Well, That Was Fun!

The wedding reception is done, and my job of playing the new bride is finally over. Chris and I enjoyed our time back east with friends and family. I am happy to be home, cleaning up the mess that became our house in the weeks before the trip, and settling back into the swing of normal life. It continues to amaze me how much of my time was taken up by the reception in the months leading up to it, and it was NOT like it was some big fancy affair with ice sculptures and 300 guests, but it was still a big undertaking.

I am continually stunned by what my garden is doing, and really will take pictures of it soon. We have squash, beans, tomatoes and herbs a plenty, and it is so amazing to me that I grew food! There is a plant out there called Squashzilla, and it is so amazing, it will get it's own post on here someday soon.

We are cleaning, clearing out and organizing the house because somewhere in the last year or so of being here, it has become about as cluttered as our gross Albany apartment and I can't stand it. part of the problem is my inability to stop buying craft supplies and Chris' lack of impulse control when it comes to buying hunting and fishing supplies. Well, at least I make things with the stuff I buy, he has yet to get anything while hunting or fishing in the time we have been here (I am smart enough to not bring up that argument to him, trust me! Hunting in Idaho is hard, you can't just hunt off your parents' back porch like he could in New York).

I also need to start spending some time to get my massage practice out here organized and streamlined...to say my office is a bit of a hot mess is a major understatement. I have had to start making decisions in the past few weeks about what I want my practice to be like out here and how much effort I want to put into it and what I expect to get out of it. I would like some things to change, and as they say, you gotta be the change you want to see in the world.

All of the reception pictures are up on Facebook and the wedding website. If you don't have the link to the site, let me know and I can email it to you. Here is my favorite one of the day,

Because if you can't dance on the picnic tables at your own wedding reception, where can you?

Oops

Didn't realize it has been over three months...sorry! Things have been hectic, I've been sick (I am getting better now, thank you) and this "wedding reception" planning has been such a pain in my arse that I could just about scream.

Oh well, I am trying to just be grateful for the fact that I have a wedding to celebrate, people who do care about me that will be there and that we can even just have the party. Its all about focusing on the positive, right? Well, it is from here on out.

The gnome still does not have an official name, but he does have a home outside and is covered in cobwebs (there are a lot of spiders in Idaho, and a lot of ants...really just a lot of bugs in general). I have found the camera, but now the batteries are low. This weekend I hope to get some pictures of the gnome and the garden which has exploded and is continuing to amaze me on a daily basis.

All in all, things are well here, we are getting ready for our trip back to New York and making plans for what we will do while we are there. I am very much looking forward to this weekend as there are a ton of projects I want to work on and things I need to do. On the list is a longer, better post with pictures, but for now, we all get to practice being grateful for what we have with this short picture-less post. See...I'm helping you evolve : )

Everything I Had Hoped For and More

I went to the new Joann's store in town yesterday intending to only use the gift certificate I received from my mother for Christmas and my 20% off total purchase coupon to get some Pattons Classic Wool at a grand cost of about $3 a skein (for my non-knitting readers, it is normally around $7 a skein and I am making a blanket, therefore I need a LOT of it).

I walked out two hours and a full shopping cart later, and it wasn't just yarn that came home.

oops.....

I did get a lot of picture frames so we can put some photos from the wedding and some nature shots from back east up on the walls. Everything that I bought was usable, except for the gnome.

Yes, I have fulfilled my life long dream of owning a gnome. I would put a picture of the new gnome (try saying THAT three times fast) but I can't find my camera anywhere. Suffice it to say, the gnome for my home is cute and he is holding flowers and Chris thinks he needs a Viking name. Not quite sure what Vikings and gnomes have in common, but apparently, in my husband's head, they go together like pork chops and applesauce.

Any one out there got a suggestion for a Viking gnome name, because I am pulling up blanks on this one??

Let There be Joy!

In the mail yesterday, I received the notice that the new SUPER JoAnn store is opening here in town in about a week.

I did not cry tears of joy, but I did literally scream - ask Chris if you see him, it is true.

Also, I have a 20% off my entire purchase coupon, and its valid from 5-8pm on three different days, so I don't even have to worry about getting up at the ass crack of dawn to go stand in line to do some crafty shopping (people out here are crazy about their crafting - a sale that would have only been mildly annoying in NY is made into something I can't deal with in Idaho since there are so many people at the store and lines so long I start to have a panic attack). Seriously, I went to the craft store for a sale once, and then left when I saw the line out the door stretched for almost a quarter mile.

I am so glad I didn't use the gift card my mom got me for Christmas yet. There is going to be some guilt free yarn procurement in massive quantities.

Oh, SUPER JoAnn, how I love and miss you...we will be reunited once again - you and me, bonded together in crafty goodness and joy.

Insert contented sigh here.....[sigh].......

Bust Out The Sharpies!

We got the place we wanted for the day we wanted....Mark your calendars with Sharpie please, because Chris and I will be celebrating our marriage with friends and family back East on August 1, 2009.

Whoo -hoo!

Of course, I still need to do a butt-load of picture uploading and make several changes and updates to the wedding website, but it shouldn't take me that long to do once I sit down and actually do it...sigh...perhaps that would have been a good endeavor to undertake whilst I was home on the couch for three days. Retrospect is great!

Hope you all had a good weekend. I have felt like crap and haven't really done anything for the last three days except for go to the eye doctor Saturday. I can't believe my vision continues to get worse, we are talking about over 25 years of continued annual vision decline here, I am practically blind! The bright side of the coin is that my vision insurance is great, and my new pair of glasses was the cheapest (and nicest) pair I think I have had since I have had to start paying for them myself. Of course, it takes more than twice as long for my glasses to come in as it does for Chris', but that's because little tiny magical elves have to make my lenses - super ultra-light poly-carbonate lenses, they are the shiznit!

Anyway, happy Monday and email me if things aren't working right around here since the template change. There are a few more changes I want to make, so keep an eye out for 'em. I am now starting to label my posts, so there is a new change right there....not sure how that will show up in the blog though, so I'll have to check back tonight and make any necessary corrections. Peace!

Few Minor Changes

Just tweaking things a bit around here. I decided the old layout was pretty boring. More changes are probably on their way, so stay tuned! Let me know if any of the links don't work or if you have any problems navigating around.

I Want a Garden!

For starters, lets get the fact that I stayed up waaaaayyy too late last night out of the way. We don't watch much TV, but last night there were three shows on that we liked (four if you count that Chris insists on watching Glenn Beck every frickin' day), and by the time we were done watching them all (from the DVR box so we didn't even have to worry about commercials) it was almost 11:30...Well, we did go grocery shopping and by the time we got home, it was almost 7:30....

Moving on.

I want a garden. I want one real bad. It already seems like winter is completely over and Spring has started. I have bulbs coming up in the front yard. My rosebushes have new leaves on them, the creeping plants I put on the side of the house have started to flourish and spread out with new leaves.

I found this nice article that talks about planting a Victory garden for our times, and I just have the urge to get out there and make my garden happen. Like I want to stay home from work today and weed and till and plant stuff (I think it is probably still too early to actually plant anything, but you get my idea). I want dirty fingernails and hoes and rakes and shovels and stuff. I want to go to the garden center and get a bunch of veggie plants and some fruit bushes and just start my own farmer's market on the cul de sac.

I would also like chickens, but both Chris and our neighborhood association say I can't.

Bottom line is apparently this is what "Spring Fever" is when you are old.

I am old, and I am okay with it.

Also, if anyone in the Boise area wants some zucchini in a few months, let me know : )

Why Is Being Healthy So Expensive?

I haven't been taking very good care of myself lately - not working out (lets be honest, I never really did), not doing yoga, not taking time for myself, etc....and there has been A LOT of stress around here (see previous post about Chris almost getting laid off and deciding to elope to Vegas). Also, I live in frickin' Idaho. 'Nuf said.

It is also very hard for me to be an effective massage therapist when I am not taking care of myself, and it becomes a vicious cycle - I don't take care of myself and I don't get any clients. Maybe the universe sees clear to send me one or two when I don't have enough money to pay all the bills that month (and you would be surprised to know how many times that has happened), but those clients never re-book. Well, right before we left for Vegas, I had two clients call me within two days of each other. One I am seeing this weekend, and the other I have already seen twice before. They are both for the specialized massage technique that I do, so we spend a long time going over the intake paperwork and the session is just much longer than a "normal" massage.

Anyway, last week when I saw my new client for the second time, she said she had been to get acupuncture, and the woman she saws specializes in the helping the same type of health issues that I do. I didn't have an acupuncturist to be able to refer people to, and her office is on my way home from work, so I decided to make an appointment to check things out.

I went last night and she was great! She has a much lighter needling technique than the guy I used to see in New York and was very knowledgeable. She also has an entire wall full of books in her treatment room that I got to look through while she was going over my intake paperwork. I left with the same light, peaceful feeling that I was used to (I rented space in an acupuncture clinic for my massage practice in NY and getting free acupuncture once a month was part of my "lease"). Problem was, and I am by no means a cheap person - the initial one hour appointment was $145.

Yup, $145. Some of you who know me will say "Well, your initial appointment costs $135." Yes, it does, but it is also for two and a half to three and a half hours and I come to your house. I show you how to do the massage for yourself (which is where the real healing takes place) and I don't tell you that you need to come back twice a week for the next month (at least!) at $80 for each session.

Also, she "strongly" recommended that I start taking some herbs and supplements, which I totally understand are a good thing to do. I am already taking some herbs that are from the massage technique that I do that I know are safe and will accomplish my goals, and are also rather inexpensive - $40 and you have enough to last you an entire year. The stuff she wanted me to take would have ended up costing about $150/month.

Who has this kind of money?? Do I have $1000 a month to spend on this stuff? Um, no. And seriously, does she have people that are spending this kind of money?? Maybe they can give some to me : ) Aren't we a Bailout Nation know? lol

I don't want to come across as being a penny pincher; when it comes to my health I understand that prevention is the most important thing and I would rather pay $150 for herbs if it means I wont have a $10 copay for a potentially harmful drug from the pharmacy. All I am saying is , it was a bit much, and when I made an appointment for two weeks, she really tried to get me in sooner.

What it all boils down to though, is I know that I can't let anyone else be responsible for making me healthy. I can't rely on an acupuncturist or a yoga teacher or a doctor to do "the one thing" that is going to make me whole and healthy. They can help, they can make suggestions, but when it comes down to it, its about me making the time and the decision to be healthy, and working towards that goal. Its all about taking care of myself with my end result in mind and making changes to help me get there. No one can do this for me, no herb is going to be the magic thing I need. All of these things can help me, but in the end, my actions and decisions will matter most.

With that being said - I am not sick or dying or anything like that, just a little off balance so to speak; in need of a little adjustment. I don't want anyone thinking I am out here in Idaho dying of some horrible disease and not telling you.

Now, to end the post on a happy note (and to help me clean out my photo files), here are some pictures of all the socks I knitted for Christmas.

Dad's socks
Brother James' socks

Mom's socks
I also knit a pair for Chris, but I don't have any pictures of them. Oh well...they were cream colored with reinforced heel flaps and toes. He loved them even though they are more a slipper sock than a pair of boot socks like I was hoping they would be.

And, just because I can, here is a picture of Ursa in her new favorite pose - she sleeps like this almost every night and I find it supremely entertaining.

"What? I'm pretty!"

What is it About Mondays?

I just realized I pretty much get on here and blog every Monday morning about how much I don't want to go to work...what's up with that? I love my job - see previous post about Red Vines, sheep toys and Sunkist orange soda in the vending machines. Don't know what it is about Mondays....

I did pretty much nothing all weekend. I had a client on Saturday afternoon and then met Chris at work for a bit, ended up the day with a little shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond. The day we left to go to Vegas, all of my co-workers chipped in and got us a very nice gift certificate to there and threw me a little party (complete with cake I couldn't eat because I was so nervous and nauseous I could barely stand up straight). I got some stools for the bar/counter so I can sit and watch Chris cook...he is so cute when he cooks! We still have a good chunk of change left over, and I have no idea what to spend it on, any suggestions? There isn't really anything we need, I just have that terrible "I want to go shopping" urge, and it is driving me nuts!

I do have some exciting news to tell you - we may have finally set a date for the reception back in New York. Keep your fingers crossed for August 1, 2009. As soon as we have confirmation that we get that date (in about two weeks) we will let you know for sure. As many of you know, things tend to get mucked up as far as this wedding and reception have gone, so I urge you to mark your calendars with pencil and not Sharpie. We will definitely do a party in the Albany/Middleburgh area, and are looking at the possibility of having one in the North Country as well. Not sure about that one though as our time off is limited, and depending on what Chris' work schedule is, we might not be able to go home for two full weekends, which would make having two parties kind of impossible.

As always, check the wedding website for details (I would wait until tomorrow to do that since I am now running late for work and don't have time to update it) and if you don't have the address, just email me and I will get the link out to you. Have a lovely Monday!

Dear Blog,

I haven't forgotten about you baby, I promise.

No, its not you...its me. Really.

Its not that I'm just not that in to you...I promise that I am.

I'll be back soon. You can count on it. Its just that, for right now, I am spending all of my free time on Facebook, BUT it doesn't mean that I love you any less.

xxoo,

Karen

PS - All i am knitting are secret presents and a giant sweater of no obvious design or interest (but that I love nonetheless), so you guys aren't missing much. Valentine's Day was nice - I made an ass kicking lasagna and some darn good meatballs (thanks for the recipe Celia!). Chris got me a super sweet card and we snuggled when he got home from work. All is well in Boise, except for this darn Facebook thing : ) Be back soon - promise!

Argh....

It snowed last night, maybe an inch, maybe an inch and a half.

You get no blog post today because this means it will take me AN HOUR to drive to work.

I am sorry for your loss.

Pacify yourself with wedding ceremony pictures received in the mail yesterday. Also, how my husband did not call me at work and tell me they came in the mail as he was downloading the CD to his hard drive so he could email me all the pictures while I was still at work, is beyond me. Men...sheesh!


Quick comment on this last picture - Why hasn't anyone told me that Kim Kardashian's ass is following me around and apparently is attached to my body?? Seriously, that thing is outta control, and yet ironically, it is in control top stockings! If we can't laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at?? I love the look on Chris' face though, so I had to put this one up.

If you are in the Boise area, safe driving this morning, and if you are in a place where people actually know how to drive (i.e. NOT Boise) feel pity for me this morning please.

And my ginormoius ass.

That is all.

Thank you.

Not in the Mood

I am just not in the mood to go to work today. It isn't snowy or cold or anything like that (pretty sure Boise winter ends in February - anyone want to correct me on that and slap me out of my delusion??), I am just have zero desire to go. Also, not feeling 100% but that is neither here nor there, I'll feel the same if I am at work or home and I am not contagious so we don't have to worry about me spreading cooties.

However, I am trying to be in a very Zen mind frame about the whole thing since I should be grateful I have a job (which I love) where I get to work with really nice people and do the kind of work I enjoy doing. There have been a lot of layoffs around here, including the place where Chris works (he still has a job, thank goodness!), and it seems that there is just a funk that has descended upon Boise.

But seriously people, how could I not want to go to a place where the vending machines have Red Vines, and on my first day, I got a squishy sheep stress ball thing!!!
The previous mascot for the company was a sheep (why in the hell did they change THAT I wonder??!!) and we all got to pick a free "present" for completing our new hire orientation. When I saw the sheep in the basket mixed in with the dental floss (seriously) and company pens, I was like - Wowza, this is the happiest place on earth! - I should go get myself showered and get there, huh?

Red Vines and sheep toys, what more cold a girl ask for??

On a side sheep note, I had errands to run at lunch yesterday, and I passed a small farm with a small flock of sheep on the way, less than a mile from my office...and it made my freakin' day to know there were real sheep so close to me!! Do you think it would be inappropriate to ask them if I could come over on my lunch break to help them with the sheep. I mean, that's how you make friends right? Ask people if you can help them with their sheep? People with sheep would like that right? Not weird at all. Right???

The Story of the Dress

My apologies to anyone who is on dial up or has a slow Internet connection.
This post is very photo heavy and may take a while to download, but I think it is worth it ; )

It all started before we were even engaged. In the two weeks from the time Chris went to Boise for his interview and when they called to officially offer him the position, we were both pretty sure he would get the job, and I was pretty sure we would be getting engaged if he did. I saw the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting at Joann's and it contained the most beautiful knitted wedding dress that intrigued me as both a knitter and a potential new bride. I knew from the beginning that I didn't want a big frilly dress and that I wanted to do as much crafty stuff for the wedding as possible; this dress seemed a great way to combine the two.

Needless to say, I purchased the magazine before we were even engaged and started making arrangements. Never let it be said that I am one who lacks patience (snicker, sneer, snort - hahaha!). So I bring the magazine home and hide it with the other (only!) bridal magazine I had purchased, and felt like I was hiding porn in my parent's house or something, but we ended up getting engaged very shortly afterwards and it all worked out okay.

Then the move to Boise got under way, and due to an error in communication, all my knitting needles and the magazine containing the pattern got shipped in the moving truck and I was not able to access them until we had been here for about two months (after we bought the house). The pattern required five different size needles, some circular, some straight, and I just couldn't justify spending the money to buy all new knitting needles when it wasn't absolutely necessary. This decision was mostly influenced by the fact that I didn't have a job for almost two months and money was tight.

So, we buy the house, I get a job, and I can look at the pattern again and afford to start making plans. About the same time, I also heard about the Ravelympics (a competition that happens during the Summer Olympics and involves knitting something ridiculously hard during the time between the opening and closing ceremonies) and thought "Hey, that sounds like fun!" and so, I ordered the yarn to make the dress.

I waited patiently for the yarn to arrive, and then waited patiently for the opening ceremonies to cast on the dress. I swatched before hand and had all my needles and supplies and a time table all planned out. Then came the opening ceremonies and below is what I got done the FIRST day - it was looking good!
Things continued to go well the next day: Look! Progress!
Then there were a few days where I forgot to take daily progress pictures, but still: Look! Progress!!
Then, well, Christoper happened. All of this knitting was taking a very long time, and when I told him I needed private time for a knitting project, he couldn't see it or know what it was, and he couldn't come in the craft room, well, it made him want to stand outside the craft room door and ask me what I was doing. Repeatedly. Frequently. I started to get a little frustrated, both with the ridiculous quantity of knitting, and with my fiance (and the fact that the carpal tunnel syndrome started acting up didn't help either).

I realized this was not the state of mind I wanted to be in while I worked on the dress, and that I had plenty of time to finish the dress (we still had not set a date, but I knew it wouldn't be for at least nine months - HA! wrong on that one!), so I decided that once the skirt was done, it was time to be happy and spend time with the handsome man that I love and that being together with my needy little fiance boy was more important than finishing the Ravelympics.

So, I took a break from the wedding dress knitting. We took a trip back to New York, Chris' parents came out to visit. Then it was Christmas knitting time ( still owe you all several posts on that). Through all this, the dress sat, wrapped in tissue, in the closet in the craft room. After all, I had plenty of time, right? The wedding plans had fallen through a total of five times (no kidding), and while we might not have had things figured out, I knew the wedding wasn't going to be any sooner than May 2009

Well, I finished all the Christmas knitting, and had a few days off after Christmas to use kmy new spinning wheel (which has sat lonely and un-spinning since that time).

Then Chris got the message from work that he had to take all of his personal time off in the month of January. A plan was hatched since we also noticed SouthWest was having half price flights to Las Vegas, and we decided to elope without telling anyone. Suddenly, the wedding was less than a month away, and I needed to finish knitting my wedding dress!

So I began work on the top of the dress. The knitting of this part was a lot harder to me than the skirt knitting, and I really struggled with it. Mistakes were made, but I said "No big deal, I can't fix it and I can't start over, I don't have time!"
And so, I continued on like this until the pattern became second nature and I knew how to do it pretty much with my eyes closed (bit of an exaggeration there). As I came to know the pattern and what it looked like when it was adding up correctly, I realized that my attitude of "No big deal, I can't fix it and I can't start over, I don't have time!" was no longer going to cut it. The lace looked like crap, I wasn't getting gauge since the pattern was so off, things weren't lining up and I was not happy and would not be proud to wear this on my weding day. So, ONE WEEK before the dress had to be packed in a suitcase and anticipating its journey to Las Vegas, when all I had done was a skirt without the yarn ends even wove in - I started the top over again.
Its a good thing Chris went snowboarding that night because it was not pretty around the house. To say there was crying would be an understatement. To say maybe the neighbors heard some painful screaming would not be an exaggeration.
So, in the matter of one week, I managed to finish knitting the top and the waistband, seam the whole damn dress and weave in a zillion ends, crochet the armhole edging and the closure on the back, sew on the buttons, decide that the waistband seaming didn't look so great and come up with the brilliant idea to add a crochet edging to the top and bottom to cover the seam, and block the whole thing three times. I also was trying to knit my bouquet and a purse and also make my own veil (more on those later this week - none of these things ended up working out the way I wanted them to and in the end they were abandoned in favor of sanity). Basically, I did this:

Vogue Knitting, Spring/Summer 2008

Detail of the skirt lace

Detail of the top lace - this is what it is supposed to look like!

Look Mom (and Mother in Law who was going to have to help me with the crochet parts until I put on my big girl panties and did it myself out of necessity) - I can crochet!

One of my favorite things about the dress is the button band that goes up the back...wish I could see it while I am wearing it though - that's how much I love it!

Look how delicate and lovely it is!!

And, in the end, the hardest thing was not showing the dress to Chris when it was finished. There was a triumphant howl of joy when I made the last stitch and had it on the floor blocking into shape, but the one person who I most enjoy sharing my knitting triumph with was dead set against seeing it until the wedding - which is understandable since he wanted that piece of tradition since we would be forgoing so many of them with eloping to Vegas. In the end, the look on his face when I came out wearing it was worth so much to me, I am happy I waited.
And that my dears, is the story of my wedding dress. I am excited that I will get to wear it again when we have out reception party back in New York this summer. Even though there were some problems and things didn't go exactly as I had planned, it was wonderful wearing something that I spent so much time and effort on while I married Chris, and I think it made the night even more special.

On a purely Knitter knote (with a touch of bride thrown in) - I think the best way ever to show the hand knits a good time is to knit your own wedding dress and wear it to Las Vegas. Not only do people look at you because you are wearing a wedding dress (or maybe its because you are walking around with a cutie pie fiance/husband), but when they see it looks like it is knitted, they look a little confused. Either way, lots of people staring at your beautiful handiwork, and I think the dress itself enjoyed the tour of the Las Vegas Strip, especially after spending so much time in the craft closet!

Hope you all enjoy the Superbowl - I will be making enchiladas and we are just going to chill at home and watch it here. Chris ate all the Funyuns already, but somehow, we'll manage to get through it! The salt and vinegar chips might help with that, lol. Go Steelers!

Does This Picture Give it Away??

If you guessed Chris and I went to Las Vegas and eloped, give yourself a gold star!!

And, if you guessed that the super secret knitting project was my WEDDING DRESS, double gold stars for you my friend!

This picture is of us at the Bellagio in front of their water fountains, but we actually got married at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. It was short and cute (just like me!) and we had a great time. More details to follow, but it has been a super hectic few weeks around here with lots of exciting developments (one of which is not that I am pregnant, just in case anyone was wondering). Also, I only took two days off work to go do this whole wedding thing and , lets say re-entry into normal life has not been super easy on me.

I plan to get detailed shots of the dress up to the blog and the wedding website as soon as I can, but it probably wont be until this weekend. Hope none of you are too shocked - so far everyone has taken it well and that makes us eternally happy.

That's it for now, hope you are having a lovely week, and wait until you hear the story about the dress. It definitely means the capital "K" in my new last name stands for Knitter (with a capital "K")!

Guess Where We Went This Weekend!!

Extra points if you can guess what we did! Also, the super secret knitting project will be revealed here tomorrow...and here's a hint: He loved it!

Official Upstate New York Temperature Conversion Chart

I am too tired to write anything this morning, so all you get is this little ditty that my future sister in law Patricia (aka PJ) emailed me over the weekend. We New Yorkers are a tough bunch, lol! I didn't see an author's name listed on the email, so if you wrote this and I didn't credit you, please don't sue me, just let me know your name and I'll update the post. Thanks ; )

Official Upstate New York Temperature Conversion Chart

60 above

New Jersey tries to turn on the heat.

People in Upstate New York plant gardens.

50 above

Californians shiver uncontrollably.

People in Upstate New York sunbathe.

40 above

Italian & English cars won't start.

People in Upstate New York drive with the windows down.

32 above

Distilled water freezes.

Sacandaga Lake gets thicker.

20 above

Floridians put on coats, thermal underwear, gloves and woolly hats.

People in Upstate New York throw on a flannel shirt.

15 above

Pittsburgh landlords finally turn up the heat.

People in Upstate New York have the last cookout before it gets cold.

0

People in Miami all die.

Upstaters lick the flagpole.

20 below

Californians fly away to Mexico.

People in Upstate New York get out their winter coats.

40 below

Hollywood disintegrates.

The Girl Scouts in Upstate NY are selling cookies door to door.

60 below

Polar bears begin to evacuate the Arctic.

Upstate Boy Scouts postpone "Winter Survival" classes until it gets cold enough.

80 below

Mt. St. Helen's freezes.

People in Upstate NY rent some videos.

100 below

Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.

Upstaters get frustrated because they can't thaw the keg.

297 below

Microbial life no longer survives on dairy products.

Cows in Upstate NY complain about farmers with cold hands.

460 below

ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale).

People in Upstate NY start saying...."Cold 'nuff for ya?"

500 below

Hell freezes over.

The Buffalo Bills win the Super Bowl.

Happy Monday everyone!

Stone Cold Killer

I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, is this the face of a cold, hard, killer?

The answer my friends, is yes.

Apparently, in addition to killing several small deer on a semi-annual basis, and frequently depriving countless bottles and cans of various beer of their "joi de vive," my fiance also has pretty nice mouse killing skills.

I first noticed the mousy evidence in the garage where, quite a bit of recycling sat for quite a period of time. I was putting the Christmas decorations away on Saturday, and saw what looked like egg shells and coffee grounds on the floor of the garage. Suspicious, I took care when emptying the Christmas storage containers, and there I found the turds.

Well, this prompted an expedited return of said recyclables, followed by a plan of action that brought all our books and pictures back into the house (they have been in the garage since we moved in since we didn't bring any bookcases with us from NY and had no place for them). This all required moving the living room furniture around and "making creative use of space."

Then, my sweet little muffin of a man and I went shopping and got some mouse traps, hair color and roast beef. We had sandwiches, I got rid of the gray, and he set the traps (he didn't bait them, this caused some debate, but I figured this was his party, he knew how to invite people to it).

When we came out into the garage to leave for work yesterday, he said "Get in the car and I'll be there in a minute."

So of course my response was "Don't tell me what to do, I'll get in the car when I am good and ready - you are not the boss of me! I choose NOT to get in the car right now just to spite you!!"

To which he replied "I think I caught some mice and I didn't think you would want to see it."

My response "OOH, dead mice...I TOTALLY want to see that!"

Yup - he got two of them. They were tiny little field mice, very thoroughly dead and he handled the traps and got rid of them like a good little boy. It can be so nice having a guy around the house - not that I couldn't have done all this myself, but it was really nice that I didn't have to.

The point of this, besides don't leave your recycling in the garage for three months, is that you had better watch out. The man I am going to marry is dangerous - you never know when he might go off and break your neck and not even leave you a little peanut butter or cheese to entice you with.

Mice of Boise beware, Chris K has your number, and your number is up!

An Open Letter to the City of Boise

Dear Boise,

Hi. Its me, Karen. We've been together for a while now, almost eight months, and there is something we need to talk about.

No, no, it isn't that - I like you a lot more now that I have a job I enjoy and get paid well for. No, I have gotten used to all your overtly religious people telling me about their personal views all the time. Yeah, I even got used to the fact that I am surrounded by Republicans (Chris is really happy about that one!). No, those things are all fine. I've adapted.

What we need to talk about, is the snow.

"What?" you say, "The snow? What is wrong with the snow?? There is a lot less than you had to deal with back in NY. The snow in Idaho is pretty. You are a whack job."

Well, Idaho, City of Boise in particular, I don't have a problem with the snow, per se, my problem is your residents do not know how to drive in it. Now, before you say anything, you know its true baby. I understand that not everyone drives like they have some place to go around here, if you know what I am saying. Its like a Sunday drive with the AARP club every day under good conditions. What I am talking about is the fact that you only have five plows, FIVE PLOWS, to work a 130 mile stretch of interstate and and entire City. Also, not to bring up a sore issue, but one of your plows caught fire recently so now we are down to four plows. Sigh...

This just brings me to the fact that you are not doing your part to help out with the snowy problem, which, mainly is the fact that no one in this frickin' city seems to know how to drive in the snow.

There, I said it.

People will go 30 miles per hour on the highway (speed limit 75), 20 miles per hour while in a 45 zone. Now, when conditions warrant this type of lame-ass winter driving, I am all for taking it slow and getting where I need to be safely. The previous examples were not actually noted while it was actively snowing...this was just when there was snow on the side of the road and people could see it. No snow on the roads; the roads had been chemically treated and sanded (they don't use salt around here because all the runoff ends up in the river and then we have dead fishies). They were clear. Fine. Safe. Imagine how bad it is when there is, GASP!, snow falling form the sky!!!!!

Now, I hear a lot of people talking about back ice - and I understand it is a problem as well. I had an uncle die in an accident because of that and it is something I take seriously, so I feel it fair to mention that the above examples were when the temperature was well into the high thirties.

All I know is it is going to take Chris probably close to an hour today to drive 30 miles - if he is lucky. There is 1" of snow on the ground. That math don't add up.

So, City of Boise, in closing, I love you baby - don't doubt that. Maybe some winter driving classes for your citizens would be an idea, perhaps you could work out an arrangement with one of the local news programs to have it broad casted for all to see (theres not much else going on around here). Maybe another plow or two would help. Or we could just keep the snow up in the mountains where it belongs...Christmas is over, I don't need no frickin' snow now.

Love,

Karen

PS - happy new year and happy monday : )

About #9....

You didn't really think I would be back here to blog on Christmas day, did you?? LOL

How about a picture of the tree and roaring fireplace??


I was so excited to have a mantle this year, but we never did get around to hanging our stockings off it. The tree you see is my tiny little 4 1/2 footer that was a Blue Light Special at K-Mart a zillion years ago when I lived by myself. I find it works well with the dogs and also we decided not to spend money on Christmas decorations this year. It looked cute and worked well and it made us both happy.

Christmas morning, I made cinnamon rolls that were beyond fantastic. How was I able to control the present opening and giving urges long enough to make cinnamon rolls - well, we opened our presents Christmas Eve, of course!

I did not receive a sheep or a puppy, but Chris did get me the next best thing!!


Yeah, there was some screaming involved.

Actually, the box had the spinning wheel manufacturer's name all over it, so as soon as I tore off the first piece of paper, I knew. He is such a good present buyer, and has been getting me progressively deeper into the yarn-y arts since last Christmas. He got me a ball winder and a 16" size 7 knitting needle (Perfect for knitting hats, and even better because the reason he got it was because he remembered me looking for one a few weeks before Christmas last year). For Valentine's Day, he gifted me with a swift. I joked with him that now he has procured me all of these things and the spinning wheel, the only thing he can get me for the next holiday is a sheep. Although, after I said that, I realized there is still the option of a loom....hahahaha!

Not that it is all about me. Chris loved his presents too. I got Ursa DNA tested to find out what breed of dog she is. It was not an IQ test, so she passed, but we did find out that she is mostly Siberian Husky, with just a smidge of West Highland Terrier and Borzoi (scroll down on the end of the Borzoi page and then tell me if anything looks familiar to this picture). Surprisingly, no German Shepherd in the mix.

Ursa - your Borzoi is showing!

Hoping you had as lovely a holiday as we did. I'll be posting about all the crafty stuff I did for everyone over the next week. And thank you to those of you who have emailed me, especially the members of Chris' family. It is so nice knowing that you are reading the blog and keeping up with all the varried goings on in Boise, Idaho. We keep it pretty exciting over here, what with the knitting, spinning and dog wrangling ; ) Gotta keep the readership up, 'ya know??!!

Have a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve tomorrow everyone!

Hows About a List??

1. The new job is GREAT!! I love it in ways I can't even describe. Details to follow.

2. Christmas presents are all purchased, finished, wrapped and shipped (with the exception of one gift for Chris). I have even finished shopping for Chris' birthday. All of this makes me happy, and I love the way the tree looks with all the presents underneath it.

3. I can't wait to open my presents (and give Chris his) because apparently I am still a three year old. For some reason he doesn't want to believe that in my family we really do open our presents on Christmas Eve, sigh.....

4. Also, I am not getting a puppy or a sheep (I have been told these things but kinda refuse to believe them. Its Christmas man! Anything is possible. Keep hope alive.).

5. When it snows in Boise, everyone thinks they are going to die and drive similarly. Details to follow on this one also.

6. One Christmas party down, one to go.

7. I am making four types of cookies and chex mix tonight. I'll let you know how that all turns out tomorrow...

8. Wedding plans. On hold. Again. Hitting head against wall with nails sticking out of it. Don't want to talk about it. Don't ask about it.

9. I am out of ideas and need to get in the shower. Happy Monday and Merry Christmas if you don't get a chance to pop back before then. Full Christmas disclosure to be made on 12/25 in the afternoon for our friends and family, and really, anyone else who wants to read the blog. There might even be pictures!!!