Greetings and salutations. It's been a while - 6 years, in fact, almost 7 - and yet I still breathe. Amazing!
Still living in the same place, not working in the same place, and beagle-less. Lily crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2021, and I got Mia a month after I lost Lily. Mia was a younger beag, but she developed an ear infection and myeloma, and she left me very suddenly in January 2022. It's been a long pandemic, and I'm still furbaby-less.
I also want to apologize for a previous post. My VLD tastes changed sometime around the start of Season 5, in March of 2018, and I turned into a Sheith fan. Apparently I was imagining that this series should be like the former series, and Oof. I was wrong. Freely admit.
We've had a terrible election rollercoaster in the US since someone came down a golden escalator, and I for one will be glad when TFG is no longer in the public eye. I have MAGA fatigue something fierce. I can say without remorse that the last 3 years under Biden have been so much better than with TFG - I don't wake up each day wondering if we've gone to war with someone because of an implied diss. I still can't believe that such an unbalanced fake 'celeb' was actually in control of this nation.
Nothing more, really just coasting along, working full time as a pre-press tech, making my projects, listening to sportsball games. Hope we have a woman in charge of the US soon!! Vote!!
Someone on one of the message boards I frequent had a topic about what books or fanfic everyone's been reading, and I realized that I hadn't really sat down and read anything longish from beginning to end in a long time, and hadn't marked it on my "Read" list in a *very* long time.
I've updated the "Books/Fics Read" list over on the sidebar now. I'll add stuff to it as they're read. I read a lot of fanfiction!
Got to see Ruth, Denise, Lindsey, Steve and Dean a couple of weeks ago! Want proof?
We had a great time - there were a TON of people there (I warned Steve!) and I think we walked about 6-7 miles just on Saturday. Thankfully it wasn't overly hot. Dean was a charmer as usual *sigh* - and left for home the next day at 4:30 AM to get home for Father's Day. That's 2:30 AM Cali time. Poor guy. The rest of us had dinner on Saturday & brunch on Sunday before going our different ways.
Ruth, Linz, Denise and I went to the Superman Museum on Sunday - OMG, they had some of Clark's ties and Lois's dress from "I've Got A Crush On You". Yes, I was literally jumping up and down! :D It was so cool!
I'm going to be working full-time soon. No details allowed yet - we're still working out the kinks.
I'm working on the "Checkerboard Textures Throw" from Red Heart - one and a half more rounds to go and then the cleanup. The border rounds are 750+ sts around...taking forever! I want to finish this so I can go back to my knitting needles!
Yep. Still out here. Not much going on besides a couple of conventions (loved New Orleans!!) and some other things. Job hunting.
I realized that I've added a few states to my 'places' map - I couldn't find the original one, so here a new one. Added Mississippi and Louisiana!
Again, not much going on. Working on a couple of afghans, finished a present for Mom but need to block it, and am growing some container tomatoes. Note to self: Don't buy any more veggie plants if you need to go back to hardware store. Every time I go, I come back with another plant!!
I'm going to see Ruth, Lindsey, and Denise (oh, and Dean and Steve!) in Metropolis in a couple of weeks for the annual Superman Celebration. Should be fun! This is Dean's first time at this event, so he's probably going to be very very busy. I'm hoping we have dry weather - last year Sunday was basically washed out due to all the severe weather they had. Hear me, Mother Nature? No t-storms, please.
Well, I just wanted to check in. Yankees are playing the Cards right now - go Cards! I can't stand the Yankees.
Final reports had some trees down and powerlines down just south of West County Mall, with the Des Peres Police Department on generator power from 4PM on.
We were still on the 4th floor at work (three blocks north and a little west) when we had power flashes, which we took as a sign to go downstairs. Heavy rain, a little wind, pea-sized hail, and that was it. It's a good thing it wasn't 1/4 mile north - it would have hit us!
The surface low that caused all of this is just north of us here, between St. Charles and oh, Hannibal. My leg and my sinuses are complaining mightily!
Everyone is okay, Lily is snoring on the sofa next to me, adn I'm outta here!
Still giddy - everyone was ribbing me at work about the grin on my face when they asked me how the movie was! PFW did a bit of a commentary tonight about it...8 people on the phone all at once was mayhem!
I'll say it again. Go see it if you haven't. Really.
I got some yarn in today that I'd ordered from DBNY - one of the hanks is a reddish solid (gingersnap) and the other one is an exclusive colorway that I wasn't sure I was going to like, but looks scarily like a Ron colorway. More than I thought it was going to. I'll be taking pics of them both soonish.
I'm working on a new project - a shrug based on the Caron Simply Shadows Shrug. It will be dark oxford grey mix with new denim stripes above the wrists and in the opening ribbing. The stripes are fairly subtle, but they show off my Ravenclaw house colors! I'm making it out of Patons Classic Wool. I'll post some pics of it as I go along!
Tomorrow night I'm going to get my copy of Harry, A History signed by Melissa Anelli! Apparently they are coming to St. Louis instead of Kansas City for the PC/Wrock tour, so they'll have a booksigning, a PotterCast show recording, and The Remus Lupins and Whompy! St. Louis County Library Headquarters at 6, people! Come see them, and say hi.
I found out that the closest theatre is going to have HBP for the midnight show, and I'll be getting my ticket for that on Sunday. w00t! 11 days, 23 hours and 25 minutes.
Watching the replay of the game today (we won) - we're tied for first with the Brewers, and Albert rocks. First player in history to get 30 homers in each of his first nine (!!) seasons. Awesome.
Off to sleep soon - working both Friday and Saturday. Yay for holiday pay!
Just a quickie - I stood in the middle of the street and took this shot with no flash.
It's 12:50 AM!
We've had about 6 inches or so, and will maybe get another inch or so. It's a little heavier at work (18 miles south), so it will be an interesting ride to work in the morning. Only took me an hour or so to get home last night. What a mess!
2 50g balls Berroco "Crystal FX" (100% nylon) in #4710 Mica (silver and glitter)
2 50g balls Berroco "Crystal FX" (100% nylon) in #4706 Carbon (deep midnight blue and glitter)
1 100g skein Reynolds Yarn "Blizzard" superbulky (65% alpaca, 35% acrylic) in colorway #673 Camel (beige). Was used for the Small Cabled Purse designed by Susan.
1 3.5oz skein Premier Yarns "Angel Self Shading" (100% acrylic) in colorway #63-207 Baby Daisy (white, green, yellow twist)
1 3.5oz skein Premier Yarns "Angel Self Shading" (100% acrylic) in colorway #63-205 Blue River (teal, white, sky blue, aqua twist)
1 3.5oz skein Premier Yarns "Angel Self Shading" (100% acrylic) in colorway #63-202 Pink Dream (pink, white twist)
1 3.5oz skein Premier Yarns "Angel Self Shading" (100% acrylic) in colorway #63-201 Peach Candy (peach, purple, pink, white twist)
1 4oz skein Lion Brand "Baby Soft" (60% acrylic, 40% nylon) in colorway #217 Candy Print (white with pink, green, and yellow flecks)
The Baby Dream is already in use - as BSJ #5. Sigh. I don't know what's wrong with me...these little sweaters are addictive. Looks like Jen may be getting more than 1 baby sweater!
Weaving Dept had their Back-To-School Sale (ergo, me buying yarn) and I made the Small Cabled Purse out of the skein of Blizzard during the sale.
Finally, in Opal news, Nancy called the distributor to make sure that WB wasn't making them delay the HP yarn. The verdict? Opal is shipping the HP yarns as scheduled. Nancy told me she'd call me as soon as they were in! W00t! Can't wait!
A viral vid off YouTube this week:
Ninja Cat!
Mwhaa!
Pluto and I had an adventure this week. Okay, he had an adventure, and I was a wreck. Sunday night, Plu started acting as if he'd hurt something, not getting up when called, levering himself off the floor and gingerly sitting. First, I figured he was - well, not pottying. Nope. Everything that was going in was coming out as usual. The lethargy lasted all day Monday and into Tuesday. By lunchtime on Tuesday, I was very worried, and so made an appointment to see the vet early the next morning. So. We visit! Decided on x-ray to make sure he didn't break/fracture anything. Guess who had a bad reaction to the anesthetic? Sigh.
I missed the whole day on Wednesday, they didn't find anything, and he's back to normal. Meh.
The Cardinals aren't going to the playoffs, and color me shocked. They were officially eliminated during the 7th inning of tonight's game against the Diamondbacks (gasp, we won). The last 4 weeks have been abysmal, so I'm not the least bit surprised. Ah, well, there's next year.
At least the baseball guys aren't doing as badly as the football guys. i'm not sure the Rams are actually a pro team. We're 0-3 and let's go for 0-16! W00t! Bleh. It's so bad that Bulger has been benched - Green will start this weekend. We'll have to see how it goes.
On the other hand, the Missouri Tigers are ranked #6 in the country (down from #5 last week) and start conference play this weekend. Go Tigers!!! They're 4-0, and the Mizzou-Nebraska game will be on ESPN on Saturday. Football night!
I took some pics of the local damage caused by the 5 inches of rain we got in 3 hours last Sunday (Sept 14th). It was kind of strange, seeing preparations for the storm. I think the biggest thing were the boom cranes - I see 5 of them on the way to work every day (a pair at Edward Jones in Des Peres, another pair at St. John's Mercy at I-270 and I-64, and a single one at the Edward Jones project at Dorsett) and they were all pointed northeast. It was just really weird!! I put all my lawn furniture into the storage shed and made sure all the windows were closed and locked. When I went to bed at 3AM Sunday morning, the leading edge of the rain was about 20 miles away - but there was absolutely no wind here. It was very strange! I went to bed, and slept thru the whole thing. I woke up a little at 7 AM to the rain hitting the windows in my bedroom - which are under 4 foot deep eaves - and promptly rolled over and went back to sleep. Lindbergh flooded, the 24-hour Walgreens had several feet of water inside, the park across the creek was 4 FEET deep in water. Unbelievable. Locally, three people died; one was killed by a falling tree, and two others were swept away while trying to move their cars. The Pirate Fest was closed for the day due to the parking lot swamp. All in all, we fared a heck of a better than Texas, but Ike really walloped people as far north as Cleveland. Amazing. I took pictures of some of the mud left after the park drained, and you can go look at them here.
Lastly for today - but waay not least - D called to make sure that the tickets for Equus were for Friday because....drum roll...her mom is taking us to see Billy Elliott on Saturday! W00t!! Elton John songs! omg! I am SO looking forward to this trip, I can't tell you.
Now I just have to figure out how to cram 4 days worth of clothes into a 21" rolling carry-on. Yikes.
Lisa's gonna kill me, I told her I was going to bed...um...a long time ago? and I'm still up. Shhh. Just a few little quickies.
First off, thanks to Teh Sue, I got Wollmeise!!!! *does the happydance* It should be here tomorrow! squee!! I'll post about it in a day or so.
Secondly, Dan was cute if not a little fuzzy on Conan on Monday (yes, it was Monday, not Tuesday, oh DR.com. Whoops.). He talked about how New Yorkers know their theatre - he apparently got lost one morning going out for a run, and had to stop and ask for directions back home, and the guy he asked knew he was going to be in Equus. I wonder how many people went out early the next morning to see if they could spot Harry Potter out for a jog. More on the interview when I'm more awake.
Thirdly (and finally), I've been reading LiveJournal (insert gasps here) and I'm .... well, yes, enthralled by a WIP on a new LJ community, hg_silverlining. The story I'm reading is called Yellow Submarine, and is an AU H/G story. There are only three parts posted so far (a prologue and two chapters), but it's really got me sucked in. I'll probably be posting more about it as it is updated.
Not much more going on - someone had the bright idea of getting me my own laser printer at work to print letters, and we futzed around with it today to get it to print duplex. It was a bear, because not all the letters are the same length due to the information on the third page. Some of them are front-and-back on pages three and four, but most are not. Ugh. Now the real fun starts...print/fold/stuff! Whee! Maybe now we can actually process more complaints per day than we get per day. What a concept. Trust me, I am not belittling anyone, but we've received so many more complaints than we did last year, it's not even funny. I'm talking double. So far this year, we've received more complaints as of July 15th than we did all of last year. At this rate, we'll have had an increase of about 275%. And we're handling it with less staff. I think my new nickname is going to be "TreeKiller" for all the paper (yes, it's recycled) I'm using.
I started yet another BSJ - this time in the Sweet Baby Delight Giggles Ombre. It's crayon bright but very cute. I think this one is for Jen! She's having a boy! Yay!!!
*jumps* The TV just unfroze and startled me. It's been frozen for almost a half an hour!
