29 November, 2016

Less spam

I have noticed a marked decrease in the amount of spam I've been getting lately.  Usually if I didn't open my Yahoo mail for a day I'd  have more than 100 spam emails but now it's a 10th of that.  I opened it up today after a week and there was only 66.  Fantastic.

So, where did the week go?  Well Wednesday I was feeling a little under the weather and decided to skip the gym.  I baked a pumpkin pie instead.  Thursday was Thanksgiving and I made a nice dinner for just the two of us.  Friday was the Apple Cup and Ben had the day off.  Oh what a great game that was!  This Friday the Huskies play Colorado for the Pac12 Championship.  Then?  Well it could be that there is a playoff in their future.  SO exciting.

Saturday was a beautiful day so we put up the lights on the house.  It's always a tough job but we  spread it out and finished it up on Sunday.  My feeling is that it's a little TOO colorful but what the heck.  Then when we finished up on Sunday I took Tink to the park before we settled in to watch the Seahawks get absolutely humiliated by Tampa Bay.  It was terrible.  Awful.  I got lots of knitting done on my cashmere wrap.  Which, by the way, is absolutely heavenly.  I can't wait to finish it so I can block it. I want to bring it with me too Paris.  I think it's going to be cold, because next week it's getting cold enough to snow here.

Tuesday - my computer day and shopping day.  I've got to go up to Alderwood and get some things at Nordstrom.  Maybe shop for a new top or another pair of jeans for my trip.  Oooooo .... it's getting close and I'm finally getting excited.

22 November, 2016

More forms

Unbelievable  -  I have two more forms to fill out for retirement! I thought all of the forms were accounted for in my packet but either I skipped a couple or they weren't included.  Well happy days, they have been sent to me for completion and they're good ones.  My official UW Retirement form, which will give me my UW free parking anywhere forever, and the VEBA which is an account for miscellaneous medical expenses - copays and medicine - which uses your accrued sick pay.  But you know what?  They can't make me go back to work!!  woohoo!!

I had a really tough workout yesterday.  It felt like Friday, it was that tough.  I think I might be fighting a bug.  I am so tired all of the time.  But I slept in today and I was going to the mall, but I think I'll skip that and stay close to home - to some more knitting.  I'd like to get that cashmere wrap done in time for the trip.

My replacement debit card finally arrived yesterday.  An entire week without a debit card - more annoying than I had anticipated. I just wish I could figure out where on earth the numbers escaped from.  No harm done, thankfully.

It is getting colder and colder.  There is snow in the mountains.  Now I've got to figure out where to buy more wood!  I love having a fire in the fireplace.  It makes it so cosy.

Saturday morning early we had help arrive and we got the couch out of the back room.  It was a huge effort but it had to come out and it finally did with a little twist and much grunting.  And now we have a comfy living room again.  And got to watch winning football on the weekend.  This weekend is the Apple Cup  - well, Friday.  Can't wait.

17 November, 2016

Bad dreams

I've only had a couple of dreams about work and last night I had another.  It was short.  I walked up to a door - I guess my office door - and there was a huge long handwritten list taped to the door.  I burst out  crying.  It was a long list of thankless chores for some class or another.  I tore it off the door, and through my sobs said, "This is the LAST time I'm doing this"! I wonder how long before the dreams go away altogether?

I was right about the cashmere.  It really cheered me up and I'm working on a beautiful wrap with it.  I think I'd like to take it with me on my trip so I've got to keep at it.  It's mostly garter stitch with increases and then every 16 rows a 15 row short-row lace bit.  It's quite interesting but that short row part is definitely NOT TV knitting.

We went to Anacortes Saturday morning, stopping in LaConner for lunch and arriving at the hotel in Anacortes at 1:30.  We went in to see when our room would be ready and oh, guess what.  I had made the reservation for Sunday rather than Saturday.  *sigh*  But those girls at the reception desk could not have been nicer.  They called around to all of the other places near by and found us a dog friendly motel just a few blocks away.  After that horrible experience in McMinnville we were a little skeptical but I had the woman show me a couple of rooms and they were just fine.  Not fancy, but not stinky.  Whew.  We strolled around the town before the football game and decided that the place we were going to watch the band would be perfect for the football game, so we settled in around 3:30 for a long night.

And it ends up it was not a great long night.  The Huskies got beat.  Oh ... disaster.  They were ranked #4 in the country!  USC had their number and the Huskies just did not have the juice.  It was a train wreck.  But the band was awesome and we stayed for the entire time.

Sunday when we got home we were going to take another go at the couch and get it out of the office and into the living room.  But we just could NOT get that thing out of the doorway.  Now we know that it is possible because we got it in there, but between the two of us ... to happening.  I think Ben's brother will be able to help us tomorrow.  I sure hope so because I am getting tired of trying to get comfortable on these chairs.

I had two good work outs this week and I'm looking forward to tomorrow as well, with more core work.  I was sorry to have missed last Friday and I know I really should have gone.  I would probably have felt happier right away.  Ah well.  Tomorrow for sure.  Today, Tink gets another medicated shampoo and I'm going to the recycle and Trader Joe's.  What an interesting life I lead,

11 November, 2016

I need a positive knitting experience

Well things are just a bit weird, don't you think?  Who wasn't surprised by the election outcome?  I find it hard to believe and so I am not thinking about it.  We'll survive but ... good heavens.

I've got the blues today.  I should be getting ready for the gym but I just can't face it.  I think what I'm going to do is wind up that cashmere and start something lovely with it.  I worked on the blanket yesterday while I was helping someone re-learn how to knit and it looks like I got off somehow on the broken rib.  I can't figure out what I did because the count is right and I'm doing the right stitches so I think probably I messed up midway across a row when I put my project down to help her.  Anyway I am just fed up with that project.  I will keep it for TV knitting but today I want something beautiful in my hands.  So that's the plan.  Along with our normal doggie walk in the park and errands and a bath for Tinkerbell.  She has a skin thing going on and I'm pretty upset about that as well.  She had it once before and I had to bathe her every other day for two weeks.  Not fun.  Hopefully I can nip it in the bud before it gets to that stage again.

I should be getting excited about my trip to Paris.  I made my reservations for the LA portion of the trip.  Four weeks to go,  and I haven't really thought much about it since I made the reservations.  That should cheer me up.

We're going to have a fun weekend.   We're spending Saturday at a nice hotel in Anacortes.  There is a good band playing right across the street and a Husky football game before that.  It should be a great time.  I haven't seen a live blues band in ages.

Ah .... here's something funny.  We bought a beautiful new area rug for the living room.  We decided to sell the couch and use the green one in the office - my old green suede couch.  The color is perfect and it's not so big as the other couch.  I put it on Craig's List and Tuesday a nice couple came by and bought it and took it away.  Yay!  So I go into the office and take the cushions off the couch and move things around and out so that we can put it in the living room when Ben gets home.  He gets home, changes his clothes and we go to move the couch.  Can you guess?  We can't get it out of the door!  So he takes the door off the hinges and we try again.  Then we realize that when we put that couch into the office the big, huge desk was in the closet alcove.  We have since moved it out into the room and reclaimed the space for a closet and that is why we couldn't get it out the door.  We need to move the desk to the back of the room so that we can tilt the couch down and get it through the doorway.  So for now the living room consists of a beautiful rug and two arm chairs.  It looks funky but until we can get some more muscle around here it will have to stay.  Hopefully his brother can drop by and help get the couch into the living room.

08 November, 2016

The dark days

They are upon us.  Already.   But the temperature is quite warm, at least for now.  Crazy warm today. I just read an article last night that said we are in for a snowy winter this year, like 2008/2009.  That might be fun, since I don't have to drive anywhere.

Things are going well at the gym.  I have added a little weight to the squat portion of the workout and a little to the triceps.  I will try for some more tomorrow since I have no soreness from Monday.  Well none in the legs anyway. My upper body strength is so nonexistent that I always can get soreness there.  Last Friday I tried the BodyPump and CRX class and that was indeed challenging.  And I had all kinds of new soreness after that one because the CRX is core work.  I am looking forward to trying it again this Friday.

Today I am waiting for a couple to come buy the couch.  We bought a new area rug for the living room and decided that we want to move the green couch I had that is now in the office/guest room into the living room.  The convertible chaise is just too big for this space.  And the green couch will go much better with the new rug.  It will give a whole new feel to this room.

I made my reservations for the LA portion of my December Paris trip.  And I've been trying to activate my Trusted Traveler card but their web site seems to be down.  It is very annoying.   I have to get it activated soon or it will become inactive so .... hopefully I can get it done today.

Still working on that stupid blanket.  I hate the yarn.  I should have known better than to use acrylic and should have shopped for a super wash wool.  But I did want a fuzzy blanket so that's why I went against my instincts with the acrylic.  Ah well.  As soon as it's done I'm going to reward myself by using the cashmere I have stashed away.

01 November, 2016

Discipline

I have no problem with my discipline when it comes to going to the gym.  I am pretty happy with that.  My problem is finding the discipline to sit down at my computer and do my business.  Like banking and budgets and things like that.  When I was working I had to sit down at the computer every morning so it was much easier to keep up with that kind of thing but now I have to consciously sit down and balance my accounts and pay my bills and ... I haven't even bought my ticket for LA yet!  Nor have I filled out my ballot.  But I'm going to do that this morning before lunch.  I have done the grocery shopping and tidied up and I can't put it off any longer.

Well I am not all that keen on the blanket I am making.  Not that the color is not nice and the pattern is great, it's that darned acrylic yarn!  Ick ick ick.  But I shall keep on with it because it does not make any sense to have a blanket you can't wash.  Then when I'm done with that I'm going to find something beautiful to make with my stash of cashmere.

Speaking of my workouts, I had to skip Wednesday and Friday last week.   My goal this week is to do all three sessions and add a little weight.  I didn't get any soreness in my legs from yesterday's workout so I will add some to the leg work.

It has been raining a lot lately but also blowing and the leaves are nearly all down.  I raked up part of the yard on Friday but then on the weekend it started raining again.  This week I may have to get out there on Thursday.  That looks like the only day without rain.

The Huskies won a nail biter this weekend but the Seahawks lost, with lots of help from the referring committee.  Terrible job there.  And I lost my match up.  I am now 4 and 4 on the season with absolutely NO help from Russell Wilson.  I was so happy I got him and now .... not so much.