Knit and the City

Doesn't the title say it all? I'm a 30 something knitter on the West Coast. Expect to read about my life with the guy, two ex-racing greyhounds and a couple of crazy cats!

10/29/2003

Stayed home today. I think my ovaries are expiring. Feels like they're giving up their last breath as a giant fist squeezes the life out of them. Too much information? So far I've slept about 20 hours. Time to go back to bed with my hot water bottle.

10/28/2003

Well, well, well...I have discovered a new love. Or actually many of them. Last night Big B and I attended the 13th Almost Annual Doorman's Dinner and the Terminal City Club. Holy Crap! There's a plethora of H-O-T doormen in this city! It was like a smorgasboard! I fully enjoyed checking out all those hot men. I will admit that my escort was the best there. After all he told me I was the best looking woman there! I love Grandmaster B! Hit work a little later this morning as I was out a little late last night and had another one of those customers. If you don't like our rental experience just return your vehicle and go some where else. Please do not call me a liar and a thief and accuse me of scamming you. I have better things to do. Also do not sneer at me when I tell you that I'm the manager. Do not question me and ask "Really? You manage this whole location?" Fuck me. Not the morning for it. I apologized for the error and refunded him the amount he requested but that wasn't good enough. He'll be writing a letter to the owner to let him know that our company and it's employees are ripping people off. Oh by the way he LOVES his vehicle. It's really nice. Right after dickhead left one of my favourite regulars was in. He asked if I was okay and I almost burst into tears! Dammit! I hate it when that happens! No one should make me feel like that! What an asshole. God I hope I'm not there when he returns his vehicle. Nice part about my day was that one of my other (sane) customers wrote a letter to the owner telling him that I was a fantastic employee, that my people skills were amazing and that he wanted him to know how great I was. How nice was that to hear after my morning! Very, very nice. No progress on my Cable Scarf as I was out shmoooozing with all those hot men.

10/27/2003

Shhhhh.... Sneaking on from work. Wow, what a difference when you do this from a Windows PC and not the Mac. So many options! Got an email from Bonne last night. I bought a Bucket-o-Chic pattern from her earlier this year and she just sent me an updated version of the pattern! Out of the blue! She's such a nice lady. I have such an urge to call her Bon-Bon but I know she hates it. But I think it's so appropriate! She's just so good! Okay here's the log on reason Isn't it purty? Okay gotta go. Leave you with one more!

10/26/2003

The guy had a night off (finally) last night. I think it's the 1st in a month. Anywho, we spent another fab day together and rented Matrix:Revolutions. Very Cool. Keanu is very cute. I loved the slo-mo 360 degree camera work and blending with the digital imagery. It got a lot cartoonish in the end but it was fine with me as it was a nice night of entertainment. I played car wash kid at work today. We only had one guy on in the wash bay so I pitched in and gave him a hand. That was a short 6 hours of washing cars! There were a lot. Now my arms hurt from all the exercise. I must do more for those boys out back. The girls called from the office yesterday afternoon to say they were experiencing the Apocalypse and not to freak out at the mess! It was a mess! Then I decided to mosey home a little early. That's the nice part about being the Queen. Question-If you rent a truck and we forget/you forget to ask for blankets, should you get your rental for free or a discount equivalent to the blankets? Someone thinks it should be free. I'll deal with that tomorrow. I'm sure you know what I think. Yes, it has to do with their hamster. Or lack thereof. Managed a few more rows on the Cable Scarf. I'll snap a pic tonight and set it up tomorrow. Oh! We got our names for the Christmas Draw! Our family is so large that we draw names for presents. I got the same one as last year! Is that fair? I think the guy should swap names with me. At least I could knit his person something! Maybe I'll knit my person something. Sheesh who am I kidding!?

10/25/2003

I was going to blog this morning but I had nothing to really blog about since yesterday! What a difference a few hours makes. Started off with a nice soak in the tub. Yum. When I lived in the Netherlands there was nothing more I wanted than a tub to soak in. Everyplace has a shower. Except my dear friends who were from England and bought their house solely because it had a tub. It was great, they'd invite me over for dinner. Greet me at the door with a glass of wine and a fluffy towel and send me up to soak while they made dinner. I got some good friends! After the tub soak I put in a few more rows on the Cable Scarf. It's looking very nice. One and a half more balls of yarn to go. I may finish it this year! I have a sorta side business of making stuff for dogs. Greyhounds mostly as they are hard to fit and find stuff for. I make specialty collars out of outrageously expensive fabric. Fleece jackets, dog beds, portable dogs beds, raincoats with reflecto strips on them and the best squeaky bears and bunnies around. I made the collars for my girls and a few of their friends. I got a call from one of the 'greyt' buddies requesting a new collar. So I got to meet up with them at Chintz & Co. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! What a fabulous store! We wandered down to the fabric section and found some great fabrics. We skipped on the $109/metre fabric but just barely. We settled on a lovely coordinating set for their two dogs. Thank doG collars don't take much fabric. Got out of there for $16 and .1 metre of each type of fabric. Now I have to buy some webbing and measure their skinny, little necks. The actual construction should take about an hour each. A nice project for some great friends who tell anyone who asks that I made them. After that the guy and I stopped to do a little grocery shopping. The day was so beautiful. Sunny and warm with the smell of Autumn in the air and the sounds of the crazy people shouting profanities. It was a glorious day.

10/24/2003

This may be the coolest thing about my Palm. Actually it's a Sony Clie but I'm unsure how to pronounce it. Anywho, I can whip it out and snap a pic at a moments notice! Here I am in traffic and look what comes after all that rain! I love it! It was so beautiful and was a gorgeous double. Some things in life are truly wonderful. Currently I'm roasting garlic for dinner. We picked up a Dizzy Chicken and with some 'taters and a can of corn we're good to go for dinner. Then I'll get to make my 1000 Spice Chicken Soup with the carcass. Yum! Maybe I'll write down what I do and post it. Hm. Well I have the best boyfriend ever. Took me to lunch, bought me a new shirt, bought me another doo hickey and just strolled with me while I window shopped without complaint. Now we're off to take the poopers for a walk. We'll head down one of the Maple tree lined streets to hear the leaves crunch underfoot. I really love Autumn. Bought the Holiday FCEK. Just for the Dinosaur kids sweater. I think the new babies I have to knit for will love it. I know I'll love making them. Kiddie sweaters are so fun and fast. I hear the guy telling the girls that I'm blogging and they have to wait. I guess that's my cue.

10/21/2003

Check it out now! The funk's yo brotha! Doesn't he look cute? He's the Big B! Don't I look ready for Halloween with my devil eyes and hot mama half shirt?! What was I thinking? Must remember to keep my arms down in that shirt. Cable scarf plods along. My puppies want to go for a w-a-l-k.

10/20/2003

What a night! What a party! It was a fun night at the ol' Staff Appreciation. And Big B and his bling-bling went off smashingly! Made the old man misty we did. He's such a love. The guy and the band were great and I hope that he gets a little work out of it. But boy was it hard to get up and be at the office at 6:30am. Everyone else there was in the same boat because we all carpooled together. So we were a sad, little bunch this morning until I started to make sheep sounds at the Fish. You see she bought a new, wooly, blue fleece. Quite a nice thick pile to it but it reminds me of the sheeps at the Fair. Just blue. Then the craziness started that is the Gilmore Girls. Or sometimes the Budget Babes or even Ben's Bitches. That one was coined last night after we crowned him Pimp Daddy Grandmaster B. I figured out how to do this myself! With only a little help from lil sis. Isn't it looking good? Rain, rain, rain again today. Washing out roads and isolating communities. I managed to get soaked to my undies again today. I'm going to buy a rainsuit tomorrow. Nothing worse than wet undies riding up your rear all day. Sarah has sympathy. Really she does!

10/19/2003

Is it okay to despise laundry? The neighbour kids used to call me 'Laundry'. They couldn't get my name right. Maybe it's held over resentment from those early childhood days? Nah, laundry just sucks. Today I have a pair of the shiniest, cleanest, black greyhounds in Canada. It was quite an ordeal for Ella who decided that I had rubbbed her with a towel vigorously long enough. She chomped me on the head. No bleeding but I do have a little goose egg bump from her fang. My fault for not paying attention to her dog body language. Sarah on the other hand weathered it all without a peep. Anytime spent with mommy is a good time to her. She's so dependant. Today they get their flea treatment. Ugh, I hate it. It stinks and with their super short coats makes the spots you apply it to along their spine all greasy and gross. Maybe I'll forgo it this time and try that natural one I have a recipe for. Hm. Do I want to kill the fleas or do I want them to go hide out elsewhere. Greasy doggies here we come! Tonight's the Staff Party night. I have no idea what to wear. I didn't get a rapper hat for the Big B. Had been thinking I could have whipped him up a Bucket-o-Chic but no, I'm a complete idiot. I did find a hat that the guy ripped the hat band out of to make it bigger but kinda wrecked it. He never asked me to fix it so I'm going to fix it and give it to my B. That reminds me I have to wrap his bling too. I better go get on that and try to finish my laundry. It's finally sunny here too, so that means a w-a-l-k. Never, ever, speak the word aloud around here. It causes absolute chaos.

10/18/2003

I want it. Diane von Furstenberg. The classic wrap dress. Only $298 US. Hm. How much yarn could I buy with that much money?

Why Me? I got to work yesterday and found that someone decided to rip open our steel overnight drop box like a can of tuna. I know that a van is missing for sure and 9 out of 10 that there's a One Ton Cube Van gone as well. I'm happy they didn't take the high end SUV's that were there as well but, sheesh, that makes 4 vehicles this month! The hardest part of all this is I have no idea who decided to drop off their vehicle that night. I'll have to go through and call every single person who has a car or truck to find out. Fuck. Someone was diligent because they used a grinder and ground through a 1/8" thick steel plate and then crowbarred the hole to get it large enough for a hand. Our lot is in an industrial area that sees almost no traffic at night. I hope they try again because we had a 1/4" steel plate welded on top of the other one to fix it. Try that! Shitheads. Not a lot of knitting going on as you can imagine. I'm going to try to get the picture thing to work on my Palm. I'll be back in a sec. Okay, I'm back. Here's my cable scarf. The camera works best in natural light as there's no flash or anything. As I said in an earlier post I'm about a foot farther along. I'll get a pic and post the progress on Monday. Here's something that had me puzzled. I was having Pho at my little place at the Asian shopping centre. I was watching out the window and reading this sign. I couldn't figure out what was wrong at first. Then I started to laugh. Funny, funny. Tomorrow is our Staff Party for the whole company. The guy and his band are going to be the entertainment. It'll be weird but I know it'll be a lot of fun. I'm going to present Big B his bling-bling rapmaster necklace with his furry Kangol hat. Just so he knows that he's still the Notorious B.E.N. to us. It'll be a riot! I'm craving steamed artichokes with mayo. I better go do something about that.

10/15/2003

Hey! I'm still around! Just distracted by my job a bit. And my Palm. Let's see if it works. Uh...nope. For some reason the pictures downloaded as .bmp files instead of .jpg files. Hmm that's weird. Well at least I'll have something to do tomorrow! First day of real rain today. I mean real west coast rainforest rain today. I had my rain parka on and I still managed to get wet! Drops so fat they splashed back up at ya and so much rain sloughing off your parka that it was a waterfall on the thighs! And starting to get cold. I really admire my car wash guys for their hard work in the crappy weather. I'll have to get them something to thank them. I'll have to think of something good. Speaking of good. One of my girls asked about the trip to Disneyland. What did it include? I told her that it would be the flight, the hotel and a 3 day pass to the park...for two. Well she just about died! 3 day pass included?! Duh, the trip is to Disneyland, not Anaheim! And then she was saying that if she didn't win she was going to be a sore loser! I was laughing because I sold more than anyone today! Do I get to send myself to Disneyland? Cable Scarf is about a foot long and looking gorgeous. My mom was impressed and asked for it as her Christmas gift. We shall see...

10/13/2003

Happy Thanksgiving! I have a lot to give thanks for. It's a nice day for reflection. When I got to work today I found out I had scheduled w-a-a-a-y-y-y too many people. So I sent one home and then I left at lunch after we had our little holiday staff BBQ. Turning into a nice tradition that is. Then I found out I have another fraudulent rental. Mustang GT this time. Dammit people, just steal it outright! Stop trying to make it legit! You're not! You suck! As you can guess I'm moving around a little faster. My back and neck is still stiff but at least I can knit now. And that's really all that's important. When I got home from work yesterday and got out of the car all I could smell was roasted turkey! All of our neighbours were having family over and it smelled g-o-o-d! Tonight it's our turn. The guy's got the night off! First one in weeks! So we got a movie, The Italian Job. Looks like it could be fun. We were going to go see School of Rock with Jack Black whom I adore but I think my back's not up to movie theatre seats yet. Oh yeah. No KnitPics. I can't figure out how to make my Palm set those little jpegs free. Lil sis is in tomorrow. I hope she can make it work. And show me how! So give thanks everybody. And love life.

10/11/2003

Argh! Help me! I seem to have pinched a nerve in my back shoulder area. I was happily knitting when stabbing, shooting pain went down my left arm and chest. Brought tears to my eyes. I wondered briefly if I was having a stroke but ruled that out as I was neither clammy, woozy or cold. Now I'm hobbling around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I can't put my head back or turn it without intense pain. I took a hot tub soak, rubbed some analgesic gel on the spot and took a couple of anti-inflammitories. Now I'm working on warming the spot from the inside with some hot tea. I tried a couple of yoga postures to stretch out the area but I'm sorry the pain was too much. Does anyone have any suggestions? Nothing seems to be helping.

I'm finding it really strange that my weekends are now Friday and Saturday. I can't seem to relax as it's unsettling. I guess I'm a creature of habit and I just have to find a few new ones. It's just plain weird. You will never believe this! I started a new knitting project! Without a pattern! I'm using some of my Rowan Kid Silk and making a scarf. Hmph! A scarf you say?! Well, let me tell you...it's got cables! And various other types of stitches! I've got about 4 inches done and pictures are in my Palm just waiting to be downloaded. That's not the only bad part about the whole Mac/Microsoft computer differences but the most annoying right now. I'm worried that I won't have enough yarn. I had 3 and about 3/4 balls but they only have 67 metres on each. It may end up looking like a placemat. There is no frogging this project. Too Fuzzy! I am very happy with the way it looks. I know it will make a great present for someone. Maybe I'll donate it as my item for the Food Bank Auction. Hm. We'll see. I can't stand telemarketers calls that ring and then when you answer say that we're too busy to talk to you so hang up and we'll call back later. Ya-hoo, looking forward to that! I'm a little bummed out that I'm not going to get to Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. The guy and I will have our own little thing but I'm gonna miss dad's special Flaming Yams. It's a tradition that he puts the yams topped with marshmallows under the broiler and forgets them. It's always entertaining. I'm off to see if I can get my scarf a little bigger!

10/09/2003

One of my girls suggested that I go into the office a little later this morning since I had to work late today. Those girls are so smart! An extra hour of cuddle time! Woo Hoo! Then when I got to work the guy had sent me an email that was so sweet it made me cry! He is such a keeper! Survivor Night! I was reading in the paper that Rupert is favoured to win. Hm. Extreme Makeover! Why am I so attracted to this show? I am sick, sick, sick, Must go. It's doggy dinnertime and everyone knows how hard it is to type with someone staring over your elbow! Could you resist this look?

10/08/2003

Hump Day. Quiet day in the office today. Which was good. I needed a little time to rework the schedule. I think by tomorrow I should have most of the bugs worked out and figure out what we're going to do over the winter and into February. Tomorrow I get to offer my best girl a raise and a new job description. Best part is that it also includes a trip somewhere every year. Nice Perk huh?! Even better is that it's all the stuff she does already! Now she's going to get paid for it! Yahoo! I'm so happy for her. I also learned that I have a lot to re-learn at the office level. I'm a rookie all over again. It sucks because I think how can I ask someone to do something right when I can't even do it right?! Must learn more. Before there's a mutiny. I plan to work on my Black Acres some more tonight. I finally got the decrease right and am into the armhole decreases! Then it'll be divide the front and the hood. Then the sleeves, then the blocking, then the seaming. I'm a long way from finished aren't I?

10/07/2003

Blogger Bumpiness. It seems to have a case of the hiccups. I love my job. I was all stressed out about the owner coming in today but what was I worried about? He's pleased that my new guy resigned because he knew it wasn't working out. Yipee! I also was telling him that I was thinking of setting aside some of my commissions (?) and maybe giving the staff member with the highest sales for the year a little trip somewhere. Like Disneyland! He was all like, go ahead but keep your commissions. Expense it! Woo Hoo! I ran the idea past the girls as a little suggestion. A little "What would you think if the person with the highest sales for the year got a trip?" They were laughing and saying things like 'A trip around the block?' I said Disneyland and got told to 'Shut Up!' Ha! Let's see what happens! It's going to be so much fun! I may never watch Fear Factor again. They had the 'previously on Fear Factor' clips and I almost screamed out loud! Did you see it? They had to eat these live Giant African Cave Dwelling spiders that looked to be the size of at least an American silver dollar with long, spindly legs and pinchers like a little lobster! I'm freaking out just thinking about it again! It was horrific! I'd have walked. No, RAN! I looked at my schedule and I think I managed to schedule myself out of a weekend again. Okay I'll admit there are moments where I miss my resigned new guy. Must knit, must knit, must knit. Ciao,ciao.

10/06/2003

I just want to go back and do this. Hard work but much more fun than work. It's just a little bumpy right now. I know it will smooth out. Just gotta have faith. And a good sense of humour. Doesn't this make you smile? It's my Funky Monkey shower curtain! Makes me smile in the dark morning when I have to get into the shower. Sets a nice spin on my day. Beware! Knitting Content! I'm halfway through the front of the guy's Black Acres. I'd like to remind you of what it looks like but it seems I have misplaced the link. Oh well, I'm sure mine will look completely different from the original anyway. Don't you hate it when the pattern tells you to decrease 22 stiches evenly across leaving 127 stitches but the decreases fall at every 6.7 stitches? I think as I get older I want balance in my life. Or at least tell me when and where to decrease. Next week I'm sure I'll abandon all patterns again! So I watched Trading Spaces 100 Grand. It was fine but I wonder if Laurie could have fit anything else in that room?! It was so cluttered! I'd be banging a shin or two on the coffee table. Planning to have a quiet night. Knitting and Fear Factor.

10/04/2003

I had a giant post done last night but there was a malfunction and the whole thing went *poof*! I was too tired to do it all over again. Work is good. My new guy issues have solved themselves. Bye-bye new guy! Good luck in the future. He decided that monkeys flying out of butts were not his idea of a good time. So he quit. I'm on my own now but I have a great team and I know we can get it all done. Boss said he'd buy me a handheld organizer. So I got this. Man is it ever cool! I don't know if I'll ever get to know everything it does but am I gonna try! I love the camera. It's damn neat. Next is my new cell phone. Yipee! So we got a ton done on our vacation. I mean, look! This was what we started with. So we decided to do this. I have cupboards in my cabin! Is that not the coolest! We also made our bed. And did a little landscaping. Ella, it seems was not so impressed.