Sunday, December 28, 2014
Goodbye 2014
I cant believe how long it has been since I posted!
I should do at least one more posting before the end of the year.......and I cannot believe how quickly the year has gone by!
Hubby is recovering from knee surgery. He hurt it somehow in May. Tried PT without success......an injection without success. Found an excellant MD who tried a (very very expensive) injection with temporary success. But then found out that MD did not take our insurance. His office is trying to get a contract with our insurance company......but in the end he was a wonderful gentleman. He accepted the pittance our insurance paid, plus the amount we paid, and then wrote off the balance.
So then our primary MD retired. And we found a new one. And he recommended a surgeon who takes our insurance. After an MRI he diagnosed a meniscal tear. And he had surgery 3 days after his birthday. After about the first 3 days post op he has been doing so good. No longer walking like Walter Brennan....started out with crutches for one day....then one crutch for one and half days, and nothing since. His back no longer hurts because of the hitch in his gitalong. Tuesday he gets the 4 little stitches out (could have come out last week if it wasnt a holiday week!)....because he wouldnt let me take them out! And then back to driving!
Several blogs I read keep track of their addiction, whether or not it is fabric or yarn. Well, I am not organized enough to do that but I will probably keep mentioning stash that I am knitting up. I am joining a KAL in 2015. A pair of socks/ month from stash. Already picked out 12 skeins of yarn (why are so many of them similar in colors?????) and had my husband bag them up (with me in another room) in numbered bags.
I have 2 pairs on the needles - one sock from each pair. And those are both stash yarns. And then I found a little kit that I bought back in 2009. Back when I broke my ankle I joined a Pattern of The Month Club and I found one kit left. And that one is almost done.
I should do at least one more posting before the end of the year.......and I cannot believe how quickly the year has gone by!
Hubby is recovering from knee surgery. He hurt it somehow in May. Tried PT without success......an injection without success. Found an excellant MD who tried a (very very expensive) injection with temporary success. But then found out that MD did not take our insurance. His office is trying to get a contract with our insurance company......but in the end he was a wonderful gentleman. He accepted the pittance our insurance paid, plus the amount we paid, and then wrote off the balance.
So then our primary MD retired. And we found a new one. And he recommended a surgeon who takes our insurance. After an MRI he diagnosed a meniscal tear. And he had surgery 3 days after his birthday. After about the first 3 days post op he has been doing so good. No longer walking like Walter Brennan....started out with crutches for one day....then one crutch for one and half days, and nothing since. His back no longer hurts because of the hitch in his gitalong. Tuesday he gets the 4 little stitches out (could have come out last week if it wasnt a holiday week!)....because he wouldnt let me take them out! And then back to driving!
Several blogs I read keep track of their addiction, whether or not it is fabric or yarn. Well, I am not organized enough to do that but I will probably keep mentioning stash that I am knitting up. I am joining a KAL in 2015. A pair of socks/ month from stash. Already picked out 12 skeins of yarn (why are so many of them similar in colors?????) and had my husband bag them up (with me in another room) in numbered bags.
I have 2 pairs on the needles - one sock from each pair. And those are both stash yarns. And then I found a little kit that I bought back in 2009. Back when I broke my ankle I joined a Pattern of The Month Club and I found one kit left. And that one is almost done.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Hey - it's Summer! How Is Yours Going?
How has your summer been?
Mine has been busy but not in the way I intended. At the point I was finally getting "my" crafter etc room set up (moved a bookshelf in; organizing books and yarn and accessories) we invited my daughter and her family to move home ....
So I have spent it clearing out 3 rooms for them to inhabit.....2 are 99% done. "My" room is getting cleared out. The problem is just figuring out where to put everything! we don't have a big house......those 3 rooms are all upstairs......sigh......
Its going to be interesting for them to get use to living with us - and for us to have them living here. Not use to little ones in the house. But it will be a relief for daughter to know there are people around to help care for the kids while she travels for the jobs.....and to get out of the apt that has caused so much frustration (storage broken into and all their things stolen; car broken into 2x).
Then we decided after 20+ years we would bite the bullet and have air conditioning put in. OUCH! But when the first company (we had contacted 2 others who were no shows) that showed up came on the property - we found out we don't even have the ampage for air conditioning - and that would add another $2500 - 3000 to the cost.....
So now next Friday we have someone coming to measure for shutters upstairs. We know we want them on the 3 bedrooms just have to decide whether or not to put them in the bathroom and hall up there too. Something that we would eventually have gotten around to but now that they will be living up there, we need to move on it.
We will probably be going down the last weekend of July to move them up here so I need to get moving on finishing that room. As I said, my main problem (besides the embarrassing fact of having just too much junk) is where to put everything.
When we first moved the bookshelf upstairs I weeded out duplicates and books I would never use (craft books) well, when we moved it back downstairs I have weeded out more. Plus we had a garage sale. And have rented a storage unit for the stuff we don't want to get rid of and the stuff they don't want to get rid.
The good thing about the shutters is that we wont have to hang curtains - altho they will have to suffer for a couple of weeks without them.
I am also doing Camp Loopy again this year - finished what should have been an easy first project - but it wasn't.
Awaiting July 1st to start on the next project. And then some true vacation time in August (Disneyland...August....oh my.....with our daughters, their SO, and all the grands) and somewhere that we haven't totally decided upon in September.
Sunday we will be going to the County Fair with all the grandkids, and their parents....will see if hubby and I won anything on our entries. Maybe he did, I doubt I did. And of course, it is supposed to be the hottest day in a couple of weeks....and the fairgrounds is always hotter due to all the blacktop and the animals and the people!
Lots of sadness in our group of friends. Have been asking for lots of prayers from people. It breaks your heart when you hurt for them but realize there really isn't much you can do.
So how has your life been??? LOL
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Memorial Day Weekend 2014
First all - my gratitude is boundless for all those who have served their countries and lost their lives due to the wars/conflicts in whatever manner.
It was a mixed weekend. The best of times, the worst of times......
1. Golf.....hubby was very very disappointed. He went to the course he has been going to for year, www.sierrameadows.com in Ahwanee. The price had gone up - $65 for a weekday (he later found out that they apparently gave him a discount cause he was told it is usually $75). First of all the golf cart was falling apart. Literally. Wish I had taken a photo. But the padded seat was loose from the frame. Then it was lunch time......don't step between a hungry man and his food! He ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. Easy peasy right? Two guys came in behind him and ordered cheeseburgers. They got their lunch. He is still waiting. When he asked about his sandwich he was told she "forgot about it". 1/2 an hour for lunch totally breaks your mojo....at least that is what he says. Says he was playing great on the front nine. Then he got onto the back nine and the 3 some in front was holding him up....he was playing alone.....they offered to let him join, he asked to play thru (apparently it is common courtey for this) they wouldn't let him. So (knowing him he had lost his temper long about lunchtime) his game fell apart and he ended up quitting 3+ hours into the game. 3 holes from the finish....he was not a happy camper to say the least.
2. Coarsegold Peddlers Fair... we love this place. Use to love the Antique Show in Oakhurst but that dwindled and went by the wayside years ago. So we discovered this. It use to take us several hours to walk thru it and look at all the antiques/vintage/collectibles/trash. Well, for whatever reason it is getting smaller....thot it was small last year - ha! This year there was a lot of junk...plain ole made in China junk. And I was so looking forward to lemonade and funnel cake - and they weren't there. Anyway....with lunch and all we were done in 2 hours. Bummer. http://www.northforkvue.com/entertainment/193739/2014-annual-peddlers-fair-in-the-coarsegold-historic-village-coming-on-memorial-day-weekend/
3. Yosemite... we ALWAYS go into Yosemite on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. Always. And we know it is going to be busy but still......it was a disaster this year! I have never seen it so crowded - and most of the crowd were brainless, rude people! We rode our bikes around the Valley and I don't know how many times we had to come to a screeching stop because a group would just stop and block the path while the talked or looked at maps! Really???? Or people walking who would not move out of the way. So we decided to take a 2 hour tour......at 2 PM we figured we would be done, change our clothes, and head out of the valley to make our 6:30PM dinner reservations....HA! Our 2 hour tour, well, we got our money's worth cause it last 4 HOURS!!!! It then took up 2.5 hours to get back to Oakhurst with the majority of that time trying to wind our way around the valley floor....and having to wait for all those much more important people who do not have to follow the traffic laws because their time/life is so much more important than anyone else. Oh yeah, our wonderful special dinner was pancakes for me and a BLT for husband at Denney's!
4. Katie's Country Kitchen - we ate here for the first time last year (mainly because the breakfasts were so terrible at the place we use to stay at - the Narrow Gauge Inn (http://www.narrowgaugeinn.com/) - and wondered why we had never eaten there before! The food was wonderful! So hubby wanted pancakes so we ditched the breakfast at the B&B (and the breakfasts there were fine!) to go here.....BIG MISTAKE! My guess is when they heard that Denney's was going in the owners sold quickly.......my husband had undercooked sausage, GRITTY pancakes, syrup in the packages from McDonalds....my eggs were ok, but I think the English Muffin was at least a week old and very obviously NOT Thomas'....and I don't think they understand what HOT tea means......and while we were there I checked my email (we had very sporadic service up in the hills) and found a notice from a CC company that we rarely use - in fact, haven't used at all this year. Well, someone had taken 2 taxi rides in Sweden for over $200!!!!!!!!! And some other charges.....what a way to start the day!
5. The Met Cinema (http://www.sierranewsonline.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1317:mission-to-save-the-met-cinema&Itemid=467). When we first started going up to this area there was a theater in Bass Lake. It was sooooo neat....had a tree growing right in the middle of it! And the seating was so steep you felt like you were going to take a header when you were going down the stairs. But it closed. So we would drive into Oakhurst to the Met. An old theater - small theater, old seats. But CHEAP movies! Maybe not first run but not too bad. Guess they started going broke and in fact closed down. So they came up with the idea of saving it by making it into a "membership theater". Yeah, I had never heard of this either. But you pay a certain amount of money each month and you get to see unlimited movies. Great idea - and it saved the theater! But if you are a tourist, you are screwed - unless you are going to be there for more than one day. To go to a movie you have to buy a One Day Membership for $16!!!!! and then another $7 or more for your 'guest'. But it is all good - you can go to as many movies as you want in that one day! But $23 for one movie + drinks + eats - really????? That is far more than we pay here!!!
Ok, so it wasn't a total loss.....
1. Chukchansi Casino http://www.chukchansigold.com/....hubs likes to go and gamble a little (and I mean a little; he takes a small amt of cash and that is all he uses) while I sit in the lobby and read or knit. He came back to me relatively quickly this time not looking happy at all.....but he couldn't maintain the look! He won $900! But then after that he couldn't win much. So we headed into the buffet and had dinner. Then we left to go to a movie (see above)..... the last movie of the day at 6:45 PM.......do you think we paid all that money to see ONE movie??? You are so right.....we went back to the B&B, drank some wine, and watched some TV! And Tuesday we went and saw the movie here for much less than that price!
2. Yosemite....Yosemite is still beautiful.....water in the waterfalls and rivers....some dogwood still blooming....lupines....something called a snowplant which I couldn't see because of the man sitting next to me on the tram who blocked me from leaning forward OR leaning back....lots of mule deer and birds.....
3. The Hounds Tooth Inn http://houndstoothinn.com/ Very very nice place. If you are ever in the area.....the new manager's first day was Friday when we checked in. Very nice family. Clean place. Nice and quiet (you barely hear the highway right above you). Breakfasts were decent. Wine and cheese in the evenings.
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We went to several garage sales. Didn't get anything here but loved how the woman makes 'totems' (as they called them) out of vintage glass wear
Mirror Lake
Mule Deer
Bridalveil Falls
See what the sign says?
Now see all the cars full of people whose lives and time were far more important than anyone elses's so of course that sign did not pertain to them!
It was a mixed weekend. The best of times, the worst of times......
1. Golf.....hubby was very very disappointed. He went to the course he has been going to for year, www.sierrameadows.com in Ahwanee. The price had gone up - $65 for a weekday (he later found out that they apparently gave him a discount cause he was told it is usually $75). First of all the golf cart was falling apart. Literally. Wish I had taken a photo. But the padded seat was loose from the frame. Then it was lunch time......don't step between a hungry man and his food! He ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. Easy peasy right? Two guys came in behind him and ordered cheeseburgers. They got their lunch. He is still waiting. When he asked about his sandwich he was told she "forgot about it". 1/2 an hour for lunch totally breaks your mojo....at least that is what he says. Says he was playing great on the front nine. Then he got onto the back nine and the 3 some in front was holding him up....he was playing alone.....they offered to let him join, he asked to play thru (apparently it is common courtey for this) they wouldn't let him. So (knowing him he had lost his temper long about lunchtime) his game fell apart and he ended up quitting 3+ hours into the game. 3 holes from the finish....he was not a happy camper to say the least.
2. Coarsegold Peddlers Fair... we love this place. Use to love the Antique Show in Oakhurst but that dwindled and went by the wayside years ago. So we discovered this. It use to take us several hours to walk thru it and look at all the antiques/vintage/collectibles/trash. Well, for whatever reason it is getting smaller....thot it was small last year - ha! This year there was a lot of junk...plain ole made in China junk. And I was so looking forward to lemonade and funnel cake - and they weren't there. Anyway....with lunch and all we were done in 2 hours. Bummer. http://www.northforkvue.com/entertainment/193739/2014-annual-peddlers-fair-in-the-coarsegold-historic-village-coming-on-memorial-day-weekend/
3. Yosemite... we ALWAYS go into Yosemite on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. Always. And we know it is going to be busy but still......it was a disaster this year! I have never seen it so crowded - and most of the crowd were brainless, rude people! We rode our bikes around the Valley and I don't know how many times we had to come to a screeching stop because a group would just stop and block the path while the talked or looked at maps! Really???? Or people walking who would not move out of the way. So we decided to take a 2 hour tour......at 2 PM we figured we would be done, change our clothes, and head out of the valley to make our 6:30PM dinner reservations....HA! Our 2 hour tour, well, we got our money's worth cause it last 4 HOURS!!!! It then took up 2.5 hours to get back to Oakhurst with the majority of that time trying to wind our way around the valley floor....and having to wait for all those much more important people who do not have to follow the traffic laws because their time/life is so much more important than anyone else. Oh yeah, our wonderful special dinner was pancakes for me and a BLT for husband at Denney's!
4. Katie's Country Kitchen - we ate here for the first time last year (mainly because the breakfasts were so terrible at the place we use to stay at - the Narrow Gauge Inn (http://www.narrowgaugeinn.com/) - and wondered why we had never eaten there before! The food was wonderful! So hubby wanted pancakes so we ditched the breakfast at the B&B (and the breakfasts there were fine!) to go here.....BIG MISTAKE! My guess is when they heard that Denney's was going in the owners sold quickly.......my husband had undercooked sausage, GRITTY pancakes, syrup in the packages from McDonalds....my eggs were ok, but I think the English Muffin was at least a week old and very obviously NOT Thomas'....and I don't think they understand what HOT tea means......and while we were there I checked my email (we had very sporadic service up in the hills) and found a notice from a CC company that we rarely use - in fact, haven't used at all this year. Well, someone had taken 2 taxi rides in Sweden for over $200!!!!!!!!! And some other charges.....what a way to start the day!
5. The Met Cinema (http://www.sierranewsonline.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1317:mission-to-save-the-met-cinema&Itemid=467). When we first started going up to this area there was a theater in Bass Lake. It was sooooo neat....had a tree growing right in the middle of it! And the seating was so steep you felt like you were going to take a header when you were going down the stairs. But it closed. So we would drive into Oakhurst to the Met. An old theater - small theater, old seats. But CHEAP movies! Maybe not first run but not too bad. Guess they started going broke and in fact closed down. So they came up with the idea of saving it by making it into a "membership theater". Yeah, I had never heard of this either. But you pay a certain amount of money each month and you get to see unlimited movies. Great idea - and it saved the theater! But if you are a tourist, you are screwed - unless you are going to be there for more than one day. To go to a movie you have to buy a One Day Membership for $16!!!!! and then another $7 or more for your 'guest'. But it is all good - you can go to as many movies as you want in that one day! But $23 for one movie + drinks + eats - really????? That is far more than we pay here!!!
Ok, so it wasn't a total loss.....
1. Chukchansi Casino http://www.chukchansigold.com/....hubs likes to go and gamble a little (and I mean a little; he takes a small amt of cash and that is all he uses) while I sit in the lobby and read or knit. He came back to me relatively quickly this time not looking happy at all.....but he couldn't maintain the look! He won $900! But then after that he couldn't win much. So we headed into the buffet and had dinner. Then we left to go to a movie (see above)..... the last movie of the day at 6:45 PM.......do you think we paid all that money to see ONE movie??? You are so right.....we went back to the B&B, drank some wine, and watched some TV! And Tuesday we went and saw the movie here for much less than that price!
2. Yosemite....Yosemite is still beautiful.....water in the waterfalls and rivers....some dogwood still blooming....lupines....something called a snowplant which I couldn't see because of the man sitting next to me on the tram who blocked me from leaning forward OR leaning back....lots of mule deer and birds.....
3. The Hounds Tooth Inn http://houndstoothinn.com/ Very very nice place. If you are ever in the area.....the new manager's first day was Friday when we checked in. Very nice family. Clean place. Nice and quiet (you barely hear the highway right above you). Breakfasts were decent. Wine and cheese in the evenings.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Changes
Life has been changing and I guess it is time to share some of them.
Last month? NO, it was March I received an email from the director of the school I taught at. Basically, one of the instructors quit in the midst of a semester (hard to explain since this is a school that goes year round) and there were 2 more modules to teach in a class I once taught. She buttered me up nicely telling me how well I had taught the class - which is a huge laugh because I struggled with this class and hated it so much.
So before I decided I went to the school and sat down with her. Explained how I was more than willing to help out but the issue I had right after I left was any time I offered my help - and it was accepted by the assistant - she would then mess around with dates and all which made it totally not doable for me since I work full time.
So basically this kind and desperate woman offered me carte blanche just about. So I have 3 dates I am working for them - one day in April, one in May, and one in June. And even tho I hate the class - I had fun going back! But what took me by surprise - because I had already forgotten this - was HOW EXHAUSTING it is to stand in front of a class and TALK all day!!!
The other big change well....lets start off with saying I was finally getting serious about finishing up putting the one bedroom together to hold all my junk. Bin-ing up all my yarn and labeling the bins. Cleaning up the books on the shelf and getting rid of ones I will never use or that are duplicates. Cleaning out and off the desk.
And then daughter and her family come home for Easter. That was a lovely time! She flew in from Houston and we picked her up from the airport and knew something was wrong. But she wouldn't talk about it. Her SO and kids drove up from Southern Ca. And we had a blast - exhausting and noisy with all 3 kids and extras (SO and girlfriend) and 5 grandkids - but it was great.
And then finally the day we were taking her back to the airport she started talking. Suffice to say that the promotion she has taken which is wonderful for her has put a strain on finances .... because of all the travel she has to do her SO couldn't hold on to his job. And altho they are so glad to be back in CA (even if it is Southern CA) it has proven to them how expensive it is to live in CA - and how much they miss TN.
Their plan has been ultimately to move to Northern CA but it didn't look as tho it was going to happen for a year or two. But with the latest promotion she is not really tied to any one building.....and they are opening a new building in Newark.
So we are madly cleaning out the upstairs because come June our house capacity will increase by 4 people and 2 more dogs. We are going to have to rent storage again - for some of our things and for their things. And it is going to be quite an adjustment for ALL of us. But they will be able to save money - he can look for a job because hubs and I can help with the kids, getting them to and from school and watching on weekends and holidays.
Gathering stuff together for at least one (if not more) big garage sale. When you HAVE to do it it is so much easier than when you just want to do it......I have even pared all my purses down to just a few.......so two bedrooms are done - and we will be able to put them back together once we have a gathering place for the garage sale stuff. Put some pink curtains up in one and move some of the bedroom furniture around.
And hubs even talked about us going thru the garage so that I can put my bins of yarn out there (not my first choice!) because they would be more accessible than in storage! Hey - he is thinking of me! So the last room to go thru is the one I was putting together as my room.....that is going to be the hardest one of all because it has the most in it.....
I think Easter photos are on Facebook so will have to transfer some over here. But for now I need to go to the Farmer's market!
Last month? NO, it was March I received an email from the director of the school I taught at. Basically, one of the instructors quit in the midst of a semester (hard to explain since this is a school that goes year round) and there were 2 more modules to teach in a class I once taught. She buttered me up nicely telling me how well I had taught the class - which is a huge laugh because I struggled with this class and hated it so much.
So before I decided I went to the school and sat down with her. Explained how I was more than willing to help out but the issue I had right after I left was any time I offered my help - and it was accepted by the assistant - she would then mess around with dates and all which made it totally not doable for me since I work full time.
So basically this kind and desperate woman offered me carte blanche just about. So I have 3 dates I am working for them - one day in April, one in May, and one in June. And even tho I hate the class - I had fun going back! But what took me by surprise - because I had already forgotten this - was HOW EXHAUSTING it is to stand in front of a class and TALK all day!!!
The other big change well....lets start off with saying I was finally getting serious about finishing up putting the one bedroom together to hold all my junk. Bin-ing up all my yarn and labeling the bins. Cleaning up the books on the shelf and getting rid of ones I will never use or that are duplicates. Cleaning out and off the desk.
And then daughter and her family come home for Easter. That was a lovely time! She flew in from Houston and we picked her up from the airport and knew something was wrong. But she wouldn't talk about it. Her SO and kids drove up from Southern Ca. And we had a blast - exhausting and noisy with all 3 kids and extras (SO and girlfriend) and 5 grandkids - but it was great.
And then finally the day we were taking her back to the airport she started talking. Suffice to say that the promotion she has taken which is wonderful for her has put a strain on finances .... because of all the travel she has to do her SO couldn't hold on to his job. And altho they are so glad to be back in CA (even if it is Southern CA) it has proven to them how expensive it is to live in CA - and how much they miss TN.
Their plan has been ultimately to move to Northern CA but it didn't look as tho it was going to happen for a year or two. But with the latest promotion she is not really tied to any one building.....and they are opening a new building in Newark.
So we are madly cleaning out the upstairs because come June our house capacity will increase by 4 people and 2 more dogs. We are going to have to rent storage again - for some of our things and for their things. And it is going to be quite an adjustment for ALL of us. But they will be able to save money - he can look for a job because hubs and I can help with the kids, getting them to and from school and watching on weekends and holidays.
Gathering stuff together for at least one (if not more) big garage sale. When you HAVE to do it it is so much easier than when you just want to do it......I have even pared all my purses down to just a few.......so two bedrooms are done - and we will be able to put them back together once we have a gathering place for the garage sale stuff. Put some pink curtains up in one and move some of the bedroom furniture around.
And hubs even talked about us going thru the garage so that I can put my bins of yarn out there (not my first choice!) because they would be more accessible than in storage! Hey - he is thinking of me! So the last room to go thru is the one I was putting together as my room.....that is going to be the hardest one of all because it has the most in it.....
I think Easter photos are on Facebook so will have to transfer some over here. But for now I need to go to the Farmer's market!
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