Itching for dirty fingers

I'm feeling like a real slacker this fall.
My friends give me the leftover yarn from their projects every year and I make mittens for the Rescue Mission. There is usually enough scrap to make many pair. Last year I made and gave 22 pair, but this year = 0.

Ugh! No one seems to have done any knitting or crocheting this year. Maybe I'm not the only slacker! I'm not sure whether to be angry with me or them. Now, how rude is that to be mad at your friends for not buying yarn and having leftovers? Of course, if I'd had gotten the Fleur-Dis-Monster finished I'd have some leftover to use.

I keep staring and sifting through the few packs of Dollar Store seed I have for Winter Sowing this year.
A few months ago I was depressed because fall was rushing on, now I can't wait for January to get here so I can start playing in dirt and cutting up containers. No, Father Time, I am never satisfied! Either slow down or hurry up, would ya?

I had all the packs organized so I'd know what I was planting when, but I just can't leave well enough alone, so now I'm disorganized again from rifling through them and daydreaming. What is it that's so appealing about handling seed packets? It's almost as good as sex! Ok, I take that back, lost my mind for a second there.

I finally had a minute to thumb through the copy of Forest Farm catalog I got a while ago. Their pricing is odd. Some things are outrageously expensive, yet some things seem (to me) to be dirt cheap. I don't have the money to buy any of this stuff, but it's nice to read descriptions and dream all winter. I still haven't figured out where I signed up for the free copy, so I might have to go on a free catalog hunt again. Like I need more to drool over.


I just can't get the shock of this out of my mind. I was over reading EAL's blog the other day and she'd posted something I found very, very disturbing, to say the least. It was something I found so outrageous in this day and age I even had to ask her if it was a joke. Here's the complete story: Houston Chronicle . I honestly don't even know what to say about people like this.

It's all about the bling, baby!

I saw a clip on a show (of course I can't remember which mentioned it) of this rose garden grown and tended completely by prison inmates and I've been thinking about it for quite a while. I think it's the grandest idea! I recall them talking to some former inmates that had been out a while and credited that garden for them staying out of trouble and leading a better life. No doubt. Plants do wonderful things to people. I wish they'd show more pics of it.

I've noticed a blog trend lately that I'm not sure I like all that well. Now, I know people use their garden blogs to record their garden progress, failure, success etc. And it is their blog after all, so why not do as they please. I hate conformity or constriction of any kind myself. But why all the bling on some of them? Granted, I get frustrated with slow loading blogs that have tons of pics on them, but I don't think the experience would be the same without them, and more than not, I'm glad I waited! I'm usually in awe of both their garden expertise and photography skills.

But I'm talking 'bling' here. I'll be the first to admit I'm guilty - I do have a ticker. I wonder if blogs are going the way of MySpace? Video clips, voice clips, pretty sparkly sidebars, music clips and floating backgrounds. My daughter's drives me nuts! Ok, granted, she's 20 and very bling oriented (I wonder if I was at 20?). It's her space, she's allowed to make it as blingy as she wants.

Have you ever been to a site that was so overwhelmed with bling that it was thoroughly confusing and mind-numbing? I hate wading through mishmashs of glittering stars, decorated cursors, pics up the wazoo and music that is more than likely something I don't even want to listen to for 3 seconds, much less the whole song. My brain reaches max overload before the page even gets loaded and I'll immediately click on to something else.

Whatever happened to basic, simple and easy on the eye? Now, mine just seems boring. Hmmm, maybe I'll have to go looking for a template with a little more interest or possibly a bit more bling...

Heebie-jeebies/screaming meemies

Ok, I can deal with a lot of things that don't gross me out at all ; spiders-no problemo, snakes-love 'em, even have a tattoo of one (surprises, eh?), grubs, worms, beetles, lizards, creepy crawlies-all no biggies. Ok, so I don't deal so well with leeches and maggots, who does? But MICE? No, no, no, no, NO!

Those beady eyed, evil clawed, swivel eared, disease carrying, mangy little scruffy fuzzballs can stay the hell outta my house! This is war!

Of course, my kids think I'm freaking out over nothing, but when you find chew holes in your houseplant fertilizer bag, there is definiltely one in this house=time to panic. I hope the little scruzzball poisoned himself! The curse of country living.

It'll be traps to the rescue tonight.

Now, don't go leaving me some "But they're so cute!" and, "But they're just trying to survive!" or "They don't deserve to be killed!" comments, cause in my world, they aren't welcome under any circumstances. Period. Or, I could just send them to you kind hearted souls. :) I'll make 'em little mousey backpacks and hand 'em a map.

God must have put them on this earth for some reason or other, I just can't figure out what. Maybe cat food...

Please take a second to do this. It's free and is well worth it to let our soldiers know we are thinking of them: Say Thanks

Pushing it

Yay! Garden Voices seems to be fixed.

Carol, over at May Dreams Gardens, is starting her Amaryllis early this year. I have to admit, I've never really had success with them. Ok, the one I got as a gift one year croaked on me and I haven't tried again since because they're suppose to be easy, right?

But, back in late September, I found some Peacock Orchids on clearance at Kmart for 50 cents. I couldn't help myself. 15 bulbs for 50 cents? I've never been able to afford these, so thought I'd best jump at that kind of deal!

So, home with me they came, under the delusion that they'd sit happily sleeping until spring. Then I peeked into the edge of the package. Poor things were already sending out shoots that were a good six or seven inches long and curling around the bulb with nowhere to go. And here I am thinking, "My God! They must be screaming in there with having had no light and no water for, what, almost 12 months or more?" If you figure they'd been packaged last fall for spring planting, well, that'd be about right.

After a quick weighing of choices, I figured there was no way they would make it to spring without just drying up into withered little balls. So here I was rushing through the house scouting out a doable pot, rustling up some suitable soil and mumbling about, "Those poor babies!" My kids roll their eyes at each other and twirl a finger close to their ears while D just sighs.

Well, as of now I think I'm really in trouble. It seemed they were so happy to be nestled back into some dirt that they've grown to 3 feet already! Some had a bit of a problem unwrapping themselves enough to find 'up' so a few leaves are a little curly, but they are otherwise happy campers. Now I'm stuck with what to do with them all the way through winter and into spring until plant out time. I wonder if they'll live that long or figure out I'm a complete idiot. I guess we'll see...

What Have I Done?

Ohhh! I got the old scanner to work!

This was an interesting weekend. I picked up my knitting again and did absolutely nothing else! No dishes, no laundry, no "yes" to "Mom could ya...". It was rather liberating, I must say. A bit like a mini-vacation.

But now it's Monday morning, and I'm being punished for being a slacker. ~sigh~ It was such a wonderful 'non-maid' weekend off, too! Now there's a pile of dishes, mountain of laundry and vaccuming to catch up on. And Des is home sick :( I so hate it when the kids are not feeling well. Like I said; I'm most definitely being punished. I'll just have to go a little faster with the chores today to catch up. (Yeah, I'm the idiot on here wasting time!)

I started a sweater for my SM two years ago. The pattern is, I believe, from an eighties MacCalls knitting pattern mag. It's called Spellbound, and I just couldn't resist the challenge. Ugh! What have I done? This thing is like a monster that won't die! It's a sort of vining Fleur-De-Lis pattern.

Here's the description: "Spellbound. Intricate color patterns are made subtly fascinating by using a variegated fuzzy yarn with a smooth solid."

Needless to say, I didn't invest in the yarns they expected you to use, it would have cost upwards of $80. I did end up spending 20 something though on light blue and white. Since with this type of yarn carry pattern it's like making 2 sweaters at once, I had to buy double amounts. (D and I both cringed. I know it's a lot to spend on yarn, but I really wanted to do this one for her, and I'm determined it will be finished and not a wasted 20 bucks.)

This thing was suppose to be finished for her for Christmas 2004. Ha! Yeah, right, I should have known I wouldn't find the time. So, here I am, still plugging along on the thing. (Now nicknamed Fleur-De-Monster). But, it WILL be done for this Christmas if they all have to eat sandwiches every night in December!

Oh, and I STILL can't get on Garden Voices! Damn! Thanks for the comments telling me that many of you can't get on either. I'm relieved it's not just me!