Down Time

Am looking forward to a weekend "off." May decide to stay off-line, as well. Have a couple of things to do, but mostly plan to just "be." Hoping for sunny weather and maybe a walk somewhere . . .

Productivity!

I got really inspired this weekend and did a lot of projects that have been on the to-do list for ages. I have this little drop-leaf table, about 2 to 2 1/2 feet square, and the legs that hold up the leaves needed reinforcing with corner braces and L brackets, etc. One of them had been previously reinforced, but needed a little more, the other was so wobbly I was almost afraid to use it. Now both legs are strong. And I did it all by hand. I bought a little hand drill and some bits, in case screwing the screws strait in with a screw driver was too hard, but it wasn't and I don't thing even a power drill would have made things go much faster. I just might not have gotten blisters on my hands. But they were only little ones and healed fast, and it felt so satisfying!

I also got some little mending projects done, along with shopping and housecleaning and did I mention a special night in with my bf?

Good Times!

Time to Knit

Made time this morning for going to a yarn shop with an open table for projects. Am hopping there will be others there to socialize with. Also, got a chance to catch up with an acquaintance while running an errand. Happy morning!

Guess I Really Can't Complain

Am really happy that it's finally raining again. We need it, and too much blue sky is boring. Although it was kind of fun and funny when we had 70-80 degree whether while the rest of the country was below zero. The only down side is it slows my commute and I don't get my walks with the baby--his parents don't want him getting wet.

Learning Curve

So I was all proud of myself for setting boundaries and came up with a way I could say "yes" to a request that I wasn't thrilled about, and then the other person went and pushed for more. And I gave in. And now I'm feeling bad about myself and walked-on again. :-(

On the bright side, I had the morning to myself, and I have two long audio books that are well written (as opposed to the filler I've been listening to) to enjoy.

OverTesting

So as nanny of an under-one I've heard a good bit about the lead-in-toys fiasco. Stopping it sounds like a good idea, but going to these lengths? There's this new act being proposed that will mandate testing for all toys and items that might ever be used by anyone under 12. Fine for Mattel, but what about the bath puppets I knit for my friends and relations? If I wanted to start selling them, I'd have to spend between a few hundred to several thousand dollars to comply with the testing regulations, and that's per toy. Even though the materials were certified lead-free in the store.

I'm writing my congress person.

More info at Mama-is and Handmade Toy Alliance

Or watch this:

Knitting in a New Era

Last night, I went to my first Knispirations meeting. And there was very little knitting. Instead it was stenciling. But still cool and crafty and the people were nice and I think I'll be going back. They invited me to join their meetup group as well, but it's the same week as another commitment. Different day, but still, it just might be too many evening things with work being what it is . . .

Speaking of work, listened to the NPR broadcast of the inauguration on my commute this morning, then arrived during a musical interlude to find the TV on and got to see the rest. Including the Presidential oath and speech. Very cool. Inspired me to go looking for those campaign photos from Silicorn Vally that Mom told me about over my last visit. Found what she was talking about. That was cool, too.

Night at the Symphony

Last night, my BF took me to the symphony. It was really special. Not only was it wonderful to hear that kind of music live (something I rarely, if ever, had the opportunity for growing up in silicorn valley), but there was flamenco dancing with the first act and flamenco guitar with the second act. Actually, the guitar was the real draw for me. I love the kind of guitar music with lots of finger picking and complexity. The highlight, for me, was the guitar solo encore.

I'm in a local coffee shop again. Fairly soon, I'll get my DSL hooked up at home, but until then, I'd rather donate to the local coffee shop than the major chain retailers for hotspot use. :)

Another Reason to Homeschool

Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality. --Beatrix Potter

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

My B.F. took me to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button yesterday. A very well made movie with lots of compelling ideas about life and death that questions all our ideas about aging and puts everything into a new perspective. Won' t say more so as not to spoil it for anyone.

Deep Funk

Still feeling emotionally off. Watched a movie last night until I was too tire to do anything but sleep. Woke up in a really deep funk. The sink full of dishes didn't help. Avoided most of them for now--planning to eat lunch out, or bring carry out in . . . Have been in this funk for a week and a half now. Can't figure out what is wrong, much less what will help. Ugh. Continuing to plod along without much success.

Spent the morning working on a personal project that has been in the back of my mind for a while and finally started congealing last week. Finally had breakfast around 11a, and then went out to the Farmer's Market. Am now at a coffee shop with free WiFi, planning to head to Whole Foods for more shopping and lunch soon.

On-Line Time Line

So I'm experimenting with some on-line calendar software, as a way to keep track of my schedule, and also let others know when I am free. I like it so far. It's not as nice as some I've seen, but its free and it works. What more can I ask for?

Life is o.k. Last night I got home to find a message from a friend on my phone--a nice surprise as I haven't heard from her since last month. I'm in the process of changing how I do long distance calling, which means changing my cell phone plan, and will hopefully result in less cash outflow to the phone giants. :)

Looking forward to a weekend of math, kids, farm fresh produce, and law.

Midwives and Real Estate

On Dar Williams' newest album The Promised Land, she has a song that she says in the liner notes was inspired by an article on how the need for land may have fueled witch hunts. The lyrics of the song are subtly descriptive of a midwife supporting a mother though labor and birth. I was really pleased at the way she used her music to honor these often misunderstood women. Here's an article that mentions the connection--scroll to the very bottom.

The whole album is nice. It's different from her older albums--less ballads, more covers and co-written songs--but I'm growing to really like it. Of course, I like her voice and she still has a wonderful way of painting pictures with words . . .

Worm Hole Window

Got that problem fixed with the mistaken uninstall--found out what I did wrong, too. Used a tool called system restore--unfortunately, I couldn't go back in time far enough to fix the original problem of my computer no longer playing DVD's or Audio CD's properly . . . Oh well.

Have enjoyed a very nice day with my BF, and have returned to some capacity to play DVD's. The speed is weirdly variable, but they play, and my computer can now stand by again, too. It was really annoying when it couldn't stand by . . .

Found out about those knights, too. Sans fog they look like statues or ply-wood stand-ups. Still pretty cool . . . Maybe I'll get a closer look one day . . .

Ren Fog?

So driving home in the fog yesterday, I thought I saw to knights on horseback with full armor and lances. Did they get transported from some medieval tournament? Was there a Ren Fair going on nearby? Did my eyes deceive me? Whatever happened, it was pretty cool!

Mistaken uninstall

Have been trying for over a year to fix a video problem on my computer. Decided to uninstall and reinstall a bunch of stuff, but one thing that I thought was not important apparently was, and now things are worse than ever! Am considering switching to a new OS in hopes of fixing the issue, but planning to try reinstalling current OS first . . .

Ugh!