First graders are too cute

I went to school this morning to read my Dr. Seuss book to the first graders (two classes) and had a great time. They are just too cute, and most listened very attentively. I am a hammy reader and did voices and hand gestures to go with the story so that may have helped.

For Monday I need to pick something a little shorter than Bartholomew and the Oobleck though. It is a "big" book as Dr. Seuss stories go and took a little longer than the teachers expected. I've got "Six by Seuss" out in the garage so can pick something out of that. Sadly, I was the only school board member there. I know some don't have the job flexibility I do, but boy do they miss out on the fun!

I have my roulette sock almost done and will wash it and put on the sock blocker today so it looks beautiful for the recipient. Now I need to get back to the sweater. I missed an increase and am debating whether to tink back or just frog it and start over again. I set it aside last Sunday when I realized my mistake and haven't gotten back to it.

Today I'm scheduling marketing visits for next week and did a presentation for a nurse practitioner's office yesterday. So far, people have been very receptive to the idea of our new business. We'll have to see if that translates in to referrals. We also have an ad coming out in the paper Sunday and are scheduling our ribbon cutting with the Chamber of Commerce within the next two weeks.

My goal for today is putting my house somewhat in order so that I can work on taxes this weekend. Fun, fun stuff!

Bitter Moon II rocks

I finished Bitter Moon II today with tears in my eyes and sorrow in my heart. Tears for the beauty of the ending after the roller coaster ride of emotions and sorrow that the book was finished!

I have mentioned before that I savored this book. I usually skim and tear through stories at break neck speed. This time I felt I owed Bitter Moon II the time and attention it deserved given the passion and tears put in to it by Amy Lane!

In times like ours, when the world is so uncertain and fears threaten to take hold, being reminded of the sweetness with the bitter is a gift.

I'm going to go wash the mascara off my face now as the racoon look is definitely not attractive!

P.S. Way to go editing team! The book looks so professional!

The mail merge is complete

It took most of the day today, but I am victorious in completing the mail merge and getting 7o marketing letters safely on their way. Now I just need to make myself some notes so I don't have to go through this the next time.

Quickbooks - conquered. 2008 financials are printed out and on disc to go to the accountant. It shows absolutely that we lost money in 2008. Of course considering that we didn't really open until October and had months of start-up expenses before that, it wasn't too bad. We are optimistic that eventually there might even be a paycheck involved!

It has been a good and productive week. I'm even on the foot of my roulette sock so should get done in plenty of time.

My daughter-in-law was an ultrasound model at the medical school and found out the baby is larger than average (thought not abnormally so). This has her a little worried since she is about a size 3 with no hips to speak of. She also knows my son has a large head, which made my labor very interesting. I think sometimes it is better not to know so much :-)

Now it is time to watch the rest of the Phoenix Suns game and enjoy my well earned rest.

Weird errors

Has anyone else been having trouble with blogger? My last post doesn't pull up when I got to my page unless I click on archives. I had Amy Lane's do that last night and then when I went back it was there.

Maybe blogger is ready for the weekend.

Update: Evidently blogger is having some issues. The help folks recommend clearing your cache and then saving a draft posting. I did the latter and my AWOL blog came back in to view. Gotta love technology when it works.

Where is the word "NO"

I did it again. I agreed to sit on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Didn't I say I was going to work saying "NO"? It didn't work, again.

At least this time I did spend several days thinking on it before I committed (or got committed).

I have been very supportive of our Chamber for a long time. I served on the Education Committee and attended many of their events. (As an aside - writing this would be so much easier if the cat would keep her tail out of my coffee!) In addition to being a group I believe in, the networking would be beneficial to my fledgling business. Thank goodness this one doesn't meet at 7 AM like the meeting I had today. I'm not a morning person.

I am 3/4 of the way through Bitter Moon II and wish I could spend the rest of my day reading but that whole work thing keeps interfering. Needless to say it DOES NOT SUCK and I will write more when I finish.

I'm ready to turn the heel on my February roulette sock, and have about an inch done on the sweater. I had to frog and start over because I wasn't happy with the increases. Much better now that I got my paired increases going in appropriate directions.

I spent Saturday night reliving my son's senior year of high school as I transferred video to DVD. I wonder if his students would like to see him in a girl's cheerleading uniform for Powder Puff football. Hmmm - I see blackmail potential here :-)

Happy Valentines Day

Here's wishing everyone a Happy Valentines Day! As we are being frugal this year, my husband got a 1/2 lb. of cappicola from our local Italian meat market (one of his all time favorites). I got Bitter Moon II - Squeeee! This means nothing else will get done this weekend while I read. Drat - just when I was hoping to clean the bathroom grout with a toothbrush :-)

It has been a week full of meetings with a few things accomplished in between. My partner Beth and I are preparing a marketing mailing to go out to attorneys, CPA's, financial advisors, personal bankers etc. that see the elderly on a regular basis. I got a draft letter written, she's inputting all the addresses in to Outlook and then I get to try a mail merge. I've done a mail merge exactly once.

On the bright side I'm not intimidated by most computer stuff. I just keep going back to the help button or look online to get my questions answered. It has been an enlightening experience doing my own labels, graphics, marketing development pieces etc again when I had gotten used to having "people" who could do those things with my input. Boy do I miss their expertise as I fumble through set up stuff for an hour that they could do in minutes. On the other hand, the feeling of accomplishment when it works is totally mine!

I am now off to immerse myself in another land and time. Please do not disturb.

Socks galore

Just thought I'd show you a couple of the socks I'm working on. Of course my roulette sock for Amy and Julie's grand scheme must be kept under wraps for now :-)

This is the Bugga KAL for Sanguine Gryphon using the Embossed leaves pattern. The top one is more the color but the second photo shows the color variation and the leaves just starting to peek through. The cashmere in this yarn makes it so soft to work with.

This is the first of a pair (hopefully) of gift socks I'm knitting for a friend in the cold country. She wears a lot of tans so I thought this Rainforest snake pattern from Opel would coordinate nicely. I'm using the garter rib pattern from Sensational Knitted socks as I wanted something quick and simple.

These are the same garter rib socks in Lorna's Laces Team colors (Phoenix Suns) for my daughter-in-law. It is a sport weight so should keep her feet nice and warm while she's watching the games from snowy Iowa.

I started these Monkey socks for myself while I was in Iowa but put them on hold until a couple of other projects get off the needles. The photo doesn't do the rich purple and green justice.

No, this isn't sock yarn. This is the Dream in Color Classy Happy Forest for my DIL's February Lady sweater. I cast on once and had to rip back when I totally screwed up the first button hole. Several tutorials later, I think I've got it figured out. It is supposed to be a fairly quick knit so my goal is to have it to her by mid-Marchish. I figure by then she will be sick of her pregnancy clothes and might like something new and springlike but warm enough for those gusty March winds.

Now, back to the work and then more knitting.

You couldn't pay me to be 13 again

Today I had the opportunity to spend 6 hours with a group of middle school girls. Ordinarily I would do my best to avoid the potential angst and attitude but this is different. I serve on the Board of the youth organization that sponsors "You Go Girl" and "Wise Guy". Adult volunteers spend the day with 4-6 middle schoolers while they get messages about bolstering self esteem, making wise choices and teamwork.

Since students have to sign up and get parent permission they are there by choice. Most everyone participated, asked good questions and were genuinely enjoyable. As we worked through the exercises related to bodily changes, low self esteem and peer pressure, I realized anew that I wouldn't be 13 again for any amount of money (or yarn). Middle school is such an insecure, awkward time it is a wonder any of us survive it. Being a classic nerdy good student, I was a target for the popular kids and still remember how cruel they could be. It is nearly impossible to get kids that age to believe that popularity in middle school, or even high school doesn't necessarily translate in to success as an adult. It was a fun day but I'm tired!

I'm going to go watch the Phoenix Suns, knit on one of my many sock projects and go to bed.

Monday is over!

You will be pleased to know that I finally got the Christmas tree hauled out to the garage and boxed up the Christmas village. It isn't all put away on the shelves but at least I'm 3/4 of the way there. I'm still ahead of my all time record of February 14th for the removal of ho-ho-holiday kitsch.

After looking at my check book and the limited prospects of an income for a couple of months, I have become the grinch when it comes to spending money. Thankfully I sneaked in some Mini Mochi and the Dream in Color Classy for DIL's sweater before my yarn diet started. Knitting from stash for a few months won't hurt at all - there is some great stuff in there! So far I'm really liking the Bugga Embossed Leaves KAL on ravelry. The Bugga from Sanguine Gryphon has a little cashmere for luxury and nylon for wear. It feels marvelous and I like watching the leaves appear.

Unfortunately my self imposed scrimping also means I can't buy books for right now. I guess it is once again time to admit to the library that I've lost my library card and plead for a new one. I'm sorting through my shelves looking for books I can sell. I've done fairly well with that on Amazon and it is pretty easy. Gotta come up with enough to buy Bitter Moon II! Shouldn't be too hard if I dedicate a couple of hours to the cause.

The really fun part of today was losing my car keys. I finished a meeting around 3 PM and planned to run errands. An hour later I was still searching. Misplacing my keys isn't unusual for me but they weren't in any of the spots they turned up in before. Hubby came home and helped search to no avail. The spare key is nowhere to be found. Cleaned a bag full of stuff out of my closet trying to find the box it was in.

My next move was to try to get a key made. No such luck. Cars made after 2005 use keys with computer chips. I had to drive to the dealership with my registration and ID to get the unique key code for my car. By then it was 5 PM and the locksmith was closed for regular hourly rates. The other fun part was being informed I'd have to have the car towed to the dealership to have the key programmed.

Went back home and tore the house apart again including two outside cans of garbage. Suddenly while preparing dinner I realized I hadn't checked one bag with newspaper from this morning. Sure enough, when I checked that bag, the key had gotten covered by a circular and scooped up with the rest. Hurray for found keys (though do you think I could have remembered before sorting through old coffee grounds and other disgusting meal remnants?)

Anyway, Icey, Merry and Pippin send you a happy purr that Monday is now over and we are on to better things.