Umm, I gotta run

So...I've not been an active poster lately. And with things being as crazy as they are in life, I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. So, I'm going on hiatus, or maybe closing this thing down. Thanks to all who read. It never quite changed into what I was hoping it to be, but for those who want to keep up - my Flickr account is updated more frequently, and hey - pick up a phone, sometime, huh?

It's a little crazy

It's getting a little nuts in the hobbit hole. Lots of activity...but mostly mental. The good news is that Steve-o is headed to school. He's still waiting to hear from another school or two, but it looks like a move is in his/our future. The bad news is that this is a pretty freakin' big life upheaval. Or maybe that's not such bad news after all. Anyway - that explains to some extent, my absence from here. For interested folks - I update on Flickr sometimes, even when I'm missing from here.

In crafty news - I sewed myself some pillow covers! I appliquéd some fabric circles together and then onto canvas pillow covers I made with my sewing machine. I was quite proud of myself.
And...oh yes - there is more. In the spirit of clearing clutter and completing stuff that calls to you from the bag at the bottom of your yarn bin, I finished two nagging knitting projects - My clapotis scarf, and my striped sweater. Miss SealDaze pointed out that the first time she came to knitting (years ago), I was working on that sweater. But it's done now! Ha! Take that nagging knitting projects!

Status bars

Okay, so Ravelry has me addicted to status bars. It falls right in line with my love of to-do lists. I admit it - if I do something that wasn't on the to-do list, I add it - just so I can have the joy of crossing it off. So, I added status bars to the blog to track my progress on house stuff. The bars show how far along I am in various rooms of the house. Although I am no longer living in a house without floors or drywall, I still have a bunch of stuff to do in every room. For the most part, it's not necessary stuff, but stuff that should be fixed or fixed up or improved upon somehow. I'm not counting pure decor stuff like how I need a real coffee table or how I want a tailored bed skirt (the nesting instinct is back), because I could be at that forever! But stuff like new cabinets and countertop in the kitchen, a new medicine cabinet in the bathroom, built-in shelves in the hallway, attempting to take over the semi-public entryway as an extra mini-mudroom for me. If I decide I don't need these things - well, extra status bar movement for me!

And, by the way, if your to-do lists are forever being put on stickies, junk mail envelopes, or scraps, and lost in the bottom of your workbag (am I projecting?....nah) and you want to rely even more on the internet for your daily existence (I'm not saying it's a bad thing), try this website. It keeps your lists and you can get to them anytime you can get web access. Plus, it has a progress bar of sorts, too. The bullet in front of the list name shrinks as you complete tasks from the list, and it saves your old lists so you can look back and feel all accomplished. Can't do that with the paper scraps you end up tossing, now can you?

That new year stuff

I don't usually get into all that new year's stuff. Pledging to exercise more, or waste less time on the web, or wake up early - eech! It just makes me feel pressured and uptight, and I take failure badly, so why set myself up for that? But this year, following a milestone-of-sorts birthday and the whole new years fiesta, I did get to thinking about what I want and rather than feeling pressured by the new year ahead, I actually feel rather excited. (This might not last, so I'll take it while I can get it).

The highlights: I'm ready for a change of venue. This might be a move from DC, or maybe it's just a change in neighborhood, or a change in apartments. I am excited about the dreamy day when I move into a house where I can have more of the things I talked about here.

I signed up for a photography class, which has been on my to do list for way too long. I always admire people's photography skills, but I've never taken a class, in part because I may just find out that I suck irreparably at photography. And maybe I will take the most wretched photos ever, or maybe I'll be the greatest photography talent the world has ever seen. What? It could happen. For now, though, I'll just take the class and see.

I'm still job hunting, and trying to look at it differently, but it's a little raw, so I'll keep that to myself for now. And the house - well, it's a journey, not a destination. That's what they say about life, right? Well, my house has a life of its own, so it's appropriate.

Joining the crowd

I'm going to join the crowd and throw out a bulleted list of updates, too!

• I've been a busy knitting bee. I finished a hat for my sis, I'm most of the way through a catbed for Smidgen, and I've started making the cutest little knitted trees - the house needed more christmas decorations that the cat wouldn't eat or destroy - garland and glass ornaments are not a good idea. Plus, I started my new sweater....of course, I will lengthen the sleeves because we all know I'm always cold. And can I say that I am digging Ravelry! Thanks to Miss Tooleri for letting me borrow her account to learn all the ins and outs.
• I have been brainstorming more yarn business names. Not that I've gotten anywhere, but at least I'm trying! Jumping through loops? Sweet tooth dyeworks? Maybe I'll just be "Nameless."
• I had a birthday. We won't be discussing my elderly-ness, but it was a fun day, and now I get to prepare for my party. House cleaning - here we come. I'm going to be having a terribly yummy cake and champagne and my favorite friends over and it will be fabulous! I was going to make an icebox cake, but decided that for my own birthday party, the less work for me, the better.
• I am not doing so well on my Christmas shopping. I just can't seem to find what I want at decent prices. Come on, stores! People are foreclosing on their mortgages - a little sale action, please! Plus, it is tough without a car. I can't just jump in my hyundai and pop off to the mall. Sometimes, I miss my car. :)
• The bathroom renovation has stalled. With everything else going on, I haven't been in the mood to make a big spackly mess. I think painting will have to wait til after the holidays. I've got a bit of tile work to do. Plus, I want to replace my medicine cabinet and bathroom lighting, and that's probably going to require some drywall action. So, it won't be a quicky job.
• I've been working on my kitchen remodel. I was originally going to leave the appliance as is, but now I'm thinking about migrating the fridge, flipping the dishwasher to the other side of the sink and extending the kitchen by about a foot or a foot and a half. This would make more sense with a visual aid, but that will come in a future post.

Okay - gotta run - so much partying to do, so little time!

Bigtime progress

Oh yes, things are moving along. The past few weekends have not been relaxing, but they have been productive. I now have a pocket door, a painted ceiling, bathroom shelving, a painted closet with a new light fixture and a set of shelves, and a regrouted and re-caulked bathtub. Plus, I cleaned out my garden plot for good measure.
Look at the transformation!

Bathroom door (courtesy of the handyman)
Before:

During:

After:


Bathroom shelves (courtesy of the handyman)
Before:
After:
Picture coming soon

Closet (Courtesy of Steve-o and I)
Before:

After:
Okay, you'd think there wouldn't be much joy in getting a newly painted ceiling, but let me tell you - it is awesome. I've been looking up and seeing crappy spackle marks for a year. And the guys my handyman brought in - they spackled so well and so smoothly that there was no need to sand. Trust me, this is amazing.

I was doing some work while the professionals were hard at work in the house. I painted the windowsills in the bedroom, cause they were looking a little beat. Then, to keep the cat out of her favorite place, I had to tape up the opening to keep her from jumping on wet paint. I left it on overnight for good measure, but when we woke up and there was still tape over the window, she protested by weaseling her way in.....somehow. We saw her get out, but we're not sure she went in the same way. Darn flexible cat!


Unfortunately, the handyman fella faltered a bit on the last day and sort of skimped on the finishing details. So, there are nail holes to be filled in, and a bit of damaged tile to be replaced. He did some extra stuff we hadn't asked for - like fixing an outlet, etc., but we would have preferred that he just did the agreed-to stuff completely. Still, he's the best contractor I've seen in DC....probably because he recently moved here from the Midwest.

So, now we get to spackle, sand, and paint the bathroom and seal some grout. I wonder how much spackle dust I've inhaled in the last 2 years.

Happy Halloween

It's never been one of favorite holidays, despite my love of sugar. But I do think toasted pumpkin seeds are super tasty. So, I carved these two little guys:

That's a bird and a tree, in case you needed help with my artistic renderings. :)