can’t do that.  I wish I could give my children half of what they deserve, they ask for so little.

More Ramblings

More ramblings on roomates, life, and knitting
I made some great chicken noodle soup then spilled a huge bowl on myself at the office pot luck. (can you say unwitting Exorcist costume!)

The Holly’s Red and Green Snowflake Socks are moving along; I received my Rowan book a couple of weeks ago, can’t wait to get started on some new projects; the sparkly Christmas stockings ! I bought three skeins of Heather’d Pink from KnitPicks and for the life of me can’t remember what I was going to do with it! I’m trying to finish the Holly Red and Green Snowflake Socks so the pattern can be posted. This time there will be a proper pattern, not just general guidelines. (Read – I want to remember how to make them again so will be very detailed. If you’d like to make some – please do!)

Seriously, perhaps the roomate should be on meds. Maybe he is, idk. Around 11:30 or so last night he was listening to 80s music VERY loudly (omg… 80s pop-lite?!??) and it was keeping my 18 year old up so…. she had her brother ask M*** to turn it down so she could get some sleep before early classes in the morning.  M*** turned it down, shut/slammed his door and muttered loudly ’they always say shut up,’ ‘why should I have to shut up,’ etc. for at least 20 minutes whilst banging things around.   He frequently mutters loudly and bangs things around but until last night we never asked him to quiet down in any way.  He also pops in and out of his room constantly if I’m on the computer late at night, sits and stares at the microwave for up to 15 minutes at a time,  and a lot of other odd behaviors.  The kids and I are not at all comfy with him for several reasons but it doesn’t seem to bother ex-hubby/landlord.   Odd is okay, different is okay, eccentricity is encouraged. Creeping people out? Not so okay.

Mind, the kids and I stay in our designated areas upstairs most of the time (lol NO, there are not designated areas, we just like our own spaces) but sometimes we enjoy watching tv or using the computer downstairs.  I often look at the treadmill down there and think about using it… but that’s another story.  Will converted the laundry room into his bedroom so he and M*** have the downstairs with the exception of the common family room.

Anyway – not sure what, if anything, Will is going to do about the situation.  It’s not horrible, just not at all comfortable.  And I wasn’t kidding about the meds.  I have a suspicion what the deal is but it’s not really my place to say much unless directly confronted or the situation gets out of hand.

Generally, everything else is going fairly well.  I’m still pretty tense about only being a temp.  I need full benefits fairly soon and haven’t had much response to the resumes/phone calls.   On the plus side, the car is registered even though the rear ball bearings could go at any time and the windshield has a couple of cracks, it still passed.  Woot!  David made cookies last weekend, 2 dozen or so Reese’s Pieces and a dozen White Chocolate Macadamia Nut.  WRT received a tub of Chocolate Chunk cookie dough for his bday along with some cozy slippers and a new Janis Joplin Greatest Hits cd since the old one has scratches and it’s a MUST on road trips.

And now an update of an entirely different sort.  As I was getting ready for dress-up at the office last Friday I came across a check Heidi (deceased sister, see earlier posts) had given my daughter a week or so before she died.  Out of no where I started crying uncontrollably.  I’m learning a great deal about grief and ‘the process’ but sometimes the emotionality eclipses the intellectual in ways that surprise me.

Back, Socks for Soldiers, Christmas socks, more socks, and pillows too

Last Wednesday the silliest thing happened… I was walking in the parking lot outside our apartment and just fell.  As in ‘fall down forcefully for no apparent reason.’  Bruised my knee, elbow, wrenched my back rather badly and had no idea why!!!  After I’d managed to catch my breath and stand up, there it was – a rock about as big around as a silver dollar and as thick as a tube of lipstick.  Geeeeeez!

I had to call in sick as I couldn’t get my back in an upright position so spent the evening with my son going over school work, and alternating ice, heat, positions, anything I could think of to get the back and knee to quit their throbbing.  By the next morning the knee pain wasn’t so bad, the elbow and wrist still felt like someone whacked them pretty good… but the back….  still felt like screaming made up profanities instead of the ones we use for regular old every day things.

Long story short, as they say, went to the local urgent care, was told I’d messed it up (ya think?!) and to give it a few days to heal.  Since I had a rather nasty back injury (from playing with aforementioned son when he was a toddler),  I took the PA’s advice and kept reasonably still, did the heat pad thing, took muscle relaxers and anti inflamatories (arthritis in the back too dontcha know), etc etc etc.  Come Monday, wasn’t feeling too bad so went in to work with my required Dr’s note…. had to run home quickly to change (ok, ok, so I didn’t actually run), started putting my panty hose on… did that little hip wiggle thing anyone who has pulled pantyhose up to their waist is familiar with, and OMG… did someone shove iron rods through my spinal column?!  How rude!!!!!!

So… now I am again among the masses of unemployed as of this morning.  At least for a little while.

Last night I tore out all but 4″ of the socks for soldiers that I’d done – it just didn’t look right at all.  Then started over, have about 4″ done.  Go me!  Perhaps I’m a bit overly picky on those socks but I truly want them to be just right for the hard working soldier that will wear them in the line of duty. 

Socks for Soldiers

I’ve also got about 3/4 of one of my own socks for Christmas finished.  It’s a personal pattern that resides exclusively in my head.   I’m using Knit Picks Palette – red and green (not exact names).  If it turns out all right, I’ll post it here   It’s loosely based on ‘Blackhearted’ but with some heavy duty somewhat free style mods. 

The child socks are finished and gifted – only a week after the 3rd birthday of the recipient.  Now she wants a knit purple crown.  I’m going to have to figure that one out!

And… just for something to do (hehehe) broke down and bought some more sz 9 needles so I can start on Christmas throw pillows.  Not difficult at all, just going to do a bit of color work on one – thinking brown arrowheads on a blue background for one out of Knit Pics Gloss from the yarn stash, Celtic like cable work on the other from yarn I picked up quite a while ago.  Again, patterns in my own head – if they work out tolerably well, I’ll post those here too.