Baa Baa Knit Stitch

>It hasn’t been the best tax season. Software issues have been a real problem. There’s some other difficulties with the business. Family issues have piled on top of that.

And then this morning, I discover some low life has spammed my blog.

Her name, among what looked to be the Chinese characters, was “Karen”. And she began her comments with “How Cool!” or “How Creative!” before launching into a barrage of what again appeared to be Chinese characters, clearly punctuated by a few words in English that I won’t repeat here for fear of more spambots picking them up, and not for a good reason. It was ugly. I’m not a prude, but it’s not the type of thing I generally want associated with anything I’m publishing.

What was particularly painful was that the spam hit the post I made when Oscar passed to the Bridge, and the comment began “That’s Cool!” Yeah, I know it was something automated or someone who obviously didn’t care and would just sit there and type in the code I thought you had to enter to prevent things like this from happening. No, it wasn’t “Cool”. It still hurts like hell, right to this day.

I’ve gone through and deleted the comment on all the posts the spammer hit. I didn’t want to chance that anyone who reads my blog might come across them.

I’ve had to turn on comment moderation. I apologize for the hassle it may cause some of you, but I just can’t allow this to happen again. And I’m disappointed, because I always enjoyed getting a note in my email letting me see your comments without having to go to the blog to view them. That’s over. All because somebody has nothing better to do than spread filth through the internet.

No, I’m not stupid or naive. I know it happens. It just sucks that it happened to me.

>…a little dachshund just south of Atlanta had a litter of pups.

We were waiting and watching anxiously. Our house was empty. The loss was tremendous since our beloved Oscar had crossed to the Rainbow Bridge. We knew that we wouldn’t be a whole pack again until we could share our home with another dachshund.

And that little dachshund mother took good care of a little black and tan dapple girl. We talked about her. We speculated on what she was doing… how she was growing… whether she had her eyes open and if she was playing with her little puppy siblings. We called her “new puppy” — afraid to call her by name just in case the unthinkable happened.

And then, about 7 weeks later“new puppy” became Penny Jasmine, and she came home to live with us. Three perfect pounds of dachshund fury. If you haven’t guessed, she’s named after the character on “The Big Bang Theory”, and sometimes she looks up when Sheldon knocks on the door and says “Penny!”.

It had been a long time since we’d had a puppy. We’d forgotten how tough things like teething and potty training were. And there were times I had to remind our little girl that there was only going to be one top bee-yatch in the house, and it was gonna be me.

But she’s loving. And she’s a clown. And like all dachshunds, she thinks she’s much bigger than she actually is (although she’s now at 13 pounds — she’s a little fluffy or, as she prefers to say, she’s big boned). She loves her food and her chewies. She’s fierce from behind a window, and she’s successfully chased all the thunder away with her barking. She’s kept us safe from airplanes flying overhead as well as a woodpecker who had the audacity to hammer on the metal chimney cover.

She’s a bed hog. I wake up every morning with her snuggled up right at my shoulder. She doesn’t dive under the covers so much, but she has her own way of taking over at night and making sure she’s comfy.

She’s smart — learned to use the ramps right off the bat. She knows all the basic obedience commands. Whether she chooses to hear them is another matter entirely. I long ago resigned myself to the fact that I live with a dog who is much smarter than I am.

So, Happy Birthday Penny Jasmine! We love you, and we’re so glad you’re here. Thank you for all the joy you give us. And we’ll get those birthday cookies ready.

>The victim:
An unsuspecting ball of #8 DMC perle coton, color 739. Last seen being used as a lifeline in a knitted lace project. Mercilessly cut down in the prime of life.

The Culprit:
Caught red-pawed with the victim wrapped around several chairs under a dining table.

Culprit expressed no remorse for her actions and actually begged for a cookie when caught.

>….that I needed to put up a blog post. People. Srsly. Look at the calendar. What the heck do you think I’m doing?? I sure as heck ain’t lounging around eating bonbons. And some of you who are asking me to put up a post (ahem, Sandra)… I do your taxes. Just sayin’. So here goes…

So I’ve pretty much summarized what I’ve been doing. 🙂 Except…. I went through another round of The Crud. Oh, and I went for my annual physical and my doctor informed me that I was a “walking fracture” thanks to my Vitamin D levels (normal is between 30 and 100 — my level was 6.3 — leave it to me to be an overachiever no matter which way I go). Actually, I laughed hysterically over that one, even though it was wildly inappropriate to do so. My doc was so panicked that he had his office trying to reach me on my home phone and cell at the same time to tell me to go get the supplement. Poor guy. He’s really great and has been a friend of my family for years… he was actually the one who found my dad’s brain tumor and was so good to us during all that, so I’m thankful for him. But the Vitamin D deficiency, according to my reading, actually explains a lot of symptoms I’ve been having, and I’m hopeful that treating it will turn a lot of stuff around.

We had some more actual snow, and the Pennster loved it! She ran around like a wild dog — wouldn’t let me put her coat on her before she went out. She dug in the snow… sniffed… it’s still so strange to have an actual dog. Our little Oscar always treated cold, wet stuff as if it were acid and would look at it, turn around as if to say “No, thank you” and retreat to the comfort of the heating vent. Penny, on the other hand… well…
and
We had trouble getting her to come in the house.

Speaking of Oscar… we passed the year’s anniversary of when he went to the Rainbow Bridge. Doesn’t seem that long ago. I still miss him like crazy. Penny is soooo different — which is what we wanted — but Oscar was my little soulmate. Rest well, little man. I love you.
Knitting, you say? Well, I did participate in the Ravelympics as a member of Team Fast Girls Knit Left from the NASCAR group. I managed to medal in a couple of events with some baby booties I thought would be the death of me. I ended up changing patterns and yarn for fear of cursing the baby after I had to keep ripping out and re-knitting a simple pattern. Turns out those size 5 double points were actually 4 size 7s and one size 6. Yay me for putting things in the right place. Eventually I got a pair of booties that looked like this:
I also medaled with a crochet water bottle holder:
No stitching right now… I have a dog whose goal in life is to eat everything I pick up. She has extremely good taste and only insists on eating silks and expensive overdyed cottons. Won’t touch cheap DMC and Anchor. Although, I did send Drema at Needlecraft Corner a list of stuff to send me from the recent Nashville market. That scream and “thunk” sound you hear around the 15th will be me getting my credit card bill. It will shortly be followed by me on the side of the interstate holding a sign that says “Will do taxes for food.”

My friend Jen recently put up a blog post about “The Best Friends I’ve Never Met”. I got to experience a little of that myself recently when, after a particularly wretched day, I came home to a box containing all this:
Homemade (and quite yummy, may I add) preserves. A hand knitted cloth with handmade soap. Stitch markers. Wollmeise (pure gold to a knitter). A sweet note to go along with it. All from a friend I’d made on Ravelry who I’ve never met in real life. I won’t embarass her here by naming her, but if she’s reading this, and I hope she is, thank you again. You have no idea how much it meant to me and how much I value our friendship.

Sometimes life hands you little surprises to lift you up when you need them, and God gives you people in your life to lift you up and help you carry the load when you need it the most. I’m thankful to Him for all of it. And thanks to all of you who read my little blog and miss me when I don’t post. 🙂

>It’s Penny’s turn again over on Dogs on Thursday. Head over and check out her post.

>The plague/crud/whatever it is continues to attack. Amazingly enough, I think the voice sounds worse than yesterday, yet I still have people calling me and complaining they can’t undertstand me when they continue asking questions after the first croak. This is why there’s email, people.

I’m not firing on all thrusters, so I don’t feel comfortable doing tax work. But I’m bored. I’ve got on the TV. The current administration comes on talking about a plan to screw up the financial system as badly as they want to screw up healthcare. I can’t even scream at the TV. I text Teresa on IM. I text Richard on the phone. I make up words to old songs, such as “Where have you gone, Alan Greenspan, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you, woo woo woo”. I watch the market plummet. Now, I can’t shut off this crap, because it’s my job to keep up with it, much to my chagrin.

So I take out the knitting…

Most of you are now thinking, thank goodness, she’s finally going to stop droning on and on about the tax code and the cleaners and the current administration and “how Mr. Smith is running this country and how many languages Enoch Powell can speak and then he throws up all over the Cuba Libres…” (as I lapse into Monty Python, Travel Agent sketch… srsly, if you’ve never seen this, it’s a matter of cultural literacy). And she’ll quit nattering about the cute dog.
(gratuitous cute dog photo)

I’ve been wanting to try two socks on one circular needle, specifically because my attention span lends itself to SSS (single sock syndrome, for those of you who don’t knit). My friend Linda does them on two circs, and I’ve tried it, but I find two circs in general really fussy. A few nights ago Richard and I carefully weighed and divided a skein of Dream in Color sparkly yarn — I forget what the heck it’s called, but it was on sale at the Dizzy Sheep. My original intent was for it to become the wonderful Francie socks that my DF Jen on Ravelry had gifted me the pattern for, but upon review of the pattern and my state of mind, I decided those had best wait for another day. I decided that the Nutkin pattern might fit the bill… challenging enough not to be boring, but not so challenging as to send me screaming (or croaking as the case may be) for the frog pond.

First problem was casting on. Unlike The Magic That is Heather, I wasn’t able to figure this out on my own… but fortunately others on the internet had kindly posted detailed photos of exactly how things should look. Got the stitches carefully placed on a size 1.5 47″ circular needle and started to knit. I realized quickly that stitchmarkers were going to be necessary, as I kept pulling the cables too tightly and removing my “magic loop” (can you say “tense”?).

It took almost an hour, but I cast on and got two rounds of plain stockinette knit.
I really hope I get better at this. I’ll let you know when I get to the heels.

>So here we are, middle of January. I’m happy to report that I haven’t gone postal with anyone over their taxes yet… but then, it’s early. We’re using a new tax software package this year — ironically from the same tax software company I worked for in the early 90s. Ownership has changed, but some of the same people I worked with are still involved. One of them is the salesperson who is also my tech contact… he’s just getting back into the tax craziness after being laid off from a pharmaceutical company, and we have a deal that he calls me with tax questions and I call him with tech questions. Undoubtedly I think I’ve got the better end of the deal. 🙂 At any rate, it’ll be different getting used to a new package. Right now I’ve got enough to do finishing up W2s and payroll taxes. My new desk is installed in my office and is wonderful.

Not much else is happening. I appear to have developed a case of the crud/plague/some form of upper-respiratory throat something that has at the moment cost me my voice. Delightful when you still have to speak with clients on the phone. I’m hoping for some pity.

Made a big change to discontinue the cleaning service I had. Now, those of you who know me in real life are well aware that our house will never be a show home. We are, to say the least, cluttered… at worst, we’re a candidate for “Hoarders”. But we take pride in the fact that even tho there’s clutter, the house is basically clean. Until a few weeks ago when I bent down in the kitchen with a paper towel to wipe up a spill and the paper towel came up black. I mean totally black. The day after it had supposedly been mopped.

So I called a client of mine who has a cleaning business, and as luck would have it, she had an opening. She and her husband came today. Wow. Just wow. I am so very happy with everything she did!!! So Susan, if you’re reading this, a big ol’ Thank You from the three of us… oh, and if you live in the north Atlanta area and are looking for someone to help you out, let me know and I’ll provide particulars… 🙂

Penny continues to run the household. She’s now 10 months old and is a Big Dog. Just ask her. She fancies herself to be a watchdog. Just let there be a noise of any sort — car going by, airplane flying overhead, ant walking across the grass — and she’ll spring into action and into full barking frenzy. We haven’t seen what would happen should she encounter Actual Danger, but I’m sure in her mind she’s up to the challenge. This week we took her for a walk that was a full circuit of the neighborhood — about 2.5 miles. That made for one tuckered teckel (as well as tuckered parents who walked her…).

Until next time… stay warm… if you’re around here, stay dry… and continue to keep the people of Haiti in your prayers.

>…of Who’s in charge.

We got a reminder in Haiti last night. The suffering of that poor nation is tremendous… the history of corrupt government combined with the poverty, and now the smackdown of this earthquake… it’s almost too much for humans to comprehend.

It’s natural to want to help. And that’s what I want to talk to you about.

You’re going to see commercials on TV and hear them on the radio from relief agencies begging you for money. I’d like for you to consider other options, namely, faith-based relief organizations.

These organizations are not going to use their money on advertising. They operate as a branch of their denomination (or please forgive me, whatever branches of the Jewish faith are called… I’ll admit I don’t know), and their salaries and expenses are paid by the larger organization. That means that the money you donate for the cause actually goes to the cause and not to finance overhead.

More bang for the buck. As an accountant, I like that. And they’ll give you the receipt you need for your taxes.

These folks are often the first ones in to situations like Haiti. They go in quietly, doing their work without fanfare. You won’t see them on TV. They’re carrying out the mission their faith tells them to do, which is to serve their brothers.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a believer or not. Just recognize the good work these organizations are doing, often on a shoestring budget. And help them if you can. I’ve put my money where my mouth is, and I encourage you to do the same.

Of the many organizations available, I can direct you to two I have personal experience with: the Presbyterians and the Methodists. There are many more available… just do your research and check them out before you give. Unfortunately, events like this also bring out a lot of charlatans.

God bless you for helping. God bless the relief workers. And God bless and help the people of Haiti.

>What did I get for my birthday?? Ice.

There’s precedent: twenty-two years ago, my thirtieth birthday party was cancelled due to a good old-fashioned Southern snow storm… which to those of you who don’t live in these parts means a heavy coating of ice topped by about an inch or inch and a half of snow. We who were raised in the South understand that it means a snow day, and we hole up in our houses for the most part, having raided the local grocery stores of all the bread and milk, and we don’t leave until the ice melts, which is generally the next day. Now, I understand those of you from cooler climates don’t understand this but 1) you can’t drive on ice and 2) we just don’t have the equipment down here to clear the roads.

So on Wednesday, my two DFs Ann and Teresa came into town to spend the weekend with me for my birthday. We’d been cooking up this plan since ASG in October, and we were psyched about just hanging out on Thursday, doing shopping and eating out on Friday (my actual birthday) and then deciding what to do on Saturday.

Except… on Thursday afternoon it started raining. Then, it started snowing. Normally not much of a problem, since it generally melts and goes away, but we’ve been in the grips of the coldest weather this area has seen in, oh, 20 years (note reference above to my 30th birthday…). Somebody left the door to the arctic open and has seriously neglected to close it. So… the rain gave us a nice layer of ice for the snow to stick to, and the temps were low enough that it wasn’t going anywhere.

Thursday night DFs Jill, Heather, Andy, Debbie, and Linda joined us for stitch night and a brief celebration — Debbie brought some oh so delicious cupcakes! — but driving home was a bit dicey, but everyone reported in that they had made it safely.

Friday morning we turned on the TV and realized we weren’t going anywhere. Looked out the window at the ice on the road in front of the house and realized we weren’t going anywhere. Fortunately Richard was able to work from home (we discovered later that night that it was a really good thing he didn’t try to go in — his route to work was the scene of an 11 car pileup where people just abandoned their cars because they couldn’t move them on the ice). So… we had another day of hanging out, knitting, and stitching. Teresa discovered the wonders of the Wii and video games. 🙂 And we shifted all our plans to Saturday.

Fortunately everything looked clearer on Saturday thanks to some sunshine and wind (the temps still hadn’t come up, so there wasn’t any actual melting). Richard and his “harem” ventured out… we met up with DFs Heather and Andy to shop at the Vera Bradley store (do you know you get a freebie from them on your birthday?? Sweet!) and Teavana (yum…). Then we ventured up to Buford, GA to shop at The Stitch Store (used to be The Dogwood Patch in Hiawassee, GA but recently moved and re-named). Lucked into their 20% off grand opening sale! 🙂 It’s a nice store, with a very sweet owner, and she has a fabulous selection of fabric and fibers.

Saturday evening we were met by DF Cathy, and we all went to The Melting Pot for fondue. I absolutely love fondue, and this didn’t disappoint! Richard had arranged for balloons and a special gift of chocolate dipped strawberries as well. Everyone got different cheese fondues, entrees, and different chocolate dessert fondues so we were able to sample a lot.

What a wonderful birthday and a wonderful weekend! A little ice and snow can’t stop a good party. 🙂

And the snow?? Someone had her first experience in it:

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

Till next time — stay warm!

>Thanks to all of you who actually read my last two posts. Looking back over them, they were so depressing that even I couldn’t stand reading them! So I’m starting off the year with a fresh outlook and have high hopes that I’ll be more entertaining.

So how about some pictures?? Say of a particularly cute wiener dog who just happened to get a package in the mail from her Uncle Jerry, Aunt Kay, and Cousin Clancy in Chicago??

The package was addressed to Penny, so it was only fair that she got first crack at opening it:Unfortunately, the lack of opposable thumbs was ultimately her downfall. She gave it her best shot, but we had to help her. Inside, just for her were yummy, yummy, home baked dog cookies.Now, I know this picture shows her sitting politely, waiting for a cookie. I fear it is seriously misleading, as she was quite excited and could barely wait to get to the yumminess that I was holding. Understand that Penny is, as all dachshunds appear to be, an odd little dog. When she gets a particularly high value treat that she thinks needs to be “buried” in our house, she’ll walk around with it in her mouth, crying. It sounds quite pitiful and it was very distressing the first few times we heard it until we figured out it was just her way. She took the cookie, cried, buried it, unburied it, walked and cried again, buried it, unburied it, walked and cried again… well you get the idea. This went on for quite awhile until she finally brought it to us for “permission” to eat. Silly dog. Needless to say, the cookies are such high value that I’m doling them out slowly… And we give a great big Thank You to our Chicago friends!!!

Penny has now decided that she wants to claim my pillow at night to sleep on. Mind you, there is an entire king-sized bed that she pretty much has the run of (can I end any more phrases with prepositions?), but she has a dachshund-obsession with my pillow. A couple of nights ago it landed her in her crate to sleep — now her crate is large and has a fluffy dog bed in it, so it’s hardly a prison, but it’s not with us. So we’ll say that it’s a problem we’re working on.

A little knitting, you say? Well, I did finish Christmas gifts for my sisters-in-law that can now be shown:Identical hats and cowls, made from Araucania Chunky wool, ordered from Webs. Cowl pattern is the Un-Purled Cables cowl created by my friend Sara, and the hat is a beret recipe from Crazy Aunt Purl. Both are free patterns on Ravelry. I thought both of my sisters-in-law could use them since they have dogs that need walking during the winter weather.

Other pics? Well, I never posted the pic of the crew at ASG:From L to R you find moi, Ann, The Magic That Is Heather, Teresa (girlwithneedles for all you Ravelry folks), Jill, Joy, and Angela. Our group was a little smaller this year, but we still had loads of fun.

That’s all for now… back to work with me tomorrow. Richard has been on vacation for two weeks and it’s been wonderful having him home. Although, it’s been a bit of a working vacation as we’ve been trying to evict the slobs who evidently moved into our house without us knowing it. We couldn’t possibly be that messy, could we?? In the process I ordered a grown-up desk for my office to be delivered this week and I’m very excited about that. (“If you get excited about a desk and a calculator, you might be an accountant.”) So until next time…The End. 🙂