It's a rollercoaster...

I unjammed the log jam and now I feel like I'm riding the Shenandoah Log Flume at King's Dominion. I little bit up and a little bit down and a giant splash that you hope doesn't soak you at the end.

I've been changeable today - kind of short tempered, kind of snarky, kind of out of sorts. And then just fine and getting along okay. I guess it'll be that way for a while.

Major decisions should come with a warning: May cause major mood swings!

Today, I did some yarn cataloging and calling around to sell a few things (Lenox China, pattern: Chesapeake. Apparently there is a surfeit in the resale marketplace and only the few service pieces I have are in demand at the moment. Ah, well. It was a good plan while it lasted.)

I took my son to his post-op appointment. All is well. Made the second post-op for him and one for me for next Monday.

Bought lunch. Made dinner. Now, I'm hiding behind my computer for a while...

Major mood swings are the pits.

To distract you, here is a collage of some yarn I 'stashed' on Ravelry today.

Decisions made. Decisions to make.

Not sure the ennui has passed, but it's on its way out the door.

Decision the first:

My younger son turned 18 last week. He's near, yet far away from home; attending college about 1.5 hours away. He dislikes it. Promises made, expressly or indirectly, seem not to be true on campus and possibly in friendships. It is a small university with little entertainment and little opportunity to work for pay. I'm not really sure why he chose this one over others, except a friend was going and they could be roommates. He doesn't like it. He asked to come home for a visit this weekend.

On my way to pick him up, I had a premonition... Some of my premonitions are spot on, some a little over the top. In most cases, some portion comes to pass. This one was exactly as I thought - he wants to transfer to a different state school for the Spring 2009 term and going forward. He never even applied to the one he now wants to attend!

We spent the weekend discussing that decision and getting plans in place to get him moved to the bigger (MUCH BIGGER, indeed the BIGGEST) State University in Maryland... UMD. University of Maryland College Park. (I went there!) He'll have to commute, I think, because it will be hard to get housing for the Spring term, not having attended the Fall term. But this one is about a 1/2 hour closer than the other, so he should be okay.

That leads nicely into the second decision.

I'll be selling this house. I knew it needed to be done, which may be why I am stuck in the ennui, but now it needs to happen sooner rather than later. Mom will need some time to get used to new digs. I cannot delay too long. This house needs some work to be ready to sell for the price I'd like to get. I hope waiting until next Summer will give time for a little rebound in the market as well as time to paint, clean, declutter, etc., etc., etc.

The decision has been made. I've talked with my mom and she's all for it. (Yippee!!) I had asked her before where she'd like to live besides here and she always hemmed and hawed and tried to defer to me. As long as I we move somewhere I can afford and I can get to DC to work for the next 6 years, I don't really care. We had been at an impasse.

THIS time, when I asked where she might like to live, she mentioned her friends in Laurel and College Park and a few other places. Looks like we'll be heading North again.

This should work out very well from many vantage points. Son will be closer to school and can save money by commuting. Mom will be closer to her friends, her doctors and her social outlets. I will be required to get a move on and get this house decluttered and things sold. We'll be downsizing, so I hope to have a smaller mortgage which will make my life a little less stressful!

Two decisions made. A few more to make. I hope this has broken the log jam in my head and heart.

Knitting context next time. I hope.

ennui

Main Entry: ennui
Part of Speech: noun
Synonyms: apathy, blues, boredom, dissatisfaction, doldrums, fatigue, languor, lassitude, listlessness, melancholy, tedium, weariness

Is that what I have? I find myself wanting to do everything, yet doing nothing. I cannot stay engaged in a task for long. If I stay at something for a period of time, I grow weary, tired, my eyes get that "sandman just came" feeling, long before it is time to sleep.

So, I switch to something else, or get up and walk around, or eat (BAD choice!), or click in and out of never-updating bloglines or forums (fora?)(note to self: if you just finished reading a site, clicking into one other place and then back to the first, will most likely NOT bring you to new content.)

But nothing keeps me engaged for long. Is this ennui? Depression? stress? anxiety? apathy? uncertainty? sadness? A little bit of this or that or all of these?

Or is it being overweight and uncomfortable and, apparently, unwilling to change that?

All of the above?

I don't usually share this place in my psyche with the world... but I think I need to do that more often. Perhaps the sharing will help me move away from here and get a little peace, a little motivation, a little concentration.

Secret Pal 12 - slowly coming to a close

Close to the final package! My secret pal has be super spoiling me. This is a "learn to spin" box - with some roving and a spindle and a book on what to do and a great little tote bag. AND delicious Jelly Belly jelly beans!



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The last package to my downstream partner will be mailed this week. I've had a great time putting things together. I hope she's enjoyed receiving them!

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Last set of questions from the hosts:

If you were told you could never again buy yarn, would would your last yarn purchase be? The entire contents of any fully stocked Yarn Shop - if I could afford it! ;)


If you were told you could never knit again, what would be the last thing you’d knit?? A cardigan just for me!


In a given year, how many times do you buy yarn? And what is your favorite place to buy yarn from? A festival? A shop? Online? Dish your favorite places!! Wherever I am when I see it, want it, have money for it. I don't think I could quantify 'how many times.' I can go two months without buying anything and the next month buy something every week.

The majority of my acrylic yarn is purchased at either Michael's or WalMart (Red Heart, Caron - used in many, many things, mostly for donation).

The majority of my wool and other natural fiber content yarn is purchased at The Yarn Garden in Annapolis, MD, though I have purchased from other MD shops, too.

I have random skeins of sock yarn and lace weight and some worsted purchased here or there on the internet. I tend to skip around and don't buy from one on-line source. If I take a fancy to something today, I buy it. Then I hear next month about another place, and I visit that one.

The only festival I have attended was this year's Maryland Sheep and Wool. I'll be at Stitches East in November and will browse the market place. I don't need anything, but I want to try everything! :)


Lastly, with Fall in full swing in many areas, what is the one thing you look forward to most? Fiber related? Cool temperatures that allow for me to finish up some afghans and other larger projects that get put on hold in the warmer months!

I've been an absentee blogger

I've been crocheting and knitting and working and reading and trying to sort through my basement. Some of these activities induce the blue funk which makes me kind of sit around doing nothing much.

Blue Funk Inducing:




Not Blue Funk Inducing, yet time consuming (note: I arranged the 6" squares and crocheted them together - 15 other peopled made and donated the squares):




I hope to be a better blogger as the days get shorter and the nights get longer and I'm hanging around wondering what to do. Blog! That's what I'll do!

Music, Maestro, Please!

Yep. I'm Old. Anyway, I saw this here, liked it, stole it! Feel free to do the same.

A.) Go to musicoutfitters.com
B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
C.) Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember (or don’t care about)


1. Tonight's The Night, Rod Stewart
2. I Just Want To Be Your Everything, Andy Gibb
3. Best Of My Love, Emotions
4. Love Theme From "A Star Is Born", Barbra Streisand
5. Angel In Your Arms, Hot
6. I Like Dreamin', Kenny Nolan
7. Don't Leave Me This Way, Thelma Houston
8. (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher And Higher, Rita Coolidge
9. Undercover Angel, Alan O'Day
10. Torn Between Two Lovers, Mary MacGregor
11. I'm Your Boogie Man, K.C. and The Sunshine Band
12. Dancing Queen, Abba
13. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, Leo Sayer
14. Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffet
15. Telephone Line, Electric Light Orchestra
16. Whatcha Gonna Do?, Pablo Cruise
17. Do You Wanna Make Love, Peter McCann
18. Sir Duke, Stevie Wonder
19. Hotel California, Eagles
20. Got To Give It Up, Pt. 1, Marvin Gaye
21. Theme From "Rocky" (Gonna Fly Now), Bill Conti
22. Southern Nights, Glen Campbell
23. Rich Girl, Daryl Hall and John Oates
24. When I Need You, Leo Sayer
25. Hot Line, Sylvers
26. Car Wash, Rose Royce
27. You Don't Have To Be A Star, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.
28. Fly Like An Eagle, Steve Miller Band
29. Don't Give Up On Us, David Soul
30. On And On, Stephen Bishop
31. Feels Like The First Time, Foreigner
32. Couldn't Get It Right, Climax Blues Band
33. Easy, Commodores
34. Right Time Of The Night, Jennifer Warnes
35. I've Got Love On My Mind, Natalie Cole
36. Blinded By The Light, Manfred Mann's Earth Band
37. Looks Like We Made It, Barry Manilow
38. So In To You, Atlanta Rhythm Section
39. Dreams, Fleetwood Mac
40. Enjoy Yourself, Jacksons
41. Dazz, Brick
42. I'm In You, Peter Frampton
43. Lucille, Kenny Rogers
44. The Things We Do For Love, 10cc
45. Da Doo Ron Ron, Shaun Cassidy
46. Handy Man, James Taylor
47. Just A Song Before I Go, Crosby, Stills and Nash
48. You And Me, Alice Cooper
49. Slow Dancin', Johnny Rivers
50. Lonely Boy, Andrew Gold
51. I Wish, Stevie Wonder
52. Don't Stop, Fleetwood Mac
53. Barracuda, Heart
54. Strawberry Letter 23, Brothers Johnson
55. Night Moves, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
56. You're My World, Helen Reddy
57. Heard It In A Love Song, Marshall Tucker Band
58. Carry On Wayward Son, Kansas
59. New Kid In Town, Eagles
60. My Heart Belongs To Me, Barbra Streisand
61. After The Lovin', Engelbert Humperdinck
62. Jet Airliner, Steve Miller Band
63. Stand Tall, Burton Cummings
64. Way Down, Elvis Presley
65. Weekend In New England, Barry Manilow
66. It Was Almost Like A Song, Ronnie Milsap
67. Smoke From A Distant Fire, Sanford Townsend Band
68. Cold As Ice, Foreigner
69. Ariel, Dean Friedman
70. Lost Without Your Love, Bread
71. Star Wars Theme-Cantina Band, Meco
72. Float On, Floaters
73. Jeans On, David Dundas
74. Lido Shuffle, Boz Scaggs
75. Keep It Comin' Love, K.C. and The Sunshine Band
76. You Made Me Believe In Magic, Bay City Rollers
77. Livin' Thing, Electric Light Orchestra
78. Give A Little Bit, Supertramp
79. That's Rock 'N' Roll, Shaun Cassidy
80. Love So Right, Bee Gees
81. The Rubberband Man, Spinners
82. I Never Cry, Alice Cooper
83. Nobody Does It Better, Carly Simon
84. High School Dance, Sylvers
85. Love's Grown Deep, Kenny Nolan
86. Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman), Joe Tex
87. I Wanna Get Next To You, Rose Royce
88. Somebody To Love, Queen
89. Muskrat Love, Captain and Tennille
90. Walk This Way, Aerosmith
91. Whispering-Cherchez La Femme-C'est Si Bon, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
92. Year Of The Cat, Al Stewart
93. Boogie Nights, Heatwave
94. Go Your Own Way, Fleetwood Mac
95. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, Elton John
96. Don't Worry Baby, B.J. Thomas
97. Knowing Me, Knowing You, Abba
98. How Much Love, Leo Sayer
99. Star Wars (Main Title), London Symphony Orchestra
100. Devil's Gun, C.J. and Co.

Now, none of these are my favorite (I don't know what is, but it is none of these!) So, I didn't underline anything...

and I don't really hate any music. The "del with the < and the > to create the strike throughs" are songs I either remember making fun of, or were not really my cup of tea. But hate is too strong a word! :)

And I probably know some of the ones I did not mark, but I'm better at lyrics than artists and titles!

Enjoy!