Life as a Spectator Sport

I alerted my prime contractor that I wanted to be relieved of some of the area I'm working in, as soon as she could find someone else to do it. I've taken on more and more as other sub-contractors bailed out, and it has become just too much. If I didn't have to drag Clarence along with me, I could do it easily, but his presence slows me down so much that it takes extra days (and the accompanying expense) to do each job. The strain of his constant presence doesn't help either, of course. She said she understood, and would start looking for someone else to take the northern Virginia and southern Maryland counties. In the meantime, she asked, could I handle a 29-inspection job starting right away?

Sure, I said. Actually, the large jobs are easier than the small ones. Drive up there, ensconce Clarence in the hotel, take off for the day to do the work. That I can handle. We were going up there on Monday anyway, so Kate and I could spend Tuesday (our anniversary) together. So we'll just stay the rest of the week. That's enough time to do at least half the inspections, and we can make another extended trip up there later in the month to catch the rest of them. So much for cutting back.

I've actually been knitting the last couple of days. Here is a pair of mittens for an orphanage in Kazakhstan. Nothing special, Cascade 220, 8-10 year old child's size, more or less. They go really fast in that size, a mitten in an evening.



And the beginning of a hot water bottle cover, in Paton's Classic Wool. I've got piles of this yarn in gray. You can make anything with it that needs to be wool--slippers, mittens, scarves, hats, and yes, hot water bottle covers. And of course it felts very well too.

I didn't have the 16-inch circular that the designer called for, so I'm using the trusty old dpn's. Because of that, the cable pattern looks as though it's offset from the middle. Not the case, that's just how it worked out to distribute the stitches around the four needles.

Now I need to take some more of this gray and cast on for a pair of mittens for Clarence to wear on cold mornings. He needs one with a standard thumb, and one that is just a pouch for the hand affected by the stroke. It's nice to be able to knit, to make specialized things like that.

Monday, December 24, 2007

I've been tagged!

First off, huge apologies to Jenn for not responding to her tag for--good grief, over a month?? RL has just been a bitch lately.

Second, here are the rules:

*link to the person who tagged you (easy)
*post the rules (easy)
*name 8 things others don't know about you (umm, not easy, but possible)
*link to 8 other bloggers (damn near impossible--I don't know that many other bloggers well enough to pass this on. But I'll do my best)

Eight things, hmmm.

1. I'd rather do without something, if I can't make it myself, than pay someone else to provide it for me. That philosophy can, of course, be taken to extremes, and I've been accused of taking it there, but I try to be reasonable about it.

2. I hang my laundry out to dry (or inside to dry, if necessary). I gave my dryer away three years ago, after not using it for a year. The only time I regret this decision is when I return home with a week's worth of dirty laundry for two people.

3. After making snide remarks about people who listen to audio books instead of actually *reading* the book, I fell hard for them and now probably listen more than I read. Long hours on the road are much more enjoyable with a Patrick O'Brian book on the iPod. That'll teach me to make snide remarks about anything.

4. I have been a draftsman, an electrical engineer with a power company, a bookstore owner, a computer programmer, a bookkeeper, an international shipping broker, and a couple of other things over the years. Never a dull moment.

5. Jenn mentioned that she's a counter--me too. I'm not compulsive about it, but I do tend to count more often than not. How many steps from the car to the front door, how many turns of the crank as I operate the ball winder, how many stitches in each pattern repeat, pointless trivial quantities, but they must satisfy some need or I wouldn't do it.

6. I can't stand to be micro-managed. If you want me to do something, give me the basic requirements and then go away and let me do it. The reluctance of most supervisors to do that probably accounts for why I've been self-employed most of my life.

7. I have zero tolerance for whining or wheedling or any kind of emotional manipulation. It makes me feel as though the other person doesn't trust me to treat him or her honestly.

8. I love dogs, like cats, tolerate birds, don't care much for lizards or snakes, and my skin crawls at the idea of having any kind of rodent for a pet.

And now, having bared my soul, I really do not know eight people to pass this on to. Sorry, Mom, you're it.

ETA--gosh, that sounds like I don't know eight other people. Not the case, of course. But I don't know eight other bloggers, or at least not well enough to pass on a tag.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Not much knitting going on

Between work, weather and having to cart Clarence back and forth between emergency rooms, hospitals and doctors' offices, the amount of knitting I've turned out lately has been miniscule. I did actually finish a Tychus hat for him, trying to use up some Lion Brand Homespun that has been lying around here forever. I only made three lobes and it still came out too big, but he says he's happy with it. I'm not going to take a picture of it--it didn't look that good.

I did purchase a loom, which is to be delivered tonight. It's a 24" four harness Macomber jack loom, one of the old work horses of weaving. It can be expanded to eight harnesses, but I don't know how easily available the extra harnesses are any more. Macomber has gone out of business, which is a real shame, as they built some of the best-constructed and longest-lasting looms there were. College fine arts departments and craft schools all over the world bought Macomber looms, because you could put one semester after another of students in front of them and they would survive whatever treatment they got. Unfortunately, that may have contributed to the downfall of the company--no one needed to replace their Macomber looms.

Here is a picture of the one I'm getting. I took the liberty of using the picture the previous owner sent me, since I don't yet have it on hand. And considering the weather we're having right now, I may not get it tonight either--non-stop sleet since early this morning. The wheelchair ramp is a sheet of ice.

But she says she's going to try to make it, and in truth, if she can't deliver it tonight, I don't know when we could do it, as I have to be out of town the rest of the week, and have other obligations over the weekend.


On the needles: all the stuff on the sidebar, plus a nearly finished pair of mittens for charity--an orphanage in Kazakhstan. No Christmas knitting this year, I'm afraid. I'll be lucky to be able to find time to buy things for people.

The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section

This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here.

RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email to liz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me INTERNET TRAFFIC REPORT SOCIAL SECURITY CLOCK Which one has the Crisis ?! Plastic bags consumed this year: KNITTING BLOGS A Stitch in Time Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-SUFFICIENCY and INDEPENDENT LIVING -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Food Storage Made Easy The Modern Homestead Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002