I finished Huck Finn. I enjoyed the book until the end. The last 40 pages were hard to get through. What I found most interesting was Caitlin's reaction. She views the book as a tragedy, because Huck is unable to settle down and be part of a family. She thinks he will be unhappy and lonely his whole life, never fitting in and never having love. I think most people view Huck a little enviously as a free spirit who can make his own choices without being tied down by what is accepted in society. I guess Caitlin feels family is very important and I should be pleased about that, but I was really astounded at her reaction.
The next book is Grapes of Wrath. I read it when I was about Caitlin's age. I fell in love with John Steinbeck and started reading all his books in the order he wrote them. When I got to Winter of our Discontent I had to quit. It was too bleak and too depressing. I've never picked up Steinbeck again. I think I will really enjoy rereading Grapes of Wrath.
Since I started the book I did not finish the edging on my garter shawl. The end is in sight and I may even have enough yarn without having to spin up any more. I will be pleased to have it finished, but I guess it will be a couple more days.
We expanded the basement chick area again yesterday, this time upward and build them a roost. They don't seem to have found the roost yet. I think 4 of the chickens are not really ours. We split the chicks with another family. They ordered Blue Andalusians and we ordered Barred Rocks. It was a struggle to tell the chicks apart. Now that the feathers are coming in I don't see the bars and these chicks have blue feet, so I think we got the Adalusians. I'll wait til they are a little bigger to be sure, then we can make the trade.
We got letters from the court about our duties as guardians and my brother seemed to feel pretty overwhelmed, so I volunteered to talk to the lawyer with him and split up some of the tasks. We that's the morning today. Hopefully it won't be too complicated. Spinning tonight, so that's something to look forward to.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
I tried the what kind of yarn are you quiz. Everyone I've seen was Shetland or Mohair or even Cashmere. I turned out to be Dishcloth Cotton. I will not do anymore quizes. Too depressing.
The title for Diane's new car finally arrived. We picked it up after work, went to vote in the primary then celebrated our gigantic debt load by going out to dinner. She is going to DC tonight and offered to leave the truck in the airport parking lot instead of the civic, but I thought after waiting this long she should get to drive her new car to work.
I took dad to day care yesterday in the truck. I suggested we should take his car because I didn't think he could get into the truck. He assured me he could. He did, but it wasn't pretty. He got one knee in and kind of crawled. I think we'll use his car in the future, or I can get a step stool. He says he's been riding in pickup trucks his whole life. I said things change when you're 85. He thinks my truck is higher than necessary. He may be right.
We woke up in the middle of the night Sunday to very loud peeping. One of the chickens had managed to escape the enclosure and couldn't get back in. I'm sure this will be happening more and more. They are no longer cute little chicks. They are medium sized ugly chickens. They are too big and suddenly seem more than we want to handle. It would be much better to start this whole process in March or April instead of January. I want to get them out of the house, but a heat lamp in the barn scares me and if the chicken had escaped in the garage we would have had a dead chicken. So I guess I'm stuck for the near future. A coop out in the sun is tops on Matthew's to do list. Then I can lay awake at night worrying about hawks. I wouldn't know what to do without SOMETHING to worry about.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
There was an ad in Sunday's paper for volunteers to help in the costume shop of the ballet. Since I should be volunteering anyway I called. I hope it works out. I did some help with costumes for the Nutcracker a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. The ballet hires dressmakers instead of depending on parents and it is fascinating to watch them work and listen to them talk. I think I would learn a lot, fulfill my volunteer obligation and have fun at the same time.
I'm also applying for a job as a Music Engraver. Who knows if that will be fun, but it might be interesting, should pay more and provides benefits. The down side is that it is full time, but the ad said flexible hours. They may not even interview me, so it certainly doesn't hurt to send the letter.
I am almost half done attaching the edging to my faroese shawl. It is unpleasant knitting. It makes my hands hurt, I'm not really sure why, except that the needles are too small for the yarn. I also tend to feel more comfortable with straight needles rather than circular. After this is done, I feel like I should reward myself by starting something new, but it sure does feel good to finish an old project, so maybe I'll take on another one. I have a purple jacket that I really would be excited to finish, and a boring lace shawl that would make me feel less guilty about starting a more interesting one. As well as the certification projects. Decisions, decisions.
Monday, February 16, 2004
I finished the shawl for Cailin. I had about an hour to spare. No time to block properly, but I did a fair job with the steam iron. No edging either, but I did a scallopped castoff and it looks very nice. The middle section turned out to be just the width of her shoulders, so the rest of the patterns fall just perfectly - looks like I planned it that way! Of course now I feel a little lost with no deadlines looming...
I am finishing my faroese garter stitch shawl. Miles of edging to knit on, and it looks like I may have to spin up a little more yarn to finish it. This was a top down. While people say that's nice because you don't have to cast on so many stitches, I really think psychologically it's nicer to end up with 20 stitches when you're tired of the project than to be knitting these incredibly long rows. If I make another I think I'll start from the bottom.
We got a big box of yarn in the mail on Saturday. I received a flyer in the mail about a sweater kit sale for 34.95 each, 4 for 109. So we bought 4. Diane has started her first sweater, a very pretty medium blue gansey. Matthew will pick one of the colors for his 4H knitting project. The pattern he picked out is a ribbed pullover, but I think just a plain knit one might be safer. I did teach him how to purl successfully, but a whole sweater of ribbing might be asking a lot for a first knitting project. Then I'll take what's left and make an aran cardigan. Caitlin is not interested in wearing anything like a sweater. Full coverage is not the style.
I have my truck. It is VERY big. I don't think dad can get in and out, so we're talking about having Diane drive the truck on the days I get him, or we can use his car. Diane's new car can't be sold yet because the dealer doesn't have the title yet. She is very disappointed - I'm not sure why it's such a big deal to her, but it is. Maybe today.
I have a spinning student coming tomorrow morning. Hope it goes well.
Thursday, February 12, 2004
My car turned out to be totaled. Over $800 worth of damage - twisted frame, bent wheel, shifted radiator. So we decide to replace it. Diane and I spent yesterday morning at the used car dealer and we're buying a Ford F150 pickup and a Honda Civic. Trading in the wrecked car and the mini van. We also have a huge white van parked in the pasture and we'll try to sell that come spring when the snow melts. That means we're in debt and I'm feeling anxious. But hopefully I'll get over it soon. I've had a lot of computer work this month and that should continue for a while, so I will be making some money and we can get the loans paid down quickly.
On the knitting front, I have 30 rows to finish Caitlin's stole. That means I should be able to get an edging on it and get it blocked by Saturday night. I think it will be pretty and she is very happy, which is what counts.
One of the waterers quit working. It turns out it's frozen and the plumber says he can't thaw it. We're going to discuss options tomorrow.
Given all that's gone wrong lately, I think I'm holding up very well. I just haven't slept well for a few nights. Once the car business is handled I can only hope life will settle down.
Monday, February 9, 2004
We are having bad luck with cars. Caitlin and I had dinner on Friday night, then she wanted to drive to town to get turtle brownies, choclate sauce, ice cream and caramel sauce. Who am I to say no? About 50 yards down the road I hit a patch of ice (I guess) - the car spun out and we ended up in the ditch. At least we were close enough to walk home. Had to call a tow truck to extricate the car and it really doesn't drive right so we took it to the repair shop. Hope it's not too expensive. We are seriously talking about new vehicles, but not yet!
I am almost done with Caitlin's stole for her dance on Saturday. I will have it done on time, but maybe no edging. The problem is, once you start an edgine you kind of have to finish it. A half edged stole would look very dumb. Knitters Guild tonight, so I'll spend some time knitting. The guest speaker is Nancy Bush and she is showing slides, so probably not as much knitting time as usual.
We've had lots of snow. Everything looks so beautiful. I drive around and see the snow covered trees and the barns and horses standing out in snowy pastures and I really love this place. I don't want to move. Diane withdrew from the Houston job. I'm happy that I can stay here guilt free, but she did it without telling me first and I am incredibly hurt. Don't know what I can do about it though.
There was a PBS special on Alzheimer's a couple weeks ago. I taped it and finally watched the tape this weekend. It was pretty bleak, but there is some hope. I am taking Vitamin E and Vitamin C supplements, working crossword puzzles and knitting. The show did give me a little insight into what my dad must be feeling. And I would really feel sorry for my mom if I had any indication that she cared at all about what's happening. Since I probably have 20 years before I would start to be incapacitated, I have some hope that treatments and preventatives will be available before then. What a terrible, terrible disease.
Monday, February 2, 2004
Went and got an estimate on the car this morning. Thank goodness for insurance. It will take 8-10 days to repair. You wonder if whoever did it has a clue how hard this has been for us. I just don't understand how people can drive drunk (my assumption as to the cause of this accident) and how people can hit and run. This car only has 52,000 miles, so I think it is worth fixing.
One of the waterers has quit working. I think I will just wait til we have a good thaw and see if it starts up again. But maybe I should call and ask the plumber what he thinks. I may have turned the water off, so probably I should check that first. How embarassing to have the guy come out and find out the valve is closed.
The chicks are growing daily. Pretty soon we'll have to come up with a new home for them. Matthew threw in a box elder bug and they went crazy. If it weren't for the poop issue I'd let them solve my bug problems.
I am not happy with the current lace patter on Caitlin's shawl. It looks okay, but is hard to knit. Lots of double yarn overs, then I drop one on the next row without noticing. Only 10 more pattern rows left and I can move on to something else. I figure I need to get the shawl done this week. That will leave me a week for the edging.
The cat has started this weird behavior. He sits on my lap, then rests the top of his head on my hands while I type, purring very loudly the whole time. Very cute, but a little hard on the wrists.
