Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Crossed Purposes.  Not only to my readers, but also to me. Since I've been gone so long, I'm going to write shortly about lots of different things.  I will be writing on a more regular basis, though, as I have a De-Stress assignment for one of my classes and I've chosen to write as my new de-stressing activity.  Blogging has the added bonus of getting back in touch with you, my neglected readers.

College
I can't believe summer is unofficially over. I started my third semester of college courses this past Monday.  Unlike the Spring semester, where I masochistically took College Algebra and English Composition & Literature at the same time, the Fall semester will have a much slower pace.  Women's Health Issues and US Women's History are both courses with minimal homework and fun class time.  Oceanography will take more studying and homework time, but it's a physical science course that I need to get my Associates degree.

Chet's Protege
As those who read my previous post know, Chet passed away on June 19. I still miss him, but he remains with me in the most important way. Kasey and I went to visit a fun pet boutique in West Annapolis shortly after Chet died, only to find Woofs & Whiskers was closing its doors to allow the owner to pursue other opportunities.  Everything was 60% off and I picked up this little guy.

I've named him Beetle-Bug, after You-Know-Who, and he sits on the bookcase in my bedroom keeping watch over me and Kasey. He's a Webkinz, but I haven't bothered to go to the website to register him.  I always think of my Chetter-Bug when I see Beetle; he makes me smile. 

 Ravelry & Knitting
To my cross-stitch and needlepoint friends, no, I have not picked up my needles since last October.  Or, rather, I have a new type of needles! I learned to knit on December 30th of last year and have been going gangbusters with my new yarn addiction.  The County Fair is two weeks away and I've been knitting up a storm.  I finished two small projects this weekend and have a shawl on my knitting needles.

< If you knit or crochet and don't know about Ravelry.com, you need to go there! I'm warning you, though: It's ADDICTIVE.  I take no responsibility if you stop playing FarmVille or Mafia Wars and hang out on Ravelry all day. There are thousands of free patterns, discussion forums, and groups that cover every topic (Proof: I belong to Grammar Nerds, NCIS, Golden Lovers, and Child-Free by Choice, just to name a few).  All of my knitting projects are listed there, with project details and pictures.  It's a very helpful tool for tracking my stash and noting what I like/don't like about patterns and yarns.

This is what I've been up to with my new needles:

 These are my first two knitting projects, scarves for Anna & Caleb

I used the leftover yarn from my 4th project, a shrug, to make this hat. It's my 2nd project that has cables.


This cute little bowl was a quick knit. I started it Friday night and finished it in a few hours. I only made it, though, because there's a Felted Basket category at the County Fair.


This is my silk shrug. A friend wrote an easy pattern for me to make a warm shrug from some gorgeous yarn I purchased. The wool/bamboo blend is very warm, so this version, done in silk was supposed to be my warm-weather shrug. Who knew an open weave done with silk would be just as warm as the wool blend? I still love wearing it, although it's now put away until Fair entry drop-off. I don't want anything happening to it between now and then.


My youngest brother, Ben, is modeling my Basket Whip Cowl and making faces at me. Anna and Bre saw this and now they both want one. I have to find the right pink yarn for Anna's. Bre is a bit easier; I have her favorite colors in my stash already.


I'm entering my Summer Shawl in the Child's Shawl category only because it turned out smaller than I'd hoped. I later found out that it has a tighter weave because I twisted the purled stitches. It gives the fabric a very pleasing texture, but doesn't stretch as much. It's made with sock-weight yarn, so maybe that's a good thing.


The Lucy Bag was my 3rd knitting project. This was the reason I wanted to learn to knit in the first place. Several ladies in the knitting groups I stitched with had these bags and I wanted one. After knitting it, the bag is washed in hot water to felt the wool. I'm also in the process of making a felted backpack.


I can't wait to see Grandma's face when she gets this scarf. The yarn it's made from, Penthouse Spun Silk by Neighborhood Fiber Co. is my favorite yarn. See? My fiber addiction hasn't changed much. I'm still a sucker for hand-dyed silk! The scarf is about 6' long and the close-up shows the stitch definition.


This last picture is my Cinderella Cotton Slipper. I call it that because it has thwarted all my efforts to knit a mate for it. I have tried about 8 times and end up with too many stitches on my needles every time. I don't know why I'm having such difficulty when the first one was so easy, but I will get back to it at some point.



Life in General
Kasey and I are adapting to apartment life. Believe it or not, we're still not settled in 100%. I'm contemplating another rearrangement of the living room furniture.  Most importantly, though, Uncle Wes & Mom put the house on the market this week.  It saddens me that property taxes are forcing the sale of a home that's been in our family for over 60 years. Nana & PopPop paid $1,250 for 2 acres on the water in 1946, when only "river rats" lived on the water. Today, now that every yuppie in Anne Arundel County wants waterfront property, its assessed value is $1.6 million, but it is on the market for $685,000.  Talk about over-inflation!  Sooner or later, I have to get the rest of my belongings out of the house. Right now, though, I have nowhere to put them. I'm still looking for an affordable storage unit in the area.

Oh, yes, Kasey Kay.  You all want to hear what my Punkin' Head has been up to, don't you?   Well, on May 1st she proved what an awesome Golden girl she is by earning her AKC Canine Good Citizen title on her first try! She's now, officially, "Kasey Kay, CGC."

She still only gets groomed by Mike at the Muddy Paw Wash (Bark 'n Bean). We go the first week of every month, since she's out and about with me all the time.  I have to call ahead to make sure he'll be there because Kasey misbehaves for everyone else.  Don't believe me?  Well, she sits down at every opportunity, turns around when they don't want her to, and spooks at the drier.  She's not bad, but it's very irritating.  She's hilarious when Mike grooms her, though.  She stands like a pro and stays on the grooming table to be dried, but, if he walks away for a split second or doesn't pet her enough while she's being dried, she barks at him!  She's a demanding little wench, I tell ya!

It's time for bed here, as tomorrow is an early day. Not only do I have to be at dialysis before my usual time, but I have another appointment in the morning.

Sweet dreams & I'll be writing again soon.

Counting down to Spring Term...

On December 30, 2009, my furniture arrived! Uncle Wes, with the help of Ben, Uncle Jay, and my father, was finally able to move my furniture into the apartment. I've been slowly unpacking by myself and Sarah and Anna came down two weeks ago to help me. We accomplished alot, even with Anna goofing off. I can't tell you how thankful I was, because up to that point, I'd had no help with packing or unpacking.

Also on December 30, I learned to knit. So far, I've finished two projects, both scarves. The pink one is Anna's "P'incess Scarf" and the dark one is for Caleb. On Monday the 11th, I started a project that will be a felted purse. The pattern is called the Lucy Bag, by Two Old Bags. A friend of mine, who has been a huge cheerleader and source of encouragement in my education endeavors, made me a dark purple Lucy Bag. Now I'm making a larger Jade Heather bag. I'm really enjoying this, because I can pull out my knitting and work on it for just a couple minutes. You can't really do that with cross stitching; you need more than 5 minutes.

School starts tonight for me, with College Algebra. I went online a few days ago and found my final test grade for last semester. Even with the elevator holding Kasey & me hostage beforehand, I got a 104 on the test! I hope I do as well this semester.

Kasey is slowly getting used to the apartment and just this week started getting excited when we pull into the parking lot. Yesterday, she was wagging her tail and dancing in the back of the truck when she saw we were home. She still doesn't find our door every time, despite the post-it note I put on it, but she knows exactly which sliding door is hers when we're out back. I think there's a smell in the hallway that throws her off, but we're working on it. I give her lots of praise when she walks directly to our door.

I played hostess for the first time on Monday afternoon! Carol B-C (stitcher) and Carol B (knitter) came down and we had a great time. I cooked a green bean casserole and a corned beef brisket and the girls brought dessert and veggies for the dip I made over the weekend. We watched the colorized version of Holiday Inn and stitched. I'm still working on my Lucy Bag and hope to have it finished by the end of the weekend.

An Update on Christmas & "The Big Move"

I arrived at Grandma's by 9:30am to have Christmas brunch with my father's side of the family. Aunt Lisa found this little guy last week at work and he's been added to the furbabies. They were calling the kitten Sophie, but she is a he and a new name hasn't been decided upon.

Cousin Alex put this bow on Kasey and told me "She's your present." How good is my girl to tolerate the foolishness my family puts her through? The bow actually stayed on for about an hour, until she scratched it off. She did dress up for Christmas with her bow attached to her collar. This one was a little more festive than last year's gold and maroon stripes. It had gold sparkles and red cardinals on it.

My Christmas plans got a little disrupted by news that my sister was sick. Instead of going to Mom's for Christmas dinner, I stayed in Centreville to have dinner with Uncle Jay and Aunt Trish. We were going to play Scrabble, but I spent an hour setting up Jay's new netbook instead. I had planned on spending the night at Grandma's, but Kasey didn't seem to be feeling well. She actually looked tired, so I brought her home.

Mom called Friday night and said I could come up on Saturday because Sarah would be at work and Caleb would be at the babysitter. I decided that Kasey had been stressed enough, so I dropped her off at the house to spend the weekend with her Unkie. I was at Mom's by 11am, and for those of you who know me, you know that is almost unheard-of. My days have been starting much earlier than they used to, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; I just have to get used to waking up before 2pm.

I left Mom's around 5pm to head south to Mary Ann's. We exchanged our gifts (that Inappropriate Needlework finally has a permanent home) and sat around the kitchen table talking and drawing, of all things. Kevin, Mary Ann, and I had a very laugh-filled night. We tested one another on the bands the radio was playing and helped Mary Ann deplete her supply of Christmas leftovers. I woke up around 11am Sunday to return to Annapolis, pick up Kasey, and get back to the apartment to do more unpacking and organizing.

I'm going to get furniture on Wednesday! My Uncle Jay, father, and brother Ben will be here to help Uncle Wes move my furniture into the apartment, so I will no longer be sleeping on my pallet. I'm fond of it, but can't wait to sleep on my bed once again. I had to move all the boxes out of the livingroom so that the guys can get things in without stuff in the way. This is all that remains: my pallet of blankets and my lonely stitching light. You can also see the curtain I got (for free!) to cover my sliding-glass door. It does a good job of holding out the cold air.

A Christmas Update

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and Happy Kwanza to all those who celebrate this Holiday Season!

As of 2:00 on Christmas morning, I am still sleeping on a camp mattress and a pile of blankets in my living room at the apartment, because no one was available to help Uncle Wes move furniture in. This is Night 3. Last night I had to go Old School on some Wendy's Chili: I heated it up on the stove top because I didn't have my microwave here yet.

While I'm ecstatic, I don't think Kasey is happy with the move. Her new thing when you tell her to get in the truck is to run off, dig a hole in the snow, bury her head, and then start rolling around. When we go after her, she runs farther into the snow. Once Wednesday, I left her at the house with Uncle Wes because she ran back to the house and sat on the carport steps to go inside rather than get in the truck. She gave my friends Kay and Katie heart attacks yesterday at Kay's house because she ran across the street and behind the houses, towards the Chesapeake Bay.

None of us were in any condition to go running after her, and we were all relieved when Kasey came right back. It took me putting a leash on Kasey and giving her the command to get in the truck, with a reinforcing tug on her collar, to finally get her to load up. I hope that this is just a phase and she soon realizes that she has a new home, Mom isn't leaving her, and she'll still get Unkie time to go for her long walks. I plan on leaving her at the house during my dialysis treatments so that she'll be there when Uncle Wes gets home from work. That will give them enough time to enjoy their walks before I get back from dialysis.

To give you an idea of what we were dealing with, here is a picture taken after Uncle Wes used the snow blower to clear the driveway Sunday morning.

The only problem was...there was a half-mile of this between our neighborhood and the "Outside World."

A Baltimore Gas & Electric truck came down the road Sunday afternoon and got stuck. They had to send another big truck in to pull it out. Once the trail was "forged," however, one of the neighbors got in and out, so some of us, including me, with 4WD did as well. It was very slow going required 4WD, and as of Thursday evening the road still had not been plowed, but everyone can get in and out as they need to.




...and as per what has become her snowy tradition, here is Kasey Kay making her Kasey Angel outside my apartment patio.

I Hate Snow!

We are in almost-whiteout conditions with a state of emergency having been declared for the entire state of Maryland as well as for Anne Arundel County. I gave up cleaning off the truck after doing the rear window. There is about 15 inches of snow and it is still falling at about an inch an hour. The meteorologists are saying it won't end until midnight. So there is no moving boxes today. I don't want anyone falling so I'm not even sure tomorrow will work.

The problem is that I have already taken my entire pantry and most of my dishes to the apartment. I don't even have my stitching with me, because those boxes have already been moved, too.

Kasey is enjoying running around in the white stuff. I'm waiting for her to go out and roll in it. She usually makes a Kasey-angel, but we haven't had a good snowstorm in several years. They're saying this one could be a record-breaker.

Keep your fingers crossed and good thoughts coming so that the guys can safely get my furniture moved. I certainly don't want my brothers or uncles getting hurt. Ian and I have already talked and he's not sure he'll be able to get out of Pennsylvania because he has about 45 minutes on back roads to travel before he gets to the interstate. I will keep you updated as to the plans, but at this point we're playing things by ear.