CGOA Conference in Oakland,CA
Wow! Hard to believe that after all the anticipation, it has come and gone already.
Margaret came from FL to do the conference with me. She arrived Wed p.m. and we were at the Marriott for our 1st class on Thurs a.m. by about 8:30. The Bay area has good public transportation, so we just used BART to get there. It lets you out, up the escalator, and right across the street is the hotel. No fuss, no muss, no parking!
We both took Darla Fanton's double hook class on Thurs morning, along with Melody who is a member of my local guild. Great class! Darla gave us a few minutes of pointers, got us started, and then spent the rest of the class walking behind us, so she was right there when anyone had a question. Great hands on approach. She also had examples of work that we could look at. For our $7 materials fee, we each got a booklet of her dishclothes, autographed, mind you, and a double ended hook plus a bookmark. Couldn't buy the booklet at Michaels for that price. And it's almost impossible to find a double ended hook in any of the box stores.
After the class, we had lunch in the lounge at the hotel and then Melody was off for another class.
Stay tuned for the next espisode:
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Wow! So much has happened since my last post.
We are moved, still buried under boxes, but most of them are now in the spare bedroom, (sorry Margaret), for the garage sale, or in the garage still waiting its turn.
The packing and moving was an adventure. Neither Penny or myself has ever had anyone do our packing for us, and I seriously doubt if it will ever happen again. These guys used about 5 trees worth of paper. Instead of using dish boxes, they wrapped every item in the kitchen in a minimum of 1 sheet of paper. Some things had 3! They wrapped candles in paper, but not my antique dolls. Go figure!
And it turned out to be the hottest 3 days we've had all summer. But, give the devil his due, they worked hard! Took them from 9 to 6 on Wed to pack, and the moving started at 9 the next morning, and they finished at 9 that nite. Made me tired just watching them. All that supervising was exhausting.
A couple of slight misadventures; what would a move be without them?
The first was at our old house. We lived on an alleyway which is a private street for the residents, but kids walk thru and parents drive thru taking kids to and from school. Well, about 3 in the afternoon, the guys were loading the 2nd truck (yes, 2 trucks) and some lady pulls up behind the truck and starts honking and wants them to move the truck so she can pick her kid up at the Catholic school down the street. Her behavior was totally rude and unacceptable, so after a few words, she gets out of her car, leaves it in the alley and walks away. Now, she is blocking our neighbors drive (the truck was not). So, Penny, former police dispatcher that she is, gets all her pertinent info and calls the police dept. They say they will send a car as soon as they can. Well, she comes back, still shouting obscenities, kid studying his tennis shoes, and finally backs down the alley and leaves. Penny calls the PD back to stop the car and was told that since she had all the info the lady will be getting a citation in the mail. Hurray!
The last thing loaded was our personal stuff that we wanted to carry ourselves. The guys loaded it in the back of my wagon, and we are off to the new house. About 10:30, we can't find my personal box. No nightie, sheets, shower gel! How can this be? Thank god we still have the keys to the old house. Back we go. Yep! There is the box sitting right in the middle of my empty bedroom. Another lesson learned. Follow the movers thru the house and make sure it is all out. Between us, we've moved about 60 times, you'd think we would know this.
The next day we are trying to find all the TV's, VCR's, cable boxes, etc so the cable guy can hook us up. One tv is missing. It's a 19" so pretty hard to overlook if it's just sitting around somewhere. Actually, we have 2 of these, exactly alike. One belongs in the living room and the other in my bedroom. I have one in my room, so we are assuming the missing tv is for the living room. We were crawling thru the boxes in the garage trying to see if it was buried anywhere. At one point, I have crawled thru a hole trying to look down the stacks of boxes. Couldn't see it, so was trying to get myself out. My feet are off the floor, and my body is only on a solid surface from my knees to my hips. When trying to find something to push off, I find the only thing within reach are black plastic bags of pillows. Ok! Now I'm thrashing around like a beached whale. Penny grabbed my feet and pulled me back just far enough to get a hold on a stack of boxes. But still no TV. Several phone calls back and forth to the movers. Still no tv. I have called the cable company and they are only going to hook up basic cable for us and then reschedule the main installation til we find all the equipment. We are now looking at all boxes that could be big enough to hold the elusive tv. After 5 long, hot hours, we found it in my bedroom at the bottom of a tall stack of boxes. Hmmm! Guess the tv in my room really belongs in the living room.
We are moved, still buried under boxes, but most of them are now in the spare bedroom, (sorry Margaret), for the garage sale, or in the garage still waiting its turn.
The packing and moving was an adventure. Neither Penny or myself has ever had anyone do our packing for us, and I seriously doubt if it will ever happen again. These guys used about 5 trees worth of paper. Instead of using dish boxes, they wrapped every item in the kitchen in a minimum of 1 sheet of paper. Some things had 3! They wrapped candles in paper, but not my antique dolls. Go figure!
And it turned out to be the hottest 3 days we've had all summer. But, give the devil his due, they worked hard! Took them from 9 to 6 on Wed to pack, and the moving started at 9 the next morning, and they finished at 9 that nite. Made me tired just watching them. All that supervising was exhausting.
A couple of slight misadventures; what would a move be without them?
The first was at our old house. We lived on an alleyway which is a private street for the residents, but kids walk thru and parents drive thru taking kids to and from school. Well, about 3 in the afternoon, the guys were loading the 2nd truck (yes, 2 trucks) and some lady pulls up behind the truck and starts honking and wants them to move the truck so she can pick her kid up at the Catholic school down the street. Her behavior was totally rude and unacceptable, so after a few words, she gets out of her car, leaves it in the alley and walks away. Now, she is blocking our neighbors drive (the truck was not). So, Penny, former police dispatcher that she is, gets all her pertinent info and calls the police dept. They say they will send a car as soon as they can. Well, she comes back, still shouting obscenities, kid studying his tennis shoes, and finally backs down the alley and leaves. Penny calls the PD back to stop the car and was told that since she had all the info the lady will be getting a citation in the mail. Hurray!
The last thing loaded was our personal stuff that we wanted to carry ourselves. The guys loaded it in the back of my wagon, and we are off to the new house. About 10:30, we can't find my personal box. No nightie, sheets, shower gel! How can this be? Thank god we still have the keys to the old house. Back we go. Yep! There is the box sitting right in the middle of my empty bedroom. Another lesson learned. Follow the movers thru the house and make sure it is all out. Between us, we've moved about 60 times, you'd think we would know this.
The next day we are trying to find all the TV's, VCR's, cable boxes, etc so the cable guy can hook us up. One tv is missing. It's a 19" so pretty hard to overlook if it's just sitting around somewhere. Actually, we have 2 of these, exactly alike. One belongs in the living room and the other in my bedroom. I have one in my room, so we are assuming the missing tv is for the living room. We were crawling thru the boxes in the garage trying to see if it was buried anywhere. At one point, I have crawled thru a hole trying to look down the stacks of boxes. Couldn't see it, so was trying to get myself out. My feet are off the floor, and my body is only on a solid surface from my knees to my hips. When trying to find something to push off, I find the only thing within reach are black plastic bags of pillows. Ok! Now I'm thrashing around like a beached whale. Penny grabbed my feet and pulled me back just far enough to get a hold on a stack of boxes. But still no TV. Several phone calls back and forth to the movers. Still no tv. I have called the cable company and they are only going to hook up basic cable for us and then reschedule the main installation til we find all the equipment. We are now looking at all boxes that could be big enough to hold the elusive tv. After 5 long, hot hours, we found it in my bedroom at the bottom of a tall stack of boxes. Hmmm! Guess the tv in my room really belongs in the living room.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
My Brain is Mush!
Since our landlord dropped the bomb about our having to move, my brain has turned to mush. Yesterday I called the pharmacy about a prescription I am out of, & can't find the Rx number. They tell me it has been ready to pick up since 8/24. I do not remember calling it in.
Thank goodness that my big crochet projects are all done. Have a couple of small fill-in projects still to finish, but no time limit on them. I am having a terrible time getting anything accomplished. I have a set of hangars to mail to Lyn, but can't seem to get the last couple finished. I need to box the hat & scarf to Jamil now that I have his address in Japan.
There all kinds of things to do to get ready for the move. For the 1st time in my life, I am having packers & movers. I have loaded all the finished books in my car to drop off at the thrift store. I want to go thru my closet and donate to the community center anything I can't wear or haven't worn in recent memory. Hmmm, might have to take another look at that-my memory seems to be about a nano-second long these days.
I have so many Indian pics on my walls, I can't even count them. Many are just greeting cards that I framed when I had nothing. In the new place I will not have enuf wall space for all of them, so I am going to scan them, and download to my screensaver program.
Everything in our attic has to come down, and we need to check the packing to make sure it will make the move w/no damage.
I have found patterns for a bath set I want to make for my bathroom at the new address, and Penny asked if I would make a table runner for the dining room.
So, with this TO DO list, what am I doing? playing Free Cell.
Since our landlord dropped the bomb about our having to move, my brain has turned to mush. Yesterday I called the pharmacy about a prescription I am out of, & can't find the Rx number. They tell me it has been ready to pick up since 8/24. I do not remember calling it in.
Thank goodness that my big crochet projects are all done. Have a couple of small fill-in projects still to finish, but no time limit on them. I am having a terrible time getting anything accomplished. I have a set of hangars to mail to Lyn, but can't seem to get the last couple finished. I need to box the hat & scarf to Jamil now that I have his address in Japan.
There all kinds of things to do to get ready for the move. For the 1st time in my life, I am having packers & movers. I have loaded all the finished books in my car to drop off at the thrift store. I want to go thru my closet and donate to the community center anything I can't wear or haven't worn in recent memory. Hmmm, might have to take another look at that-my memory seems to be about a nano-second long these days.
I have so many Indian pics on my walls, I can't even count them. Many are just greeting cards that I framed when I had nothing. In the new place I will not have enuf wall space for all of them, so I am going to scan them, and download to my screensaver program.
Everything in our attic has to come down, and we need to check the packing to make sure it will make the move w/no damage.
I have found patterns for a bath set I want to make for my bathroom at the new address, and Penny asked if I would make a table runner for the dining room.
So, with this TO DO list, what am I doing? playing Free Cell.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
And the Beat Goes On
The last 2 weeks have brought some unexpected changes to my life. Not what I was wanting at this time in my life.
I have found that the older I get, the harder some things are to absorb.
I had 3 friends have surgery in a 1 week period. Fortunately, they are all recovering nicely. But will be slow going for all of them. Kat had a lump removed from her breast and has to undergo radiation therapy for the next 7 weeks. Lyn had her neck fused for the 3rd time. She can only lay flat or stand for the next 2 months. No sitting! And Diane had a double knee replacement. Not sure how long that will take.
In addition to that my son is having a crisis that escalated about a week ago. I think he may be moving to TX soon and I really hate to see him go so far away. I also hate that he will be closer to his father, who has done nothing his entire life but be a pain in the a--! But he does need a change. Maybe this will be just what he needs at this point in his life. I hope so, but how I'll miss him and his wife.
But, the real kicker came from our landlord. He came to move some stuff out of the garage a week ago Saturday and said he would chat with us before he left. Well, we had to go take our entries to the fairgrounds for the Santa Clara County Fair and he was gone by the time we got home. He came by on Sunday to tell us that he has to sell the house and that eventually we would have to move. Felt like I had been kicked by a mule!
When we moved into this house 4 years ago, we said we were going out on stretchers. No more moving for us. Since Dale and Arlene are the perfect landlords, no reason to ever move. They have let us decorate and paint the house, no white walls here. We have landscaped the front and backyards to our tastes, including a very small pond with fountain. And everything we did was with love and the knowledge that we would be here for a very long time, God willing. But, Dale's circumstances have change, and he has been forced into a corner. He made the only decision he could. He is as upset about this turn of events as we are. I won't go into the details, but he is being more than fair in making sure Penny and I get moved into another home.
And the beat goes on--I was physically sick on Monday from the stress, so stayed home from work. Couldn't stray too far from the bathroom! But in the afternoon, Penny had to go pick up some prescriptions so I rode along with her. We decided to take a drive through a neighborhood that we didn't know anything about, except we could see houses. We found three houses w/For Rent signs and called about all 3. The 1st one was on a pretty good sized street and while we were sitting in front of the house I kept noticing cop cars going and coming. Mmm. what's that about? Then we realized the police station was about a block & half away. Another house wouldn't be ready to look at for another week. But the 3rd house was available. So we picked up the key, went in and took a look around. Loved it! Went and got the rental app. To make a long story short, we were accepted in less than 3 days. So on 9/1, we will have a new home.
The last 2 weeks have brought some unexpected changes to my life. Not what I was wanting at this time in my life.
I have found that the older I get, the harder some things are to absorb.
I had 3 friends have surgery in a 1 week period. Fortunately, they are all recovering nicely. But will be slow going for all of them. Kat had a lump removed from her breast and has to undergo radiation therapy for the next 7 weeks. Lyn had her neck fused for the 3rd time. She can only lay flat or stand for the next 2 months. No sitting! And Diane had a double knee replacement. Not sure how long that will take.
In addition to that my son is having a crisis that escalated about a week ago. I think he may be moving to TX soon and I really hate to see him go so far away. I also hate that he will be closer to his father, who has done nothing his entire life but be a pain in the a--! But he does need a change. Maybe this will be just what he needs at this point in his life. I hope so, but how I'll miss him and his wife.
But, the real kicker came from our landlord. He came to move some stuff out of the garage a week ago Saturday and said he would chat with us before he left. Well, we had to go take our entries to the fairgrounds for the Santa Clara County Fair and he was gone by the time we got home. He came by on Sunday to tell us that he has to sell the house and that eventually we would have to move. Felt like I had been kicked by a mule!
When we moved into this house 4 years ago, we said we were going out on stretchers. No more moving for us. Since Dale and Arlene are the perfect landlords, no reason to ever move. They have let us decorate and paint the house, no white walls here. We have landscaped the front and backyards to our tastes, including a very small pond with fountain. And everything we did was with love and the knowledge that we would be here for a very long time, God willing. But, Dale's circumstances have change, and he has been forced into a corner. He made the only decision he could. He is as upset about this turn of events as we are. I won't go into the details, but he is being more than fair in making sure Penny and I get moved into another home.
And the beat goes on--I was physically sick on Monday from the stress, so stayed home from work. Couldn't stray too far from the bathroom! But in the afternoon, Penny had to go pick up some prescriptions so I rode along with her. We decided to take a drive through a neighborhood that we didn't know anything about, except we could see houses. We found three houses w/For Rent signs and called about all 3. The 1st one was on a pretty good sized street and while we were sitting in front of the house I kept noticing cop cars going and coming. Mmm. what's that about? Then we realized the police station was about a block & half away. Another house wouldn't be ready to look at for another week. But the 3rd house was available. So we picked up the key, went in and took a look around. Loved it! Went and got the rental app. To make a long story short, we were accepted in less than 3 days. So on 9/1, we will have a new home.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Good News, Bad News
First, the good news. Yesterday I was checking the site for the Santa Clara County Fair. Needed to find out how to get there (was only there once, and I wasn't driving), what time to make deliveries, etc. Notice for the 1st time, big notice that entries have to be picked up after the fair on a Monday (work day) between 9 am and 4 pm (working hours). S--t! Penny and I both have entries in, and it is about a 70 mile round trip to San Jose. I don't want to take a day off work to pick this stuff up, and it's not fair to Penny to ask her to do it alone. That's a lot of driving for her with her bad knees. Trying to figure out the good news here? Well, here it comes. I emailed the contact people at the fair, and they emailed me right back that they would be there until at least 6:30 and could make other arrangements if necessary. I got my return email in less than 1 hour! I am so pleased. Really didn't want to abandon this fair.
Now, the bad news! I totally screwed up the entry date for the San Mateo County Fair. I have it on 3 different calendars as 7/16 when in reality is was 7/11. Didn't realize this until late yesterday when emailing w/Peter regarding our upcoming Guild meeting. Double S--t! First, I mislead Peter about the date, and now we'll never know if the Stained Glass afghan could have won the Triple Crown (3 blue ribbons). I had gotten such rave reviews on the Barbados Tee that I was thinking about entering it, as I had noticed there weren't many wearables in the other fairs this year.
Lessons Learned. Speak up! The fair was more than willing to help me out when they knew I had a problem with their stated hours.
Check, Check, Check those websites for the dates. This is the first time I was ever able to enter more than 1 fair, so it was a whole new juggling act for me. But you can bet I will be more careful next year.
First, the good news. Yesterday I was checking the site for the Santa Clara County Fair. Needed to find out how to get there (was only there once, and I wasn't driving), what time to make deliveries, etc. Notice for the 1st time, big notice that entries have to be picked up after the fair on a Monday (work day) between 9 am and 4 pm (working hours). S--t! Penny and I both have entries in, and it is about a 70 mile round trip to San Jose. I don't want to take a day off work to pick this stuff up, and it's not fair to Penny to ask her to do it alone. That's a lot of driving for her with her bad knees. Trying to figure out the good news here? Well, here it comes. I emailed the contact people at the fair, and they emailed me right back that they would be there until at least 6:30 and could make other arrangements if necessary. I got my return email in less than 1 hour! I am so pleased. Really didn't want to abandon this fair.
Now, the bad news! I totally screwed up the entry date for the San Mateo County Fair. I have it on 3 different calendars as 7/16 when in reality is was 7/11. Didn't realize this until late yesterday when emailing w/Peter regarding our upcoming Guild meeting. Double S--t! First, I mislead Peter about the date, and now we'll never know if the Stained Glass afghan could have won the Triple Crown (3 blue ribbons). I had gotten such rave reviews on the Barbados Tee that I was thinking about entering it, as I had noticed there weren't many wearables in the other fairs this year.
Lessons Learned. Speak up! The fair was more than willing to help me out when they knew I had a problem with their stated hours.
Check, Check, Check those websites for the dates. This is the first time I was ever able to enter more than 1 fair, so it was a whole new juggling act for me. But you can bet I will be more careful next year.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Pics as Promised
First we have the sling bag that I made a couple of months ago. I have never been crazy about this style of bag, but loved the pattern so had to try it. I even lined it and put pockets in the lining for my cell phone and wallet.
And last but not least--the Barbados tee with me in it. We were almost out of daylight when I got Penny to take the pics, so we were limited where we could pose. So you see me squinting into the sun with the garage as a backdrop. All the beautiful flowers we have in our yard, and you get to see the garage! I got this pattern from Annie's Attic. It is by Oat Couture, and was very easy to do. A beginner could crochet this sweater. It is made from Tofutsies sock yarn and it's hard to see in the pics, but there are little dots of purple, lime and aqua that make a really interesting pattern. Wore it to work today and got oohs and aahs, so I'm happy. It's very comfortable. If I do it again, I will make it a little shorter and will shorten up the shoulder area a little too. I'm a munchkin, so most things are a little too long on me.
Productive Weekend
Wow! I got lots done over the weekend. First, I delivered to Alice 9 fleece blankies w/crocheted edging for Project Linus. Had been holding out for an even dozen, but then wondered why. Particulary, since I don't know when I might do those others. I have lots of the fleece in my stash thanks to a couple of good sales, so when I'm in between, I can whip up some more.
Next, I finally finished the Barbados Tee that I have been making for myself. The pattern is from Oat Couture and I made it using Tofutsies yarn that I bought for another project that didn't work out as planned. I am wearing it to work today, have gotten compliments on it, and one of the guys wanted to know how long it took to crochet. Pic coming!
Then, I finished a purse that I started for myself. A few weeks ago I made a sling bag for summer. I must be nuts. I've never liked this style and why I thought it would be better crocheted, I don't have a clue! So, I used the corner to corner technique that I just learned at my guild meeting and made a new messenger style bag using the remaining SugarNCream from the 1st bag, and then added to it w/some variegated that I had, & when that ran out, I used some leftover white from potholders I did for a Xmas gift last year. My friend, Kitty, took the lining home and sewed it up for me, so I was able to finish that bag last nite, also. Carrying it today and so far like it much more than the other one. Will take pics tonite and post.
Wow! I got lots done over the weekend. First, I delivered to Alice 9 fleece blankies w/crocheted edging for Project Linus. Had been holding out for an even dozen, but then wondered why. Particulary, since I don't know when I might do those others. I have lots of the fleece in my stash thanks to a couple of good sales, so when I'm in between, I can whip up some more.
Next, I finally finished the Barbados Tee that I have been making for myself. The pattern is from Oat Couture and I made it using Tofutsies yarn that I bought for another project that didn't work out as planned. I am wearing it to work today, have gotten compliments on it, and one of the guys wanted to know how long it took to crochet. Pic coming!
Then, I finished a purse that I started for myself. A few weeks ago I made a sling bag for summer. I must be nuts. I've never liked this style and why I thought it would be better crocheted, I don't have a clue! So, I used the corner to corner technique that I just learned at my guild meeting and made a new messenger style bag using the remaining SugarNCream from the 1st bag, and then added to it w/some variegated that I had, & when that ran out, I used some leftover white from potholders I did for a Xmas gift last year. My friend, Kitty, took the lining home and sewed it up for me, so I was able to finish that bag last nite, also. Carrying it today and so far like it much more than the other one. Will take pics tonite and post.
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