To Bring You Up To Date

  One month later, and I'm still driving someone else's vehicle. I'm not even sure if the new engine has been ordered. But Dad's 4 wheel drive pick-up has come in handy after the several snow events that have happened in the last couple of weeks. 

And the heated seats are nice too. My next vehicle will definitely have heated seats.

I got this.

  On Tuesday, my wonderful daughter told me that I needed to take her shopping. Shopping for a warm hat that will stay on while she's skiing. Because Friday is the first ski Club trip.

Um. Really?

"Honey, do you not see the bins of yarn downstairs? I think I've got it covered."  

Teenagers!

Edited to add: Finished the hat at 5pm Thursday!

Straight down the crapper!

I knew things had been going to well lately. I got all content with my life, and that jinxed it!

My car died. It didn't slowly wither away. There was no reason to suspect a problem. It showed no symptoms, then BAM! It was gone. Well, not really BAM, it was more of a "CLACKETY, CLACKETY, CLACKETY, RATTLE, RATTLE, SILENCE" episode. And so there it sits, lifeless, in the driveway. 

The preliminary diagnosis is that the engine is dead. Gone. Seized up. Kaput. 

The treatment? Engine transplant. 

And so my life has gone down the crapper. We can't manage two car payments, and professional repair costs almost as much as a crappy used car. So, self-repair is Karl's preferred option. Yeah. Self-repair, to replace the engine. (Don't worry, I think he's crazy too)

It's still going to cost a bundle, just a slightly smaller bundle. Goodbye 2014 family vacation. Goodbye 2104 "mental health" vacation to New Hampshire. Goodbye new windows. Goodbye kitchen makeover.

Just kill me now.

In which I bore you with my boring life.

  It's the last day of 2013. I was going to write a nice long "year in review" post, but I don't have the time: there's a mountain of dishes to do, I have to take Katrina to Kohls to exchange a gift, and I have a LMS gig tonight. So, here's a review of what has happened since my last post

• We got a new hamster. His/her name is Sherlock/Shirley the Transgender Teleporting Hamster. The little guy/gal is not terribly tame, so we've not been able to tell if it's a he or a she. He/she's terribly cute and moves at lightning speed, so no photos. Here's a stock photo of this type of hamster though:

He/she's a Robo Hamster

•  At work, we worked tirelessly to launch a new website, and it's actually working! Orders are trickling in. Yes, it's an odd combination, but we combined the two stores onto one website - shopthehouse.com - kitchen supplies along with toys and games. Give the site a visit (it's still not 100% done, but we're getting there) and do some ordering! Chances are pretty good I'll be the one packing the order.

• It snowed.
• It snowed again.
• The cat is sick - I'm worried.
• Christmas was good.
• My birthday didn't exist because we spent it with Karl's family. But my Facebook friends made up for that with all their birthday wishes - Thanks!
• It's snotsicle cold right now
• I'm still not sure what day it is and whether or not I'm supposed to be going to work. It will take a while to get out of the "holiday rush" mindset.

And, that's about the extent of it. Wow, so boring. Sorry.

Happy New Year.

An Ode to Vincenzo

  A two year old dwarf hamster is an elderly hamster. Their average lifespan is 2 - 2½ years. Our dwarf hamster, Mr Nibbles is 2¼ years old. He's not looking so good lately. After being in the veterinary field for so long, I can appreciate having to make that difficult decision to end a pet's suffering. I am lucky that my family can also appreciate and understand that. 

  Mr Nibbles was named that because the first time we picked him up, he just nibbled our fingers a little, just to check us out. His first name of Vincenzo was added later. He's always been very friendly, and we've enjoyed his antics. Plus, he's just so damn cute!

We'll miss you Mr Nibbles. You've been a good hamster.

Playing Chicken

  I spent most of my Tuesday fretting over a chicken. Not just any chicken, mind you. A special chicken, close to my heart. 

  It seems as though Miss Pickles has her timing off a bit, and has decided to molt now, as the temperatures start to dip below freezing. It's like a feather pillow exploded in the coop - feathers everywhere! The weather on Tuesday was more like late November in Wisconsin: cloudy, windy, and below freezing all day. The poor girl was cold and I was worried. 

  My first response was feed her warm food. She loves oatmeal with some dried mealworms on top! Well, this whole "I'm half naked and cold" had her stressed, and she didn't want to eat anything. My next idea, as a knitter, was a sweater! She needs a sweater! As luck would have it, I had finished one chicken sweater last winter. That went over like a lead balloon. Have you ever seen a chicken walk backward? Her tiny little chicken brain told her that was the way out of the sweater so that's what she did. It stayed on, and she was miserable. She looked fabulous though!

yes, that's snow behind her. See why I was worried?

  The only other solution was to bring her inside and let her warm up. But I needed some sort of containment for her. I didn't want a loose chicken in the house. So off to work I went to grab some boxes before the recycling truck took them away. Luckily for me, the alley behind the store was blocked by the roofers fixing the drugstore's roof, and the recycling truck never made it down the alley.( Unluckily for me, I'd have to drag all those boxes of cardboard back into the store the next day). With several large "emergency chicken housing" boxes procured, I sped home and set up shop in the office.

  

  Pickles was confused for a while, and just stood exactly where I put her down. It made me sad, so I sat with her in my lap. THAT was what she needed! She settled down on my lap, got warmed up, and was back to her old self after an hour or so.  She even had a little snack.

  By then, it was late afternoon and getting colder. Oh man, do I take her back outside for the night? Do I wait until morning? AARRGGHH! So frustrating and worrisome.

  I decided to put her back out in the coop for the night. I felt better when her sisters let her up on the perch between them, and they snuggled up for the night.

  It really was an all day affair. Very stressful for me. And the indoor coop is still set up, just in case.

Edited to add: I just read this again, and I realized what a crazy person I have become!

Hey There, Hi There, Ho There!

  I know my Ravelry buddies do, but does everyone else know what to do with this box at the bottom of every post?

  As the red arrow indicates, it's a place for you to comment on the post without writing a comment. Click the box next to your reaction. Did you think it was a hilarious post? Did you learn something new? Let me know!

Anyway, I've sifted through my ten's of photos from my trip - mainly photos of "the view from..." because I'm not creative. Here are a few of my favorites: (click the individual photo to embiggen)

My ocean view - low tide 

Lunch at Bob's Clam Hut

Now THAT's some big knitting!

Yes, that's a solid block of Maple Sugar. I didn't buy it :-(

A lovely fall display at the Stonewall Kitchen store

Teddy models the blanket Zoolander style!

Airport dinner of champions - Munchkins and egg sandwich!